This time, the only time in love.

Chapter 10

'Your majesty, the head of ministers has sent for you and the Umayyad princess to be present in the court by the afternoon'.
Safwann nodded his head in affirmative to his messenger.

He was battling emotions such as those he never knew he had. After the scene at the Majlis, he called for Sara to shift to his canvas, not that his hatred had alleviated in any way but he didn't want to further the complications.
He felt himself looking at Sara in a way that alarmed his heart and sensibility. He kept repeating to himself that he would soon send her away but couldn't help staring at the arabic calligraphy the princess wrote the Shahada(the Muslim profession of faith) in.

At the court sat Suleimann on one side and Safwann on the other, the princess stood at the farthest end.
Abbas, their fathers' friend and confidant spoke, 'you must realise sooner than later that you head a kingdom, a gaint one at that, that looks upto to you as their leader, you therefore mustn't be fighting over an ordinary princess'.

Suleimann broke his silence saying, ' she is not ordinary to me, besides I am no King and have no obligations whatsoever to discipline myself. Just allow me to take her to Baghdad'.

Safwann was quiet but enraged. His patience was brutally being tested. ' This woman is not for sale'.

'Oh, so why was she at the Majlis sold to a province ruler? It is only because of your hatred towards me that you don't want to give me anything I want. This woman means absolutely nothing to you and yet you are withholding her only because I turned up to be the highest bidder'.

'I have nothing against you, Suleimann and had father not decided for me to be the King, I wouldn't have ever taken to the throne, Safwann spoke generously.

Suleimann rolled his eyes at him and began addressing the court members again. ' I shall not leave Khurasan without the princess and if that means I have to fight Safwann then I won't back off'.

This said and Safwann was already over the edge. ' Dear court members and uncle Abbas, I can't give the princess away. I brought her to the Majlis to only punish her for taking the enemy's side in the war and conspiring against her own husband'.

The court members were astonished would be an understatement, they were frozen to their places, murmuring things to one another. Suleimann was in a deep shock, all restless in the mind. Sara could understand no word that was said, she was blankly looking at Safwann.

Abbas finally silenced every one and asked, Who is her husband, is he any one of the Abbasids?

'Yes, indeed'. Said Safwann.

A bemused Abbas asked 'Who is the guy?'

'I am the guy, Sara Umayyad and I have been married for a year now'.
This startled everyone.
Suleimann fisted both his hands in anger but keeping his calm said, 'alright, if you two have been married then the princess must know it too, ask the Umayyad princess if she ever married Safwann'.

Everyone's attention now darted towards Sara who had no idea of what was going on. She wanted to say it aloud that Safwann was a bane to her existence and that she hated his every cell or that's what she told herself. She wanted an out from Safwann's palace but not at the cost of someone's destruction.

She didn't know what came over her but the next thing she did took the court by a storm.
Abbas asked Sara,' lady, do you agree with what the king said'?
Sara looked up and nodded her head in affirmative.
Safwann smiled his brightest to Suleimann but his mind was clouded with doubts of why at all did the princess lie.