Princess of the dawn

Chapter 34

On the way

The affair with the elephants did not go unnoticed and quickly made the rounds in the army. Words had been purposefully dropped here and there at the appropriate point. Two camps quickly formed. Some took the view that it was pure coincidence that the elephants came near the Khan-i-Khanan's tent. The others were convinced that it must have been a serious warning to the Khan-i-Khanan. These speculations did not go unnoticed by Jalal either. His anger kindled like a darting flame when he noticed the atmosphere of suspicion in the camp. After the new activities of the two camps were brought to him that morning, he got tired of the intrigues and decided to flee them. Since Abdul still could not get up, he wanted to turn his back on the camp alone. He picked up his sword and bow and arrow and rushed to the horses. There he chose Hairam, a hot-blooded horse that no one tolerated on his back. Jalal was the only one who could calm him down and ride him. After he saddled and bridled him, he jumped into the saddle and sped out of the camp! Nobody dared to stop him! As soon as he had left the camp, he could breathe more freely as always when he left the camp and enjoyed the wild ride. Slowly his anger subsided and he let Hairam trot.

He reached a small, bright wood. He stopped at a source and quenched his thirst. Accustomed to the fact that Sultan did not run away, he let Hairam go. The unpredictable horse took the opportunity to flee from his master and with a loud neigh he threw his front legs in the air and galloped away. Jalal looked after him in surprise. With his own confidence, he trusted that he would come back to him. He sat leaning against a tree and closed his eyes. He thought about the mood in the camp. He hadn't worried when the elephants came near the camp and Bairam Khan's tent. He had been completely focused on the fight of the elephants and had them drifted away after they got too close. How dared Bairam Khan to accuse him of such a deed? How could he even think about it? And why was the matter on everyone's lips? Did Khan Baba had stirred up rumors to intentionally cause strife in the camp? Or had someone else deliberately spread rumors? Again the thought crossed his mind whether he could trust his ataliq unconditionally. And what role did his badi ammi play? He couldn't place her behavior when she read the letter to him. There was something lurking about her behaviour. Was she trying to drive a wedge between him and Khan Baba? Had she spread rumors? No, this could not be! His insides were in turmoil. His heart grew heavy and the wall grew a little further. The seeds of suspicion had established in and began to grow. He sighed deeply and his thoughts jumped to Abdul. Hopefully he would get better soon and be able to get up and ride again. He missed his rides with him. He was grateful that he had survived the wound fever and was slowly on the mend. Again he realized how lonely he was among all his courtiers and people. Sadness spread inside him. In this moment he feels very alone. There was still his mother. But he just couldn't share some things with her. She would be horrified if he had told her of his distrust of Bairam Khan. Bakshi? She was not interested in politics. Ruqaya? She was only interested in her position. Even though they had spent most of their childhood together and were very familiar, he didn't want to talk to her about such things. If he could no longer trust Khan Baba and his badi ammi ... Tired and exhausted from what had happened, he rubbed his face and suppressed the unpleasant thoughts. Sleep graciously ended its conflicting feelings and thoughts and he dozed off slowly.

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There was concern in the camp because Jalal had left the camp alone again. Bairam Khan yelled at the guards for failing to stop Jalal. With their heads bowed, they let himself go through his anger. They knew they could never have stopped him. Bairam Khan paced back and forth furiously. Maham Anga and Her Majesty Hamida Banu looked worried. Maham Anga tried to reassure Bairam Khan.

"Khan-i-Khanan, this is not the first time he has disappeared. You know his moods, he will come back safe and sound!"

"How dare he just storm away!"