The Imperials

Acceptance

Umme Qulsum POV

My head was pounding with agony and spinning with dizziness. When I awoke, Prince Faakhir had instructed his guards to forcibly transport me to the Grand Hall, where the major wedding was to take place. Despite the royal doctor's insistence, he refused to let me rest following my bout of fainting. Prince Faakhir was adamant about getting this marriage done, and I'm still not certain what made me so unique that he retained me at his side out of all the girls in the globe. In comparison to his past marriages, I was a nobody. Prior to the kidnapping, I was just a regular girl who went about her business. What would he gain from this union?

"Are you alright?" A soft voice tenderly whispered, a hand touching my forehead just for a quick minute. 

When I awoke from my stupor, Haadiya was staring at me, worriedly biting her lips, a toddler clinging to her hips with a pacifier in her mouth and staring at me with uninterest. Her tiny blonde hair was put up into a lovely ponytail with bow clips, and her cute fancy clothing made her look like the tiny princess she was.

"I'm fine," I smiled, slightly wincing with a headache. "Just a bit of a headache, that's all."

My gaze wandered over the room, and I realized I'd been transported to a vast hall slowly brimming with noblemen and women of high standing, their gowns and coats glistening and gleaming with beautiful gems and sequences. Some were donned in figure-hugging gowns, while others wore their hair curled and glammed with style and colour. Some were more modest, keeping the gown flowing down their bodies like a river as they awaited the prince's third wedding to commence. Nobody seemed overjoyed to be here for the third time to witness another one of his weddings; instead, they appeared to be here for other motives. Perhaps in exchange for food, money, or whatever else Prince Faakhir had bribed them to maintain his good name.

This hall was lavishly furnished, with glistening red draperies draping every corner, diamond curtains draping the stage, and a regal golden couch waiting for the bride and groom to ascend. 

Flower petals were strewn around the stage and floor like dust making everything seem so romantic when it was not, it was the opposite. It was all I had hoped for someday, but not with this person.

 I sat in the corner of the hall, dressed in the same attire that I had fainted in the last time. The reception was set to begin at three o'clock in the afternoon sharp, and I was dreading every ticking second.

"Are you sure?" Haadiya pressed with worry, squinting her eyes with disbelief. "You look like you'll collapse any second. You should at least try to rest here, Prince Faakhir isn't here to witness anything. He went on some last-minute errand!"

I quickly looked back and forth through the hall checking if anyone was listening in our conversation before I pulled her closer by the arm. "Leave now! Listen, no one is going to notice if you run away. They are all busy with the wedding preparation. Just go!"

"Where do I go? I don't know any places other than the palace?"

"Look, do you want safety and happiness for your daughter?" I hissed as I stared into her terrified eyes, "Then leave! Wear a disguise if you have to and run away. Your daughter can't endure all this as she grows older, it's mental torture."

"I will!" She nodded anyway before straightening her posture. 

"Well, well, look what we have here." A plump lady sauntered toward us, her voice sinister and steady as she walked towards us with her villainess's face. A long scarf was tightly wrapped around her chubby head, and a huge mole sat on her chin. Her eyes and lips were outlined with layers of makeup, and a yellow foundation caked her face and circle nose.