Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 105

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu

Here u go my dearest readers...

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But when He is your Protector,
Then which kingdom do you fear?
For all the powers and mights,
Tremble before Him...
When they all unite against you,
And yet you smile at their efforts,
Because if they brought the whole world,
To stand against you,
They would still cause you not even a pinprick,
Till Allah Himself destines that for you...
And in that case...
Say Alhamdulillah...
The mightier the test,
The mightier the pain,
The closer you stand in love with Him...

Hareem closed her eyes and clenched her jaw as she tried to ignore the bursts of pain from her back. Her breathing was too haphazard. Today marked the seventh day of Mansoor knowing her truth. It also marked the seventh day of her torture. Her place had been shifted to a more prison like chamber, where she was fed twice with the most basic and tasteless food and she was flogged twice a day, according to Mansoor's orders. And she bore it all with gratitude. This was more bearable to her than his presence and so she was happy.

After being flogged in the courtyard of the prison before all the prisoners of that part of the building, she was made to go back to her prison. She wanted to hiss at the pain this was causing her, but her pride wasn't allowing her to utter even a single syllable of pain. She squared her shoulders and walked to her chamber before collapsing on the small cot. Mansoor's message was clear, 'Give up and marry him, or suffer.' She preferred to suffer.

Hareem closed her eyes as the pain became unbearable. She drifted to her safe place.

The first time the Salasalian crown began to accept her was very sudden. Asad and her along with the whole royal family had gone on a customary tour around the capital. The crowd had come to see the royalty and specifically the foreign bride that had come from across the dark forest. What did she have that Prince Asad had given his heart away? They found nothing extraordinary except her much talked about and yet veiled beauty. They shrugged their shoulders and frowned at how ordinary they found her. The whispers had been heard by all the royalty. Many of them had the same questions in their head. But they weren't the crowd to whisper such words out in the open. They would do it behind the closed doors.

Hareem put up a brave, unaffected front as she smiled at the crowds from behind a veil, something only she followed in the royalty back then. Her armor was being chipped at by their doubts. But she had to stay strong because Asad was right beside her and she loved him too much to cause him hurt by her hurt. So she stayed silent and heard them talk.

They had just turned a corner when a man from the crowd jumped on their chariot and lifted a knife from behind his shawl to bring it down upon Asad, who was turned the other way. The crowd gasped and watched as the knife descended towards Asad. They held their breaths. Hareem screamed in fear as she stepped forward to hold the knife with her bare hands and pushed the attacker. Hareem's scream alerted Asad who turned and saw the sight before him. He jumped into action as he held the attacker's arm and freed Hareem's hand from the knife before twisting the attacker's arm and forcing him to drop the knife as the guards rushed towards them. Asad kicked the attacker towards the oncoming guards and fearfully held Hareem's bleeding hand, in his own.

"Hareem! Your hand..." He whispered. He was a warrior and bravery ran in his veins but her wound was unraveling him. She was so soft and lovable. He was supposed to protect her and here she was, protecting him instead. She was shielding him with her own self. He knew she had never faced such a situation before. She wasn't trained for this. She didn't even know weaponry properly or even any form of fighting. But for his sake, she had put herself in harm's way. He watched her face as she curbed her cries for him and watched him back with a pseudo smile. He gulped. To be brave, you didn't need to know weaponry or fighting. To be brave, you only needed a strong heart and a trusting mind. Hareem bint Mussab had a tawakkal greater than the mountains and that was enough to make her brave.