NOOR

8. HAPPINESS

A slight tug made Shehanshah look over to his side discreetly, as he saw his new wife yawning softly amidst the chaos. A smile struggled to appear on his face as the official in front of him kept talking about wars and politics, but all he wanted was to carry his Begum to their tent and cuddle through the night.

A desperate but inconspicuous sigh left his lips as he reluctantly continued the monotonous "royal" conversations, but soon enough found a bit of weight against his bicep.

His Begum had fallen asleep.

Albeit veiled with a light material, it was opaque to the viewers in front, but not to Shehenshah who could make out the contour of his Begum's face, her long lashes and soft lips forming a deadly invitation.

"Shehanshah-?" The official in front of him enquired about the sudden shift in his as well as the new Begum's posture, which made Jalal break out of his trance.

" Adham" he called to Maham Anga's son, his brother, " call onto Kunwar Jaswant please, he should introduce himself to the courtsmen too"

Adham was a bit dim, but he too could understand that such an order was a farce. He looked at his mother, who walked over to Shehenshah's seat to understand what was going on.

" Shehanshah-" she almost gasped as she found Jyoti fast asleep on Shehanshah's arm, but shushed herself as the other courtsmen didn't seem to notice it. " Has she lost her damn mind!?" she whispered to Shehanshah.

" Bari Ammi let me handle it please" he coaxed Maham Anga with just signals as he couldn't quite break free from the monotonous discussions that the courtmen had started. " Adham, go"

" The new Begum seems to be quite timid I would say" one of the men in the mehfil stated.

" The journey had been tiring for her. She's also pretty shy so I don't think she'll remove her veil till she enters the haram" Maham Anga humored, as she too didn't want to anger the officials.

When Jodha Begum had entered the family, she had outright denied to show her face in the Mehfil, which was still better than the situation that has arised now. To fall asleep in a room full of men, without addressing them first was an insult that would be remembered as a fault in Shehenshah's hospitality. And Maham Anga couldn't let anyone mock her Jalal's reign.

Shehenshah shifted himself a bit, supporting Jyoti's head in order to make it seem that she was infact sitting upright. But soon, her shoulders seemed to slack and her posture worsened. Shehenshah knew that even with her head resting against his bicep, she would soon lose her balance and fall onto the couch.

He sighed again, and shifted his right hand on which Jyoti's head was resting, so that her head now rested on his shoulder. He scooted a bit towards her, letting her rest her body on his, so that she could stay upright till the end of the meeting. The position they were in was too close and informal for a meeting like this, but it didn't seem too out of the ordinary. Although showing that he was okay with the close proximity with his new wife could turn fatal, he was sure that none of the courtsmen currently present cared for such an act. But he would have to warn his Noor against such naviety soon.

" Sh-shehenshah~" a soft moan entered Shehenshah's ear, as he whipped his head towards Jyoti. The young woman squirmed slowly as her hands tried to embrace the man supporting her sleepy body.

As much as the Emperor would have loved to let her do that, as his own hands craved to encircle his sleeping wife's figure, he was rather scared of what might unfold if he let his thoughts win.

He held her hand that almost encircled his waist from the front and kept it back on her lap. Thankfully, Maham Anga had successfully garnered every courtsmen's attention with her talks and no one noticed the small slip up. But Shehenshah knew that he would need a bigger distraction, or better yet, have everyone empty out the tent.