Zainab bint Farouq
Thirteen years ago, a girl with fire in her eyes and love in her heart escaped the clutches of war.
Thirteen years later, she brings war.
***
Asad ibn Malik
It takes him ten years to learn of the Great Betrayal. Ten years of bl...
For one does not understand the treasure he holds till he holds it no longer.
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Asad raced through the woods, his conscious thoughts and present concern for the girl with sunlight in her eyes and honey on her tongue interspersed with shards of memories from their time on the run.
Did the slavers recapture her?
'Hey'
He looked up, his eyes finding the stars in hers and he found himself fighting a small twitch of his lips before finally relenting, hoping the blanket of diamond pricked darkness would cloak the curve of his lips and the dimple in his cheek. He moved to the side allowing her to settle down an arms length away from him on the low ledge.
The night was quiet filled with the sound of rushing water disappearing into a small lake nearby, punctuated by the chirping of crickets. Abu Dharr slept soundly against the trunk of a tree a little away from them and Faris had attempted to be inconspicuous as he followed Sahar for a walk nearby.
They had heard nothing from the slavers and their main concern at the moment was to escape the unending vastness of the woods.
'Do you know how to climb a tree?' She asked and her voice pulled his eyes to hers.
'I do' he replied.
'When did you learn?'
'When I was four'
'Do you still remember how to?' She asked a teasing lilt to her words.
Asad's brow rose in amusement.
'Do you doubt it?'
'Perhaps' she said, laughter threading through her words. She stuck her tongue out at him and Asad couldn't stop the laugh from escaping him.
'Do you know how to climb a tree?' He asked.
'Better than you perhaps'
Asad turned around, fully facing her now, 'Is that a challenge sayidati?'
She shrugged, a delicate lift of her slender shoulders and Asad rose to his feet and she followed.
'That tree, whoever reaches the top first' he said pointing at a tree behind them, certain she'd laugh off the challenge.
'Sure' she said before she raced to the tree.
And the commander of Abbasa found himself climbing trees as though he were a monkey.
She'd been surprisingly good, almost beating him.
Till she saw what she thought was a lizard and she fell halfway down while Asad's heart raced up into his throat.
