Till Life Bring Us Together... {COMPLETED}

Chapter 8

"Look at me..." His voice whispered.

"I love the colour of your eyes.."

"They're black-" She said dejected.

"No...They're the deepest shade of brown I've ever seen, but you can only see,  if you see them from close enough."

My heart beats rose to an alarming rate after hearing those words.

And with that I woke up too. I placed a hand over my heart which was still beating wildly. I tried to recall the dream again but all I could see in his place was a blurry figurine. Why was I dreaming about him? I hated him.

  In my sights, he was a coward and he will always be. Why did he marry me if he had no intentions in loving me? I walked to my window and took in the moon.

A light breeze blew in. I closed my eyes and felt it. My heart still ached. From his rejection. I don't know how I even began caring for. But that's how you fall in love, they say.

My love was pure and unadulterated. And he wouldn't accept it. Why? Because he was heartless. A stray tear rolled down my cheeks.

"Ruh?" Ila walked and stood beside me.

"Ruh, are you still upset? I don't know what to tell you but after a while you'll feel better. Most marriages are like this."

"How are they Ila? Why do women have to be stuck in loveless marriages? Why did he bring me here with promises of love and affection when he knew he won't fulfil them? Maybe, he wanted to punish me. He thought I'd fall for him stupidly and he would break my heart with vain promises..." My voice cracked.

"Most marriages are based in political alliances... we can do nothing about it, Ruh... he did say you can divorce him..."

"And then what? Live in shame? Bring shame to my family? You know how people will talk if I divorce him after just a month of marriage. I have no choice rather than to stay here. I'm stuck here. I hate him for this. You know, Ila? The night before our wedding, he said he'd keep me prisoner here, in his harem. And he was true to his words."

I broke down again. My future seemed dark like this night. I wailed till I was tired and then slept.

***

Next morning, I decided that I won't neglect my Chief Wife duties. I looked at my reflection and determined that I won't shed a tear for him. With that determination, I walked out my chambers and told one of the maids to give me a tour of the harem. 

The Harem was a hexagon shaped wing of The Palace. And every room inside the harem was hexagon shaped too. The whole harem was like a bee hive in a way. The paths were confusing as they twisted and turned. The Harem itself was divided into four wings, North, South, East and West and in between the main assembly hall.

The East Wing consisted of a huge flower garden with various flowers and bushes planted. It also had rabbits and deers and pigeons which were looked after by the servants. Marble square slabs were placed for the ladies to chat and sit around playing games. The gardens were called, Sabah Zahra. Meaning morning flower, which also indicated that the east wing was mostly used in the morning or daytime. 

The west wing was the opposite if the east one. It was named Daw'alaqamar Kibla. Meaning Moonlight Kiss. The whole courtyard was furnished with marble and grass. They said if you visited it at night, you can see Fireflies buzzing around. Also there were long marble pillars, on the top of them were hollows where a fire was burnt to cast light to the whole courtyard. From all the wings, the west wing was the smallest. It was just the size of my chamber. But entry was only allowed to the emperor and his queens.