Sa'eed - The Warrior

Planning at night 1

I stop in the cupboard and listen to make sure the Shehzada is alone before I make an appearance. The journey underground wasn't a pleasant one. I open the false back and enter the original cupboard which had been cleaned. In the place of all the brooms it had when I last visited there where princely suits. So, the Shehzada had already settled down in this room like how his brother had told me. I dust off the dirt and knock the cupboard from within and give the Shehzada enough time to prepare himself to meet me. I find him sitting on the bed.

"Assalamualaikum warahmathullahi wabarakatuh, Saeed", he greets me.

"Walaikumassalam warahmathullahi wabarakatuh, Shehzada", I reply.

"So this is how you enter the palace! Now I know why you asked me not to move the cupboard. Where does this underground passage open?" He moves to the open cupboard and I pull the latch that reveals the false back.

"It used to open 2 km outside the palace grounds, but now that entrance is caved in. We excavated a new entrance deep in the forest and merged it with what was left of the original passage", I explain.

"Clever", he mused. "But you said 'we' excavated, who are all included in 'we'?

"We includes me and my trainer". He looks at me amazed. "How many people out there are exactly involved in this plan?", he asks.

"Just me and my trainer know every detail, we do take help from random people in between but they either know nothing or very little of the plan".

"Who is your trainer Saeed?"

"I think you had better eat first, I'll answer your questions once you are done". I place the packed food in front of him. He opens it and stares at the naan and daal. "This is not what I eat!", he says exasperated. "This is what you are going to eat till the palace food is deemed safe", I say.

He punches a pillow on the bed. "I am a damned prince", he mutters still punching. His face getting redder by the minute, his anger building. "Where do I get to stay? In a servants room! What do I get to eat? Naan and daal! Who wants me to take over the throne? No one! No one!" He shouts the last sentence and sends a tumbler of water flying across the room. Ok, so this is what the palace inhabitants call Shehzada's anger tantrums. I stand there as cool as cucumber surveying the damage he had done with folded hands.

"What do you think? I have a Shahi kitchen back home where I can prepare Mughlai Kebabs for you? You are going to eat what I eat. Be thankful for the bread on your plate for almost all houses in Gharib Kothri go to bed empty stomach". I am back in my strict teacher mode. I motion for him to sit on the chair and place the food and water on the table and command, "Eat!".

He sits down reluctantly like a stubborn child and starts eating. Meanwhile I have a good look around the room. Shehzada had cleared everything except for the cupboard. A new bed had been put up, no where as luxurious as the one he had in his royal chambers. A small round table, a hard chair and a trunk were placed in the corner. The floor was covered in a thick rogue. It was adequately lighted. Though the room was moderately furnished there was no splendor and grandeur in its looks. It was comfortable and served it's purpose well which was more than enough. Life away from easy comfort will do the Shehzada a lot of good.

I spin around and find myself facing the tapestry with Quranic verses that I had seen in the Shehzada's royal chamber on my first visit. It sparked my interest again. "Where did you get this?", I ask pointing to the tapestry. "It was among the stuff that was being cleared from the palace. I found the servants carrying it away for disposal. It gave me a sense of peace when I read it and I felt drawn to it so I had the servants hang it in my chambers. When I shifted here this morning this is one of the few things I carried here with me". His tone is off, he is still upset.