Sa'eed - The Warrior

Victory

"So, you are Saeed!" Malika Mariam hugged me. I was in the harem on the insistence of Shehenshah. He was adamant that I shouldn't return back to my home and had sent me here to eat and rest. I was escorted to my newly allotted chamber. It was a beautiful room. Something I had never imagined one day would be mine. The soft pillows looked welcoming. When I was feeling so tired, I wondered how tired Shehenshah might be. He hadn't slept well for days. How I wished I was by his side sharing his burden. The circumstances had been so cruel that they had brutally kept me away from my own husband! We couldn't be seen together until an official announcement of the marriage had been made. And Allah knows when that will happen! If we didn't come together soon I would go mad I was sure. How Shehenshah was surviving this separation was beyond me.

Malika Mariam looked at me while I gazed around the room. "Take off the veil child and make yourself at home".

I was so used to staying behind it that I hadn't realized I was still wearing it. I immediately removed it and took in a long breath of relief. I felt Malika Mariam's scrutinizing gaze. The look on her face told me she liked what she saw. She smiled at me. "Sit down Saeed, I would like to talk to you".

I took my place on the couch beside her. "I know you are tired and need rest but this is important". I just nodded indicating for her to continue.

"I can't thank you enough that you trained my son into becoming what he is today. He was a good lad and just needed directions which you happily gave. Your charm has worked on him like magic. He is more sensible now and less ferocious. In the process you won his heart as well. A feat even the most beautiful of women had failed to accomplish. Its commendable how he married you even without looking at you. You are the only woman who can not only face his anger but douse it as well. The words he uses to describe you express the extent of love and respect he feels towards you. Do you Saeed, love him back the same way he does?"

This was just a mother's protective instinct. She was checking to see if I could give up myself for Shehenshah like how he had done for me. Little did she know how hopelessly lost I was where he was concerned. I could sacrifice my last drop of blood for him. "Malika Mariam, I am not good at expressing my emotions and neither can my love for him be described in words. What do you think helped me through Maa's demise? What do you think gave me the strength to move ahead after that? What do you think made me come up with a strategy for the war? It was my love for him! If I am here today strong enough, even after having gone through life's hardest tests it's only because I know he is there for me. And honestly his lone existence is enough for me to survive".

"I am pleased to hear that. Your bravery in the war has already proved the lengths to which you can go for your kingdom. Still I would like to ask you, are you ready to take the responsibilities of a Malika?"

"Alhamdulillah I am"

"You should be big hearted enough to see your husband with other wives should the need arise. Are you up to this?"

I immediately saw red. My heart squeezed and every inch of my body screamed "NO!". I couldn't even imagine him with somebody else how could I see him with somebody else? It was impossible! My silence answered her question.

"I understand how difficult it is for I have been through the same. But I had to agree to my husband taking Malika Humera and Malika Firdous as his wives for the benefit of the kingdom. Such situations may arise in the future as well. It is better you prepare yourself to face them".

Again I do not reply. I simply couldn't agree no matter how reasonable it sounded. And I doubted if time could change my possessiveness. I added this to the list of things I needed to talk to Shehenshah about. That list seemed to be increasing while my time with him seemed to be decreasing.