Imperious

Chapter 14

And we frighten them but it increases only their great tyranny. (Quran 17:60).

Nafeesa woke to find herself tucked into a king-sized bed

She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to stabilise her hazy vision.

The walls of the bedroom were shaded in a dull orange applied with a matte effect. Two oak bedside drawers stood on either side of the bed, a small fabric sofa set was stationed opposite, a round coffee table in between. The furniture was minimal, sufficient for a guest room.

Nafeesa slipped the covers off herself and sat upright. An ache ran through her spine and then to her neck.

The room was all too familiar.

She had only slept in it weeks before. Her luggage had been covering the sofas, her toiletries on the coffee table.

She exhaled slowly, trying to numb the physical pain livening inside her.

The Jatois were her abductors, their Residence, her place of hostage.

Nafeesa then recalled a taxi, a sinister driver, an injection, a surge of labor like back pain. She had relentlessly struggled against the man rising out of the car boot, punching him, kicking him, whatever physical actions she knew. He had pressed a gun to her forehead and forced her to the ground. What happened after that, could not be determined. The bedroom was self-explanatory.

She looked around the bedroom again.

Sadia would be downstairs, laying the table for breakfast. And soon, Inaya would appear at the door, beckoning her aunt to come down and play. Kadar would have assembled a list of activities to do, and Summayah would begin her morning lectures to the servants.

Nafeesa rubbed her eyes.

Foolishness.

As far as she knew, places of hostage typically consisted of cobwebs, broken furniture, insects, derelict buildings, unshaded bulbs and the like. She had never been kidnapped and nor had anyone in the family. The Jatois bore no such enmity, moreover, who would dare to harm an individual related to Iqtidar? Arham's influence was also fast spreading. And the Jatoi women were held in high regard for their mannerisms and modesty. No one would dare to harass them, not in the village empire nor in neighbouring regions.

Nafeesa kicked aside the cover in disgust.

This was not a dream. The emotions, the images, the drama surrounding Sadia's death could not have been conjured by her imagination. It was far too powerful.

She had indeed been captured and then adequately placed in a bedroom. But she would not accept any of this meagre hospitality.

The door of the bedroom was directly opposite the bed. Nafeesa advanced towards it, her hands stretched out to pound the wood.

On the first knock, she discovered that her palms were numb. She could not seem to feel the pressure she was exerting on the door. Her throat was dry and even her screams sounded strangled.

Nafeesa placed her hand on her neck. Her insides were parched with thirst and her stomach was grumbling with a slight hunger. She must have been unconscious for a while now. Beyond the window, the world was dark, having blanketed itself from the light of day, lapsing calmly in the harmony of night.

She felt a similar darkness penetrating into her heart. She feared to think what would happen to her now that she was in the Residence.

The motive of her kidnapped was based on the ownership of Inaya. They would demand their child in exchange for the return of Nafeesa.