The King's Wrath

Chapter 3: Realization

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Aamira sat on the bed with knees to her chest and eyes glued to the door. The nikkah ceremony had been short and solemn; there was no feast. She was immediately brought back to her suite where she was served dinner.

Her hunger had long died, forgetting to touch the tray of food or even take one sip of water. She was anxious to meet the monster in private; she had many questions.

The thought of having to consummate her marriage with the monster made her stomach churn. She had always known to save herself for her husband, hoping it would be someone she truly loved someday, but unfortunately that wasn't possible anymore.

She married the King by the laws of the holy book, conducted by the royal imam and in front of many witnesses, yet she wasn't sure whether the marriage was valid since she was in disguise as Princess Liaba and not herself. It felt wrong and part of her felt disgusted with herself, but she had to do whatever it took end this vicious cycle.

She grew tired of waiting and got up to pace the large room waiting impatiently, eventually tiring herself out and went back to bed. She rested her head on her knees and rested her eyes for a split second.

A loud roar made Aamira jolt up in her bed. She blinked a couple of times adjusting her eyes to the darkness. Rays of sunlight filled the room through the creaks of thick velvet curtains. Suddenly, she realized the king had not visited her all night.

Her thoughts were interrupted by another loud roar and clanking of metal, which made her jump. The sound was coming from outside the palace; she quickly got out of bed and ran towards the terrace. She pushed aside the curtains and pulled open the heavy glass doors. The white marble floor burned her feet as the sun glistened brightly above her. She stopped before the golden railing looking down below at the garden searching the premises for the sounds. She heard clanking of metals once more echoing around her; She looked to her right to see two shirtless men in loose black trousers sword fighting without their shields.

She squinted and realized one of them was Shabir, while the leaner man had his back to her. On the fresh grass, by them sat two large beasts, a lion, and a lioness. The golden lioness yawned revealing her sharp teeth that could shred a man to pieces making Aamira shudder. The men continued to focus on their training without a care. "Oh my goodness..." Aamira shrieked.

She watched the men intently all while keeping an eye on the majestic cats. The lion shook his shaggy mane and licked his giant paw lazily. Shabir's blade hissed through the air as the other man jumped back. Shabir marched for another attack, the metals clanked. The other man's bare bronze skin glistened under the sun soaking in sweat. He took a couple steps back and arched his back muscles. As Shabir charged for another strike, the other man tightened both his hands around his sword as he raised it above his head and slammed it against Shabir's blade. Shabir lost grip of his sword making it fall to the ground sending him staggering backward.

Both the lions roared in a union as if cheering the unknown man. The winner pointed his sword at Shabir's neck. Shabir wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and then put his arms up in defeat.

The other man was a brilliant swordsman; there was no doubt about it, it impressed Aamira. She wondered why he wasn't the captain of the kingsguard instead. Though Shabir was bulkier and looked intimidating he was clearly no match to his opponent.

Suddenly, Aamira realized there was another lion that thundered towards the man from behind as if a hunter to its prey. Aamira panicked. "Watch out!" She shouted trying to warn the man, her voice echoed among the entire garden. A pigeon that had rested along the railing fluttered away.