Serenity

Fall

The Zadraan khail settlement was situated on a cliff, great mountains surrounded it. Zalmai stood with the other men on a neighbouring mountain, he was faced with the imposing structure of the place he called home, as if it was a part of the stone. For Zalmai the cavernous building was peace and contentment, safety. For the enraged girl it was a prison she would never accept as her home. He was unaware of the conversation of the men, something had caught his attention.

A lone figure, a woman skipped across the open rooftop. Her crimson shawl and skirts billowing around her. The wind tossed and played with her silken hair. It seemed he was not the only one who had noticed. The dark skinned man leered at her, his dark intentions swimming in his lecherous eyes. Fury coursed through his veins, Zalmai had never felt such a strong emotion, it threatened to consume him, blurred his vision. He wanted to slaughter the filthy man

'I wonder who that pretty thing might be'

'I wonder how you are still alive when I want nothing more than to kill you'

He laughed 'Now Zalmai do not become aggressive, she is free to take-'

His sentence remained incomplete as the giant slammed an elbow into his face. The sickening crunching of bone did not stop him, his fingers wrapped around the man's scrawny throat

'If I see you casting so much as a glance at my woman I will end your life'

The man wiped at his face but did not dare look at the girl again no matter how much his sick heart wanted to

'I will destroy you Zalmai. I will take your honor and your woman'

The giant laughed, the sound of it shook the mountains. A petty Mongolian threatening him.

'Sardaar, we do not have any familiarity between us for you to address me by my name you despicable creature. As for our women you do not have the strength neither the worth to bear them'

No one had the strength to control that enraged girl, she was a fire that threatened to burn and destroy. Fires no matter how small were dangerous.

Zalmai was simple he did not yet know the damage revenge could do.

                           *******

She stood precariously close to the edge as she squinted at the sky

'Eleven bird..tweleve bird..thirteen bird...and oh an eagle!'

He marched up to her and dragged her away from the edge. She screamed, the high pitched sound tearing at his ears

'How dare you! You made me lose count!'
She made it seem as though he had committed the worst of crimes

'Sakina you need to go inside'

She folded her arms and stomped her feet 'I won't!'

'Now is not the time to be a child'

'Now is not the time to be my father'

'Sakina'

'Zalmai'

His temper had already lifted because of the disgusting man, her stubbornness only infuriated him further. He reached forward and gripped her shoulders, shaking her sightly
'When I speak to you I expect you to listen'

'When I ignore you I expect you to shut up'

His patience snapped, he leaned down and lifted the ridiculously stubborn girl by the waist, her feet no longer touched the ground. His strides were angry and uncontrolled, she squirmed, screamed insults, kicked and pinched and screamed some more. He didn't stop until he had reached the stairs, so focused was he on his footing, his grip loosened and he dropped her. His heart lurched, his lungs refusing to breathe. He reached to stop her but she had already stumbled down the flight of stairs. Her body lay still and unmoving at the bottom...