The Crown in the Storm ✔️

Old Flames Die Hard

"It's ringing" I mouthed to Rania. She nodded, her hands moving to fix her hair. I chewed at my bottom lip. This was nerve-racking.
"Hello?" My throat closed up. His voice had not changed for the last five years. The same low, deep voice. I panicked and handed the phone to Rania.

"Hi, this is Rania from Gulzar Mahal. Is this Feroze?" He replied, causing Rania to bite her lip and roll her eyes. "Well... Elena would like to speak to you" she handed the phone back to me. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. This was just another business call. Calm down, Elena.

"Hi Feroze, this is Elena"
"Elena, hi. Long-time" the intended meaning of those words made me want to punch a wall. Or him. The anger cleared my mind and made my voice steady.
"Yes. Congratulations on your campaign. It seems to be doing quite well"
"Yes it is..." he sounded proud. I could imagine the slight smirk on his face as he said this.

"How have you been? You've been out of the scene for a while now" the lazy drawl was getting on my nerves.
"Oh, you know me" I cursed myself, as soon as the words left my mouth. I was not going to indulge in familiarity. It was always too
easy with him. " Anyways, there has been a development"
"What do you mean? What kind of development?" His voice was sharper now. Focused.
"The kind that could affect your victory margin. Could even overturn it"  this was what I was comfortable with. This I could do.
"And why is Gulzar Mahal concerned about what happens?" Damn it.
"Because it's not about Gulzar Mahal... it's about Gulzar's family"

"He said what?" Uncle EJ asked, his mouth open in surprise. Ammi Jaan rolled her eyes.
"He agreed..." Uncle EJ looked aghast. "How are we coming along with the tracking?"
"No major updates. The DNA results came back. Confirmed what we already knew"
"We still haven't found the assassins" Rania muttered from beside me. I glared at Uncle Azhar.
"I'm sorry Begum Sahiba but the police have found no new leads. It's a dead-end" I clenched my jaw together and sat back.
"It's fine Elena... the important thing is we're safe..."
"For now Ammi Jaan. We're safe for now. Everything is at a safe spot. The thing with the revolutionaries, this thing with Feroze, we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop tomorrow"
"What's tomorrow?" Uncle Azhar asked sharply. Oh, he had no idea that we had met with the new revolutionaries. I had forgotten he was in the room. His color had heightened and I looked at him curiously. 
"Nothing... just Feroze," I said before anyone else could say something. He relaxed and nodded.
That was odd. I stared at him as he reshuffled his papers. He seemed to be in good health. Had he ever taken a holiday? I had always seen him by my parents' side. They had relied on him more than they had relied on themselves. Even his son had complained about it.

Everyone started to use their phones so I got up and walked out of the main library. I still had to go over the budget details and the events that were taking place tomorrow.
"Hey" I turned to see Zaroon standing near the archway. I smiled.
"Hi"
"How are you holding up?" He asked coming to stand beside me.
"I've been better I guess," I said moving to walk into the garden.
"Did you talk to Ferozeuddin?" I nodded, conscious of the turn the conversation was taking. "And?"
"He's onboard"
"Just like that?" I shrugged.
"People tend to do crazy things when their domain is threatened"
"You seem pretty relaxed"
"There's nothing more that I can do..."
"You can always do more..."

I turned to look at him. He met my eyes, his open and wide with hope.
"You're not like the previous occupants of Gulzar Mahal"
"Yes, thank you for insulting my ancestors," I said with a slight frown. He faltered and shook his head.
"That's not what I meant. The times have changed. You don't believe in the archaic value system. You believe in a democracy, you believe in letting people discover and achieve their full potential"
"Where are you going with this?"
"You can usher in a new era. You've already broken the silence... why not shatter the ceiling?"
"So why don't I do what I'm already doing?"
"On a larger scale... for example the Royal Family?" I choked on a laugh.
"Have you been talking to my mother?" He looked at me confused. "She uses them as an example"
"She might be right you know"
"Aren't you a military man?"
"I'm also someone who grew up outside these walls" I shut up at that.
"You think us being more involved... showing our face, will help?"
"An admission might help calm things down"
"An admission of what exactly? Of guilt? We haven't done anything wrong"
"No?" I glared at him. He was only half right. The reality wasn't black and white. "Look right or wrong, you have to admit that I have a point"
"I don't have to anything..." I said crossing my arms. He rubbed the back of his head and let out a frustrated breath.
"Look, being in front of the people, would actually help you" 
"I know that"
"Also, it might destroy their narrative of 'they live in a high tower' so..." I gave him an even look. He chuckled. "Oh and I was supposed to tell you to get ready for your party tonight"