The Crown in the Storm ✔️

We're all mad here

The smell of wood smoke wafted through the air. I coughed, trying to get up. My body was slow to respond to my demands. My eyes fluttered open and I conducted a quick check of my body. It seemed to be stiff but unharmed. My hands were bound behind my back and my feet were in chains. The cold metal glinted in the firelight. There was a single bed placed in the corner of the room, with a desk and a chair. I was chained to the floor. The dark interior of the place made it difficult to see. The fireplace cackled in the middle of the room but there was no electronic source of light. The windows were boarded so I had no idea of the time. There seemed to be only one way out and that was probably locked.

Taking short and deep breaths, I started to piece together the puzzle. Someone had brought me here. I remembered the panic. I remembered walking down the hall to Ammi Jaan's room.

Uncle Azhar. My heart pinged from the pain. Ammi Jaan would be devastated. And Zaroon... poor Zaroon. I was sure he had no idea about this. How could he? After all these years. Frustration made the tears flow out faster. How would I get out of this mess?

Trying to get the blood circulation moving, I wiggled my arms around. The cold and numbness started to recede as I started to think about possible ways to escape. How long had it been? Was my family worried? Were they searching for me? Of course, they were. Would this jeopardize the election? Probably not, unfortunately for him, Uncle Azhar had made our case stronger.

I was a hundred percent sure, he was the mole. He was the one who was leading and running the New Revolutionaires in Akbarabad. He was probably behind the whole shipping union mess too. After all those years... it turned out to be our closest advisor.

Crunching noises from outside had me sitting upright. I loosened my posture to look like I was weak. A key turned in the lock and a heavy object fell to the ground. I waited with bated breath. Uncle Azhar burst into the room.

"Oh good, you're up"

"No thanks to you" I replied. Lower the snark Elena, he's your captor. "Why are you doing this? Haven't we been kind to you?" He barked out a laugh.

"That's all it is for you isn't it? Make sure we're all indebted? Just because we work for you?" I blinked, shocked.

"No. That's not true and you know that"

"I know you're not as bad as the rest of them. Trust me I do not take any pleasure in doing this. He told me not to do this" I waited but he did not elaborate.

"What will you do with me?" He looked at me, his eyes haunted. A chill raced up my spine. He slumped down on the chair.

"I'll have to kill you. The revolution can not suffer" My hands shook as I tried to calm myself down.

"You can not. We can talk about this. My death would only further my cause, you know that. That doesn't help you..."

"He told me to hurt the Khanum. I could not hurt the eldest, so I came for the youngest"

"Who did?" I watched as his eyes became unfocused.

"He did. Jamal did. He said that we'd have more traction. That we'd be able to break you. But you! Ha, you turned out to be ready" Tears pricked my eyes. "Your father prepared you well. I thought I could break you. If I could break you, you would leave, just like before. No one else would have to die and I could live with my guilt" He growled out.

"But why? What did we do? You were happy with us, weren't you? You were a part of the family! Your son..." his eyes flashed.

"Don't mention him. Your kind took him away from me. I told him to leave. I asked him to leave. He wouldn't listen to me. All he could think of was you. All he could think about was his guilt. I got him into the New Revolutionaries all those years ago, the boy could not survive." he walked over to me and pulled out a knife. I shrank back, terrified of his expression. "Trust me, this will hurt me more, my son might never forgive me, but there is a bigger cause at stake here"

"Whatever it is, you and I are on the same page. We want the country to be better. We want it to be a better place for all..." He laughed maniacally, his hands shaking. I took advantage of the chatter to look for anything that I could use as a weapon.

"You think I care about all of that? That's one way to look at it. You're a smart girl. You found out the pulse and decided to use it. The people believe you. They trust you... but I don't. I know what you lot do. You lie through your teeth and use whatever you can get to save your skin. I have seen it for the past twenty years. I've seen it up and down the country"

"I don't..."

"Don't you dare try to justify the inequality and injustice in this country. I lost my wife... I lost my wife to those animals. They were never convicted. No one came for them. My son lost his mother at such a young age. He watched her die. I watched her suffer. I suffered with her. No one did anything. No one rallied for justice. Where is my justice?" his eyes were pained. The hurt was unbelievable.

"I'm sorry" I choked out.

"Zaroon will be fine. Might even join me. He'll feel the same pain that I did. I saw the way he looked at you. I saw it when he was a child. That's why I never brought him to the castle. I could not have him forming attachments with a spoiled child. No, my boy had goals. He achieved everything on his own merit. My beautiful strong boy. He'll survive. He doesn't deserve someone like you..."

"None of this is my fault" I whispered, pressed against the wall.

"It wasn't her fault that she was raped and killed" he screamed. I closed my eyes, frightened.

"Two wrongs don't make a right" Ammi Jaan's face flashed in front of my eyes. She was going to be devastated. Rania, Izzy... Uncle EJ. My chest heaved as I tried to control my emotions.

"No, but they do redirect. Think about all the people who'll turn against the new revolutionaries because of you. Chaos will ensue. Jamal will have no choice but to demand that Feroze take Gulzar Mahal"

Rania would have to save herself. I had no heir. My legacy, the legacy of my forefathers, everything would be destroyed.

"Please, we can still fix this."

"You can't. They would never find me. And now they won't find you" he placed the knife against my throat. The cold metal scorched my skin. "Say your goodbye Begum Sahiba, this is how it ends"

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