Omar watched Aazim lift the sword high up with fury in his eyes and he saw the blade come down and rolled away just in time, but the blade didn't reach down, instead what he heard was Aazim scream out loud in pain, Omar looked up at Aazim who was holding on to his bleeding hand, a small knife had stopped his strike and had sliced through his fingers but didn't severe it. Omar looked back at Mariam who was still on the floor holding Parvina in her arms and looking at Aazim with a triumphant look in her eyes and a wide smile across her face, she was the one who had thrown the knife and with a perfect timing and good aim too. Aazim hollered in pain and the sword fell from his hands, he held on to his bleeding hand, wrapping it with the cloth he wore and looked up to Mariam, giving her a death stare. Omar smirked, the girl surely did know how to anger someone and find trouble."You! You insolent little brat!" Aazim growled. "You will most definitely pay for this!"Mariam picked up

Omar sat on the edge of a table situated by the wall, close to the window which had no burglary and stared out into the morning with his right hand placed on the window still, his left hand which was injured was held up in a sling that went over his right shoulder. His left palm was placed over the injury on his abdomen where he had been shot and around it was a bandage. He absent mindedly ran his thumb over the spot as he looked down at the workers busy downstairs.From his position one storey up, he could see the courtyard down below, the canopy which had been placed over it as a decoration for the wedding that did not happen last night had long been removed and the bodies cleared away, all that was left in the courtyard was just the bloody mess which was being cleaned up by servants. Omar tried to imagine it not being so much different from washing off the blood in an abattoir but he knew it had been human beings that were killed last night and not animals, assassins or not, t

Saadiya walked towards the room which Omar had told her that Mariam and the King would be in, she paused at the door a while and knocked before pushing the door open and stepped in. Mariam was seated by her father's feet with her head placed on his knee and her eyes closed and enjoying the motion of his hands on her hair and he patted and stroked her to calmness, she must had been crying, Saadiya thought."As salaam alaikum your highness." Saadiya greeted in a bow and both the King and Mariam turned to her."Alaikum assalaam Saadiya, come inside." The King ushered her in.Mariam, on seeing her dear friend, sprang up from her father's feet and rushed into the arms of Saadiya, her tears flowing afresh and she sobbed into her chest."Saadiya..." She cried. "Where did you go? You shouldn't have left me too.""I had to... Mariam, I had... Parvina." Mariam looked up to her eyes as soon as she had mentioned Parvina. "I had to take her body home.""She's really gone?" Mari

Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban reclined on the sofa in the spacious living room with his feet propped up on a low stool, his head leaned back against the head rest, his hands crossed over his abdomen, his breathing calm and even and his eyes were closed but he was well awake and well aware of what went on aroung him, his ears picking up every sound of movement around him. It had been almost a month since the failed attack on the palace and on the King's life and each time he he remembered it, he became bitter. For seven years they had gathered, for seven years they had met and for seven years they had planned and all their sacrifices for Prince Aazim had now been all in vain, their efforts had crumbled down hard and Khalid couldn't exactly place the blame on any one. Since the death of Aazim which Khalid knew had been his son's doing, the rest of the members had not met as every man feared for his life and Prince Aazim's palace in Riyadh had been abandoned and forgotten. Khalid st