Aubade

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Zahir?" A tiny voice echoed in the hallway. Zahir rubbed his eyes, exhausted.

"Raya?" He pushed the covers off him, opening the door. The young girl looked up at him, eyebrows stitched together in a deep frown. He picked her up, walking to the kitchen.

"What's going on, Raya?" He murmured.

"Gio's talking again." Zahir sighed softly.

"It's just a bad dream, Raya. He's not in trouble." She pouts, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He rubbed her back, patting it gently.

"I can't sleep." He kissed the top of her head.

"I know." He fell silent for a brief moment.

"Do you want a snack?" Raya perked up, staring at him.

"Really?" Zahir nodded, smiling softly. His chest ached. He barely managed nightmares of his own.

He brought a bowl of old biscuits, pouring her a glass of milk, placing her at one of the worn-out chairs of their makeshift-dining table.

Her eyes brightened, as she carefully reached for a piece, gulping down the milk quickly.

"Why was the princess hurt, Zahir?" He closed his eyes.

"Raya-"
"I like the princess."
"I know."
"Why was she hurt?"
"Raya-" Raya looks down, continuing to eat. Zahir sighed again, guilt tugging at his heart.

"Some bad people were going after her, Raya. She's okay."
"Is she coming back here again? I wish I knew the princess." Zahir shook his head.

"She's a princess. She's not going to come visit us. She has to take care of the kingdom." Raya pouted.

"You should tell the queen that-"
"Raya, why don't you go wake up Gio? We can all have biscuits together." She nods, scurrying off immediately. He dropped his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes.

The queen had sent him letter after letter, asking him to meet with her guard, ambush the King's defense meetings, but he had yet to respond. He didn't want to step foot in the palace after seeing the princess. The lies the queen had spun him, allowing him to believe her innocence, that she was somehow better than the royals allowing their people to die. The scars on the princess's arm had shaken him, sparking the ugly memory of the scar across his own face. He squeezed his eyes shut, doing his best to shake the memory of it from his mind.

"Hey." Gio sat opposite him, but Raya was nowhere in sight.

"She fell asleep." Zahir nodded.

"I was talking again, wasn't I?" Zahir was silent, crossing his hands across his chest.
"Ah, shit," Gio muttered. The queen's letters laid in a pile on the side of the table.

"You respond to her, yet?" Zahir shook his head.

"No." Gio sighed..

"Are you going to?" He shook his head again.

"Her mother tried to kill her, Gio." His eyes snapped up to meet Zahir's.

"I can't work for a woman like that." Gio nodded.

"Have you told her?" Zahir fell silent.

"If I tell her, we will lose Raya." Gio grew quiet.

"We can't lose Raya."

"The queen is a selfish, manipulative woman." Zahir spoke in a low tone.

"She will not rest until her own daughter is dead. We cannot lose Raya."