Fortune Favors the Cursed
the-reticent-seer
diverselit
diverselit
1.3K5
An orphan girl with questionable morals. A scarred prince with two lives. One relic to change their world.
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Badriya As-Sahra is sick of piling up camel dung and ...Chapter 27
The prince was gone.
Well, not entirely. Badriya didn't notice it for a few days, but as a whole week passed, she was starting to feel anxious about his absence in the majority of the celebrations. She did see him briefly with the Sultana the other day, but before that, it was as if he disappeared.
Not that she missed him—far from it. The fact that he might've been busy trying to remember his memories of her during their search for the Jewel worried her nerves.
He was around the palace, only he was walking around like a shadow. The servants tending to him and his chambers told Badriya that much, and some of the guards posted around the palace testified that they'd see him wander through the halls. She knew she was making herself suspicious by inquiring about his whereabouts, but her anxiety overpowered her dignity. She couldn't stand not knowing what he was doing.
The sun just emerged from the horizon. The palace had had its doors open every day since the start of the celebrations, but right now partygoers were sparse. Those she passed by waved at her. Badriya greeted them back with a nod.
The last time Badriya had this much peace and quiet was when she was still living in a backwater province. Even though she hated acting like a different person in the celebrations she was handling, she liked the contagious joy that came with it. It helped that it distracted her from thinking about. . . well, everything else.
Badriya eventually wandered into the palace gardens, which were in the western part of the palace. Unlike the wide, empty courtyard she visited a few times, the gardens were filled with green as much as the sky was painted with blue. The whole thing looked surreal—trees, shrubs, flowers she didn't recognize stood boastful as if they always belonged there. An oasis hidden behind walls in the middle of the desert.
She could only sigh in delight. One of these days, she would have a home covered with this much plant life. And she would make sure that the desert would never touch it to death.
As Badriya weaved through the lush greenery, she saw two men not far from her. She quietly slipped behind a tree, one that was thicker than a palm tree, before she could think of making a sound.
Ayaz. What was he doing—No. Who was he talking to?
The man in question had the same build and height as Ayaz, so much so that they might even pass off as brothers. The only thing stopping him was his tan skin and striking ocean-green eyes, both of which were reminiscent of a man hailing from the Eastern Isles.
He was one of the few Naayiki Badriya ever saw during her time in the palace. After all, Naayik was a whole land separated by the Sea of Severance, and traversing by sea was a long and deadly affair—or so Badriya had heard. What kind of business would he be doing with the prince?
Ayaz and the man held arms in greeting. As soon as both let go, the latter patted Ayaz's back, smiling widely at him.
"I came as soon as I can." He gestured at his clothes, a blue kaftan lined with silver thread. "It took me a while to look for these. I should probably bring them along with me next time."
Ayaz chuckled. "You shouldn't have bothered. You know I always have other clothes to spare for you, Idris."
Idris. So that's his name, Badriya thought. And from the looks of it, they're close. Friends, perhaps.
"Of course you do, amiri," Idris said. "But that would be unkind of me to borrow from Your Highness's wardrobe."
"Always the flatterer."
They chatted for a bit. Small talk, which Badriya didn't bother listening to for the most part. It took a while for her to perk up at the mention of something oddly familiar.