Page 28

It all happened so fast after that. But instead of attempting to attack him, they lunged forward and aimed their swords at the invaders.

Oman observed the men; they had their faces covered with a Black cloth and seemed wild. As If they don't belong to any principality.

"I guess it's your lucky day, commander," one of them said the next moment as the soldiers laid there.

Dead.

"Who are you?" he asks after a brief period of recognition. The deep voice of Oman rumbled. They said nothing but knelt in front of Oman, showing a gesture of honour.

Tara had seen people falling to their knees and bowing down in front of Oman, speaking prayers and good wishes before. However, looking at those deadly men falling to knees was a different site.

It showed that his dominating aura and prestigious personality can make anyone bend down before him.

Oman's features drew taut with tension as a man with dark skin and equally tall as Oman spoke with harsh features.

"I am Rasid and we are followers of Kasim."

"You mean Kasim of A'rihat?" A proud glint showed on their faces.

Oman then realised who they were. They were men of the infamous bandit aka 'kasim of A'rihat'. They belong to the Wandering Clan and the Demonstrators. They claimed to be Khorasan warriors. Among them, a man's standing and reputation are judged by the number of men he has killed and mutilated.

Each kill entitled the warrior to wear a distinctive ornament, such as an ostrich feather or comb, in his turban or bracelet. It was possible to tell at a glance how many men anyone had killed.

Sultan was known to take wives by force the same way he took the throne by force.He has controlled his country by imposing heavy taxes on the people.

At such times, kasim the bandit had risen up in rebellion against the sultan, he laid great ideas of equality, of prosperity and wealth for poor people.

A wife range of citizens supported him and decided to strike down those above them. But after so much effort kasim was still not able to reach at the gates of khorasan and was stuck into the abandoned lands of desert. Over the decade, he has seized an important trade route.

In past, Oman had encountered his men frequently. But the question was what they wanted from him.

His eyes remained narrow with suspicion. "Why did you help me?"

"Our chief summoned you. As soon as he found out that you entered his territory, he wanted to meet you and here we found you struggling" Rasid explained.

"How did you all know I was here?"

"Rumours and news travel faster than the wind itself" undoubtedly, he was bad news himself.

"And whole khorasan knows what you have done. Not to mention, shahbaz's men are looking for you everywhere. If someone finds you alive, he will receive five thousand gold coins in exchange"

Eyes into eyes, Oman angled his head.

"If I don't go with you?"

"Well, you see. You don't have any choice. Ex-commander" his tone was sarcastic.

His treacherous eyes wandered toward tara who was peeking over the rock.

"She is your wife, right?"

Oman being a possessive man, gave a death glare to him.

"Go and tell your chief I am not interested in meeting him" Rasid gritted his teeth.

"Bad decision, because he could help you in many ways. He is the only one who can free you from Shahbaz, and in exchange you must do a favour." He said while expanding his arms around and showing him dead bodies of assassins.

Oman chucked darkly. "A favour huh"

He had an idea what kasim wanted from. Being a rebellious man, he wanted to attack sultan, perhaps he needed Oman for that.

"I already had told you I am not interested" Oman said and took his steps back.

They escorted further with speed and Tara was rocking on top of a camel, her head covered with a long piece of cloth, tugged to the chest of Oman by his strong arms.

Night was gone and day came but they never stopped in between.

A caravan was spotted emerging from the shimmering heat in the distance.

It was as if they had found a treasure. Leaving tara near a palm tree.

Oman went closer to them. The men were humble and happily offered a water bladder and some bread.

Finally, with the setting sun and the cool breezes of evening blowing through the palms, they stopped near an oasis.

They both had set there tent little far away from oasis in case Caravan stops there and He didn't want to catch attention.

The night begins to fall upon the warm desert plain. She walked to the opening of the tent, lifting the flap to gaze out across the sandy plains.

And in the distance, she sees the faint glow of the bonfire.

She could see Oman roasting wild black tail jackrabbit on bonfire. He always took care of her hunger. She wasn't only bones now. New curves had emerged on her body and looked unique in a good sense. Unique because she never knew she could look this beautiful.

She approached him in a weird nervousness. Even though they were close, there was an unseen distance between them.

Sitting at a distance from him, she continued to watch him furtively through her side eye. As soon as he turned his head toward her, she quickly drew her feet and locked her arms around her knees, burying her head to avoid his penetrating stare.

Under her eyelashes, she observed him placing the grilled meat on an iron sheet. Above the Slice of meat, a thick smock could be seen erupting.

Her mouth watered seeing this and her stomach growled. Color rushed to her cheeks. It was an act of embarrassment.

"It's ready" Oman said and chuckled.

Her heart hammered with anticipation as he came by her side, placing the iron sheet infront of her. She looked up meeting his eyes.

Oman sat beside her but now he didn't need a further reminder to put some distance between them.

"It's hot, so eat later"

After a minute, her gaze was still fixed on mouthwatering food.

"Can I eat it now" she mumbled.

"Yes, ofcourse" and the next moment she started devouring her meal.

Oman gazed at her with awe and didn't notice when his lips twitched upward.

Her long hair was sat on her shoulder, moon light and glint of fire was highlighting her features. He felt compelled to kiss her cheek and lips.

Then he harshly jerked his head away. Not again. She was his sweet possession and It was impossible to not to fantasies about her.

Hell, He wasn't allowed to touch his own wife. He was keeping his cool because of tara. Since he had asserted his rights on her, she wanted to create a distance between them. Perhaps, she got scared of first time pain.

His love for her extended beyond physical need, he could wait till eternity. It's just he couldn't controled himself and Tara touching him made him think she also wanted it.

She simply requires some time to comprehend the concept of closeness and physical pleasure.

Tara noticed Oman turning away from her. Her fists clenched. Perhaps he had lost interest in her. He hadn't properly looked her in the eyes in two days. Even though she was upset with him and wished he would love her softly, she felt as though needles were being inserted into her chest.

"Are you not going to eat?" she asked, not waiting another moment to speak with him.

"I'll eat after some time" he said without looking at her.

"You will be sick" she leaned toward him and spoke softly.

"Who cares" he said meeting her eyes.

What he means is that she doesn't care about him.

They sat around the fire in silence. Oman looked up and scanned the dark desert sky, until he saw the North Star, the star that would guide them.

"Oman, what you wanted the most" she asked with her chest falling and rising with fast rhythms.

'you'

"I wanted to achieve something and I did. But unfortunately someone closed snatched my dream from me" that's not what she wanted to hear.

Oman observed her clenched fists. She was being nervous around him. She was in deep thoughts then said.

"Your friend" she remembered Shahbaz. Once Oman had told her about him.

He hummed.

"Tell me, how did you end up on streets?" He prompted. This was the question he wanted to ask from a long time. But, he didn't find himself to do it.

Being the object of such an intense stare was both caring and seductive, but there wasn't much to tell.

She composed herself before replying.

"Uhhh, I... Don't remember much. Everything is hazy now. My fath....

He left me"

She took a sigh and looked at her hands then continued.

"And after that, he never came back to look for me. I waited everyday at the same spot" she said but not a drop of water fall from her eyes.

He said, "In the bazaar," now fully understanding why she had initially refused to stay with Fatima since she was still waiting for her father.

"Are you still waiting for him"

"No-He doesn't exist for me now" she said looking dead in his eyes.

"Who was in your family?" A quick question made her feel something. She also had a family. Maybe a small family.

"My mother died, I guess. Because that's what everyone told me. There was my father and a nanny who looked after me. Other than that I don't remember much"

She told him that a nanny looked after her that mean she belonged to a rich family. So what was the reason for her father to abandoned her like this.

"How was his behaviour with you, exactly?"

She shook her head. It was impossible for to remember all these things after so long.

"At the end, everyone abandons me, even Fatima left me."

He reached out and then withdrew his hand, thinking better of touching her and She mustered a steady stare at his hand.

"Tara, you know you will meet her. Fatima herself had told you this. Didn't she and I, your husband is always by your side"

At the end of the sentence they both held each other's stare. But she immediately looked away as heat erupted to her ears.

Oman didn't know what the next day would bring.

Things weren't as simple as they seemed. Their aim was still so far. This was not a tale of kings and princesses narrative with a happy conclusion.

In fact, this was a harsh reality.