Keywords:
O - I
Stra - hope
Ji - you
Water fey - drown
Fraken - a wild woman who's free, wanton and sexy.
Joemba (pron. Joomba) - owner of my body
Sonaya- good evening
So - good
Naya - evening
I - my
Dora - king
Chupanji - mixed race child.
Krid-a white person.
Carnival hindé: (pron. hin-day) a day celebrating the death of Nom re Nuhu and Nom re Papa K

•Surayya

~96 hours ago~

A bright light fills the room and I can feel it weighing down my eyes. I flick it open and see Greg standing by the light switch staring at me.

He looked haggard, his hair ruffled and his eye bags told he hadn't slept for a long time.

"Where am I?" I bend my elbows on the bed to sit up but the sharp pain that shoots through my body forces me to lay back.

He runs to my side and holds my shoulders to help me down slowly "You've been hurt, be careful."

I hiss, rolling my eyes painfully "I didn't know that."

He laughs, covering his mouth quickly "I'm sorry for laughing but I do miss that sass."

"Who brought me here?" Now that I realized I was in a hospital, I needed to know the Good samaritan that kindly dropped me off here.

"Me."

You?

"Me who? Who's that?"

"Come on, stop joking." He smiles, sliding both hands down back on his fuzzy curls and sits himself on the empty chair beside my bed "Me, Greg."

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

I don't want to owe him.

After our last interaction, I knew he wasn't to be trusted.

His eyes look sad, the smile only looks pained and I wish we were on good terms so I could try to make him happier than he looked.

"How?"

"We were on the phone when I heard you crash your car. Luck.. I mean it's not good but luckily it was in front of my house."

"Well," I just had to be stupidly arrogant "I'm... thank you. I appreciate it."

"Does that makes us cool again?"

"How do you mean young sir?" I ask sarcastically.

He looks constipated when he laughs but I can tell it's forced.

"Young sir?"

"We can't be friends Greg. You lost me when you threatened to tell the whole world about a mistake I confided in you about."

"I was scared."

"Scared I'd tell everyone what you did?"

"Well, yes. I was already having a hard time settling in as a chupanji."

"There's nothing wrong with being that." I rip the drip from my wrist, ignored the pain ripping shreds in my body and pushed my body off the bed "I need to go to the bathroom."

He quickly gets up and runs to hold my waist as my knees bend and almost throw me to the ground "Let me help."

I feel his breathe on my cheek as he holds me close and lifts me in his arms. He doesn't drop me on the floor to walk but he continues to the restroom.

I hit his chest continuously refusing to stop "Keep me down!"

My legs flail, windless in the air as he remained incorrigible. He drops me on the door and looks at me, our lips almost touch—it was disgustingly dramatic—nothing in this moment would let me be nice to him so I push him away.

He asks "Do you need help in there?"

I shut my eyes close, squeeze my eye lids flat on my eyes and huff "Ask me another stupid question and I'll forget I was in an accident. Your face will be on the floor within seconds."

He holds his hands midway in the way "I was just asking. I didn't mean anything by that."

I hiss and push the door inwards, nothing felt safe about him being in the room while I was in here so I lock the door and steered to the toilet sit. Once I was done I cleaned myself up and threw off my clothes to sit on the edge while it filled in with water.

He knocked and cleared his throat then stayed silent.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to know if you were ok."

"I'm not your problem Greg."

"But you're my friend."

"Friends don't tell the world each others secrets."

"We don't do that here Surayya." he touches his chest with one hand and holds the other up beside his head as if he was taking a pledge.

"Apparently you do that."

"I wouldn't do that to you."

"You're a liar." I yelled but I didn't know I was crying till I felt the tears fall down to touch my wrist and thumb, narrowly but I still felt the warmth.

I was in shambles, I was scared and he knew it but I wouldn't show it.

"I was angry."

"You are the reason I'm here."

"I apologize princess." He was tired of arguing.

My body vibrates in the water. It was hot but I felt cold and the weather for two suddenly only felt good for few—I was sure of that—I hold my knees to my body and cling to them as I fought to keep the sound of my wails in between the small cage my thighs and head formed.

"I knew if I didn't say anything quickly you might've told someone." He adds "But I care about you deeply. My heart wouldn't let me do such."

I wipe my eyes that felt hot but all I did was rub water in my face and that frustrated me more. The mucus mixed with the water and blocked my nose for a second, my body only added to one of my 98 problems and so did Greg.

I'd grown sick of staying here. I normally didn't like staying in bathrooms for a long time but this felt a hundred times better than being out there with him. I held the edge of the tub and felt the bones in my shoulder cry as I struggled out of the tub.

I had stitches everywhere and a bandage on my head like a modern styled turban. Nom re Papa K and Nom re Nuhu did a number on my car but my body survived and I was grateful to be here but to be here with him, that was a no.

I grabbed my towel off a rack and made for the room. Greg stood immediately and made for the door of the room as soon as he noticed my appearance.

"Wait!" I called "You can stay."

He stopped halfway, his body twisted as he asked "Why?"

"Do you need a reason to stay?"

"Well, I'm scared you'll beat me like you did that man in the video."

Now I wasn't thinking, I was just looking for a moment of peace even if it was for a second so I asked him to join me on my bed as we pretended to be friends once again.

****

~Back to present~

"Where are your parents Greg?"

"They're actually in Algeria."

"Why?"

"The three kings and queen of the four kingdoms agreed to banish my father from Nahur for marrying a krid."

"Ohh." Then it clicks "That's why I always thought your complexion was exotic." I chuckle and close my mouth to hide the smile then our eyes meet and I can't help it to feel sorry for him.

He notices immediately and holds my hand "Don't feel bad. It isn't my fault or your fault I look like this."

"I'm sorry I never tried to understand you or your pain."

"I haven't been here long. They sent me here a year ago when we met so I could be one with my roots."

"I think that's amazing. How has it been so far?"

"I mostly take to hiding unless I need to buy groceries. I have no friends and the one time I got spotted was months ago when I went to class without a hoodie and shades."

"What happened?"

"I don't know but a switch flipped and I stopped caring. They'd stare and talk but that was the most they could do. I felt untouchable even if I felt depressed sometimes then I met you and things change..."

"Who is this?" Sanusi frowns, hands in his pocket and he nods for his guards to move sideways so he can see us.

"This is Greg." I smile.

"Sonaya i dora." He bows, greeting Sanusi. He was gone the night Sanusi came in so he wouldn't know him "I was the one who..."

Sanusi ignores him and looks at me "Come with me."

"Why?"

"I'm commanding you."

"You're not my father."

"I control what goes on in your life."

"That's not your choice to make."

"You're my sister, that's why I have no choice."

"I hate you."

"I'll just leave." Greg says and squeezes into the crowd that was trying to figure out what was happening in the royal pitch where all the other royals stayed in their own stations to watch the carnival hindé.

"No wait!" I run after him.

"If you go, don't come back to the palace." he shouts indefinitely, Najma just looked uninterested by his side.

"What?" Surayya wasn't sure she heard correctly but as always she knew they were empty promises. Where would he keep her if she was exiled? A cottage in the Water Alphas?

"You heard me."

"He's my friend."

"I'm family."

"O stra ji water fey." I yell.

He speeds up his steps to move further away knowing I'm walking right behind him.

"I'm going to try the fortune teller or some rem at that booth at the entrance then leave. I'll find you later after I run some errands." He avoids my eyes, tugging at his hair.

I catch the wriggles of the silver bracelet on his arm and it's shiny and a bit big for his wrist. Whenever he raises his hand in angst it slides down to his forearm. It's beautiful against his skin.

I understand the fact that the country hates having any alliance with whites but they fail to see that not all whites colonized them and his mother surely isn't one of them. She comes from a different country and his father was born of this soil. Greg was a son of this land but his blood tainted his skin and that made him an outsider, simply stated.

"Stay. Please Greg."

"No Surayya, your brother doesn't want me here."

"Who cares?"

"I do, he's the king."

"Then I'll leave with you."

"You have to be here with your family."

"Wait.."

He  looks down and without thinking, speed walks to his car that was parked directly at the entrance of the venue and disappears outside the gate. The fumes of his exhaust reach my nose and I only felt his embarrassment then.

I turn now, burning with the fuel of my anger on Sanusi. I marched on to give him a piece of my mind but I don't see him or Najma but the guards stood where I left them so I move to check the inside of the hall.

I'm walking into the first floor and everywhere is dark, I'm thinking most royals are outside and the chiefs too but I can hear noises so I walk further in to a corner and the noises get louder and to my surprise, Sanusi stood behind Najma in a dim light, whispering.

"Don't hold back." She pants, grinding her ass against his crotch "You know you want it as bad as I do."

"Stop Najma." He holds her waist but her snake-like moves are probably making him weak because he keeps pausing in between words to exhale like he's in a heaven and the excitement is holding him hostage to an uncertain high " People are going to come."

"Let them come." She slides off her top and grabs his hands to touch her breasts. I wonder what kind of fantasy she was playing at "Touch me my lord. Make me.."

He turns her around and makes her lean on a giant black box while he pulled down her silk trousers to her knees and away from her feet. He throws them somewhere on the floor and let's the darkness of the hallway swallow it.

"What do you want mama fraken?" He lifts her foot to his mouth and takes her toes in slowly as she gasps, closing her eyes "You're making me impatient."

"We're on my time now Joomba." She stares  up at the ceiling and begins to touch herself "You'll watch me and follow my lead."

"Yes my Queen." He was so freaking hard "I'll watch till my eyes fall out."

Apparently that was what I was doing when I couldn've left from the start.

Her hands grope her breasts and moans, watching her hardens his cock even more but what could I do? I understood that when it came to role playing with her you could never win unless you followed her rules and it drove him nuts. Pun intended.

What was I still doing here?

He kisses her ankle and drops her leg on his shoulder and traces upwards with kisses through her inner thighs and she holds his head "If you want this you're going to work a little harder."

"What do I have to do?" He ask.

My legs feel wobbly like spaghetti but I continue to watch till I can't anymore and I realize the moment I shut my eyes I'd be crying again.

Why did I do this to myself?

Every time I get the chance to avoid this, I stay and hurt myself. First I listen, now I watched. What would I do next? My mind always froze watching him even walk around without a shirt.

The rest was a blur. I'm not sure my mind wanted me to remember. I turned to the door and began to run as far as my legs could carry me. I bumped into Greg who caught me outside.

He hugged me in the middle of the happy crowd who didn't care to notice a helpless, crying girl. The little kids skipped along with their pink or blue cotton candies clutched in their small hands and the couples got lost in each other's presences, forgetting there was a time to go back to.

He touches my shoulders then brings them down to hold both my hands in a gentle caress his thumbs rubbing on my shaky fingers "Why are you crying?"

"I broke my own heart again."
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-Aisha SafiyanuXO💚