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Ruhani POV

"I wear a poisonous diamond, Ruhani,"

He stated and my eyebrows furrowed immediately. Why was he wearing a poisonous diamond? My face turned sad but he smiled strangely.

"The King usually wears it to get rid of enemies in a fraction of a moment,"

He exclaimed and my knitted eyebrows calmed a little.

He smiled sweetly and slowly pulled me into a hug and muttered softly.

"You better get dressed. The Administration is waiting for their orders,"

I chuckled a little knowing he was also aware of the fact that I also had to work.

He released the hug and said in a hurry.

"I better be leaving. I have an important thing to listen to in the meeting,"

I nodded and he left in a hurry. A wide smile appeared on my face and I looked at my wooden trunks that had my clothes. I took a fresh pair of clothes and chose white again as he previously commented on it in a good way.

After getting ready I asked an attendee to heat up the dish again and serve it in the afternoon to him. While I had fruit and asked Nagma to take me to the Kitchen.

There I helped the cooks with the meals menu. But, strangely I found them a little off mood. I looked at Nagina who inhaled a deep breath talking to the head cook and it looked a little suspicious to me.

The cooks in my Sultanate were happy and more lively than here. I did not know but they were strangely looking weak and starved. I took a few steps forward towards the group of eight cooks to whom Nagina was talking and they all turned to look at me.

They bent to wish me and I nodded back replying to their wishes. I looked at Shaheen and signaled her to ask about their concern about their mood.

"Khansama, the Begum wishes to know if there is any problem with the meal menu?"

She asked the head Chef. He entangled his fingers worriedly and lowered his gaze while taking a deep breath and muttering.

"There is no problem with the menu, Begum but the dishes you mentioned are only meant for the royal family. The high ranks, soldiers, and staff do not have the privilege of the same meals, especially the one appointed within the sixteen villages of the Sultanate"

My eyebrows knitted a little and I wondered what was it. In my Sultanate, the menu was the same from the top to lower people. We all enjoy the same meal but were served differently.

I looked at Shaheen and she spoke for me.

"Why so? And what is especially the Sixteen villages?"

He lifted his gaze strangely and looked at me for a moment with a parted mouth and tried to speak.

"Pardon, Bahu Begum, But I believed you know about the recruitments of the Sultanate's staff and soldiers,"

My eyebrows furrowed even more and he hesitantly tried to change the topic.

"I am sorry, Begum, I am wasting your time, I should rather be cooking the meal you choose for everyone,"

I nodded and he bent again asking for my leave.

I let him but it all sounded a little strange to me. First, why was there partiality between the food and why special partiality to the sixteen villages?

I looked at Shaheen and tried asking her what was those villages about.

She looked at me and answered slowly while we walk to the common chambers of the maids as I needed the complete tour of the Sultanate first.

"Begum, the Kainat Sultanate is surrounded by eighty-nine small and big villages. Out of which sixteen villages are the ones which are in the north side of the Sultanate and surrounded by the borders of the two neighboring Sultanates. There was a time when the major portion of Sultanante's army was filled with the Sixteen's soldiers. But, once a deadly sickness happened in the state and our major army vanished almost. The people died like flies and almost more than half of the soldiers became incapable of fighting. My mother told me it was nearly the time when the former Sultan died. And since then the soldiers of the sixteen's are kept a little separated from the other soldiers,"

She said and I listened carefully.

'Why just sixteen villages?'

I asked signaling her and she pouted a little and muttered.

"Because the others are less populated and scattered over the major portion of sand lands which is worth nothing, maybe. And, I did not know about the partiality of meals to them though I was aware of the different menus to all,"

I nodded accepting the new information I did not have about my Sultanate. We both stepped into the common chambers hall and I noticed the heavy crowd. The noise of women walking, working, calling others, and children crying. 

The chambers were huge, three stories, and round in shape. There was an open hall in middle, a floor made up of stones, and a building with a red strong material. The staff noticed me and stood up immediately.

They bent to wish me and I did the same to them. There was pin-drop silence and they were standing a little far. My eyes raked through them and I noticed a woman who placed her hand on her four-year-old child's mouth to stop his cries. 

I gulped nervously with no so welcoming environment and stepped even forward. Some of them try to hide, lowering their gazes and showing nervous gestures of their body.

Honestly, it also looked really strange for so many reasons. First, I used to visit my staff chambers every day in my Sultanate and it never was this silent. Rather, there was laughter, talks, and happiness. While this was much more like a prison.

I silently took a few steps closer and my anklet bells echoed in the place. I raked my eyes to every corner. It seems unhygienic, their clothes tore and looked like sewed more than a hundred times. 

Suddenly, my attention was caught by the faded sound of laughter, and giggles that were coming from the third floor of the chambers. My eyes knit and I looked at Shaheen. We both took steps forward and the crowd separated to let us walk through the gallery of the chambers. Shaheen helped me with the way to the third floor and it looked like it was a completely different place. 

It was neat, hygienic, airier, and well-lightened. There were candles every short distance which were not in the below two floors. I wondered why.

I took my steps forward, following the laughter which was going intense and more lively with each step.

I took my step into the huge chamber and my heart almost skipped a beat. The woman laughing, some playing, others resting and talking. They were in the same dress as the staff but in neat and bright ones. Strangely they did not notice me until Shaheen started my introduction.

"Bahu Begum Ruhani of Kainat Sultanate, Stand for her honor,"

The ladies turned to me and a few of them noticed me from up to down. One of them thinned her eyebrows and questioned.

"Bahu Begum? Where is Princess Rabia?"

Rabia?

I furrowed my eyebrows wondering how they knew Rabia.

Shaheen looked at me confused but answered otherwise.

"Yes, the Queen of Sultanate, Wife of Sultan Aashiq Khan, Ruhani,"

A group of ladies stood up from the bed finally leaving their dice game and questioning.

"But, Princess Rabia handles everything,"

What?

I immediately turned shocked knowing this piece of information. I turned my gaze to Shaheen and she silently whispered.

"I did not know about it, Begum,"

And, I signaled her to say that I would be handling everything now.

"Oh, so she is the mute wife of the Sultan. The princess told about,"

One of them audibly whispered to the other and laughed.

"But, why would she handle everything? We have our Princess and we are pretty much happy with her,"

One of them spoke but was nice enough to not get me offended. 

I looked at Shaheen and she translated my words.

"Princess Rabia is just our guest. While the Begum is the Queen and she will be handling everything now and questions the purpose of your rest while the staff below is working,"

Shaheen's tone was fine, questioning, and authoritative which I liked with the questions. A few of them straightened themselves and a few lost their smiles too.

"Our working time is over,"

One of them spoke a little hesitantly. 

It was the middle of the day. The busiest time of the day yet their shift was over. I looked at Shaheen and she translated my words.

"What is your shift's time?"

Now, the tension grew a little more and one of them came closer. She was pretty beautiful, well-fed, dressed, and answered.

"We work from early morning to late morning,"

"That's it?"

Shaheen asked.

"Ji Begum,"

"And what do you work?"

Shaheen asked on my behalf.

She turned nervous and answered hesitantly.

"Dusting,"

I furrowed my eyebrows. That was it. She was here to do dusting and live a life better than others. Working for a minor part of the day and getting rest for the other.

I looked at Shaheen and signaled her to leave.

We both turned our steps back and while walking down my sight again noticed the attendees of the ground, first and second floor. There was powerful partiality and somehow it was giving me a hint of something big.

I chose to come back from the third place because I saw a woman silently leaving the place while I was busy listening to others.

I wondered why Rabia was into the administration of a Sultanate that was not her's. It was either Ammi's or Adeena's work to do. And if Rabia was into the administration and she must use to spend her maximum time in this Sultanate itself.

And, it was so the case then that she definitely knew things better than anyone in the Empire.

We walked back through the gallery and came to the diving garden. This was the middle part of the Sultanate which usually divides and connects all the ways.

I stopped there and looked at Shaheen signaling.

'I want records of the wages of attendees and maids,'

She looked at me surprisingly but nodded otherwise.

I asked her to leave just now and I went to the library. It was almost afternoon but my hunger was slightly off track as my heart was a little hurt knowing Rabia was handling my home, my Sultanate.

And even the people of my home believe in her more than their Queen. The attendees pushed the door open for me as I stepped into the library. I walked through the shelves while the faces of the maids blurred my vision.

They were scared, I believed.

I scanned the shelves and searched for the history of the Sultanate if there was any. I wanted to know about the sickness of sixteen villages and why just the most important villages were affected by it.

It was very easy to understand that there was something, something deep and far from the knowledge of the Sultan. And, one of the many reasons was the attack of sickness, especially at the time when the father of the Sultan died.

I searched for a long. My hand turned dusty by touching the untouched all books but I keep on searching until my sight fell on the wooden almirah in the corner. I walked quickly at it and tried to push the door open. 

But, my effort turned to waste as it was locked. 

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening caught my attention and I walked through the shelve only to find Shaheen entering the library.

She looked at me and I could see the hesitant look on her face. I asked her about the records and she replied.

"The records are under the charge of either Princess Rabia or Badi Begum, Sultan's mother,"

She inhaled a deep breath saying it and I lifted my left eyebrow signaling her to complete.

"There is a strange thing, I get to know about the head of Finance,"

She said in a slow voice.

I signaled her to speak but before she could, the door of the Library opened and Sultan entered.

"Here you are, I searched for you everywhere. Have you had lunch?"

He asked a breath looking at me and he strangely looked at Shaheen.

"Is everything okay?"

He asked.

I nodded quickly bringing a smile back to my face. In the corner of my eye noticing Shaheen who was looking terrifying. I wanted to talk to her but Sultan spoke in between.

"Shaheen, Can you please ask attendees to bring out lunch here?"

She nodded immediately with slight terror and walked out of the Library. And, I looked at Sultan who held my hand softly asking.

"Where were you? the whole day, Mehram?"

Another update!!!

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