The Shehzada leaves with Ali for his Isha salah in the Shahi Masjid. It made me happy to see him observe the 5 daily prayers courtesy to Malika Mariam who had trained him well religiously. I complete my prayers in the room and think over the matter at hand. 15 days of tough training is what the Shehzada needed. Along with that he needed to gather support. Winning over the palace inhabitants wouldn't be easy now. But the Shehzada could do better by winning over his subjects. Meanwhile I had to spin a web over Mir Jafar.

There's a knock and Shehzada enters with the ring I gave him in his palms. He places it on the table in front of me. "This was my father's most prized possession, he gave this ring to Abu Fazal for he risked his own life to save my fathers. He had proved beyond doubt that he was a vaffa. How did you get this ring Saeed?"

"Abu Fazal himself gave it to me Shehzada". "How long before his death did you acquire it?" he asks. "Not long", I reply. "His death was a great loss both for my father and for the kingdom. How often do you come across a man as brave and as loyal as Abu Fazal?", he says.

Tears threaten to break through as I swallow the knot in my throat. I couldn't let the Shehzada know about this yet, where was my power of endurance? With a deep breath I push my feelings aside. "Do you remember the Shehenshah's inner circle in those days?" I ask. "Yes", he replies "Abu Fazal was the Wazir-e-aala, Hammad khan the army general, Khan Baba was the chief adviser, Faizi Muhammad was the treasurer, Maqsood Ahmed was the administrative officer, Noor Ali was the minister for welfare and tax and Mahmood Hassan was record keeper and royal scribe. They were the seven staunch men who encircled my father like a shield."

"Do you know where they all are now?" I ask. "Abu Fazal, Faizi Muhammad, Maqsood Ahmed and Noor Ali died during an accident at a hunting expedition. Hammad khan retired immediately after that. The traitor! He left my father at the time of his need. Khan Baba disappeared. Alive or dead no one knows. Mahmood Hassan continues to be the royal scribe".

"That is what was told to people at large but that doesn't necessarily mean every bit of it is true. Do you really think those 4 brave men died in an accident? Do you think Hammad Khan being so loyal left the Shehenshah at the time of his need? Even I have no information to give on Khan Baba, however Mahmood Hassan was threatened and tortured to continue as the royal scribe as no one held as much information as he did and only he had the detailed history of all documents".

"How did Abu Fazal and his friends die then? And why did Hammad Khan leave?"
"That, Shehzada will be explained by Hammad Khan himself when the time is right".
"Where is Hammad Khan? Do you know him?" asks the Shehzada.

"Yes, I do. For now I will say no more. Tonight we have lots of things to arrange. Let's start with your education. How much have you learnt from your tutors?" "In politics I covered the basics of administration and revenue system. I know the rules, regulations and punishments of our law. I didn't cover our foreign relations, military management, the running of royal kitchen and harem." "I see. How about Islamic education?", I ask. "The basic knowledge of Arabic, Persian, recitation of Quran and Shariah rules". "You have picked up quite a lot for a person who gave his tutors a hard time", I comment. "I used to concentrate Saeed, though I appeared least bothered. I never took the pains of writing anything for I stored everything here", he said pointing to his head. "Shehzada, if you don't mind my asking what made you hate studies?"

He sighs and is lost in thought for a while. "Some other time", he says. I am a good observer, I gather information from appearance, behavior and logic more than speech. The look on Shehzada's face tells me I have touched a delicate topic. I could see emotions in his eyes. Though he knew me to be his well wisher he preferred not to share his pains and feelings with me. That was understandable as it is not easy for a male to expose his weakness in front of a female. Partially it was my fault as well for I never encouraged him to take our bond to an emotional level strictly being professional and sticking on to the work at hand. But something inside me wanted the Shehzada to pour out his feelings in front of me. I wanted to be his backbone in every way. If I was going to make a new person out of him, it had to be from every aspect. I had to help him cope up with his pains as much as I helped him cope up with responsibilities. But would that be right? If I started taking a share in every part of his life won't that make it difficult for me to move away once I am done with my mission? A complete minute passes between us in silence. I clear my throat. "OK some other time then". He nods.

"Shehzada, I will teach you politics myself. As for your physical training Ali will be your teacher and for religious studies you need to go to Jamia Masjid and request Hazrath Fakhruddin Mulla to teach you as much as he can in 15 days. I am sure he will consider the special circumstances and I will put in a word for you myself."

"Won't he come to the palace to teach me?" he asks.
"When a man walks towards knowledge Shehzada, Allah's mercy falls like rain on him. Knowledge doesn't walk to your door step".

"I will go and talk to him then. Mir Jafar is a cunning man. He knows I will prepare myself well in these 15 days. He can't harm me physically as he will become an open suspect. So he will do his best to harm me mentally and try to put hurdles in my way", he says. "That he will", I affirm "even if you succeed after 15 days he isn't going to let you ascend the throne so easily. You need strength and support Shehzada and that can be acquired by winning over your subjects".

"How do I do that?"

"It's quite simple really. Being a subject myself I know exactly what people expect from their king. The high class, the middle class and the low class have different expectations. You are going to win over them by fulfilling their demands that Mir Jafar has ignored so far."

He nods enthusiastically. "Sounds perfect to me. What are their demands?"

"There are lands in the borders of our kingdom were the famines hit every year and people there go without water for months during which their farms and cattle die. They have submitted a request in the court for digging up more wells in their province more than 13 times and each time it was ignored. You are going to dig wells for them Shehzada."

"I will give orders to the treasurer tomorrow to release the amount and get the work done".

"You are going to.... what?", I ask. "Ask the treasurer to release amount? Who are you? The Shehenshah? Why will he obey you? The royal treasury doesn't release a penny without court order, which is impossible seeing that it's currently in Mir Jafar's hand. No Shehzada,
all the expenses are going to come from your pocket and the work you do is going to be from you directly without the involvement of court."

"Saeed, do you think I have a huge amount saved up?"

"No Shehzada, you have more wealth than you realize". I point at all the rings on his fingers and the pearls in his neck. "They serve no purpose except beautify. Your face is enough evidence that you are good looking, you don't need the extra additions. Instead you can use that jewelry for some good in this world", I say. I don't know if it was the compliment or his urge to prove himself that made him remove every piece of his jewelry, even those from the trunk and place it in a heap on the table.

"All this will be used for the welfare of my people. Not just because I want the throne but because I have come to realize how difficult life for a commoner is after staying in the servants quarter and eating a meager meal. What else can I do for their development?" This was the sign of a dutiful king. And the Shehzada would make an amazing one once he was trained.

"Lots Shehzada. You can distribute grains in the Gharib Kothri, give scholarships to desperate children, you can help widows financially and provide jobs for the unemployed. This will not only win you support but also help you prepare for your death and the life hereafter".
"So it shall be", he said "let's start my first lesson in politics tonight". He pulled out papers, ink and a wooden pen and placed them on the table. And so began my journey of endless hours of tutoring.

I realize that the Shehzada knew much more than he let on. He had an excellent brain that he had locked away for Allah knows why. It just took me a few minutes for each concept and he caught on easily. His off hand manner irritated me and I couldn't even scold him for he answered my every question perfectly in the end. I knew my irritation had another basis, while I had spent hours taking down notes and learning, here was this Mr. Talented who could just feed in my words without having to touch a pen! Jealous much? Looks like I was.

I drew the layout of the palace for him and explained the entrance and exits to all underground passage ways. "I have been living in this palace for 20 years of my life yet I didn't know that there was a store room inside the royal kitchens or the water supply to the palace came from Bahr-ul-ain, the great sea".
"You need to make visits to every part of the palace now and then so that people responsible for that area remain alert and tend to their work honestly in the fear of unexpected visits. Start with the royal kitchens tomorrow. Throw a smile or a compliment here and there but maintain firmness and a strict exterior. And this is where all the water is stored" I say, drawing a cross mark on the map, "from here it runs through these pipes and is purified here. From here the pipes divide, one leads to the hot water tank that is heated with fire wood throughout the year and the other leads to the cold water tanks". "I have never seen the pipes there" he says. "You can't see them for they are well hidden. It was done at the time of your great grandfather when the Waraqi Sultanath had declared a war on us and there was a fear of poison being mixed in water".

"Your knowledge in these matters never ceases to surprise me", he comments. "There is nothing surprising in it Shehzada. Had you taken the pains of completing your tutoring you would have known as much as I do".
"Well, its a good thing I didn't Saeed, if I did then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of you teaching me", he replies. OK, so what was he hinting at? I choose to ignore whatever that means. Having spent hours on the internal management of the palace and its grounds I am done for the night. But, Shehzada Sher Shah is still as fresh and as ready to learn as he was at the beginning of the night. Couldn't he ask me to stop? Finally I accept defeat, put back the pen on the table, cap the ink bottle and fall back on the chair. "That will be enough for tonight".

"If you say so Shabana", he says.
"What did you just call me?" I say sitting up.
"Shabana...", he replies.
"Why in the whole wide world would you call me that?", I ask dumbfounded. "How about Saleema?".

What was wrong with him? Maybe it was sleep deprivation. I look at him unable to make sense of the situation. He bursts out laughing. Ya Allah! He was just pulling my leg. I get up and gather my things making preparations to leave while he continues to laugh. "It wasn't so funny", I say irritated. "The look you gave me was worth it", he says smiling. That smile lit up his handsome face and I immediately understand why the whole female population in the palace swooned over him. How this man intrigued me. At times he was as ferocious as a lion, sometimes sentimental with raw emotions and here was another side to him. The side that could joke, laugh and have light moments.

"Take good care of yourself Shehzada, take adequate rest during the day so you can cope with the night sleep deprivation. I am reminding you once more, not a single drop or a morsel from Shahi Kitchen. I am leaving a sheepskin bag of water. Drink only that and I will get you your food tomorrow night InshaAllah. You are a good warrior but Ali will tone you up so you can become the best warrior. Train with him. Visit Mulla Fakhruddin and start your classes. At the same time arrange for the wells to be dug".

"Should I go to the place of digging myself Saeed?"

"It's a long way off. You don't have the time on your hands. Send trustworthy representatives who will make it clear that the work is being done personally by the Shehzada and not by court order. I will spread the news about this in the gossip circles myself and you can be sure it will have reached every corner of the kingdom by tomorrow night."

"Take care Saeed, Allah Hafiz", he says as I leave through the cupboard.