After my brother left my chambers. I took what I thought to be a small nap, but I slept for three hours straight.

In the afternoon, I woke up with a group of women staring at me wide eyed. I gasped and sat on my bed.

"Forgive us, lady." One of the women said as she looked at our feet, "We did not know whether to wake you up or let you sleep."

I looked at them confused. What were they doing here?

"Oh," the woman who spoke first said, "We forgot to introduce ourselves. We will be working with your service, my lady. If you need anything, you can call us."

Why would I need anything? If I did, why won't I be able to get it myself?

"We even have a woman who understands sign among us." she said pointing at an old lady, "Nala here has experience with a mute neighbour and has learned few tricks. Communication won't is a problem."

I nodded at Nala and tried to smile. I did not want to make them nervous. But they definitely made me nervous. What was I supposed to do? I was clueless. Where was Aqib when I needed him to explain things to me?

"Right," their cheerful spokesperson said, "Do you wish to have your breakfast or lunch? The doctor said that you must eat. You cannot remain hungry anymore. It will affect your health."

I looked out the window. It was clearly afternoon. Why would I want to have breakfast?

"The lady will want her lunch," Nala spoke up and gave me a smile. I smiled back unsure.

The other women went into action, some of them went out while the other arranged things in a way so that I could have lunch in bed.

"The young woman - Safia - is new to the service. She is as excited and nervous just like you. Forgive her!" Nala said.

Why were they so keen for my forgiveness? Did they think that I will get bothered by minute things? I wanted to tell them that I knew nothing and it did not matter to me. In my response, I nodded.

They arranged my lunch on the bed. They said that my lunch was specifically made to suit my health needs. It was simple - or as simple things in a palace could be. For a girl, who survived on lentil soup, even their simple food was too much.

By the time I was done, I was filled up till my throat.

While I was eating Nala explained to me that what I had thought to be an ordinary dinner with the Prince and other was, in fact, an extravagant banquet held by the Prince in honour of us. She said that it was important for the Prince to keep throwing such things. It showed that all was well within the walls of the Palace even it wasn't. Such things also kept the nobles happy. Her eyes turned sad when she said that but she did not continue and I was again lost in my thought with same question repeating. What had happened to the Monarch?

After lunch, the women told me that they had prepared my bath for me. It did not make sense to me until they requested me to strip my clothes. At first, I blinked and they looked confused. Then Nala laughed and explained that noble-born women never bathed on their own and since I was a lady living in the Palace. I would be treated as one.

She helped me undress as Safia handed me a robe that I had to wear to cover my body. The three of us then walked to the adjoining room where my bath was prepared with scented water. I wanted to laugh out loud. Why would anyone want to take bath in scented water? The rich just liked to pamper themselves simply because they could afford to do so.

Nevertheless, I did as I was told. I removed my bathrobe and stepped inside the overflowing tub. There was so much water. Did they use the water again after purifying it? I asked Nala that and she laughed and told that indeed they did. I felt relaxed knowing that so much water was not wasted.

The maid went to work the moment I set foot inside the tub. They started scrubbing my feet and my leg. One woman washed my hair and scrubbed my neck. I was stiff as a stick as this happened. Unknown hands pried my body and I wished that this is over with as quickly as possible.

Next time, I was going bathe on my own. The noble ladies could learn few tricks from me.

It took them one and a half hour and by the time they were done. I was sure that they had scrubbed off an entire layer of my skin. Nala placed a mat for me to keep my feet and handed me a robe to wear. Safia then entered my bath with bukhoor. The smoke filled my nose and the smell was beautiful. Nala took it from Safia and placed the bukhoor carefully under my hair.

She teased and told me that men got attracted by a woman's hair and if it smelled nice, it was an added bonus.

I was treated as a spoilt child and I did not know what to feel about that. If my father was here, he would tell me that I was finally being treated like the princess that I was. However, my mother would disapprove and tell me that even though there was nothing wrong in being treated this way, this only made women viewed by the general public as shallow.

I did not want to be considered as shallow. But I realised that I did like being treated this way. It made feel special. It made me feel royal. I let that thought go, I was not royal. I had to remember where I came from. I was a village girl just here to aid the Prince.

"Do you wish to choose the dress you want to wear for the banquet?" Safia asked as soon as I was dressed in fresh clothes, "You are a lucky girl. Your dresses were handpicked by the Prince himself."

The other women giggled and looked at me with sparkly eyes.

They modelled in front of me holding a dress one by one. All of them were beautiful but nothing too extravagant. I could not help but smile over the fact that Prince Omar had gone to a great extent to make me feel welcomed. He did not want me to dress up like the noble ladies. He did not mind me dressing up simple - in their standards. The clothes that the women displayed in front of me was too exquisite for a village girl.

In the end, with the help of Nala, I settled for a blue and golden dress. The sleeves and blouse of that dress were royal blues with intricate golden embroidery. My skirt was completely golden. It was simple and comfortable.

My brother and Aqib came to meet me in the evening. They had tried to come during the evening but the women had told me that I was busy.

"You look better," Asad told as they sat on the chair in my chambers.

"You look red," Aqib commented as he grabbed an apple from the table and started munching.

Where is your wife? I asked Asad, who in turn, asked Aqib.

"I got mixed up with the date. She is coming tonight."

"She is your wife, right?" Asad asked, "Or are you just fooling with us?"

Aqib rolled his eyes and munched on the apple loudly, "Yes she is my wife. I am a man who travelled a lot. I get confused too."

"She postponed. Why?" Asad observed. He plucked out a grape and popped it in his mouth.

Aqib glanced at Asad and smirked, "Her father and I play this game of tug of war with her. He wants her to spend some time with him and I do not like her being away from me for long. So he finds an excuse to make her stay and I find an excuse to make her come."

I laughed at that. Aqib was a man in many ways, but in many ways, he was still a child.

"Captain Aqib, Master Asad." Safia entered in a hurry, "Lady Ayah needs to get ready."

I looked at her wide-eyed. There were still hours left for the banquet. My brother, bless him, voiced my concerns.

"Too much to do." She muttered and ushered them out of the room.

"Welcome to the City, Ayah," Aqib called out as she forced them out and the other women entered. I felt a sense of panic looking at the eager faces. I wanted these women out and those two men inside. They calmed me.

"Let us begin," Safia announced.

_

They plucked my upper lip and shaped my nail. They trimmed my hair and applied a serum to keep it at bay. They tried jewellery after jewellery that could match with my dress. I was a like a doll to them and they were playing dress up.

Nala instructed the women. It was complete chaos as the women tried to talk to one another while Nala threw directions to them. They discussed what to do with my hair while I sat there staring at my reflection. Asad thought of me as pretty but one I looked at myself, I could see nothing that could be found remarkable. I did not consider myself ugly. I was not so low in self-confidence.

Maybe there was naivete about me that he had called innocence. That was it. I had no striking feature in me. I was quite ordinary, maybe that was what made me different. In a room full of remarkable faces, I would be ordinary. I smiled at my reflection - there was a power in being ordinary.

Finally deciding what would be best for me the women started working on me. I watched them carefully. Even though they were servants to the royal family, it looked like they clearly enjoyed working here. A little hint from Nala told me that they were well versed with what had happened to the Monarch. However, they were instructed not to tell me anything. Omar wanted me to know in due time. I could wait.

But when the letter came, it held a note of urgency. Maybe because the Monarch had killed a Royal Guard just a few days before the letter was delivered. Maybe during our travel Omar and Wali were able to handle the situation. Not let the news leak.  Did they inform Royal Guard's family? I wondered. Did they say the cause of his death?

Tonight, Omar wanted me to enjoy, have fun, feel royal.

Tomorrow, he would let me know in their haunting secret.