We ended up talking for a long time right until it was time for me to get ready and accompany Feroze to the rally. We were running slightly behind schedule. Danial was bouncing from wall to wall while Feroze's other secretary, he had two, arranged and controlled the staff on the site. People had been waiting in lines to get into the main stadium. Security was tight.

"So it's you, my bodyguard and I in the car" I looked at Feroze in disbelief.
"It's my bodyguard, me, your bodyguard and you in the car"
"We don't have enough space..."
"Yes we do"
"Who's your bodyguard anyway? And where will my bodyguard go?"
"In the front seat" typical that he hadn't noticed Zaroon. He would have thought of him to be Uncle EJ's secretary or something.

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine"

Rania walked into the room, her eyes widening at the number of people running around. She could have been organizing this. I felt bad about her having to pass this opportunity up. She came up to me placed a comforting hand on my arm.

"So... going over the final details. You and Uncle EJ are to only there for the support. No speeches, no nothing" she directed fixing my shawl. I nodded taking a deep breath. "I'll be here and in contact with Zaroon. I'll try to monitor the trends and see how well we do" I nodded along with her words. This was going to be easy. All I had to do was show up.

We headed to the cars that were lined in the driveway.

"So where is this bodyguard of yours?" Feroze asked stopping in front of a sleek black SUV.

"Right here," Zaroon said stepping out into the sun in full black attire, with a gun strapped to his waist and a bulletproof jacket.

"Okay...then, are we going to war?" Zaroon ignored Feroze's comment and walked to stand beside me. Feroze's eyebrows went up. Damn it, I was going to get a snide comment for this.

"Ready?" he asked smiling down at me. I smiled back and nodded. Uncle EJ walked out with Ammi Jaan and gave me a bright smile. Ammi Jaan came towards me her face concerned.

"Good luck darling..." she said and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck Zaroon" my eyebrows went up in surprise. Zaroon bowed his head in respect and I saw Uncle EJ wink at me. This castle was way too small.

Feroze's guard opened the door and we got into the car. Zaroon and I sat on one side, while Feroze sat on the other making sure to raise the screen divider between him and driver. He watched us like a hawk. I ignored him and focused on my breathing. We had 45 minutes until we got the site. Zaroon stared outside the window, his radio buzzing every now and then.

"You know if you weren't the heir to Gulzar Mahal, you would have made a great first lady" I scoffed.

"I was always going to be good at my job. Who's to say you'll make a good Prime Minister?"

"Where's the bite coming from? Don't you believe me?"

"You only make a mistake once. Besides you already have the first lady, remember the one who tried to poison you?" he glared at me. I didn't have to look at Zaroon to see the smirk on his face. "Why are you so hard-pressed to become the PM?"

"What does a third son do? Go into Politics" I laughed. "I do care about this country Elena. I'm not the monster you've made me" I stayed silent at that. "Besides, doesn't every great leader have a troublesome past?" I rolled my eyes at that.

"That's why they like you... you can twist anything to suit what the other person wants to hear"

"It's politics" I chewed on the chocolate bar Rania had snuck into my hand. "I didn't twist anything with you..."

"Enough Feroze," I said tiredly. "We've been over this, what's done is done. No need to rehash the past. We have to focus on the now. There's a potential revolution to topple our family and you're worried about what happened five years ago?" he stared at me.

"Fair enough" Silence echoed in the car. "You've changed Elena, where's the eager bright-eyed girl that I used to know?"

"She's a pragmatic bright-eyed woman," I said looking away from his face, catching Zaroon's smile.

We put on our sunglasses and fixed ourselves as we neared the stadium. The noise was deafening. We exited to screams and shouts. Feroze and I both switched to our public personas, smiling and waving as we made our way to the stage. Zaroon and Feroze's guard stayed close behind us as Uncle EJ met us at the stairs.

"Everything went well?" he asked as we started to climb the stairs together. I nodded. Feroze was already on the stage, his arms up to acknowledge the crowd. Murad's potential replacement, an extended family member, Jamshed introduced us as we walked onto the stage. The stadium was packed. For all his faults, people did believe in Feroze. Both Uncle EJ and I raised our arms and walked to sit beside him. We watched and listened as many potential minsters, people vying for the seats, made speeches riling the crowd up.

At last, it was Feroze's turn. He walked towards the podium amongst screams and shouts. He flashed a smile and began to speak.

"Greetings, my fellow countrymen. My, what a day in the south" more cheers. "I am honored and privileged to be back in the southern province, finally. My home" I smiled at his antics. He was playing the crowd like a fiddle. "When I decided to run for office, I had no idea what was in store for me. Many people discouraged me and told me to quit before I had begun. They said, that a person of southern descent would never be allowed to sit in the highest office of the land" boos echoed around us. He paused to let his point sink in, his eyes roaming over the crowd.

"But we proved them wrong... just a little more and we will have what has always been rightfully ours!"

Where was he going with this? "The south isn't just there to feed everybody. We deserve more representation, more funds, and more respect"

I shared a glance with Uncle EJ, my smile still in place. His eyes conveyed the same unease that I was feeling. He was making a compelling argument, that was too similar to a certain rebel group. I looked around to see Zaroon slowly edging his way towards us, his face set in a stiff mask. Danial bounced in the seat next to me. He seemed to be calm like this was planned.

"My friends... for years, we have suffered. We have lived in obscurity, around the lines, always in the shadows. Compromising and negotiating. Now it is time to take it. It is time to show the establishment, the elite, what we are made of and who we are! Not only is this the city that pays the most taxes, but it is also the city that is known for its welfare. Yet when we ask for our share we're told to generate our own revenue" More cheers. "It's time for us to ask for fair treatment. How do we do that? Not by the old ways. No. We're the new generation, the hope for this country. We do it our way, for the future. We will make police reforms, fix the infrastructure, clamp down on corruption and make an example by becoming a green economy" I clapped along with the crowd at this. This is what we needed. What the country needed.

"But this won't be easy my friends. There will be naysayers. People who told me that I couldn't be the Prime Minister will tell you that these things are impossible. That we're part of the elite. We are not them. Let me introduce you to my cousin, Begum Elena Gulzar Khan" my heart sank to my feet. What was he doing? Feroze gestured for me to come and stand next to him. Pasting a smile on my face I walked towards him. He offered me his hand and helped me onto the podium.

"Begum Elena Gulzar has been advising me on the situation in the south. Not only is she academically qualified to do such a thing, but she has personally asked the people of this city about the problems they face. She came up with the health reforms and has been working on a better tax strategy that our government plans to use once you vote us into parliament" the crowd roared in approval and I smiled. "The south is being represented fairly. We're taking the reins... finally" the stadium erupted into thunderous applause. He turned to look at me and smiled.

"Told you" he mouthed.

"Thank you" I mouthed back.

We started to walk back to our seats when a loud crack forced a pin drop silence in the stadium. Shock echoed around us and then all hell broke loose.

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A selfie on stage? There's a new alliance... it's politics baby