Serena's POV

I wouldn't lie but I do find Sultan very attractive. He isn't that bad. But I do not find the palace life reliable. It is a different thing to stay there for a few days and it's a completely different thing to stay there for the entire life.

Though I was attracted to Sultan, I wasn't stupid enough to make promises. I wouldn't give him any hope until I am very sure about our future together.

My father always told me to be practical and not be blinded by the mere emotions. Attractions come and go. But we are given only one life. Being stupid in love and making a wrong decision can ruin entire life, especially if you are a girl living in a patriarchal society. Nope, I will never ever let my father down! I would rather want my father to be proud of my decisions. I want him to be proud of my future.

It was pitch black night while the whole town was asleep. The breeze was cool and calming.
Mehmed and Sultan were talking while I observed the quiet streets and enjoyed the sounds of owls and crickets.

We both proceeded towards Rehzada's house. As soon as we reached outside his home, I dug a pit where I had hidden an axe during the day when no one was looking.

"We could have taken it at home after the day's work  and bring it back now." He told me. He wondered why I dug it up.

"I didn't want anyone to get suspicious if he/she sees us with an axe with this time at night." I replied while he looked amused. Come on! I am very intelligent when required!

We asked Mehmed to hide inside the bushes. In case we get caught, he was supposed to interrupt and reveal our identities. It was dangerous because we didn't know if Rehzada had weapons with him. He might as well get violent if he found us peaking. If anything happened to Sultan, the whole kingdom won't be caught in a hurricane of a political whirlwind.

We both went to the backyard of the house. I had earlier seen a small godown which was Locked. It was suspicious since it wasn't used to store the grains. Maybe it was an extra room. But yet, we both were doubtful. I used my axe and stuck down the lock. And what do I see?

A godown filled with hay. In a huge bunches. I was disappointed. As I was about to leave, Sultan asked me to wait as he started searching inside the hay. I asked him to be careful fearing if snakes were inside those hay bunches . He smiled and asked me to be calm.

He came into the possession of the wooden crates. As we opened them, he realised that those were the crops.

"This is completely innocent. It is natural to store crops in the godowns!" we were disappointed that we couldn't find anything.

We closed to godown. Probably Rehzada would discover a broken lock but seeing that nothing was stolen, things were kept as it, he wouldn't doubt anyone.

While walking towards home, we both were disappointed and didn't say anything while Mehmed tried to cheer us up with his pleasant talks about village.

"Hey wait!" I almost shouted as we stopped to our tracks.

"Today Rehzada asked his other labourers to load all the crops in his cart and send them to the city. But why didn't he load these crops to sell them?" I tried to reason.

"Probably because he was planning to self consume them or export them!" said Sultan.

"No. He never exports. I am the only landlord in the village who does that. I am sure of it." said Mehmed.

"There were huge boxes. How can someone consume this many grains in one year, even if he possesses a large family?" I asked.

"Very true. He has a family of four. One doesn't require this much food for his family. The landlords in this village keep crops only for self-consumption. They sell the rest of the crops and pay tax on the production."  said Mehmed.

"So does that mean that they are selling the crops secretly to evade the taxes" said Sultan.

"But that doesn't explain the surge in the price of crops!" I complained.

"Maybe... It's just a hunch but maybe they are hoarding the crops and creating an artificial demand. As soon as the people demand crops, they are selling them at a higher price!" said sultan.

It completely made sense because selling those crops secretly would allow them to avoid the tax and sell them at the double rates!

What do we do now?

"Let's go back to our houses. We will send a message to Ali to create a raid in the houses of big landlords in the village. If they have grown more crops than their tax records, that will prove that they have grown more crops than in record and are not only evading tax but also selling crops at the higher rates in the market!" Said Sultan.

But why didn't Mehmad know about it?

"Everyone in the village knows that I was at the service of the court. They know that I am close to Sultan so it's natural that they won't involve me into these acts. I always wondered how are these farmers richer than me even though I have bigger lands and higher yields but I never knew that they are involved into something like that." Explained Mehmed.

We went to our home. Despite of being tired, I wasn't feeling sleepy due to the exciting discovery.

"I shall sleep in the cooking area. It's okay you can sleep in the chambers." Sultan looked concerned.

"No. I don't mind your presence. It's just that I can't sleep due to the excitement." I said.

"If I become like you, I won't be able to sleep forever. Because everyday brings a new set of challenges, being a ruler. Have a thick skin and go to sleep. We have a long day ahead tomorrow."  He laughed.

"You like me a lot don't you?" I asked him.

"I guess that's the most obvious thing." He shrugged his shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I don't want to give you false hopes." I tried to explain.

"I know. And trust me, do not expect anything from you. And that's the beauty of our relationship. We exist without expecting anything in return from each other. We both are very opinionated and fiercely independent. I admire your practical mind. " he smiled.

"And I admire your patience and intelligence. You aren't that bad you know." I told him the truth. For the first time in my life I praised hm.

"Thanks for your admiration. Now I won't be able to sleep for the whole night due to excitement." I could see a gleam in his eyes as he chuckled.

"Tell me one thing." He asked.

"What?"

"In the alternate world, if I would have been a farmer or a trader, with the same qualities and looks, would you have considered me as a worthy companion?" He asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't lie. I hate your palace life. That's it. But I know you are meant to rule. So I would never ever stop you. And you know that I am meant to fly. So you would never ever trap me!" I said and he smiled and nodded his head to show his approval. However I could see a tint of gloom in his eyes.