The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (135 page)

“And how will you do that exactly, are you going to hide me
away
like Rapunzel?” Well I certainly had the hair for it.

“Rapunzel?” He questioned not looking at all offended.

“Yeah you know, long haired gal, lives in a tower, sings a lot
.
” he laughed at my description.

“Ah you mean
‘
رودابه
’,
the beauty
.
” He said the ancient words so swiftly like he spoke this language all the time.

“Excuse me?” I said causing him to smile at my understandable ignorance.

“
It means Rūdāba, She is or was, where the brother
s Grimm got their
idea from I b
elieve
.
” He started to help me with my top as I was trying to pull it down over the mass of hair that went in every direction. I knew one thing...I wasn’t looking forward to trying to brush out all the knots I had created.

“Rapunzel was real?” I asked, fascinated.

“She was...of sorts anyhow. Let’s see if I remember
The
Shahnameh’s description correctly” He paused and looked up as though it was written on the beds canopy.

“
About her silvern shoulders two musky black tresses curl, encircling them with their ends as though they were links in a chair.

Her mouth resembles a pomegranate blossom, her lips are cherries and her silver bosom curves out into breasts like pomegranates.

Her eyes are like the narcissus in the garden and her lashes draw their blackness from the raven's wing.

Her eyebrows are modeled on the bows of Teraz powdered with fine bark and elegantly musk tinted.

If you seek a brilliant moon, it is her face; if you long for the perfume of musk, it lingers in her tresses

From top to toe she is Paradise gilded; all radiance, harmony and delectation”

Of course he recited the poetry perfectly as though the one himself to have written it.

“What was that? It was beautiful” I said lowering my lashes, wishing for such beauty. Anyone would next to such a man as Draven.

“It was from
The
Shahnameh, the book of Kings. It was
written by the
Persian poet
Ferdowsi
around one thousand AD
.
” He said proudly and it seemed this was the day for learning a great deal more about Draven’s history.

“Yes and I will tell you one day who it is really about, but for now you must sleep
.
”

“No way! You can’t tell me something like that and expect me to sleep!” I moved out of his hold a
s he was trying to get me to lie
back
down
.

“Keira you are being stubborn” He informed
me
but I didn’t care
,
I wanted to hear more.

“Alr
ight, I will make you a deal, if you lie
back down I will tell you the story until you fall asleep
.
” I suddenly felt about six years old! It had been too many years to remember since I had been told stories before bedtime. I nodded my agreement and shifted further down to get comfy. I knew I was still fully clothed but Draven pulled the covers around me anyway, which felt nice and safe.

“There was a great Persian warrior named
Zāl who was born with white hair. He was Albino. Zāl was the son of
Sām
and the grandson of
Nariman
, both great heroes of ancie
nt Persia but b
ecause of his defect, Zāl was rejected by his father. And therefore cast out as a child. He roamed Persia but it was when he was upon the mountain
Damavand
where the Gods he
ard his cries. They sent down a bird so large it would block the sun and darken the skies when flying. Some say it was the holy Phoenix named
Simurgh
sent to guard the child blessed by God.” I was nodding at him when he paused to take in my expression. He chuckled once at my enthusiasm and continued.

“The bird took him in until time past and he grew into a man, living on the land but never leaving the bird. Rumors of the silver man living in the mountains reached the ears of Sam, his father and he was soon found by the guilty man. But he could not reach him, so he prayed to the God’s that had taken in his son and begged for forgiveness. Simurgh knew at once
when
the man’s father
would come for him that their
time together was at an end. She plucked three plumes from her breast and the heavenly voice spoke in her place.
"Burn this if ever you have need of me, and may your heart never forget your nurse, whose heart breaks for love of you." She said adding that when in trouble. She would appear as soon as the feathers were lit.”

“So he left with his father? Poor Sim...ugh...you know what’s her name” I said lamely causing Draven to take my face in his hands and kiss me gently on the lips.

“He did indeed return with his father but his misfortunes were no longer. His father made every effort to redress his past wrongs and when he went off to wage war he was given his father’s Kingdom
.
”

“So what about Rapu
nzel, well I guess I mean...you
know...” I sti
ll wasn’t down yet with all the names and there was no way I was going to be able to say them with my accent!

“You mean
Rūdāba. Well she was
the princess of
Kabul
, daughter of
Mehrab Kaboli.
  Zāl
had heard of her immense beauty and went in search of her to bed. But he became enraptured and fell deeply in love with her. The story says
,
Zal came to the walls of Rudaba's
palace where Rudaba let down her tresses to Zal as a rope for him to climb. Rudaba seated Zal on the roof and they both talked to each other for hours
,
which was unacceptable in accordance to Persian tradition. In the lege
nd that followed, after being ac
cepted by each father they married and when Rudaba was giving birth to the unusually large baby, he soon realized his love was going to die. Near to giving up
,
Zal remembered the feather of the Simurgh, and followed the instructions which he’d been given that day. He placed the feather on the sacred fire causing the Simurgh to appear and instructed him upon how to perform a
caesarean section
, thus saving Rudaba and the child.” He finished the story like he
’d
been telling it for years and I almost clapped at the ending. What a nice story, better even that the Brothers Grimm version. I was about to tell him so when he carried on. 

“Of course
,
this is where the story that is wr
itten differs from the truth.” He looked as though still not sure whether or not to tell me.

“How so?”

“What is written is not what happened.
Zāl fell in love with
Rūdāba, yes but
she was a Demon that had possessed
Rūdāba as a willing sacrifice.
Don’t lo
ok so horrified Keira.” He smirked at my scrunched up face before continuing,

“See, h
er past love and betrothed had been murdered in battle
and she was
so
fraught
with grief she gave herself to the Gods to be reborn. Of course by the time
Zāl came to fin
d her she was not what she appeared.” I placed my hands at my mouth and covered my shock.

“Oh no,
what happened?” He smiled and pulled my hands away from my face and brushed the back of his hand down my cheek.

“When Zāl found out the truth
,
there was no
other choice but to
kill
himself to be with her but it worked
,
as
to
this day they are still together, it was the only way for her to have him. She appealed to have his soul re
-used once sold to
Lucifer and he could see no reason against it.” Draven was talking about this part like any business man would about politics. 

“They are still around? Like living together... after so long?”
I could barely get my head around it.

“Yes Keira...and, well...you know them
.
” Ok
, this was a bomb
shell! I was still shaking my head, thinking that I’m sure I would remember something like that, t
hen it hit me like
thunder clapped over head. I even jumped like it had actually happened. I knew who they were...My God
... could it be?

“Sophia and Zagan
!” I shouted making the bed vibrate.

“You are such a clever girl
.
” Was Draven’s only response before without warning my head hit the pillow and I fell into a misty sleep hearing the last words from Draven’s lips drift through my mind....

“Time for sleep my princess...” 

Chapter
60

Making P
lans.

I woke up to hear Draven’s voice and when I heard no reply I knew he was on the phone. I was in his bed as I was before and it felt like groundhog day. I seemed to have had an entire night of waking from dreams and I didn’t know what to expect from one wake to the other. I remembered my first dream and quickly shook it away. Then the next one came and I savoured it for a while, even recalling the smell of
the
Persian sun on Draven’s skin. His kiss, his strong desperate touch. It made my insides go gooey. I rolled over and smiled into the pillow as I stretched out like a lazy cat. It was strange, like all the pain I
had
endured was like it had happened to somebody else and I had a clouded memory of it all. I mean
,
I knew what had happened but the pain...I’m sure it had been intense but it’s hard to even compare it to anything...I just didn’t remember the fe
eling and I knew this was a damn
good thing! Something like that could leave more than just visible scars.

“Yes
,
I will tell her, no she’s waking up now...alrig
ht Libby, Not to worry.... Good
bye
.
” I rolled around and was surprised to find Draven stood next to the bed staring down at me. From his voice it had sounded as though he was on the other side of the room. Well not anymore!

“Good morning
.
” I said smiling and stretching once again until my toes curled.

“Well technically
,
it’s the afternoon
.
” He said smiling back.

“Draven! You let me sleep to
o
late, I missed classes!” I sat up and realized I was
now
naked
,
as the covers rolled off me and rest
ed
around my waist. Draven’s eyes flash purple once and then simmered down.

“Keira my dear, I hardly think today was going to be one of those day
s when
you went to class!” He sounded exasperated at the idea.

“Why not?”

“You need rest
,
not history class
.
” He lifted the cover
s
to my shoulders like a mother hen and I rolled my eyes.

“You gave me a history class this morning if I remember
,
” I said teasing him making him now the one to roll his eyes.

“That was to help you sleep so don’t make me regret it. Besides all you have been through lately, you need taking care of with some peace and quiet. Therefore
,
that is what you shall receive
.” He sounded happy
on the matter
,
which had me worried. Dear God
, what did he have planned...k
nitting and sounds of the ocean on re
peat?

“I’m fi...” I stopped when he tilted his head and frowned at the word I was about to use.

“I’m all good. I don’t feel tired and I feel all fit and healthy
.
” He wasn’t looking convinced so I tried a different route.

“I gather Lib’s rang and wanted to know where I was?”

“No
,
I rang her
.
” He said before leaving the bedside to get me some water.