Not interested

"Sultan."

Jamal turned to find Sodeeq standing behind him, spotting a black eye and looking worried. Jamal realized that Roksolana must have gifted his best friend with the look. He tried to contain his laughter, but couldn't. The woman was a fierce tiger. His woman was a fighter.

"I'm not sure what is funny, but your lady had refused to eat even a bite since three days ago," Sodeeq explained.

Jamal rushed out of the bed, straight out of the room. If she hadn't had any food for three days, she would be trying to kill herself. Was that how much she hated him? He flung the door open as soon as he got to her side. What he saw made his heart sink. Roksolana was lying on the floor, looking vulnerable.

Roksolana felt weak after starving herself for three days. Her heart continued to mourn the death of her family and tribesmen after she couldn't summon tears anymore. She missed the meadows at her home. She missed seeing little children run around. She missed seeing women wearing hijabs going to and fro, trying to get everything ready. She missed teasing her little brother. She missed training with Asleem. She also missed sitting down and watching her father rule the people.

Her mind registered that the door was opened, she hadn't even bothered to look at whoever the intruder was. She was too weak to argue with anyone today. She just wished she could sleep and never wake up again. That way, all her pains will be gone. She felt someone pick her up and walk but she didn't care. Somehow, she felt secure in the arms of whoever it was and she leaned even closer to the person.

Jamal felt miserable seeing how the spirited woman looked. He was even more concerned about her when she tried to get even closer to him than she already was. He knew she was not in her right mind, considering that she had wanted to kill him days ago. The hunger must have messed up her mind, clouding her judgments, or she was too weak at the moment to carry out her mission.

He sat down on the bed, with Roksolana sitting on his laps and her head resting on his chest. Sodeeq brought in a plate full of food a minute later, still looking worried as he walked out. Jamal picked up the plate of food and made Roksolana inhale it, before dropping it.

"Do you want to eat?" He asked her.

"Abbu." The woman on his lap responded instead.

"You need to eat," Jamal tried again.

"Abaan." She muttered instead.

Jamal realized she was hallucinating about her family. When he checked her temperature, he realized that she was running a fever. Knowing that he had no other choice than what he was about to do, Jamal prayed it all ends well.

"Eat, Roksolana and we can go see your father after that. He's still alive, I promised."

He picked up a spoonful of food and brought it to Roksolana's mouth. At first, there was no reaction. He was about to give up when he felt a weak hold on the spoon he was holding. Jamal realized that he had managed to break through her will. After feeding her, he forced her to drink medicinal herbs too. Then he laid her down as gently as he could on the bed. He covered her up with a blanket and sighed.

He had lied to get her to eat since he doesn't have the intention of taking her to see her father. He wondered what her reaction would be when she woke up and understood how he had fooled her. He knew all hell would be freed if she remembers anything at all. It wasn't letting him see her father that is the problem, it was knowing she would start devising ways to run away from him. And knowing how stubborn she was, Jamal had little doubt that she would succeed in the mission.

He sat down on a side of the bed and watched as she slept. The worried lines were still visible on her face despite being asleep. She looked haggard and tired. Her dress was dirty, as were her shoes. Her hair looked tangled and scattered across her face.

She needs a bath. Jamal thought to herself. He took the hair out of her face and smiled.

He got out of the room and beckoned to the first man he saw.

"You. Get a maid here for me in two minutes." He commanded the man, who scurried off to obey the order. The man was back in minutes with two maids in tow.

"I need you to draw a bath. Also, get some lady's clothes and a hijab. Get some lady body oil too. I want everything ready before an hour," Jamal commanded the maids.

"Yes, Sultan." The maids answered in a fearful tone and rushed out to get it done.

In an hour, everything he commanded the maids was already in the room. And as luck would have it, Roksolana was awake too. She still looked like she needed some more rest, but Jamal was not ready to give her that time. He was already growing impatient, thinking about how she would look in the clothing. Before coming in, he had instructed the maids not to call him Sultan in her presence. For a reason he didn't understand, he didn't feel like revealing his identity to her just yet.

"Just get up if you are awake already," Jamal told Roksolana.

Roksolana was startled out of her wit by the voice. She was also surprised to see that she had a little bit of strength. Even more surprised to find herself on the bed that smelled like the man she had been trying to kill.

"Aren't you getting up?" The voice asked again.

She turned in the direction it came from and saw the man responsible for her misery standing by the side of the bed, hands crossed like he was ready for a fight. Flagging him on the two sides were two women. Roksolana wondered why they were there. She wondered if he had brought them to protect himself from her. She however dismissed the thought as soon as it came. Roksolana might not know the man but she knew he wasn't a coward. Still, she felt like hurting him however she could.

"You brought women to protect yourself from a mere woman like me?" She asked.

Jamal laughed at the cynical way she said it. He didn't care that the maids looked at him like he was an insane man or even the fact that rumors were bound to circulate. He didn't even care that a woman had questioned his prowess. He was happy to see that she was okay now since she could talk to him the way she did. He was also glad she didn't remember anything about how he made her eat her food earlier. After a hearty laugh, he moved closer to her on the bed until he was face to face with her.

"As if." He said in a whisper. Then he straightened back to a standing position, before answering her loudly. "They are here to help you take your bath and get dressed."

"I'm not interested," Roksolana told him, which earned her collective gasps from the maids.

"I didn't ask for your opinion. You have just thirty minutes to bathe and get changed." The Sultan told her, then turned to the maids. "Make sure she is clean from head to toe." He instructed them.

"Yes." The maids replied. One of them immediately moved to undress her.

"If any of you touch me, be ready to be bedridden for a long while," Roksolana warned the advancing maids.

"Let me be clear, Dawn. If you aren't out by thirty minutes or if you try to injure my maids or you try to do something funny, then I'm coming in to bathe you myself," Jamal told Roksolana.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." He told her. "As soon as you are done with her, bring her to general Sodeeq's room." He instructed the maids, before turning to leave the room.