Desert Heat

Chapter Six: Intruder

Prince Aziz was beyond furious due to the injustice that was currently taking place in the palace, and it all looked as though it was set up. He stormed out of the throne room, leaving everyone hanging.

The conversation had begun like any other until it changed course, and Prince Aziz was the one crashing. One of the council elders cleared his throat; it was now time for him to inform the royal family what actions would be next.

"It has been two days since the late king died, and it is only fair that we choose his successor to the throne." The elder informed the royal family, and Prince Aziz quickly looked away, uninterested in matters of the throne. To him, the throne meant nothing, but he did, and he has always loved his people.

The elder had gone into detail about his father's death, details that he had not bothered to ask over the phone, but to his surprise, his father had died of heart failure, a condition he made sure to keep away from the rest of the family. Men like the late king hated the thought that people would view them as weak if word ever got out that they were sick.

"Prince Aziz Hassan" The elder called out his name, and this had Prince Aziz looking at the elder and wondering how the conversation had radiated towards him.

"Yes, I am Prince Aziz Hassan," the prince answered. The prince sensed that everyone knew something; the atmosphere in the throne room had changed, and everything had become tense all of a sudden.

"It is good to see that you are finally back home; it is nice to know that the next king has finally come home to take his place on the throne of his father." The elder had informed him. If ever there was a time that Prince Aziz was speechless, this was definitely it. He turned his attention to his stepmother, and their eyes met. The look in his stepmother's eyes confirmed it; the priest had told the truth.

Without another word from him, Prince Aziz stormed out of the throne room and retreated to his chambers, where he requested that he not be disturbed.

Prince Aziz had been pacing the floors of his room for nearly an hour, trying to come to terms with the information and, above all, the responsibility placed on his shoulders. Being king was something he had never thought he would be. He resented the idea of being a ruler. For years, he had seen how being king had taken a toll on his father and ruined him; the very same throne was the one that gave his late father so much power that it drove the late king mad. It had caused him to invade kingdoms and take over them; it had also made him take the lives of innocent people.

There was a knock on his door, and Prince Aziz rushed to the door, ready to take his anger out on whoever was standing there, even though he had warned that no one was to disturb him. He unlocked the door, and standing there was his stepmother. Seeing the worry in her eyes softened Prince Aziz's heart.

"I know you are angry, my son, but would you care to let your mother in?" The queen asked, and without a word from Prince Aziz, he moved away from the door, allowing his mother in.

The queen looked around Prince Aziz's room, then turned to face her stepson, and she smiled at him.

"I remember telling all the servants that they should leave your room just the way it is because, deep down, I knew that you would come back to me."

"Were you aware of this ploy, mother?" Prince Aziz asked his stepmother, and the smile on her face was gone, further confirming that she knew all about it.

"My son, I wanted to tell you the truth, but I knew that if I did that, you would never agree to come home to your people." The queen confessed. This confession from the queen made the prince feel let down by the woman he called mother.

"So, you lied to me, then?" He asked his stepmother, who looked horrified that he would utter such words.

"No, I did not lie to you, my son! I mainly kept the truth from you," the queen told Prince Aziz as her heart broke for him.

"Well then, I guess you would have to find some other person to fill my father's shoes because I am not fit to become a king," Prince Aziz told his stepmother, his voice calm and collected while his stepmother looked horrified.

"My son, you cannot do that; you have to become the next king."

"Why, mother? I am not the eldest son of the family; your biological son Amaan is the eldest," Prince Aziz told his mother, and she too knew that this was true.

"But Amaan cannot become the king!" She yelled at the prince. Prince Aziz knew why Amaan could not become king, and it was best that he did not venture into it.

"Okay, then why can't Malik become king?" He asked his mother, but she kept quiet, and Prince Aziz knew that there was something wrong.

"Mother, where is my younger brother, Malik?" He asked the queen, who looked away from him.

"I am sorry, my son, but your younger brother Malik passed away three years ago." The Queen informed him. Prince Aziz's pupils widened as shock traveled throughout his body. Still shaking from the new development, he knew that he had more questions that needed answering.

"Why was I not told that my brother died three years ago?"

"Your father threatened to kill anyone who told you of this, so we all allowed the news to die in our hearts," his stepmother informed him, with tears filling her eyes.

"I am not surprised; the old man had always been wicked."

"Please do not say that; your father was a good man." The queen walked up to Prince Aziz and placed her hand below his chin so that he would look at her.

"Father was never a good man, and I think that it is best that neither you nor his other wives defend him. He is dead, and he cannot harm anyone," Prince Aziz informed his stepmother coldly. His words had hurt the queen; the king might have been dead, but he had been her husband.

"Please do this for me; you are the only one left." The queen begged him, but the kingship was the last thing on Prince Aziz's mind, and denying his mother this request was definitely on his mind.

"Mother, there has to be someone else." His voice softened, hoping that this would convince the queen to think of anyone other than him.

"There is no one else; you know that out of all twenty-eight children of the king, there are only three sons—well, now there is only your brother and you. If you do not become kind, then the elders will pick another king from another family," the queen pleaded, only this time she cried, and that broke Prince Aziz's heart.

With the pressure mounting, Prince Aziz walked over to his balcony, hoping that the fresh air would help him think better. The queen followed him to the balcony and stood beside him as they overlooked the courtyard.

"Then is it not best that the crown be removed from our family lineage; this crown has done nothing but tear our family apart?" Prince Aziz suggested.

"No, you cannot do that."

"Why not?" He questioned the queen, as he did not understand why the throne had become such a pivotal part of everyone's lives.

"It is because that is all that your late mother wanted for you." Hearing those words from his stepmother's mouth sent a sharp pain through Prince Aziz's heart. His mother had died many years ago, and the queen's bringing this up made Prince Aziz relive those memories.

His mother was the first wife of the king, and the people loved her. They called his mother 'the queen of hearts' because, unlike the other wives of the late king, Prince Aziz's mother was not vain and cruel. On the day of her funeral, the public mourned her for an entire month, filling the entrance of the palace with flowers.

Now that the queen had mentioned his mother, Prince Aziz was confused. All his life, Prince Aziz wanted to realize his late mother's wishes, and taking over the crown was, unfortunately, one of them. Prince Aziz shut his eyes, took in the sweet scent of his kingdom, and turned to his stepmother.

"If it is my late mother's wish for me to become king, then I will do so in honor of her," Prince Aziz told his stepmother, whose eyes filled with excitement as Prince Aziz agreed to take over from his late father.

"Thank you, my son. I am sure that your mother is proud of you wherever she is. You will bring about the change that this kingdom needs." His mother blessed him, and that made Prince Aziz smile. Prince Aziz turned his attention to the courtyard, behind the bushes, as if something was not right.

He focused his attention on the lovely green bushes, and it seemed as though something was moving in the bushes, and he saw it, or rather, her. A young woman wearing a white-sleeved top, and was taking pictures.

"Mother, how much security does the palace have?" He asked the queen, still keeping his attention on the young woman in the bushes.

"Well, we have over thirty guards, the latest cameras, and the best security systems of any other kingdom. Why do you ask this son?" the queen asked him.

"How safe will I be as a king?" Prince Aziz asked his stepmother, his eyes zooming on the young woman even more.

"My son, if you are worried about your security as the king, you need not worry about that. No one can enter this palace without the guards detecting it." Prince Aziz turned and faced his mother, his face serious.

"If that is the case, then why is there a young woman in my courtyard taking pictures, and from the look of things, she was undetected until I saw her?" Prince Aziz told his stepmother as he pointed at the bushes.

The queen turned her attention towards the bushes; sure enough, she spotted the young woman. Her eyes grew wide with shock that

someone had come into the palace unnoticed.

"Well, I see the palace is not as secure as you thought it was, Mother. Call the guards; I want that woman arrested," Prince Aziz ordered as he walked away from the balcony and into his room.

The queen, now angry and furious, gathered all her strength, for today she would rid the palace of a suspected killer.

"Guards, Guards! Intruder alert! There is a threat to the heir's life!" The queen yelled out from the balcony. The young woman turned her attention to the balcony, and immediately she took off running.

After thirty minutes of searching, the young woman was nowhere in sight. The queen was furious that there seemed to be an attempt on the heir's life. The head guard was now summoned to review the footage and explain why someone had entered the palace grounds without detection.

"How is that even possible?" The queen yelled out so loudly that her voice echoed through the interior of the throne room. Prince Aziz sat next to her, seemingly unbothered by his stepmother's tantrums; all he could think about was who the woman was.

"I apologize, my queen, and I promise you that we will look through all the footage and we will find who the intruder is," the head guard apologized to the queen.

"You better make sure that you arrest that intruder, and only the highest punishment will be handed down to her," the queen stood from her chair and ordered.

"Yes, my queen." The head guard bowed down.

"You may leave." The queen dismissed him, and he did as he was told, leaving only the queen, the prince, and Fahd.

"Now that all this is done, Mother, when is my coronation?" Prince Aziz asked his stepmother, who turned to him and smiled.

"In two days' time, but first we have to find you a bride," his stepmother informed him, and this left Prince Aziz stunned.

"Mother, I am in no rush to get married." Prince Aziz smiled at his mother. Both his mother and his guard, Fahd, looked at each other and then back at him.

"My son, I do not think that you understand this. My son, you have to be married before you are crowned king," his mother informed him, and this left Prince Aziz frozen in his seat.