Part I:

The sun was blazing hot in the summer afternoon. The heat was creeping in through the burqa Aaliyah had on. Also, the crowded place wasn't helping her at all. People were pushing each other to make their way through the small place. Aaliyah stepped through the crowd into a corner and observed on. Tugging the burqa away from her body, Aaliyah released a sigh of relief. She hadn't worn it in a long time and the cloth was making it harder to breath. She'd rather be at her home naked or just a single blouse on.

It wasn't like she didn't like it. She liked it, well loved it when she was a child. It was her favorite thing to wear when she went out on the evening rounds with her mother. But, now it just reminded her of all the things she had lost.

She noticed the local spices shop where she was supposed to make a scene. Still, she scanned the market place once again making sure that it was the only spice shop. The note said that, she was supposed to make a huge scene at the spice shop and draw all the attention to herself. After that, she would receive what to do next via a messenger.

The spice shop was on the other side of the road so, making her way through the crowd she reached the entrance. The name plate on the entrance said- "Dariush's Adviyajat". She observed the shop and saw that the owner was an old man. This was going to be easy, she thought.

She entered the shop and stood by the cinnamon sack. She inspected the powder by taking some of it in her hand and smelled it." Ya allah, this is stale." She exclaimed loudly with squeaky voice , drawing attention of all the people in the shop and some on the road. A shop-worker walked towards her to see her what the problem was. The man stopped aside her and asked," What is the problem, banu?"

"This cinnamon powder is stale. I can smell its staleness." She squeaked loudly, not giving away her real voice.

"Banu, I promise that this is the fresh stock we put on display." He tried calming her down and reassuring the other customers in the shop.

"You think, this is fresh? Huh, this is the worst cinnamon powder I have seen in my life." She huffed at him through the burqa. This seemed to hurt his pride and those of the other shop-workers. The owner of the shop got up from his seat from the cashier's and walked over to see what the fuss was all about.

" What is the problem, Arvin? Is the banu not satisfied?" the old man asked in a gruff voice. Arvin- the worker didn't raise his gaze as shook his head at his boss's question.

"Banu thinks the spices aren't fresh, Sahib." Arvin gestured at the sacks.

"I assure you, banu. All these spices are the best in the marketplace. We have the best spices in Hawodham. Why don't you check out the other spices, till I get you some freshly grinded cinnamon powder?" The old man tried reassuring Aaliyah. She felt bad for the old man, as he was merely trying to save his shop. But, she had to make a bigger scene if she wanted to meet the person behind the note.

Inwardly sighing, she turned to the next sack of spices. A second later, she squeaked out much louder than before," This is even worse than the cinnamon powder. What are these a month old, huh?"

The old man tried to stop her but she moved onto the next sack and shrieked louder, "These are all stale just like you, ya allah." She picked up some powder from every sack and threw it in the air. At this point, there was a huge crowd forming at the entrance. The other workers tried to shoo the crowd away but, no one budged. The old owner tried to stop Aaliyah from throwing the spices in the air, but she was fast and escaped his grip.

The owner had almost calmed the situation, when Aaliyah gasped loudly," Ya allah, he poked me in the waist." This was the final brawl and all the men in the crowd went after the old owner. They all started shouting curses and hitting the workers. Aaliyah swiftly managed to get out of the shop, before anyone hit her.

She laughed as she glanced behind at the mess she had created and walked in the opposite way. As she was walking, a small girl thrust a note in her palm suddenly. She looked at the note and then looked at the girl but, she had already disappeared.

Entering an abandoned alley, she lifted her veil and read the note. It was a set of instructions and had the same handwriting as before. This meant that she was successful in her task. Quickly, getting out of the burqa she adjusted her dress. It was low-priced and didn't attract much attention. Memorizing the directions, she tore the paper into small bits before burning them.

After ten minutes, Aaliyah reached the destination. It wasn't a pretty journey though. It consisted of crossing various alleys, corners filled with dirty litter and men. Aaliyah knocked on the door but, go no answer. So, she tried pushing the door and it worked. The door opened with a thud and Aaliyah entered trying not to place her leg on the dirty stains on the floor. There was no one in the room and Aaliyah questioned herself if she messed up the route.

A footstep broke her out of her thoughts and she turned at the sound. A man came into her view and she was startled by his appearance. His clothing made him look wealthy. His body posture was that of an official. She still hadn't seen his face as it was dark. Aaliyah placed her hand on her dagger hidden on the side of her skirt.

The light from outside shone on his badge on his chest and it sparkled. The design was that of a phoenix and Aaliyah took a step back. The Phoenix represented the Agnidhra kingdom and that meant the enemy knew Aaliyah was alive. Aaliyah tightened her grip on the dagger.

The man finally came into the view and Aaliyah was surprised. She thought it might have been some old businessman but, the guy was young and handsome. She quickly composed herself before speaking," Adara."

The guy nodded at her before speaking," Dagon."

"Why did you call me here? "Aaliyah spoke sternly.

"Why in a hurry, Aaliyah? You have to meet Jahmal?" Dagon smirked at her. This stunned Aaliyah in silence as no one other than Khoury, Nader or Shazia knew her real identity.

"Aa..Aa..Aaliyah? My name is Adara." She stammered a little at his words. She placed a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart.

"Oh yes, janan. Your name is Adara. You live in a small house right around the corner and works at a local bakery. You are an orphan and may also possibly be the lost princess of the Daher dynasty." He spoke nonchalantly but, did emphasize on princess part.

"Who are you? "Aaliyah pointed the dagger at him and spoke loudly.

"Now, now janan. We shouldn't start violence so easily. We don't want the enemies to know that we are ready to attack, do we?" He walked towards her and slowly took the dagger out of her, before throwing it on the nearby table.

"What do you want from me, Dagon?" She looked at him sternly, not giving away her nervousness.

"Ahh, see now we are talking business." He smirked at her and looked around.

"I would like you to know that I'm ready to help you with your revenge against Vaisvanaras."

"How do you even know about that? How did you even find out about me? How do you know anything?" Aaliyah slammed the table in anger at his nonchalance. She had been keeping her secret for so long. She was ready to execute her plans but, this meant that she wasn't doing a good job. Her Abba would be so disappointed in her, she thought.

"I never lost you, Aaliyah. "He looked at her. This broke her out of her thoughts.

"What? "She asked him in confusion.

"I never lost you. I was there, you know. When the Vaisvanaras attacked your kingdom. I was there in the military, just a small soldier on the out-front."

"You were there, when they all came to kill my family. You killed my family, my world. You bastard." She cried out loud before grabbing the dagger and had almost pierced Dagon through his chest, when he caught her wrist and twisted it. The dagger fell from her hands with a click and Dagon twisted her arms behind her. She tried kicking him with the back of her legs but he blocked her move with his knees.

Aaliyah struggled in his hold and groaned out loud. "Will you stop struggling? Do you remember anything about that night, huh Aaliyah? Don't you wanna know the truth of that night?" Dagon whispered slowly in her ears. She finally stoped struggling and he released her from his grip.

Aaliyah sat in the chair and straightened her dress before looking at him for answers. Dagon turned his back at her and started roaming around the room, deep in thoughts.

"I saw you that night-ten years ago. A thirteen-year-old girl all struggling to fight back the invaders with a candle stand. Her Nana trying her to stop and get her out of their safely. I was there when your Khoury jaan tried to get you and your brother to safety. Away, from all the madness in the castle. I even killed some of the soldiers to help her. "He didn't look her in the eyes.

"But, why? Why did you help Khoury? You were ordered to kill us all. "She questioned his motives.

"Because I saw the look in your eyes. The look which I never wanted to see any one's eyes."

"What look?"

"That look where you lost all your family. You only had your brother left and you were trying your best to keep him safe. That look where you saw your family die in front of your eyes." He slammed the table hard and bent over it. Aaliyah was left speechless at this, as she still got chills every time she remembered that night.

"The Vaisvanaras had been planning to attack Hawodham for a while. Daher dynasty was against them and they didn't want any hurdles. We were all ordered to kill every person in the castle. But, when I got here all I saw was the innocent faces of people who were going to die. I saw your small innocent self fighting with all strength you had. I saw the castle light up in fire after Khoury got you out of here. Screams of people from that night still haunt me." He still hadn't looked up at her.

"But, how did you find me? "She questioned him not satisfied with the answer.

"You found me. One day, when I was here on official job I saw you in the market. You were fighting with a shopkeeper for some kid who was accused of theft. I saw that fierceness in your eyes, the one I had seen on that night. I immediately knew that it was you. After some stalking and bribing stupid people, I finally found your address. After that, I followed the patterns of killings of officials and it all led me to you." He chuckled at his memory of hers.

"Why do you want me to help you? Why do you want to help me? "She exclaimed loudly at him.

He stopped chuckling and finally looked up at her, eyes full of fire and rage. "Because I want to finish the Vaisvanaras-every single one of them."

~~~

Vocabulary-

Adviyajat - Spices.

Banu - Madam.

Janan - Love.