Safiya had planned to leave a quiet life far away from the city, and hopefully it would also be far enough that she would never have to endure the pain of seeing Altair...and knowing he had never loved her. But as days passed, she found herself being consumed by a single thought. Or rather...one person, and today, after what seemed like an eternity...
She had finally found him, and this time the princess was determined to face the demon from her past. Memories of him had never really left her, and there were always nights when she would wake up crying and shaking, her heart torn into pieces because she had dreamt of the boy who had been nearly beaten to death because Safiya had dared to go against him.
Even now, she could still recall how the way she sometimes caught him staring at her would be so sickening it made bile rise to her throat, and oh, how afraid she had been of him in those days.
So, so terribly afraid.
But that was then, Safiya thought fiercely, and this was now.
This time, she was older. Wiser. Braver.
This time, she had nothing to lose, and so this time she was determined to put an end to his cruel ways once and for all.
MAHMUD WAS BONE-DEEP weary, and a part of him was seriously considering offing himself, just to be done with his miserable life.
Ah, to be reunited with Eloisa again.
It was a tempting thought, but he also knew Eloisa would likely greet him with an open-handed slap. She had always been a thorough little thing, never the type to leave any loose ends, and in this life there was still one last fucking loose end he needed to deal with.
One last and then...
What the fuck?
Mahmud, having finally made it to the seedy-looking motel Saul was said to have been hiding himself in, was stunned to realize that someone apparently had the same thought in mind, and it was none other than his own daughter.
She had even managed to gag tie the bastard down, with Mahmud's half-brother spread-eagled on the bed, his gaze wild with rage and fear. Safiya still had her back to the door, but Saul had already seen Mahmud enter, and the idiot actually started flailing as if asking for Mahmud's help.
Seeing Saul looking at something behind her, the princess turned, and it was then Mahmud saw his daughter holding a knife in her trembling hand. She was also pale-faced, and oh God, those eyes of hers—-
She had faced so many horrors under Mahmud's roof, and though he had not known it then, the one and only time he had seen the light disappear in her eyes was when she had helped Malina Atwan escape and Saul had the cook's boy savagely beaten to punish her.
That was the only fucking time.
Until now.
And the sight of it made Mahmud forget everything about vengeance.
For so many years, she had been forced to overcome so much hardship under his own damn roof, and all because in his grief as a husband, he had forgotten to be a father to his little girl. It was a sin that he knew there was no forgiveness for. A sin that he could never erase. But while he might not have the means to change the past, the present was different—-
And this time, dammit—-
Mahmud felt inordinately clumsy as he moved forward, and he saw her start to shake as he gently took the blade away from her hand. He tossed the knife away, and when he glanced back—-
A lump formed in Mahmud's throat as he saw tears well up in his baby girl's eyes.
"What's wrong, qalifa?" The endearment translated to 'little girl', and though he had never used it with her before, he chose to do so now, and when he saw his daughter's tears start to fall—-
"P-Papa..."
Her voice broke, and his own heart broke with it.
Stupid, stupid girl.
She should hate him for abandoning her, but instead here she was making it easy for him to be what he intended to be, and what he knew Eloisa wanted her to be.
"Come here, child—-"
She had already thrown herself in his arms before he even finished speaking, and Mahmud started crying himself as he felt her weep against his chest.
"H-He doesn't love me, Papa," Safiya sobbed. "And I c-can't blame him. W-We almost k-killed the queen—-"
"Stupid, stupid girl," Mahmud muttered the words out loud this time, and he forcibly set his daughter away so he could look straight into her eye. "Not we, Safiya. It was all me. Not you. I was the stupid one whose grief almost killed the queen, and you should hate me for it—-"
His baby girl was once again shaking her head even before he had finished speaking. "Never."
Mahmud's chest tightened at the utter simplicity in Safiya's tremulously spoken answer. "Daughter—-"
"I can't ever hate you, Papa," she whispered.
"Then you are an idiot," he said morosely. "You have every reason to hate me—-"
"But I can't."
"I can see that," he acknowledged unhappily, "and I probably should've expected it—-" A scraping sound behind them cut him off, and father and daughter looked at each other in startled realization. How in the world had they ended up having a moment of family drama...while forgetting that the man they both meant to kill was still in the room with them?
Mahmud could only shake his head while his daughter released a faint, rusty-sounding laugh.
"At least I meant to be efficient," he muttered under his breath, "and kill him with one shot to the head. You, however..."
Scraping noise in the background continued, with Saul struggling futilely to free himself, but both of them ignored this.
Mahmud recalled the knife he had taken from his daughter, and his features twisted in a grimace. "You would never have been able to push through with it, qalifa. God knows between that bastard and me,
we should've long starved the goodness out of you well before, but if it didn't happen then, it will never happen again...and you know why that is?"
Safiya slowly shook her head.
"Because you're a good person," Mahmud said gruffly, "just like your mother." And it was true. So damn true that the old man suddenly felt all choked up as he thought about all the years he had wasted, avoiding his own daughter instead of embracing her because with her mother's blood running through her veins—-
It was through Safiya that he could have still a part of Eloisa with him—-
Fingers gently touched his cheek, and it was only then that Mahmud realized he had been crying, and ah, to have his daughter wipe his tears when he had caused her so much pain—-
"Will you believe me," he asked hoarsely, "if I tell you that I loved your mother with all my heart?"
"Nem." Yes?
"Limaadhaa?" Why?
"Because I trust you," Safiya answered simply.
"And when I tell you that I have always loved you as well?"
Safiya could feel her eyes smarting. "D-Do you?"
Mahmud's throat tightened at the fact that his daughter could believe he loved her mother but not her, who was the sole offspring of that love. "You don't have to believe me, qalifa, but yes, I do. I have always loved you—-"
"Then I'll believe you."
"Because you trust me?"
"Nem."
"Then...may I ask that you trust your Papa one last time?"
WITHIN MINUTES OF MAHMUD calling in, father and daughter heard the wail of sirens breaking the silence of the night, and from a distance, they could already see the blinking blue and red lights of police cars coming closer.