675-07-16 - Grumpy Cousins
| Grumpy Cousins | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary: Arif Sefu finds his late morning sleep disturbed by an unannounced visit from his two cousins, both of which have some news for him. | |||||||
|
It is one of those late mornings at Selafuh Palace, when the sun has already risen far enough to emanate an almost paralyzing heat, a hint that noon is already upon them. 'Them', in this case referring to a pair of noble Sefu ladies, making their way through the hallways of the palace with a pace and the determination that gives away the urgency of their mission. In their wake follow two handmaidens and four guards, but the lady-in-waiting that is so often seen in their company is absent, strangely enough.
Inaya and Qamara Sefu are nieces to the Shaykh, cousins to the heir, Nawaab Arif Sefu, and already of an age, where marriage should earnestly be considered, lest they would end up as old maids. Inaya being the younger of them, almost 25, and Qamara nearing the age of 28. Questions of marriage do not seem to be on their minds however, as their grim faces suggest. Reaching the door that lead to Nawaab Arif Sefu's chambers, Qamara will knock against the door, exchanging a glance with her sister before they are let in by a servant.
"Nawaab Arif," Qamara will greet, before even spotting the man in question. "Forgive this unannounced visit, but the matter is of some urgency." A slight tremble of her voice points more to anger than insecurity. Being the older of the two it seems it will be her who will do the talking, while Inaya stands beside her, content to listen and to give Qamara's words more emphasis by her presence.
"What a wonderful morning!.." Arif Sefu drawls, stretching in his bed and yawning widely. He extends his hands to the sides and two beauties slide closer to him, placing their heads on his shoulders.
One of these beauties is a petite young platinum blonde. She managed to keep her skin pale even in the lands of the sun, becoming a very popular and exotic whore... or concubine, should one want to put it nicely. She twines one of her legs with Arif's and cuddles her naked body to him closely, raising a hand to brush his hair. The young woman keeps her light blue gaze fixed on the dark one of the young Nawaab.
The other beauty is different. She has a skin darker than the man's beside her. She has quite a huge stack of curly black hair. She looks like a healthy young woman, who actually likes tasting some sugar, candies, cakes, muffins. Though, that just makes her more cuddly. So Arif squeezes her rear playfully, leaning to offer a kiss to her lips.
"Are you happy, my lord... Yesterday you were so... mad," comes a whisper from under the blankets, together with the announcement of the guards, that two cousins decided to pay a vist at the wrong time...
The man grins mischieviously, hearing the names. The redhead straightens, getting out from the blankets and looks at Arif, whom she straddles, "We should leave?" There is disappointment in her tone.
Arif's smile widens even more and he shakes his head, "Oh, no... It's just a few ladies, who are in need of some lessons from you, my dears. You will see..." The man laughs and nods for his guard to let the women in.
The redhead slides down and curls up on the bed, where she finds place. The dark skinned woman tugs the blanket to cover Arif a bit, when he greets, "Welcome, welcome! Oh, please, join us... How have you been? Long time no see. What is so urgent, that it couldn't wait till breakfast? Don't tell me! Is it the day, when someone of you were betrothed?!"
His eyes are sparkling with amusement and he obviously teases them. The three concubines giggle, fixing their gazes on the two other women.
They are no frequent visitors to Arif's chambers, that much is true, so when the two Sefu cousins realize the nature of the room they have been led to by the servant, the both of them look at first very much inclined to leave at once. Inaya gasps when her gaze brushes the bed, taking a step backwards as if to head out until Qamara's hand finds hers and holds her back. The expression of the older cousin is stony indeed, her lips devoid of a smile, because she can find little amusement in such a sight.
"Cousin," she remarks dryly, "do us a favor and send your whores out of the room. Or get dressed - for a moment - to speak with us in your study. This is a matter of grave importance, and no, this is /not/ about some betrothal of either of us. Why, it is almost noon, and you are still here? Pshh. A fine Shaykh you will become." A low snort accompanies Qamara's words, and her angry glare alone should suffice to drive the three naked beauties out of the bedchamber.
"See..." Arif leans to whisper to the dark skinned whore. He turns to the pale one and adds to her, "Never be such a grumpy one, because..." His gaze drifts to the redhead. He offers her a wink, "... you will be bankrupt!"
The women chuckle and blush a bit. One of them, the pale one, leans to place a peck on Arif's cheek, "But it would be nice to listen to the grumpy ones, otherwise, we might incur their disgrace!"
Arif pats that nicely rounded rear, "Don't worry, when you are under my wing, you are safe! Wait for me... The morning is looong..." And he gets from under the blankets, exposing all his handsomeness for everyone's gaze. He gets out from the bed in all his arrogance. Then he leans to take a robe, curls into it and walks closer near the door to his study. The man gestures with his hand for cousins to walk inside, while his amused dark eyes studies them.
He will walk inside just after them.
Qamara does not seem to be impressed with Arif's teasing, one brow going up but nothing more, when he taunts them playfully whilst cooing into the ears of his three playthings. Her arms have crossed before her and she turns to the side, away from the sight of her cousin when he leaves the bed naked as he is. Inaya mutters a low curse under her breath as she closes her eyes just in time, and averts her face as well.
Once the light rustle of his robe gives away the Nawaab is somewhat dressed, both cousins of his will turn once again to look towards him, and then follow his inviting gesture and enter the study.
"Very well," Qamara will begin, once the door has closed behind them. "This is by no means a light matter, cousin. You have once again proven to have a most unfortunate way of picking your friends. As this is about one of your closest, I believe. That commoner, Azzam Athir Alzahabi." She spits the name out, the anger now evident in both her tone and her face. "That rich scum bag, the one that fancies himself to be so irresistible, has managed to outdo himself! Not only has he dishonoured a lady of noble birth, but also he has gotten her with child."
They both could think that Arif is not paying attention. All the time, while they are talking, he just slowly walks closer to the window, looks through it, stretches a bit more and yawns. Then he turns to his desk, walks closer, flops into the chair, where he starts to play with his robe, brushing the fabric gently from the dusts, which do not exist. He even yawns a few more times, showing how bored he feels.
When Quamara finishes, Arif brings his hand to the edge of the table and taps there for awhile, before sighing and shaking his head, "That's just rude... That rich scum bag is my best friend and companion. I do not stumble in the early morning to your chambers to cry how homicidal boring your friends are..." The man sighs one more time before adding, "Plus... What do you want? That lady, likely, was one of these pretty faces, who loooooves smiling, giggling, squirming on the bench of the tavern in front of a more handsome man. It's not Azzam's fault, that your lady was too pretty. She had a chance to be like you two and die alone with the name of PRUDE on her forehead. Listen... If she didn't want all this, she always could say - no. Now she has, what she provoked. What do you expect me to do?"
He rolls his eyes and fixes the dark gaze on two other women.
Qamara snorts and rolls her shoulders as she glares at Arif. "This isn't just one of 'these pretty faces' as you call them. This is about our lady-in-waiting, Begum Sherzad Al'Hakim, daughter of the Nawaab of Ghaznawa, she used to be an innocent girl. But right now she is just broken, Arif!" Dropping his title as she is already beyond courtesies in her anger, Qamara will stomp on the ground with her foot. "And now we had to explain to her father that she is expecting a child FROM A COMMONER! We had to write him about this, of course. We got his letter yesterday, he is furious, threatens to send assassins to get rid of your man. It is a humilation, Arif! He humiliated the Nawaab, your Azzam. Plus he seduced poor Sherzad and dumped her as soon as he's had his way with her. Like he were a Shaykh, or the heir, like you. But he isn't. He needs to be reminded of his place, cousin. That's why we've come to you; to speak with you about this."
Inaya nods, she looks all pale but the expression on her face is firm and displeased. But it is Qamara again who raises her voice next. "Even you must see when there is trouble afoot. Do we need a feud like this to enfold, that will weaken our region? I've come to you first. Your father isn't aware yet. But if you leave me no other choice, I will seek him out, this I swear, by our father and mother!"
The balance of mind does not abandon the young Nawaab. He smiles calmly and raises his hands up to the ceiling, "First of all," he says very calmly, "Lower your voice. It is you, who just mentioned, that I /am/ the Shaykh-to-be. So, pay respect. I do not want my ladies in the other chamber," he gestures to the doors, having in mind his three whores, "To be scared, that you will stab me. My chambers are for relaxation and pleasure. If you won't change your manners, I will ask you to leave..."
Arif's smile brightens and once again some sparkles of mischief can be noticed, "Second, you can go and cry out on the shoulder of my father. Likely, he will blame her, too. You know my father. He does not care much about... anything, except me, because I am his only son as he wished. Also, likely, he will blame you two. She was your lady-in-waiting. Shouldn't you take care of her? How does it happen, that you lost her and she got time to ride my friend? Also... Oh no!" The man shakes his head, "That part doesn't count. I wanted to ask, why you didn't teach her how to protect herself from having a child?.. But, likely, you the innocent ones can't be good teachers..."
The man scratches his neck a bit, before glancing at the younger cousin, "Also, are you really stupid, or just naive? Do you honestly believe, that most of the ladies save their innocence for their husband? I honestly tell you, each moment there are some ladies pleased or pleasing commoners in Felaguria. So, it is not the end of the world!"
The man leans closer to the jug on his table and looks inside. Disappointment leaves his throat, "Empty..." Then he looks back to Quamara, "But yeah, she ruined her life... I blame her tutors, of course," the man looks at his cousins accusatorily, before adding, "Now remember, her father is lower noble. Azzam is very rich commoner. Maybe, it's a good match? So... leave it to me, so you two don't ruin everything even more!"
Following his advice obviously, Qamara continues in a calmer and colder tone. Even though his explicit way of putting things does make her flinch now and then. "Forgive me, cousin. I did not mean to show disrespect to you in your chambers. But you must understand that this is a matter of importance. Of course, Inaya and I warned Sherzad against him, we did not watch over her day and night, but there is the chaperone and the guards to blame. But it was the cunning of your Azzam that made it possible for him to sneak himself into her tender heart and he broke it once he was done with her. I am curious... would you speak the same way if this were your own daughter that got violated by a commoner? Would you agree to such a thing even if it happens now and then? But I am relieved and grateful to see you are sensible enough to clear this mess up, Nawaab Arif. For that I thank you, cousin." Qamara curtsies to Arif, and Inaya soon follows her example. "I feel though that Sherzad's father will need some persuading too, to agree to such a match. But I am certain you will figure out how to achieve this."
Arif just rolls his eyes, "My daughter is not your concern as this matter is no longer your concern too. If I said, that I will deal with it, I will. Now you are free to go to whatever you usually do!"
The young Nawaab stands up and joyful smile comes back to his features, when he is ready to go back to his whores. Though, before he leaves, he adds, "I will go to the Isles soon. They, finally, promised to arrange this marriage. I will make sure to keep an eye on a possible match for you two..." And then he just leaves the study room.
Leaving a pair of slightly baffled cousins behind that will hurry after him to get out of his chambers, before they will be forced to witness any of what he may have in mind at the moment. After the door to Arif's chambers falls shut behind them, Inaya will sigh with relief. "So... that went better than we thought, didn't it?", she remarks to Qamara, speaking for the first time since they came here for their visit.
"Indeed," Qamara replies thoughtfully. "I only wish Arif wouldn't make these confrontations so hard for us. But after all, there seems to be more to him than what he wants to make us believe." She smiles at Inaya, before she takes her hand and they return with their retainers that had waited before the door, to their own quarters, where a devastated lady-in-waiting lies on the cushions and sobs.
