Sultana

WHEN NOOR was finally dragged into the throne room, they dropped her on the ground kneeling on her knees.

"Careful there. She's your future queen. Don't come crying to me when she gets you both expelled," Marzaban warned, the guards instantly turning alert.

Noor looked around the room, her breath was taken away within seconds. It was big, bigger than she had imagined. White walls with gold designs running down and up around the ceiling. Windows on each side, the beautiful sight of the sun peeking in. Red long carpets went on parts of the floor, the widest one going up the small steps to the throne where the king would usually sit.

When the door opened, she knew it was the king, immediately forcing her head down. She didn't bother to talk to anyone, her face facing down the ground, knowing that the king had made his way to his seat. She was angry, sad, broken at the fact that she was going to die and that she knew how it would happen.

"Sultan. What would you like us to do?" Asked the man, waiting for the next move.

"Get the crown and rings. I'd like to see if she's strong enough."

Was this a game? Noor slowly lifted her head to meet his blue eyes. She knew her angered expression was evident, her hands still clenched.

What she didn't expect was for the king to look tired. Dark circles under his eyes, his hair looks like he didn't bother with it, messy and carelessly pushed back. And even though he seemed exhausted, he had a smug grin on his face, sitting lazily on the throne. Jewels topped him from the head to the toe, the golden crown on his head slipping a bit from his head.

"Your first expression is quite warm," he joked, the sides of his lips turning upwards a bit more. Noor didn't reply, giving him the same cold glare.

"You don't seem to like me much. In fact, you're the first girl to glare at me. Others would chatter my head off or try to get my attention in unbelievable ways."

"I was pulled here against my will. You must be unreasonable to think I would be smiling at your sight."

His expression turned to shocked, changing quickly to amusement.

"I did give you choice, the only thing is one of them included you losing your parents."

"You know that was not a choice for someone like me. Do you take me for an idiot?"

"Usually no one would dare talk to me with that tone, but I'll let it go." He sat straighter, wanting to get a better view of the girl in front of him. "After all, you might end up being my wife and I really don't want any... high leveled acrimony between the both of us."

If it wasn't for the man returning into the room, Noor would have thrown every bad word in the book.

"I've gotten them, would you like to start?"

Cyrus nodded, standing up and walking towards her. He was taller than she expected, his long striders giving him the ability to reach her quickly.

"You may want to stand for this," his hand stretched out for her, but she pushed herself off of the ground instead of using his help.

What Noor seemed oblivious to was the fact she was amusing him by the displeasure she showed towards him.

"Marzaban, please start."

The brunette nodded, fixing the king's crown with a displeased frown. Marzaban started speaking words of Latin, the crown that was in the hands of a guard floated out of his grasp and slowly onto her head. As soon as it settled on its new owner's head, everyone stepped back. They stared, cautious, and excited to see the next few events unfold.

Noor could feel something heavy weigh her body down, which forced her to kneel down again, but Marzaban managed to catch her before she had crashed her head against the thin red carpet that would fail at protecting her skull from the hard marble floor. Whispers started around her, something passing through her body multiple times. Then, stabs of needles all around her body caused her to scream loudly. Tears slipped down her face as she tried to shake off the pain, her hands gripping Marzaban's arms.

"It's working!" Marzaban encouraged. "Look at her tears, it's water."

Her body slowly slumped down against the sorcerer as the pain stopped. She was panting heavily, her head dizzy. He slowly let her go, her body now resting on the floor instead of his hold.

Cyrus had his eyes closed, a small smile on his lips.

"How do you feel, your highness?" Marzaban asked, wanting to know if this had worked or not while he stood up from the ground to give Noor a breath.

"I feel wonderful. I feel much more free."

"That's good to hear. Do you wish to have the rings now?"

Cyrus nodded, taking the rings and placing one on his finger.

They both looked at the girl, her arched back moving with her breathing.

"Noor, can you please look at us?"

She didn't want to. She didn't want to look at anyone. Something felt different, and it made her weirdly uncomfortable. Everything seemed unpleasant. Her body felt weaker, whispers from earlier events still lingering around her.

"Noor?"

Her head slowly lifted to meet theirs, to see their gasped expression as tears still slid down her cheeks.

"My..." the Sultan bent down to her level, just like Marzaban did with her brother Jamil. He took her hand and slowly placed the other ring on it, the gold complementing her caramel complexion. When he finished admiring it, his hand went to softly grasp her chin, moving her head to his liking to study the one feature that interested his liking at the moment.

A wide grin on his face appeared, not far from his usual smirk. "What pretty eyes you have, Sultana.

"Silver, just like her husband's ringed fingers."