CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

NAHAN

I walk impatiently, walking half lost, inside my own palace without knowing for sure what to do or how to act.

What the hell is happening to me anyway?

Wandering around the house, unnoticed, I'm already in the kitchen, like a boy, looking for Thurayya's support.

Thura is my aunt, she was my nanny and breast mother, besides being my cook, housekeeper, and shoulder to cry on at the times I needed and when I didn’t.

I go into the kitchen and the three cooks line up, as I walk through the door. Sometimes these protocols hit me. I raise my chest, trying to demonstrate to myself some authority, even though I am so lost, I cross my hands behind my back and do it with a nod.

Jasmine anticipates and returns the greeting, bowing unnecessarily.

- Good morning, Your Majesty.

- Good morning, Jasmine, Fatimah, Nair. Where is Thurayya?

Fatimah steps forward and stutters trying to explain, why do most of the time, people stutter when talking to me? Do I seem so rigid? I'd rather not t