Mir Jafar sat at the table drumming his fingers in impatience! Where was Faseeh? The sun had already set.

"Meher", he screamed.
"Yes zouji*". She came running in.
"Has Faseeh come yet?", he growled.
"No, he hasn't", she replied scared. This fellow terrified her. She never knew when the beast in him would wake up and start thrashing her. She slowly moved back trying to slip away.

"Who asked you to go you vile woman?". He threw a vase at her. She stood their shivering and praying to Allah to send Mir Faseeh soon.

"A foolish daughter of a foolish man! I regret the day I appointed him as the Shahi Hakeem. Worthless fellow. I'll be done with him once I find a replacement", he muttered.

"Saeed was right", Meher thought. "This man has already made my family's life a living hell and he will not rest until he has squeezed the last breath out of them. It is better to die trying to bring him down than to suffer this torture day after day. I will do exactly as Saeed says". She strengthened her resolve.

"Assalamualaikum father", said Mir Faseeh entering. He was sweating all over.

Meher stood not knowing whether to leave the chamber or stay behind.

"Walaikumassalam, Faseeh. A fine time you took to just find out trivial stuff", hissed Mir Jafar.

"Father is angry. His ears are smoking. Not a good sign", thought Mir Faseeh. "By the time I finish telling him what I have found out he will be angrier and wilder with rage. I had better run away right after giving my report".

"Start your report immediately! Do you need an invitation?", he growled. "And what are you standing her for? To eavesdrop? Get lost filthy creature". He threw a plate at Meher and the poor woman ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Father, the people of Maidan-e-Khushk organized a rally and paraded the streets singing praises of Shehzada Sher Shah".
Mir Faseeh gulped, afraid of the reaction.

Mir Jafar's eyes turned red.
"What praiseworthy quality did they find in that ragbag?"

"Shehzada dug 3 wells for them in a single day where as the court had failed to dig even a single well in the past 13 months".

"How dare the treasurer release amount without my knowledge? I will hang the man first thing tomorrow morning"

"No no Father. The treasury did not release a single coin. It was done with the Shehzada's personal savings".

"I am telling you Faseeh, that fool doesn't have a mind to think of such things. A cleverer person is behind this. If the Shehzada had shown even a slight inclination of being such a thoughtful person I would have taken his life long ago. I let him live because my intellect is better than his. But", he kicked the foot of the table "some one is interfering with my plans".

"Do not worry Father, we will find out who he is and torture him to death".

"What else did the Shehzada do today?"

"Early in the morning he prayed Fajr Salah in the Shahi Masjid and had a long conversation with the Shahi Imam*. After that he visited his Mother in the Harem. He then sent men to dig wells and trained in martial arts for 3 hours with his new bodyguard. After his breakfast he studied literature and philosophy with Ustad* Nazeer. After lunch he retired to his chambers. He just came out for his Asr Salah and went back again. What was he doing inside no one knows. I sent a servant inside his room with tea just before I came here to check and he said Shehzada was sleeping".

"Didn't he call for the Shahi Hakeem even once?"

"No, he did not"

"Did he appear to be sick?"

"Not in the morning. Since he slept so much in the afternoon maybe he is sick".

Mir Jafar gave an evil laugh.
"He is training for ascending the throne by sleeping? Let him sleep. Soon he will be sleeping forever! There is nothing to fear from him Faseeh, he is still as foolish as ever. He will not be ready in 15 days even if he manages to live for so long. Soon he will fall very ill and the Hakeem will declare him to have died of haiza* just like his father".

"But Father, I saw him training today morning with my own eyes. He has muscles like iron. That Ethiopian slave was teaching him tactics even our army doesn't know. With training like that even Pehelwan* Yassir will not be able to beat him. Have you forgotten the speech he gave? Had the courtiers not been afraid of you he would have been crowned the Shehenshah then and there. Without training he won hearts, with training he will win the crown for sure. We might be underestimating him. What if he has better plans than we think?"

"He has no plans. It's the person controlling him who has plans. If we don't leave the Shehzada alive of what use are his plans? By tomorrow Shehzada will be so sick he will surely call the Shahi Hakeem, then we can sit back and watch him die. As a precaution we also need to kill the person guiding him so that we can be free of enemies".

"Father is not understanding my point", thought Mir Faseeh. "He has taken it for granted that Shehzada Sher Shah is incapable. Till now if Shehzada had never exposed his abilities it was because he was indifferent and least bothered. It did not mean he was worthless. Seeing him train today I was slowly coming to understand that Shehzada Sher Shah was a lot more than he showed. His new found sense of purpose and the person guiding him were both very strong. What if he somehow continued to live? But arguing with Father right now is not a good idea. I'll have to explain this to him some other time".

"Did you find out about his visitors?", asked Mir Jafar.
"He has had no visitors from outside the palace all his life! Not a single male or female friend".

"Then how is this secret person contacting him? Either he lives in the palace or he is reaching the Shehzada through some means we don't know about", said Mir Jafar.

"From within the palace the possibilities are very low. We have a 24 hour watch on Mahmood Hassan so it's definitely not him. Do you think someone from inside the Harem is guiding him Father?"

"A female you mean?", Mir Jafar gave a sarcastic laugh. "Have you gone mad Faseeh? A female only knows to cook, clean and raise children. A few exceptional cases turn out to be intelligent but plan something so dangerous and that too against me? Impossible!"

How little did Mir Jafar know about females and the power they hold. It was his biggest weakness.

"Continue to keep a watch on Hammad Khan and Mahmood Hassan. Try finding Shehzada's secret guider. Leave now, I have other works".

Unknown to them Meher had mustered the courage to listen to their conversation by hiding behind the curtain at the door. She slowly scampered away.

After Mir Faseeh left, Mir Jafar himself dressed for a journey. He had an appointment to keep.

"Meher!" He screamed.
"Yes zouji"
"Tell the footman to prepare a horse for me"
"As you wish"
He mounted the horse and left in the darkness of the night.

"If he has gone on a horse it means he has gone on a long journey", said Meher to herself. "It's now or never!"
She covered herself in a cloak and stepped outside the gate of her house for the first time in 2 years.

Mir Jafar crossed the northern borders of the capital. His destination was an underground dwelling. A dwelling of horrors and evil magic. The third Shehenshah of Mumlikat-ush-Shahi, being a true Muslim had abolished sorcery from the Kingdom. Traces of it had managed to survive in wilderness as these and also because Mir Jafar gave them cover.

"Master awaits", said the ugly man who had delivered his message in the morning. Mir Jafar nodded and went down the stairs. This place gave him creeps. It was as dark as night and as evil as sin. He never ventured into this place unless he was extremely desperate and this was one of those situations. After a long walk through skulls and bones, bats and cobwebs, he reached the clearing were the sorcerer sat.

He was as ugly and dirty looking as a soiled kitchen rag. Matted hair covered his head and chin which fell down to his waist. His eyes had an evil look and a toothless grin to match. He wore red coloured robe and in front of him burned green colour fire in a large pot. On the walls hung skulls which were to serve as decoration.

"Mir Jafar I have been expecting you. Fortunes are not exactly in your favour are they?". He laughed sarcastically. "Come sit". He patted the mat beside him.

"You know my worry. I want to know what the future holds for me now", said Mir Jafar.

"I had already told you that there is a wall between you and the throne which you need to break"

"I know the wall is Shehzada and I have already made arrangements to kill him. Now I want you to see beyond that"

"Forces of nature work in mysterious ways Mir Jafar. I cannot command to see what I want to see but I am forced to see what is left for me to see"

He lifted a hand full of powder from a clay bowl and threw it in the pot. The fire immediately turned purple and the smoke rose in earnest. Hair raising incantation echoed through the underground clearing. The sorcerer closed his eyes and after a while entered into a trance with a violent jerk!

"Tearing the darkness like a sharp spear,
A bright light in the form of a Malak,
Clothed in black but pure of soul,
Will destroy the Vahash like a common mole,
As bold as brass, a sight to behold.
Will join the Lion in a pure relation,
And together they will bring revolution!"

His voice echoed like thunder and chilled Mir Jafar's bones.

"Who is Malak?", he asked his voice barely a whisper.

"I do not know anything about Malak except for the qualities I mentioned"

"Lion is Shehzada Sher Shah. So Malak has joined Shehzada and they will end up destroying me will they? Well, they are in for a surprise. I will destroy them before that! That foolish doormat will bring about a revolution? The fortunes are lying to you today sorcerer. I have seen that worthless fellow since his birth and he can't solve a single administrative issue. What more can you tell me?"

"Do not play with destiny Mir Jafar. Death is all around you. Escape while you can".

"You are a mad man!" screamed Mir Jafar. "A lying hooligan! You know nothing!" He strode out in anger and did not stop until he had mounted the horse and kicked his shins to get him moving.

"A Malak? Huh! Who is he? Where is he? Hang on.... Had he not recently heard the mention of Malak somewhere?" wondered Mir Jafar. He jerked his horse to a stop mid way.
"Malak.... Malak...", he kept repeating to himself racking his brain.
"I got it! It was Shehzada Firoz Shah who had been telling something about a Malak saving him! I need to find out more".

He whipped the horse and galloped away.

5 November 2016

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FOOTNOTES

*Zouji- My spouse
*Imam- A person who leads prayers
*Ustad- Teacher
*Pehelwan- Wrestler
*Haiza- Cholera

A/N

"And with Him are the keys of the unseen. None knows them but He." (6:59)

"No one knows what he shall earn on the morrow." (31:34)

"Say: No one in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen but Allah." (27:65)

It is a grave sin to involve in soothsaying. People who seek the answers and people who practice it are in open misguidance.