Chapter 2: Harith
"What's keeping you, Harith?" Hamza asks impatiently.
"Just a moment!" I replied back in a loud voice so that he could hear me from the floor below. I rummage around my room to find the appropriate clothing for the outing to no avail. I rush over to Shareef's room and rouse him. I did feel bad for disturbing him during his time off but desperate situations call for desperate action!
I fill him in on what is going on while he probably gets up. He then sluggishly proceeds to help me to which I drag him along to my room. We agree to split up the room to make the search more efficient and quicker.
"Anything on your side Sir?" He asks in a plain tone. "Ha-ha, very respectful of you, but not now." I reply amid my searching. Then he smugly looks at me while holding the exact thing we had been looking for in his hands. "I think I found it!" He sarcastically remarks.
"You had it this whole time didn't you?"
"Maybe." He jokingly replies, looking away.
I try to get it off him so he puts it out of reach.
"Come on," I pleaded, "please!"
He gives it to me and helps me get ready. Once I'm done up, I rush out the door while thanking Shareef for all his help (although some of it was unnecessary). I scramble my shoes on and we leave the front door.
I'd asked if Shareef wanted to tag along while I was getting ready but he refused even after many offers so if he comes to regret it later, it is not my fault! I huff.
Shareef can really be a handful sometimes but then again, I suppose the same applies for me so that makes us even, I guess. (It's at times like this just how hopeless I actually am without Shareef around). Asides from the occasional teasing and height-bullying, he really isn't a bad person, I swear!
He has been like an older brother to me, always putting me before himself and tacking me under his protection.
As it would turn out, when I had turned 3, my father, The Count, went out to the slave vendors to purchase a slave to take care of me in my youth. He only wanted what was best for this eldest and so Shareef has been my assistant (I don't like calling him my slave!)
My father had stroke a promising deal with him, he says, which was that if he would take excellent care of me, my father would buy his freedom!
"Now, that's a deal no slave gives up ever!" he said.
His first impression of me was that I was going to be some spoiled, rich, arrogant kid who would demand anything and everything, driving his life mad but he couldn't have been further from the truth of the matter. We understood and respected each other. Initially, I thought he was my long lost brother and since then we have grown to actually live like brothers. We would be there for each other in our highs and lows, always motivating one another to do better. We would share everything with each other!
Now at present, we are still the same as before, nothing changing between us except perhaps our heights. (He shot up like a giraffe leaving me sorely beat. I need to catch up, or else I'll never win!)
Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention is that Shareef is actually senior to me by 10 years (believe it or not).
I believe he was 15 (I'd say) when he was given to me. It's been 7 years since!
'how quick time flies?' I wonder. Then it hits me,
'That has probably got to do with his rapid growth somehow or else he must have cheated somehow!'
(It still gets me just thinking about it!)
Anyways, me and Hamza make our way to the front yard. By the territory gates I spot Hamza's slave, Halima. Unlike me and Shareef, Haleemah is junior to Hamza by 2 years.
'I personally think slaves should be older than their masters so that they can provide better help in any given situation but whatever.'
On our way there, Hamza queried me,
"Are you not going to bring any attendants with you for the outing?"
I reply with the standardised and repetitive answer that I give him every time he asks me this which is 'no'. Hamza, being a good friend of mine, knows how I am yet still bothered to inquire, hoping for the day that I finally act like an upper- class ought to. I know he is doing it for my own best interest, but I genuinely don't need his overdue worries.
I greet from the gate to which she gives a robotic answer almost as if it was automated, void of any human emotion. All this while maintaining a constant gaze towards the ground, not even looking up once!
I get a constant urge to ask her what is going on.
'She was never like this before.'
Something must have happened to have become so quiet but I can't be sure for certain yet.
As I look back to her trailing behind us, for a fleeting second, I see her look at me with a desperate face then she abruptly lowers it again as soon as she spots something in front that gives her the most frightened expression I had ever seen her have and so it continues.
I get the nag that Hamza did something to her to silence her like this for some reason unknown to me. After having been his friend for such a long time, I have come to terms with this really nasty habit Hamza has which is that he makes it his life mission to bring any person that upsets him down.
Honestly it's a really bad habit if you ask me. But with a bit of guiding from the right people in the right direction, he isn't a half bad person.
He randomly giggles a bit.
"What is it?" I ask him.
"It's just that,"
"You never fail to greet Haleemah every time you meet."
"What's so surprising about that?" I question him, giving him a confused look.
"What do you mean?" He laughs and then continues "You 2 are of 2 completely different ranks yet you greet her."
I don't really see the point of this crazy superiority complex people make, setting boundaries to all forms of social conduct. I mean, at the end of the day we are both people who have the same needs and wants regardless of our social class or birth so why treat them differently than any other upper class man or woman?
"The only reason I can see for such treatment is that perhaps,"
He beckoned close to my ear and whispered
"… you like her."
He moved back and ginned.
I was left flustered even at the prospect. I'd never seen Haleemah in that way, rather as a sister whom I adore and respect a lot.
'Unless…'
'Unless, she put him to it!'
My head spun even at the thought!
I turned around only for our eyes to meet again except, this time I was the one turning away. I couldn't bear to face her right now!
I was too shocked to reply and just stayed silent as I processed this information.
'Wait, but that would mean that they weren't fighting.'
'I guess, it's better than them falling out' I thought.
"Regardless…"
Hamza caught me by guard. "What were you saying?" I ask.
"I was distracted by my own thoughts."
He gives me a smug look before repeating.
"I said that I will support you, whatever your decision is on the matter!" He affirmed.
"Oi, you…!"
I try to pull his ear but he takes to his heels in time and flees my grasp, to which I chase after him.
For the first time today, Haleemah smiled which uplifted my mood a bit and helped me take my mind of it. At least she seems to be enjoying herself now and that is all that matters!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone