3. Ghost-quiet

Tall and regal, with deep brown eyes that seemed to hold the wisdom of ages, a pointed nose, and olive skin that gleamed in the sunlight, the crown prince was an epitome of beauty. She found herself unable to tear her gaze away from him, even when she knew she should.

"Abomination, she looked him in the eye. The girl surely has no manners," the elders spat.

"Stand up," the crown prince said slowly, his mouth twisting in annoyance as the slave maid was still kneeling.

Zainab was too shocked and speechless to even hear what he was saying. She just knelt there and stared at him, oblivious to what the elders were saying. All that she heard was the beat of her own heart.

"See!," the queen came beside her son and held his wrist. "Did you see how stubborn she is? Obviously, she would not listen to whatever you say, just as she stole those jewels."

Zainab saw his eyes darken for a while before returning to their normal form, then he began to stride towards her. More murmurs spread in the courtroom, causing Zainab to twirl her head around. Now she became aware of everything around her, including the crown prince walking towards her.

"The gods forbid," the king spat, "Guards, take the prince out of this room." But no guards came forward, fear forming on their faces as they looked between the king and the prince.

The crown prince, however, said nothing to anyone. When he reached where Zainab knelt, he squatted next to her. The darkened gaze was now replaced with a warm smile.

"My dear," he said loud enough for everyone to hear, then he patted her on the head. "Why did you let them drag you here? Why not just tell them the truth?"

Zainab stared speechless at him, her round eyes blinked. Obviously, the prince was not talking to her, but then, he was knelt next to her, looking deep inside her eyes. What in the world?

"What is happening?" the king growled, preparing to storm towards his son. His wife, however, held him back, seemingly intrigued by what was happening.

More murmurs spread in the courtroom.

The crown prince tilted his head, waiting patiently for her to say something. "Will you just let them treat you harshly?" he asked, raising a brow at her.

Zainab was too shocked to even say anything, and when she managed to speak, "My Prince... I... I..." he held her hand and turned his head towards the elders of the room.

"Dear Elders, I have an announcement to make."

More murmurs spread, but none of them reached Zainab as she was fixated on the prince, hoping he would look at her so he could tell her what was going on.

Prince Lekan held her hand firmly and stood up with her. Despite the hard stares from his parents and the murmurs spreading throughout the room, he still held her hand firmly, unfazed by anything they said.

Zainab could not even bring herself to glance at the room again; her hand was fisted on her dress, her gaze had fallen to her bare foot.

"Lekan," the queen said, her voice quivering, fear flashing in her eyes. Fear for her thoughts not to come true, especially with the way her son held the maid. A fear that also engulfed Zainab. Why was the crown prince holding her hand? And what big announcement was he to make?

"Spit it out," the king said, his voice laced with impatience.

"I will but..." The crown prince's gaze traveled to the maid, smiling slowly when he saw that she didn't look at him. "You have wrongly accused her, which is going to be a huge crime, because accusing her also means accusing me."

Zainab's eyes flew to look at him, her chest pounding fast. Perhaps he had seen the one who had done it. That explains why he was so calm. Perhaps the big announcement was to reveal the name of the one who framed her.

"The jewelry was found in her bag," the king said, his eyes darkened and fixed on his son. Only the queen was shooting glares at Zainab.

"Hmm," he laughed slowly. When he did that, a curve would form in his mouth. "I told you about interrogating first before accusing, did I not?" He raised his head, eyes darkened and fixed on his father. The two glared at each other, causing the atmosphere to become tensed and everyone fell silent.

"You have interrupted my court, and now you dare call us liars?" the king said, clenching his jaw.

More murmurs spread in the courtroom. This time, the elders stared at the intertwined hands of the prince and the slave maid. Something was obviously fishy, they thought.

Zainab's chest was heaving up and down. It was more tense now. Could she be saved? Could anyone truly go against the king?

The crown prince's hand tightened around hers, his gaze now narrowed, staring at everyone in the courtroom, "You have all insulted me by falsely accusing her."

Everyone gasped.

The queen stepped forward and said, "My son, what is going on?"

But the prince ignored her and continued. His eyes then traveled to Zainab's. "This lady right here belongs to me."

There was a long silence, and the whole place fell ghost-quiet. Zainab couldn't even hear her own heartbeat. Her eyes were fixed on the crown prince, and for a moment, she didn't hear anything until a loud crack echoed through the room. Her eyes turned abruptly to see the king had crashed a fired lamp to the ground.

The darkened clay shattered in front of him as he roared, "How dare you say such abominable words!"

"It is the truth," the crown prince shrugged, seeming unaffected by his father's anger. "This woman is going to be my future wife, and you have insulted me by treating her this way." More gasps and murmurs filled the room.

"She is a slave!" the queen cried out. "You cannot be with her."

"But I can," the prince said, looking at Zainab's confused face and gently cradling her head. "The jewelry — I specifically gave it to her because she is my woman and the one I want to marry."