He turned his head, and immediately felt silly, because Farrokh was fast asleep behind him, long hair spread out in a hopelessly tangled mess that would annoy him greatly when he woke. He reached out to comb gently through some of the mess, the comfort of the touch vastly outweighing the pain of the movement.
Turning back to his mother, he asked, "How long have you all been singing funeral hymns? Getting a bit ahead of ourselves? Or just rehearsing?"
"Bakhtiar, I will finish the job myself if you do not stop," Fahima hissed. "You know good and well we were singing healing hymns."
He grinned, feeling almost shy for no good reason at all, except he couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to jest with his mother either. "I guess they worked."
Two of her concubines giggled, and a third said, "Perhaps too well, but jokes aside, Your Highness, we are so very happy to see you awake and notably improved."
"Thank you. Will someone tell me the full tale, now? Father said Kashi was the reason I was ambushed, but he wouldn't say more than that. Where is Father?"
"He resumed his duties, as you were clearly improving and on the mend, though he wanted to sit with you longer," Fahima said, reaching out to hold his hand in both of hers, the same as Shahjahan had done before. "He will come by later this evening." She squeezed his hand, then let go and drew back enough a servant could give him a cup of warm tea. Chamomile with honey, by the smell.
"I was just curious. What of Reza? Is he all right?"
"Your guard has been suspended for failing to do his job."
"He didn't fail!" Bakhtiar said, sitting upright, ignoring the agonizing pain that brought save to swear softly and clutch at his stomach. "Kashi was trusted by all of us, he goes into my office with some poor servant ordered to shadow him all the time. Absolutely nothing was untoward. Every single one of you trusted him too, so why is Reza the only one being punished?"
Fahima inhaled sharply, her eyes burning as she met his gaze. "If you think for one second that we are not all punishing ourselves over the long list of very stupid mistakes we have made that led to you nearly dying, Bakhti, you do not understand just how dire the situation was." She held up a hand when he tried to reply. "Your point stands, I concede it. Reza will be reinstated with apologies and lost pay."
"I want him here," Bakhtiar said. "I don't remember much, but I remember he fought so hard to get to me. The man who attacked me blocked the door somehow."
"He knocked the bookcase over, jamming it shut," Aaliyah said from the foot of his bed. "You are right, Sergeant Reza fought hard; his arms were bleeding heavily, and he broke two fingers. He's asked about you practically every hour."
Fahima motioned, and two of her concubines rose and slipped from the room. "As to Kashi, apparently he's been sabotaging you for a very long time. Kurosh first brough the matter to our attention the night of the banquet, after you left, though he said he had no evidence at the time. We still do not knowwhyas he is being very tight-lipped, but we'll break him eventually. Who paid him to help arrange the attack on you we are also still trying to figure out."
"Sabotaging me?" But even as he asked, he could see it. His missing papers, the lost earrings, so much more, all trusted to Kashi. He'd just assumed there were mix-ups or something; it had never occurred to him that Kashi was doing it all on purpose, and didn't he feel like a damned fool now.
"Yes, you follow, I see it," Fahima said, sounding near tears again, and the idea of his mother crying was unbearably heartbreaking. "I am sorry, Bakhti. We wrongfully accused you of so many things, without ever once stopping to think. It was shameful behavior, and it was made painfully obvious that we have been hurting you deeply for a long time. I have failed you as a mother and I am sorry."
"You thought I was being careless and forgetful and acted accordingly," he said, though not without bitterness. "Painfully obvious how?" All he'd done was abandon dinner. His sister had done that twice and nobody thought she was hurt deeply, just occasionally a spoiled brat.
A sleepy voice from beside him said, "You don't recall what you said when Kurosh and Reza got to you?"
"I don't remember much of anything, honestly. Reza trying to get to me. Kurosh killing the man, both of them screaming my name. I didn't know I'd said anything."
Fahima sighed. "I will not ask forgiveness, my love, but know that I do love, have always loved you, and always will. Get some more rest, all right? I will come to see you this evening."
"No more funeral hymns."
"They were for healing!" she hissed before huffing and walking off.
The door had barely closed when it opened again, and one of the guards stepped inside escorting Reza.
"Your Highness!" Reza said, rushing across the room entirely oblivious to the guard trying to keep him at an appropriate distance.
Bakhtiar waved the guard off.
"I'm so happy to see you awake, Your Highness," Reza said, stopping several paces away from his bed and dropping to his knees to bow low. His eyes looked bruised from lack of sleep, his skin was far too pale, and his arms heavily bandaged all theway to the shoulders, two of his fingers splinted. "I was so scared when I finally got to you. I cannot apologize enough for my failure to protect you when that was my sole duty."
"You were betrayed the same as the rest of us."
Reza glared angrily at the floor. "I should have been smart enough to realize those stupid drunks were a distraction."
"Stupid drunks are a matter of course in the palace," Farrokh replied dryly. "Please, Sergeant, you served honorably, hurting yourself like that to get to him."
"Thank you for giving me a second chance, Your Highness. I was expecting to be rightfully terminated any moment."
