*~*~*
Taher was reading poetry when Jahanara and Aradishir came to see him.
"I'm happy to see you looking so much improved," Aradishir said. "When you were brought to your room after, you were so pale and still…"
Jahanara swept over to sit next to him as Kurosh moved out of the way, her concubine Nazli sitting on her other side, casting Kurosh a look of apology. "You looked like you were already dead, Bakhti." She touched his cheek, just below the cut there that still stung a little bit when he talked too much. "The healer refused to say whether or not you would make it for certain, and Mother was the most distressed I have ever seen her. We really thought…" She hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Bahkti. I was being a complete jerk. I didn't even care about the stupid earrings, I was just focusing my ire there instead of onwhat was actually bothering me. The minute I said that stupid joke at dinner, I knew it wasn't as funny as it had seemed in my head."
He curled an arm around her shoulder. "It's fine. Normally I wouldn't have gotten so upset, I'd have just called you a spoiled cow and Mother and Father would have been mad at both of us."
She sniffle-laughed against his shoulder, then slowly sat up. "Here, you may as well keep these. They looked better on you, anyway." She shoved the box containing the earrings into his hands. "Stop getting into trouble, Bakhti."
"It's not like Iaskedto get beaten almost to death." He grinned faintly, ducking his head, when that predictably got him yelled at by everyone. When they finally left off, he glanced at Aradishir. "How has general audience been?"
"Boring," Aradishir said. "I don't know how you sit there for hours upon hours at a time, just an endless cycle of tragic farmers, abusive husbands, squabbling shopkeeps, and more. It feels like the problem solving never ends, like nothing is ever actually accomplished."
"The accomplishment is in the reports and the thank you cards they send you later," Bakhtiar replied. "One shopkeep was so happy I forced the city to put an end to a rat problem that was definitely the city's fault that he sent me a cask of wine that had been sitting for ten years and would have made him a fortune. Because of rats he'd been plagued with for nearly as long. It's more satisfying than paperwork and council meetings."
"Well, I can't argue that," Aradishir said with a sigh. "Thankfully, that duty has been shunted to Jahanara, who likes arguing with them the same as Mother. Everyone missed you." Aradishir moved to sit down nearby, his concubine Heydar beside him. "Everywhere we go, servants stop to ask us aboutyou, many have even given me little notes and such to pass along."
"I read them earlier, thank you for delivering them."
"What was in them? More 'get well soon' and such, I guess?"
Farrokh replied, "Oh, no, once His Highness was capable of being awake for more than five minutes, he immediately wanted to start catching up on everyone and everything. He's used to keeping up with the lives of the staff and all the backrooms gossip."
"You keep up with the lives of all the staff?" Jahanara asked in bewilderment. "How? There are so many, and many of them change often. They're so busy all of the time, I try to minimize interfering with their day."
Bakhtiar shrugged. "Father said connecting with people is important, as is understanding what each and every person does and contributes. I like talking to people anyway, and the staff always offer vastly different perspectives than nobles with an angle. Also if you're nice they really make certain to get you all the best pieces of pink melon and punch with good bits of fruit and everything else."
Aradishir was looking at Reza standing nearby. "Don't you guard his office?"
"Yes, Your Highness, but he requested additional protection here, especially when Lord Kurosh is off making inquiries."
"Inquiries, is that what we're calling it now," Jahanara said dryly.
"Oh, shut up and go away both of you. It's not my fault I had the sense to choose an assassin."
Aradishir gave Reza another look, something pensive and faintly amused that Bakhtiar didn't follow.
As they clearly weren't going anywhere, he heaved a loud, dramatic sigh, handed off the earrings to Kurosh, and said, "Would you like to stay and listen to poetry with me? Or Taher can read something else."
"Ooh, I want to listen, poetry is so much better aloud," Jahanara said.
"I'll call for more wine, my princess, and the others, if it's all right for them to join us?" her concubine asked, and at Bakhtiar's nod added, "Thank you, Your Highness. We're most honored to enjoy your company for a time."
Bakhtiar waved the words aside, and gestured for Taher to resume as they all got settled.
*~*~*
"Lord Messar," Shahjahan said. "Surprising no one, it is Lord Messar who arranged the attempt on your life."
"You should let me deal with him," Kurosh said.
"I wish I could," Shahjahan replied, "but alas we must deal with him properly. Which unfortunately means solid proof, which we don't have because he is unfortunately smart."
"Not that smart if his immediate reaction to being rightfully called out on his childish behavior was to have me killed." Bakhtiar accepted the sip of wine Farrokh offered up. It had been nearly two weeks since he'd been hurt, and after much whining and pleading he'd been allowed out to the royal gardens.
Shahjahan had come to see him not long after he'd settled. Bakhtiar could not recall the last time his father had spent such time with him. They always had other things to do. It was nicer than he'd ever admit aloud.
