Black Keys (The Colorblind Trilogy #1) (14 page)

“It’s not a big deal here,” he shrugged.

Nauseating!

“I didn’t see her at the wedding,” I told him.

Maybe she’s even meaner than his mother…

“She died giving birth to Janna.”

Snap!

Now I felt worse than garbage for the little thought in my head. She was
dead
.

“That’s sad to hear,” I admitted.

“It is; she was a great woman, very compassionate and kind. I was only...um, eight when she passed away, but I remember her well,” he said.

“Um, how long ago was that? I mean, since she died.” I wasn’t really curious about that, but I wanted to know how old he was, and I didn’t know how else to ask him.

The prince smiled to himself for some reason before replying, “Seventeen years ago.”

Seventeen plus eight…he’s twenty-five!

“May she rest in peace,” I prayed.

“Amen,” he said.

My eyes that had been looking down snapped up to look at him. Did he just say
‘Amen’
to my prayer? Did he believe in
my
God? Or was he just making fun of me?

So many questions I wanted to ask him—like about this
‘Amen’–
but I didn’t know where to start, so I said nothing. But another confusing thought came to my eternally-wondering-and-confused mind.

The prince’s words…

Seventeen years ago…

She died while giving birth to Janna…

Janna is seventeen!

Only seventeen!

My eyes widened and almost bugged out of my skull at the realization.

My brother knocked up a minor.

Oh, my God!

My hand shot up to my mouth, as I did myself from the armchair where I was sitting. I ran to the bathroom, kicking the door closed after I stepped inside, and sagged back into the door, taking deep breaths to calm my sudden need to throw up.

Only seventeen!

Deep breath.

In.

Out.

Seventeen years old.

In.

Out.

A minor.

I couldn’t hold it anymore and I ran the few steps to the sink, leaned in, and threw my guts up.

“Princess, are you okay?”
the prince’s voice asked from outside the door.

I replied with the disgusting gagging noises I was making as I vomited.

“Can I come in, Princess?”

Same.

Seventeen!

“Mona!”
I heard him calling, and–like always–just a few seconds later Mona was there. She knocked before informing me that she was coming inside, and then she did what she’d said she was going to do.

“Oh,
Benty
,” was the only thing she said before holding my hair back for me. “You need to drink some peppermint.”

“How do you feel now?”

“Much better, thank you,” I thanked him quietly, as I handed Mona the glass of water she’d offered me to wash down the pills which the prince had requested her to bring.

“It’ll take up to an hour until you feel the effects of the medication, then you’ll be better, I promise.”

I just nodded.

Seventeen years old.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again after Mona left.

I was just going to nod once again, but… “Janna is just a minor,” I blurted out.

He stared at me for a moment, looks of hurt, sadness and anger flashed in his eyes before he looked away.

“She’s young,” he nodded.

“Is it even legal for her to get married this young?” I wondered.

“Yes. Sixteen is the legal age for marriage, so…”

It was still not right.

Oh, Joseph! What is wrong with you? Who are you, and what have you done to my brother?

The tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn’t stop them from falling.

His hand touched mine, that was resting on my lap, and he patted it in an attempt to soothe me before taking it back to rest on his own lap. Like his closeness did this morning, his hand did too; I still found it comforting. His closeness, it comforted me. It was really strange.

He said nothing, and neither did I. I just sat there on the bed, my back resting on the pillows which Mona had fixed for me. The prince stayed there, sitting on the side of the bed, facing me with his body, but his gaze was fixed on the window.

We stayed like that for a while, until my tears dried and my sobs were gone. The prince excused himself and then went to the bathroom, coming out in just a few moments with slightly damp hair before heading to the walk-in closet. He stayed there for another few minutes then came back, still dressed the same. It was the second time he’d done that, and I didn’t get it.

What was he doing in there?

I sighed, deciding not to think much of it.

Just as the prince walked out of the closet, we heard a knock on the door. He replied with a word in Arabic before Mona came in and started telling him something. They spoke back and forth for a minute, and it was really disturbing that I didn’t get what they were saying, especially since the prince’s tone sounded like frustration.

Finally Mona left the room, closing the door behind her, and I watched as the prince ran his hand through his hair, as he stared at the door before rubbing his temple and then turning around to face me.

“The third day at noon, family members are supposed to visit the newlyweds. I’ve already told Mona to inform them that you were sick and won’t be able to meet them, but…my grandmother is already here and–I can’t just send her back,” he huffed. “Would you, please, let me have her in?” he asked.

His mother’s mother?

She could be as mean as her daughter, or maybe worse.

But, his mother had already come in here without them asking me if I agreed, so what was the big deal now?

“What’s the big deal?”

It seemed like I had offended the prince again, because that was how he looked–offended. I didn’t get it; I hadn’t said anything offensive!

“Uh, she’s in a wheelchair, and came all the way from the other half of the palace, the fifth floor,” he said in a low voice, somehow pleading.

Oh!

Hello, garbage feeling! It seems like you enjoy my company today.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” I started. “I meant that yesterday your mom just came in here, without anyone asking me if I was okay with it or not,” I explained, even though I knew now that he didn’t want her to go back only because of her huge effort to visit with us.

“Oh! I see.” He seemed a bit relieved. “It’s tradition for the mothers to come here yesterday, and the rest of the families today. They would’ve still come, but I didn’t want you going through anything that might bother you, especially while you aren’t feeling well…I just don’t want you to have to deal with pretending along with a troubled stomach, so I’m asking if you’d forgive me for allowing my grandmother in here,” he explained.

“Of course, let her in,” I told him, getting out of bed and adjusting my clothes.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” I assured him.

“Thank you.” The relieved smile found his lips and rested there.

Mona arrived, after the prince called her name, and helped me with my hair then brought all of the jewelry that was gifted to me on the night of the wedding before me, asking me to choose some. When I asked, she said I had to wear at least half of it or the Queen Mother would think I didn’t like it. I didn’t argue and just went with it.

When I was finished putting on
too
much jewelry, Mona left, and I stood near the set of elegant armchairs and couch waiting for our visitor to come in. A noise caught my attention and I glanced back to see that the bed was disappearing behind a moving wall that managed to hide all of the section of the room that held the bed, nightstands, window and the sunroom inside it, making it seem like a completely different room, starting with the round table that used to be in the middle of the room.

I gave the prince, who was standing near me with his hand on another hidden button, a questioning look. He only shrugged in response.

I’d learned that when Mona was expected, she only knocked once before she let herself in; but other times, she waited for the prince or myself to give her permission before she stepped into the room. Since she was expected this time, she knocked and opened the door before wheeling our visitor in.

I believed I was going to be met with another mean queen, but once I saw the wide smile on the old lady’s lips, as Mona pushed her chair towards us, I felt warmth crawling into my heart and filling my insides.

She had one of the most genuine smiles I’d ever seen in my life, and I couldn’t help but smile back at her, no less genuinely.

The prince said one word that sounded like a greeting of some sort, before hurrying to her and taking her hand in his to kiss the back of it, before placing the spot he’d kissed on his forehead as he bowed. He then kissed her head and hugged it to his chest, a beautiful grin lighting his entire face when she kissed both of his cheeks.

They spoke for a few moments in Arabic and I waited there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with myself, until they finally looked at me. The Queen Mother reached for me with both of her hands to come to her.

I offered her my hand just to shake it, but she pulled me slightly and kissed both of my cheeks like she had with the prince, before she patted them while speaking words I didn’t understand.

I blushed deeply and smiled at her, nodding my head even if I didn’t know what I was nodding to. She could be asking me if I thought I was as fat as a cow, for all I knew.

She was sending waves of sweetness over me in a way I couldn’t explain. She just seemed so nice and kind, and even though I hadn’t spoken one word to her, I thought of her as a good person, nonetheless.

The prince wheeled her next to one of the armchairs, and she patted it while looking at me in invitation to sit down, which I did happily. Don’t ask me why.

She said a few words to me, and I felt so bad that I couldn’t understand her. But before I could dwell on it, the prince spoke.

“She’s congratulating you on the wedding and wishing you the best of luck,” he told me.

I blushed even more and smiled at her, nodding my head this time while knowing
why
I was nodding before I thanked her.

The prince then spoke to her, and I assumed that he was translating what I’d said, because she then patted my hand that was resting on the arm of my chair and kept it there.

The prince’s grandmother seemed very nice, she was just the kind of person who made you smile when they were around, even if they didn’t speak to you.

“Is she your mother’s mother?” I asked him.

It was the first time since the wedding that I’d seen the prince this happy, all smiley and just...well, happy.

“No, she’s my father’s mother,” he said.

Huh! I knew that mother-in-law could never be this nice lady’s daughter; it just couldn’t be.

They went back to talking again, and it seemed that the prince hung on her every word, chuckling sometimes and grinning widely at others, while she did the same. I became really frustrated with the fact that I couldn’t understand anything or know what they were talking about.

The prince’s eyes glanced my way a time or two but he didn’t say anything, just went on with talking to his granny. I had a strong urge to huff and stand up to leave to go…
somewhere
, but that would’ve been very rude, so I didn’t.