Princess Maymounah - Chapter 2 - One-sided Rivals

 Maymounah has only heard of the other princes and princesses in the Cluster of Things, she hasn’t met them, yet. She imagines the prince of the nearest kingdom to be a proud, nerdy, rich kid. She heard her parents discuss the top scorers in the Royal School, he was the best in school. Prince Mustafa was the eldest son of King Haarith, prince of the Cream Kingdom, now known as the Feather Kingdom. Mustafa’s goal is to be the best king ever – even better than Mas’ud and Maymounah. He only knows about them because his father constantly compared him with Mas’ud and Maymounah throughout his life. That’s why he grew a sort of hatred for both, especially Maymounah because she was a woman and younger than him (only by a few months).

“Is my cream tea ready?” asked Mustafa, like a powerful prince (which he is), reclining on his throne. “Yes, Prince, it will be brought to you soon,” said the butler. “Good, Jazakallahu Khairan,” said Mustafa smiling with his eyes. It was odd to have butlers or servants in the Cluster of Things, but some kingdoms had them either because they were too busy, or too lazy. Funny how these two completely different words are used interchangeably.

Mustafa didn’t know most of the other princes or princesses either. He only knew a very few from Royal School. He was fascinated with birds because he had an owl friend who visited him regularly. He calls this cream-coloured owl, Khalifah. He was looking at a small bird tweeting on a tree from his window. “Look! ‘Abdullah! That’s a nightingale!” said Mustafa. “Prince, it looks like one, but it’s a female sparrow,” ‘Abdullah pointed with his hand. “Look, the other one over there is the male sparrow,” continued ‘Abdullah. “I see, I would love to learn more about the birds like is Khalifah a mother or a father? But Royal School only teaches me that much,” said Mustafa, contemplating.

Mustafa’s owl friend, Khalifah, enters throw the window that Mustafa was looking at and perches on the wooden stand next to his throne. “What have you brought for me? O’ Khalifah, my friend?” asked Mustafa, as he observed a letter tied to Khalifah’s feet. He reads, “Dear Prince, I have recently embraced the beautiful religion of Islam. I am delighted to finally be guided out of the darkness to the light, Alhamdulillah! I’m writing this letter to you, to request some arrangements for me to meet my little brother, who has also recently embraced Islam, in the Clear Kingdom. Your aid will be appreciated both by my brother and me. Sincerely, Khalid Kayne,” Mustafa smiled at the great news. But something bothered him, “Why the Clear Kingdom, as in, Maymounah and Mas’ud’s kingdom, and not here? Nevertheless, I will arrange for his trip as congratulations from me,” thought Mustafa. “’Abdullah, please prepare a carriage for brother Khalid,” said Mustafa. “Consider it done, prince,” replied ‘Abdullah. “Oh, we should send along a gift for the prince and the princess,” said Mustafa. “Prince, I know what you are thinking, and with all due respect, I refuse to do what you are about to instruct me to do. I shall arrange the carriage, but I shall not prepare your pranks,” said ‘Abdullah, firmly. “Yes, it’s alright, you can prepare the carriage, and I will prepare the gift. I can do it better,” said Mustafa, with a cunning smile.

Meanwhile, in the Clear Kingdom, Khalid’s brother, Walid, comes to speak with Mas’ud in the hallway. “Assalamu Alaikum! Brother Mas’ud! How are you!” asked Walid, happily. “Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullah! Brother Walid! I’m great, Alhamdulillah! How are you finding the new life?” asked Mas’ud, giving Walid a brotherly hug. “Alhamdulillah! Alhamdulillah! I finally found peace! My brother, Khalid, too! Alhamdulillah!” said Walid. “Are you going to meet him in the Cream Kingdom?” asked Mas’ud, thoughtfully. “No, he’s coming here! He says he misses home,” said Walid. “Alright, the men’s dining hall is all yours and your brother’s! Let’s celebrate the reunion of brothers!” said Mas’ud. “Jazakallahu Khairan Katheeran! Brother Mas’ud!” exclaimed Walid.

Khalid and Walid are close. Khalid moved to the Cream Kingdom in search of work, and he ended up settling there. He used to sell idols on the outskirts of the Cream Kingdom. There were many customers, so he was never able to leave or make time to meet his little brother. As a Muslim, he left his idol shop as it is a great sin to commit and encourage Shirk, giving him enough time to meet his brother back home.

Mas’ud goes upstairs to talk to Maymounah. She was on the balcony, looking at the clear trees swinging in the wind, and the fountain, in the middle, where all birds drink from. Mas’ud informs her of the great news. “The reunion of Khalid and Walid is a great event! Ma Sha Allah!” said Maymounah. “All the men are invited. Don’t worry, I’ll save some leftovers for you,” teased Mas’ud. “Oh! How generous! But I will be preparing food with mother, so I will have the food before anyone else does, so you don’t need to worry,” said Maymounah. “Right. I will be setting up the men’s dining hall with the others. And make sure you don’t eat all the food! You’re almost already overweight,” teased Mas’ud, leaving. “I should be telling that to you! Round Rice Ball!” announced Maymounah. Mas’ud’s laughs were heard in the hallway.

Prince Mustafa has prepared Khalid’s carriage. The Cream Kingdom is nearest to the Clear Kingdom, so Khalid will reach it soon. “Jazakallahu Khairan Katheeran! Brother Mustafa! I appreciate your devotion to serving your kingdom! I shall tell my brother all about you!” said Khalid, gratefully. Mustafa smiled and received the compliments with happiness. “I hope you enjoy it, and I ask Allah to protect you,” said Mustafa.

Mas’ud and the others have set up the men’s dining hall. Everyone was waiting for Khalid’s arrival. Maymounah spots Khalid’s carriage as it arrives through the kitchen window. She then goes downstairs to inform Mas’ud. She goes back to the kitchen, and Mas’ud tells the other men about the news. Everyone runs towards the main entrance, and Walid opens the gates. “Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu! Wincey!” greeted Khalid. “Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu! Brother Khalid! I go by Walid now!” said Walid. They hugged each other after a long time. “We can talk about everything inside in the dining hall, come on, let’s sit down, everyone!” announced Mas’ud. Everyone walked towards the men’s dining hall.

The traveler was looking suspiciously at the carriage from the kitchen window. Soon after, an explosion was heard. Everyone dropped everything and all the men ran back towards the main entrance. Maymounah ran to see what the traveler saw. “A cream explosion,” said the traveler. “Oh no! The entire street and the garden’s entrance are full of cream!” observed Maymounah. “What are we going to do about that?” asked the Queen, stressed. “Mas’ud and the others will clean up. We can’t go there now, so all we can do is leave them be,” said Maymounah. “I do hope Mas’ud, and the others clean up then,” said the Queen.

“Alhamdulillah that I got off before I could be an additional trouble!” said Khalid. “You were never a trouble, Uncle Khalid,” said Mas’ud. Some of the men were suspicious of Khalid. “I had no idea this would happen!” said Khalid. “We all were unaware – it was unexpected. We shouldn’t blame others based on assumptions, so let’s not point fingers and start cleaning up,” said Mas’ud. They all went to the palace warehouse and got the tools for cleaning up.

“Whoever set this up is a kid – inexperienced, vengeful, and has nothing to do,” said the traveler. Maymounah agreed, thoughtfully. The first half of the reunion was celebrated by cleaning up the cream explosion. The men went back inside to continue the next half of the reunion. After the men left, Maymounah and the traveler went to inspect the carriage.

The King and Queen sent a letter to all the kingdoms informing them about the cream explosion and advising them to be careful.

“Prince, a letter from the Clear Kingdom has arrived,” said ‘Abdullah. “So, they have received my great gift and wrote me a thank you letter. How sweet, uncle and aunt,” said Mustafa, with a smirk.

“The cream detonator was installed here – a timed detonator,” said the traveler. Maymounah is not acquainted with tech language. The traveler explained the device to her. “It was definitely a rich kid who has nothing to do. Do you know any?” asked the traveler. Maymounah thinks of Mustafa – the selfish, rich, overly smart kid. “Perhaps, but I can’t blame someone without knowing for sure. I don’t wish to assume,” said Maymounah. “You have a point there. Alright then, I shall take my leave,” said the traveler. It was time for ‘Asr Salah, so the traveler went to pray. “Alright, you shall. I shall check on Mas’ud later, In Sha Allah,” said Maymounah, half to herself.

Mas’ud is about to address the gathering in the men’s dining hall. Everyone was enjoying the food and talking until Mas’ud came on the platform. “Brother Mas’ud’s on the platform!” said Walid. “Let’s all focus!” said Khalid. Silence filled the men’s dining hall. All eyes were on Mas’ud. Then, he began.

“Jazakumullahu Khairan Katheeran for all your help today, and for making time to be here despite all the other things you might have to do,” he said, pausing to look at everyone in the room. “We have gathered here to celebrate the reunion of brothers Khalid and Walid, who have both recently embraced Islam,” he announced. Everyone said Alhamdulillah and congratulated Khalid and Walid. “For today, I would love to talk about the pillars that hold the foundation of our Iman (faith) and Islam (submission). I request all your attention and cooperation, brothers,” said Mas’ud, picking up two cards. “You have two cards in front of you, red for no and green for yes. I’ll start with an easy question; do you know the pillars of Iman?” Everyone in the hall flashed the greed card. “Alhamdulillah! Khalid and Walid, come here, let’s talk about Iman and Islam!” said Mas’ud.

Khalid and Walid come up on the platform. “There are six pillars of Iman: that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and fate (Qadr), both in its good and in its evil aspects,” said Khalid. “You have spoken the truth – that was Jibreel’s reply to when the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) informed us of the pillars of Iman in the Hadith Jibreel,” said Mas’ud. “And, the five pillars of Islam are: that you should testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger (ﷺ), that you should perform salah (ritual prayer), pay the Zakah, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (the Ka`bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it),” said Walid. “You have spoken the truth! Ma Sha Allah, brothers! Oh, there’s also a third level, who knows about that?” asked Mas’ud, glancing around the hall. “Ihsan is to serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him, yet He sees you,” said the King. “That’s right, father,” said Mas’ud, smiling. The event goes on till Isha, then everyone goes back to their rooms after they prayed Isha together.

Before sleeping, Maymounah saw an owl sitting on the clear tree outside. It drops what looks like an envelope and flies off. “How peculiar,” she thinks. She goes down to see what the owl dropped and finds Mas’ud walking toward the clear tree. “You saw the owl too?” asked Mas’ud, surprised. “I saw it drop an envelope, here,” she said. “I found it!” said Mas’ud picking up the envelope. “Dear Prince and Princess of the Clear Kingdom, I apologize on behalf of the prince for the troubles to come. I urge you to be careful in the future. I expect the prince to do nothing harmful. If he does intend harm, I will stop him. Faithfully, ‘Abdullah, butler,” read Mas’ud. “How do we know what’s a threat and what’s not?” asked Maymounah. “Easy, we view everything as a threat, this day on,” said Mas’ud.