Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors Read Free Book Online Page A

intolerably slowly, climbed. When the world seemed to finally brighten, I opened my eyes. My parents and siblings were present, crowding around the carpet, blankets and cushions comprising my bed. “Mother?” I mumbled.
    When she heard me speak, Mother kissed my face, my lips. “Oh, Jahanara, we were so worried!”
    Father bent over me. “Do you hurt, my child?”
    “No…no, Father.”
    I saw his tears and I cried too. My parents held me as if I were still drowning, Mother squeezing my hands. Father, more prone to emotion than any man I knew, said, “Better I should lose my empire than you, Jahanara. How could the sky live without its stars?”
    “It would be lonely,” I said, for despite their touch I felt nothing but loneliness.
    “You were very brave today,” he replied, stroking my cheek.
    “Indeed,” Mother said quickly, and I recognized that her pride surpassed even Father’s, because as women we weren’t expected to do anything courageous. “You saved the child.”
    “I did?”
    “Yes, bless you,” Mother added. “And your brother saved you.”
    “But he—”
    Aurangzeb stepped forward. “Repay me later,” he interjected, the wound on his cheek oozing red.
    I massaged my temples as if to rub away the day’s memories. “I’m…I’m so tired.” I was unable to look at Aurangzeb.
    Father kissed me and then slowly walked out of the room. Mother and my brothers followed him. As Dara turned to leave, I motioned for him to stay. He shut the door behind him and came to my side. “Why are you crying?” he asked.
    “Because he…because Aurangzeb saw me.” My voice turned from a whisper to a whimper. “He wanted me dead.”
    Dara stiffened, scratching at his brow beneath his turban. “Wanted you dead?”
    “Yes!”
    “You make no sense, Jahanara.”
    “But I do! I do! He left me to die.”
    “He saved you, commandeered the boat. He said—”
    “He lies!”
    Dara stepped away. “I saw him rescue you. He pulled you from the water and even cut himself in the process.”
    “I cut him!”
    “You need rest,” he said, turning toward the door. “You’re confused now, terribly confused. But after you rest, these nightmares shall disperse.”
    Yet rest would not temper my fears.
    And I felt so alone that the room seemed to shrink, suffocating me.
    Drowning me.

Chapter 3
    Childhood Lost

    I t is said that time mends any injury. Much as I disbelieve this notion, I confess that as the months passed I had fewer nightmares about Aurangzeb. A day came when I was able to look at him without shuddering in fear, without wondering why he would let me drown. Though I loathed him for stealing my youth, for turning me overnight from a girl into a young woman, this passage was inevitable. I was a princess, after all, and had been trained since childhood to understand that life was anything but simple. The sons and daughters of emperors were expected to become adults at an early age, and in truth I’d been shirking my responsibilities. But after Aurangzeb’s treachery I said farewell to my childish ways, for I knew they were shackles in this world of adults.
    In the months following, my routine changed dramatically. Instead of seeking entertainment, I sought knowledge. Rather than escape my duties, I faced the tasks before me. Each day I spent long hours in the harem, studying everything from architecture to dance to politics. While most girls arranged each other’s hair and learned to cook exotic dishes, I practiced calligraphy or memorized geography. There were no summits to the mountains of books Mother lent me, no subjects too trite or trifling. Following her advice, I became more socially active in Agra’s court. Success, she explained, has almost as much to do with your friends as it does yourself. She’d told me so since I could first reason, but only now did I listen.
    Over the next year I sought more acquaintances, whether at polo matches or hunting expeditions, I chatted with lesser nobles