Chapter 5

Haad worked hard until noon. He would cut a thick wood in a few moments without anyone's help. Everyone there was amazed at his strength. When he returned in the afternoon with a truck full of wood, the owner paid him immediately. Awan had told him that Haad needed money immediately. He left the shop with the money and went to a restaurant in Fairy Meadows to buy ready-made food and some essentials for cooking. The return journey was very fast. He was very worried about Anna. He didn’t know if she ate mango or not.

When he entered the palace and came to Anna’s room, she was lying on the bed looking like a goddess of beauty. Her long hair was scattered on the pillow and bed. Haad felt his heart entangled in her hair. He was looking at Anna in a trance. Anna with closed eyes felt the warmth of someone’s eyes on her, her eyes opened. she quickly got up when she saw Haad and got confused. There was a little mango pulp on her lips. Haad was satisfied to see that she had eaten the mango.

He walked slowly closer to her. Anna tried to move back but could not succeed. Haad suppressed a smile.

“Are you hungry?” He asked, bending down and wiping the mango pulp from the edge of her lips with his thumb. Anna stopped breathing.

“N … no,” she stammered.

“Ok. Eat it when you’re hungry,” he said, placing a plastic bag in front of Anna, which had cooked food, and holding another plastic bag, he got up. It contained cooking equipment and ingredients. He also had to make other necessary arrangements for cooking. He also had to buy a lot of things he needed to survive, but at the moment he had little money. His first priority was food. He could have been hungry but could not bear the slightest pain of Anna. While Anna was only afraid of him without feeling his love. As soon as he left her room, Anna quickly opened the plastic bag and her eyes lit up when she saw the chicken biryani (A Pakistani dish). She started eating with relish.

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Haad brought firewood from the forest, put it in the kitchen, and went to see Anna. She had eaten and slept. Haad stared at her for some moments, then smiled and returned. The stove did not have gas. Most people in that area used to get fire from wood. There was a wood stove in the kitchen. Haad put some pieces of wood on the stove and set it on fire with a lighter. He also brought a lighter from the market and had learned to use it. The black smoke from the wood made him cough. After a while, the wood caught fire completely. But by then Haad’s face was black with smoke and his eyes were red. He made tea by placing the kettle on the stove, poured the tea into the cup, and carried the cup to his lips. He took a sip but the tea was very hot. His mouth burned. He groaned and put the cup on the shelf, cursing himself. He wanted to check how the tea was made but could not taste it because tea was hot. After waiting for a while, he took a sip of tea and found out that there was too much sugar.

“Oh god.” He shook his head. Cooking was not as easy as he thought. Remembering his past, he started drinking tea.

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“Sir, no traces of that girl can be found anywhere. There is no evidence of her abduction even in the CCTV cameras of the hospital. However, no footage has been deleted.” Aman Reported to sanan.

“So is she another creature that disappeared by magic?” Sanan asked angrily.

“Truth be told, that’s what I think.” Aman hesitated.

“Shut up,” Sanan shouted, and he fell silent.

“Find out the girl’s whereabouts,” Sanan said after some thought.

“But sir, we don’t even know her name,” Aman said.

“Take a picture of her from any CCTV footage and find her.”

“But sir …” Aman was about to say something but Sanan was gone.

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Anna was awake in the evening. With a pale look on her face, she got out of bed and headed towards the back door that opened towards the poolside. That pool was only one entertainment here for her. She came out of the room and sat down at the edge of the pool by the side of the corridor.

Haad took food and entered her room. When he could not find her there, he came to the back door placing food on the bed. As expected, she was sitting by the pool.

“Anna!” He called to her as he approached her. Anna quickly got up in a panic and when she saw the black color on his face, she started screaming in shock. She was about to fall into the pool when Haad grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, placing his arm around her back. Anna’s eyes were fixed on him with fear. The heartbeat and breathing were fast. While Haad felt his soft body, he became eager as ever. He was looking at her in trance.

“Are you a witcher?” Anna asked nervously, seeing his face that was black due to wood fire smoke. Haad hated Witchers, but yet he couldn’t tell her that he wasn’t a witcher. Because Anna was afraid of him for that reason and was not making such a fuss for her return to home.

“Yes, I’m a witcher,” he lied.

“Will you kill me?” Anna asked with a trembling heart.

“no.” Haad wanted to allay her fear. Anna regained her breath.

“Then why have you imprisoned me here?” She asked confusedly.

“To keep you close to me,” Haad said with love, and Anna looked at him with wide eyes. Haad began to sink into her eyes.

“But”… she wanted to protest.

“What?” Haad tightened his grip and she felt suffocated.

“Nothing,” she said, trembling. Haad left her slowly.

“I’ve made food. Come and eat,” he said, touching her cheek with his hand and left. Anna stopped her tears and followed him. She saw boiled rice on a plate. There was no broth or anything else with it. Anna was thinking that how to eat it.

“Sit down and eat,” Haad ordered, and she hurried. She sat on the bed, bowing her head, and started taking bites of rice. The food was tasteless. It was not edible. But she was barely eating when she saw Haad’s eyes on herself.

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There was a cave in a gorge with a small mouth and green wild bushes. The cave was not visible from the outside. There was a statue inside the cave. Behind it was a door that was also not visible. There was a green light in the cave. Suddenly, two beings appeared there at once. They were Zaria and Zolun. Zaria was still held in the unseen chains. Zolun stood in front of the idol and read something due to which the idol moved to one side. The door was visible from behind. Zolun continued his magic and after a while, the door opened. He walked in through the door with Zaria. The stairs in front were going down to the basement. They both came down the stairs. Then a flame of fire appeared in front of them which was in the shape of a circle in the middle of the hall. Behind the fire was an old man sitting on a high chair with a very scary face. His mustache, beard, and hair were long. He was muttering with his closed eyes.

“Master! Your slave is here.” Zolun put his hand on his chest and bowed.

“Say. How did you get here?” Said the old man with his eyes closed.

“I have brought something for you,” said Zolun, placing his hand on Zaria’s shoulder. The old man quickly opened his eyes and when he saw a beautiful girl, his eyes sparkled. The woman was his weakness. Zolun knew this very well.

“You can go.” The old man ordered Zolun, looking at Zaria.

“Ok, my lord.” Zolun bowed once more and greeted him, glanced at Zaria, and walked out with a wink. Zaria took a deep breath. This price of freedom had to be paid by her.

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The morning light had spread everywhere. Haad woke up. After taking a shower, he took a dress from his wardrobe and put it on. These all dresses were given by Zaria and Haad hated them but now he had to wear them. He thought of buying clothes for himself and Anna today. Local style clothes looked very beautiful on him. He combed his hair and came to Anna’s room. She was still asleep. Haad smiled and walked towards the kitchen. He made omelets and simple tortillas for himself and Anna and went to Anna’s room. As he approached her, he began to look at her in mesmerization. She looked very cute while sleeping. Haad was waking her up when her lips moved.

“Mama … Mama.” She called her mother twice, and Haad thought if he could be so cruel as to separate a daughter from her mother. He could not do that. He did this for Anna. She did not know that her mother was the one who could hurt her. He wanted to keep Anna safe. He couldn’t allow anyone to hurt Anna. Taking a deep breath, he stopped thinking and woke up Anna.

“Anna! Get up, it’s morning.” He patted her cheek and said softly. Anna woke up but couldn’t open her eyes for a while and turned to the other side.

“Anna!” Haad called to her, turning her to himself. Anna got up quickly. Seeing Haad close to her, she held her breath. Haad was watching her with love. Her forehead, big eyes, small nose, pink cheeks, red lips, and long hair hanging around her face looked so beautiful that Haad’s heart began to pound fast. He was looking at her fixedly. While Anna stared into his eyes in surprise for a moment, then she turned her eyes away in panic. Her heart was trembling. She did not understand why Haad was constantly looking at her and why her heart was trembling. She tried to move away from Haad but He grabbed her wrist. Anna screamed.

“Maybe you’re a witch too.” He spoke slowly.

“No. I’m not a witch.” Anna denied, trying to free her hand. She was really innocent.

“You are. An innocent witch who doesn’t even know what spell she has put to someone’s heart.” He smiled. Anna was looking at him blankly. Haad shook his head.

“Get up and wash your hands. I have made breakfast.” He patted her cheek, got up, and left the room. Anna was taking deep breaths.

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Anna’s was nowhere to be found. Aman had spent many hours in this work and had also got help from some of his friends but there was no success. Now he believed that the girl was not human. He reported it to Sanan with fear. Sanan could say nothing but chew his lips helplessly.

“Okay, leave her. And take care of that person.” Sanan gave him a picture. That was Haad’s picture.

“Isn’t this the same person who fought with the tiger?” Aman was there when Haad fought with the tiger.

“Hmmm. And he was the winner.” Sanan added.

“You seem to be very impressed.” Aman guessed.

“I value brave people,” Sanan said. Aman shook his head. He knew this very well.

“But why spy on him?” He asked with hesitation.

“I find this person a bit strange. Everything that he looks like a stranger. His amazing power is also strange. I want to know who he is. Find out as much as you can about him.” Sanan ordered.

“Okay, sir,” Aman said.

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Anna took a bite of the meal and made a face. The taste of the food was bad but edible. She didn't know how long she had to eat such food. Haad was having breakfast with her and watching her face.

“What happened?” He asked Anna.

“Nothing,” she said quickly and began to eat.

“If you want to say something, you can say it.” Haad was offering her or giving the permission. She didn’t understand.

“N…Nothing to say.”

“Think again.” Haad raised his eyebrows.

“One thing,” Anna said, rubbing her fingers.

“What’s the matter?” Haad suppressed a smile.

“But … if I told you that, you would punish me,” she said nervously.

“I won’t.”

“Promise?” She asked like a child.

“Hmmm. Promise.” He promised.

“I … I miss Mama.” She bowed her head and spoke in a sad tone. Haad got angry. The reason was Zaria. He just wanted Anna to love him. Think about him but she loved his enemy, Zaria. He was looking at Anna for a while. And Anna’s heart was pounding.

“Listen to me, Anna,” Haad said in an apathetic tone.

“Do you want your mother to die?” He asked and Anna looked at him anxiously.

“No.” She spoke quickly.

“Then do as I say. If you think to go away from me or disobey my order, I will kill your mother.” He was saying very calmly and there was uncertainty in Anna’s eyes.

“No, please. I will obey you. Don’t kill my mother.” She wept. In this way, the purpose of Haad was solved, but hatred for Haad was created in Anna’s heart. Haad did not realize this. All he had to do was keep Anna somehow with himself.

“Good, then never mention your mother again. If you get away from me I will kill your mother. Remember this always.” He spoke obsessively. Tears were slipping on her cheeks. Haad got close to her and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.

“And don’t let these tears come out of your eyes in the future. Not at all, especially for Zaria.” He was becoming very extremist. He didn’t even know it. If he had been gentle instead of harsh, he might have won Anna’s heart very quickly, but he did not know how to win a girl’s heart. He was in love but could not find a way to love.

“I’m not going to lock your room today. You can go wherever you want in this whole house,” he said, getting up, but Anna was silently staring at the table. Whether she stayed in or out of the room, She was in prison.

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