MASKIERT RULER

I am Jahanara, the first daughter of Shah Jahan the fifth-greatest Mughal emperor and the most famous and beautiful Mumtaz Mahal who is famous for giving birth to 14 children. I was born in Ajmer and brought up in Agra. I was brought up as a perfect princess who had many tutors and was well-versed in Quran and Persian literature. But at the same time unknowingly my father was training me to be an empress to his world of men, where women in power are not something that is very common or in fact is a rarity that is immediately shut down. As a form of strategical learning, I learned and played chess with my father Shah Jahan. I am not very entitled to talk about the unfairness of my living cause it is in fact very relevant that I was a favoured child among the girls. I was allowed more freedom and independence than most women or girls among my siblings and native of the country. I lived a lavish and powerful life having a castle that is outside the confines of the Agra fort.

When life was finally the perfect one for me and i had thought about how it couldn’t get any better is when a very unexpected thing happened. I met Mirza Najabat Khan who entered my life who happened to be a commoner in my father’s court. It was a very unexpected and most sudden unplanned life. All my life everything was planned for me either by my great powerful father or by myself. This was like as if life had gotten better but also very confusing with all these unknown and unexcepted emotions that i had no idea how to deal with. Mirz, as i would call him, was a very patient and understanding person. He was someone who came into my life all of a sudden and managed to take my breath away. He became such an affluent person that it was as if I couldn’t live without him. I at a very fast pace became very in tune with him and his expressions, thoughts and presence. Without him, I started to feel unsettled and I always wanted to know his location at all points of time. It came to an extent to where it was interfering with my studies and my daily duties as a princess. This had not gone unnoticed by my tutors and my father who were the people I met and interacted on a day to day basis. This was reported to my very prominent mother as my father who was the closest person i associated with was a very busy man due to the kingship. When I was confronted by my mother Mumtaz Mahal to whom I ended up telling the reason for my distraction and lack of concentration in my assigned duties. Surprisingly she was not angry or disappointed in me due to who I decided to fall for. She was very supporting and encouraging but asked me to keep it low due to how the natives and courts men would take up such a matter. She advised me to not reveal any of this until she could somehow include Mirz in the court and then reveal this fact to my father, Shah Jahan. It was one of my happiest moments in life with my family member. I was very proud at that moment to be known as the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. This message was immediately relayed to Mirz. My mother also showed a great interest in meeting her soon to be son-in-law which was a news that was received nervously by my beautiful would be. We celebrated this good news in a very lavish way. On the next day when i met him after doing my daily duties as an obedient and responsible princess. I could immediately read from his facial expression that he was nervous about something this was dampening to my bright and happy mood. I was instantly filled with concern and worry, but as soon as Mirz saw me he schooled his face enough to give me a bright smile. This did not help me in any way to dismiss my concerned look. I as soon as I reached him asked what was the cause of his worry. He looked at me in a guilt-ridden expression in his eyes and looked down then mumbled, “I have not been exactly truthful to you.” As soon as I heard that I looked at him with a blank expression and asked, ” what do you mean by that? Explain. If not I will end everything that we have going on.” At this, he held a scared expression and begged to not do that as he will die without me in his life. Not knowing how to take that fact i continued to look at him waiting for him to start explaining.

What came out of his mouth after a lot of glances at my face and shuttering was not something i expected to be truthful. In fact, at first, I actually took it to be a joke and laughed at it until i realized he was still holding a serious expression. I turned to him as said, ” Wait are you serious. Like you are a werewolf and its not a joke or prank.” He just shook his head stating it was true and he could prove it if he wants me to do it. At this, I perked up at him in hesitation and asked, “Really?” He gave me an accusing look saying, ” Nice to know how much faith and trust you put on me.” At this, I looked at him guilt-ridden, seeing this he hugged me close and comforted me. After which he distanced himself from me and removed his clothes. Standing in front of me half naked he looked at me and said, ” Don’t look away and no matter what I nor my wolf will ever hurt you, understand that and I will answer all the questions you have afterwards. Since after I have shifted my wolf will want to spend some time with you as its been begging for it for as long as we have met. I just didn’t want to scare you away cause you mean so much to me that even you don’t realize it.” When he uttered these words to be I was near tears, my eyes were welled up to its brim and I was trying to hold it in but my Mirz being a very faithful lover knew immediately knew something was wrong. He came forward in a panicked motion asking what was wrong, asking if he did something or said something that might have lead to me crying. I just looked at him in what I believe is a loving manner and smiled telling him about how these tears and ones of happiness and not sadness. After hearing this and getting conformation he went back to where he was standing and looked at me as if asking for my permission of whether i am ready or not. Then when he got the verification that i was ready he started to shake violently with his eyes switching from brown to green until it settled to green. The noise of bones snapping was heard throughout the room until there stood a huge almost black but dark navy blue wolf in place of Mirz. He looked at me with his piercing green eyes and opened his mouth as if to grin at me. This was when I noticed his sharp teeth that made me think of how he can rip out my throat in one bite. His fur was glossy and smooth to an extent where I wanted to walk close to him and run my hand through it. But i was a bit sceptic on how he would take it and also a bit fearful even though Mirz had assured me that he and his wolf won’t hurt me. Seeing me hesitating in coming close to him, he whined and rested flat on his belly as if to appear harmless and small. He then crawled towards me and sat in front of me. This was when i realized i was sitting on the ground out of shock. He looked at me in a cute puppy-like expression with his tail wagging in a happy manner. I slowly reached my hand out in a slow-motion to pet him, i did thing in a way that he would know what i am going to do and won’t get startled or will move away if he is not comfortable with this motion. Surprisingly he moved towards me and nuzzled into my hand. As i started to pet and scratch him he began to purr in a happy manner, hearing this i started to giggle which made him look at me in an adoring manner. After sometime when Mirz’s wolf got his fill of spending time with me he got up and went to a different room and Mirz returned in his human form with a very wide smile. He walked towards me and sat behind me hugging me and pulling me onto his lap. He then told how his wolf is very happy in seeing me and how his name is Ali. He goes on to explain how a group of werewolves who live and mingle together is called a pack and how he is the leader of the pack, which makes him the Alpha. He then goes on to explain that i am his soul mate, and that makes me the Luna of his pack. This was also the reason for my confusion and my emotions being so overwhelming.

We were living in a peaceful environment for about two months when we heard the news of my mother’s death. She was the hope of our relationship, but it was lost forever as soon mother died the downfall of the kingdom, and my life started. I was titled the Empress in place of my mother; this was a proud and devastating news to Mirz and me. This means that i will have to rule the empire beside my father, but that is not the problem; the problem is that i can’t get married, which means Mirz and me cannot be in a public relationship. But at the same time we can’t separate forever, one cause Mirz will die without a mate now that he has bonded to me another reason being the fact that I can’t live without Mirz as he is the love of my life. So due to these reasons, we decided to continue our relationship the way it was while trying to live in a way it won’t be know to many. When this was decided, Mirz gave me an emerald stoned necklace through which people in the werewolf world will know my status, the rank I hold, the pack I come from, and who’s mate I am. Cause Mirz being an alpha male, literally was very territorial and possessive. This was very attractive to me, but at the same time, it was very annoying.

Not only trying to keep Mirz calm and collective, I had to take care of my heartbroken father, who is so much is despair that he couldn’t run the kingdom as he did before. He was no longer the ferocious and robust ruler, but merely a heartbroken man was no longer fit to rule. But in the whole kingdom, only I could see what the future is going to hold if my brother Auregzeb took up the throne. I tried my level best to delay it as much as possible, as I know it was inevitable. In the end, Auregzeb won through cruel and cunning ways with the help of my arch-nemesis Roshanara. He imprisoned our father, Shah Jahan, and as a dutiful daughter, I felt the need to follow him to prison in order to serve him. This news was not received very kindly by my love Mirz but after making him understand the fact that my father was not in his best conditions health-wise. He continued to be understanding and promised to wait for me no matter however long it takes. When the end of my father’s life came it was hard to part with him but I knew it was time and I had fulfilled my duty as a daughter and a ruler to this kingdom and it’s people. But when I was released, I was again asked to take up my rightful place as the Empress by my brother, who did not take kindly to my refusal and threatened me of the fact that he would kill Mirz if I did not do as he commanded. This lead to more tedious years of ruling beside my brother. Which was when Mirz had discovered a way in which we could live happily with each other. It was to convert me into a werewolf, in order to do so he had to bite me and while his venom changes my body to fit a werewolf and its DNA, I would stay dead for 24 hours. This was wonderful news to both of us, so we made plans on how everything should work out and whatnot. Before the time came near, I wrote down a will stating that I want to be buried in a natural mud without any lavish tumb a symbol of how my life was. Since it was all about serving others needs and no one took notice of my own. I requested to be buried with my emerald necklace die to my attachment for it. Then when all these arrangements were done, I asked my Mirz to give me the bite that can turn me into a werewolf; it was an excruciating process. I went through extensive pain throughout my body for the rest of the night, after which I was found “dead” by my maid, who attended to me. My burial and every other thing was done according to my wishes, and when the funeral was over the same night I was dug out and taken to Mirz’s pack where we at last got the life we both desired with each other without any human hierarchy or rules to stop us.