Last King of Kings

Chapter 50: The hardest decision

Oh, Hira. The Pearl in the Desert. The Gate to Mesopotamia. All those rumours Usama heard about the once grand and magnificent city of Hira, all those expectations, were ruined in just one moment. It wasn't like Hira was deserted, desolated or unbearably poor. It wasn't. But it also wasn't "The Pearl in the desert" Usama expected it to be. People were mainly outside the walls, working the fields in the bank of Euphrates. Inside were only few craftsmen, smiths and some merchants. It's to no ones surprise, that city serving as a military base would be trying to concentrate on producing food, especially if the city was built on such a fertile soil. And, of course, what would be a military base without someone to repair damaged weaponry.

But Usama was still perplexed by the lack of people. And, to add to his confusion, all of those people were clearly Muslim Arabs – no trace of any locals. What happened here? Just when he started fearing the worst, that the Muslim army massacred everyone in the city because of their religion, he sighted Khalid. He knew Khalid for a long time – all his life basically. And he considered him to be a good man – valiant, honourable and, mainly, military genius. And he was also sure that Khalid wouldn't let such a massacre happen. He wanted to run to him, he even wanted to start waving on him, but instead of that, he stood there, as if stunned. Questions and paranoia overwhelmed him. What if Khalid already knew of his escape? What if he'd try to send him back to Umar? And what exactly did he want to do here? Just when he started to question his motives, whether they were just, he remembered something.

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He remembered Umar talking happily about Arab army defeating the Persian one. Even Usama knew those reports and battles. He knew what happened there. It was slaughter. Massacre. Meat-grinder. It, in one word, horrible. Tens of thousands died. And for what? Because they believe in different god. Because they worship different deity. Is human life worth so little? He didn't think so. But it weren't Zoroastrians that attacked countries in the name of religion. Usama was a zealous man. He believed in Allah stronger than a common man. But what he didn't believe in was the religious justification of war. He made up his mind. He decided on it once, so he'll go through with it. What will happen to Khalid should Usama succeed? No one knows. But Usama was sure only what is meant to happen will happen.

He made up his mind as he stepped forward in Khalid's direction, who was already disappearing in the distance. He fastened his step and puffed his chest upwards, while eyeing Khalid in in the back of the street. He followed him stealthily for some reason. He didn't even notice it at first. But when he did notice his suspicious behaviour, he quickly corrected himself. After all, he wasn't here to stalk Khalid, he came as a friend. He, once again, puffed up his chest and quickly caught up to Khalid. As he was approaching him, Khalid noticed someone behind him and turned around. He looked to be very surprised, but also confused. He didn't understand what exactly was Usama doing here. Usama, on the other hand, tried to play it cool and initiated the conversation.

"Khalid, I finally found you. It was a nightmare to crawl through this population absent city. What in the Allah's name happened here? Where are all the people? Wasn't Hira supposed to be a magnificent city? Or did all of it just disappear overnight?"

Khalid was taken a bit aback by Usama's sudden flood of questions, but quickly retaliated, choosing to take a safe approach.

"Usama, I welcome you to Hira. In regards to your questions, I also have a few, so would you mind coming with me to somewhere more private?"

"Not at all, my friend."

Khalid smiled on Usama and led him through the street while keeping an eye on him from time to time. He was walking in front of him, as someone leading the way, while Usama was behind him, following, even without knowing where. He thought about the possibility of this being a trap, but decided to put his trust in Khalid in this matter, blindly following him into a possible ambush. But as he learnt soon enough, it was no ambush nor a trap.

They entered a building that looked like it served as an administrative centre of sorts in the past. It had decorative architecture. Inside it, it also was established to look representative. They passed a few guards and some people running around, until they reached a door that was plainly out of sight. When they entered Usama couldn't overlook how over-decorated the room was. Khalid sat down in one of the armchair and gestured Usama to also sit down.

"Now, I won't let you stand by yourself, will I? Sit down. That way we can enjoy our talk more."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Khalid." said Usama while sitting down reluctantly. "But now, that we are here, can I have my questions answered? I am a bit anxious about it, you see."

"Of course you can. What did you ask again? Ah, I know! No, rest calmly, when we arrived with plans to conquer the city, it was already empty. We ourselves don't know what any why, but it was definitely a hit for our morale. You see, soldiers start to conspire and make up theories. Curses and such. But nothing happened yet and we are building a stable community here, so I believe all of these theories are false after all."

Usama sighed, clearly out of relief. He was pent up about it the whole way here. But now, his stress could be relieved. But suddenly, the atmosphere in the room changed and the pressure became more evident as Khalid looked suspiciously on Usama.

"Now, my dear friend, do tell me, what exactly are you doing here? I never heard of any message from Umar that you'll be visiting us. And I don't suppose you travelled on the foot the whole way here. So who do we owe your visit?"