If

a gift

  Khilji stands in front of Mehrunisa, as bare and scary as he can be, holding the knife he gifted to her few years ago. 

 Mehrunisa steps closer to him, bringing the gas light between them to inspect Khilji. The little cut on his neck is still bleeding lightly, making new trails of red to his chest which is already covered by blood. She wonders if it's only his own. 

"Have you touched her?" She says, her voice barely audible. 

 Khilji raises his hand to her eye level, as if he's going to slap her. He's hoping for a flinch, or a light of fear in her eyes.  Mehrunisa doesn't even blink.

 He changes his mind there and then, he lowers his hand and grabs Mehrunisa by her waist, crashing her body to his chest. His hands travel from the top of head to her small back, lower and lower until he feels her shivering.

  "Touched her how?" He asks, his voice deep and full of lust. Mehrunisa pushes his chest to break free, which only tempts him to hold her tighter.  His extends his rough touch there, making Mehrunisa jump.

  She protests with another strong push to his chest, moving his hand away from her private parts, deeply disgusted. "Take your hands off!" 

  He plays with her like a cat plays with a mouse, letting her free just a little, only to grab her arms and torture her with his closeness again, untill she's out of breath and too tired to fight. He watches Mehrunisa as she regains the control of her breath, her eyes red and her figure slightly humped. She keeps looking him in the eyes, without any fear of being hurt or harassed. 

 It drives him crazy, how daring and careless she is, even though she's facing him, the man no emperor could fight against, even in a battlefield. Mehrunisa faces him in a room only illuminated by moonlight, unlike the warriors who wear steel armours, she's wearing nothing but a cotton nightdress.

"I gave you everything you wanted." He sounds like he is tired of her as he shouts every word. "And you... You betrayed me."

 Mehrunisa averts her eyes. She's filled with things to say, however she chooses to stay quiet like she always did, to not pour oil on the flame. She thought he wouldn't force her to speak, until he did.

"Speak!" He yells to her face,  shaking her body back and forth violently. 

 It's been a long time since Malika gave her an actual answer instead of what he wanted to hear, so she hesitates before telling a word, scared that he might take his anger out of Padmavati because of something she says. 

 Every second of her silence eats up Alauddin's non-existent patience. He grabs his wife's small chin as he corners her againist a wall, getting closer to her face. His eyes look like a lightening could come out them.

"You are carrying my child in you. How could you do it?" He growls so loud that Mehrunisa feels the vibrations on her heartbeat. 

"I gifted the dagger to her. I didn't tell her to use it on you." She raises her voice finally, trying to escape the prison that is his body.

"That leads to the same exact point, if you haven't realised yet, my dear betrayer wife." He points to his neck, breathing furiously.

 The word betrayer hits a deep spot that fires up her ire and her breathing adapts to his. "That's your fault, not mine." She spits.

 He stares at her, until he realizes that this is the same woman who had been deeply in love with him. Suddenly it seems like too much to take in at a time, these expressionless, blank eyes belongs to his wife.

  He lets go of her chin and walks to nearby window in Malika's room. He saw no fear, no love and no sign of emotion at all, in her eyes. He used to read her insides through the brown of her eyes, she was an open book.  Tonight, all he sees a dark, empty space behind her eyes, as if her light was stolen from her.