Aparajita

I couldn't believe I said that before the king. Something inside me woke up as soon as I saw Abhaya. I had a sudden boost of adrenaline that gave me confidence. I could see. His eyes. He was really sorry. But I can't fall weak. I can't just accept his apology. If I want to survive in this palace, I need to stay strong. Very strong.

I had bought myself some time to plan my escape. The maid just delivered a message that the swayamvar was to be held after two months. Two long months. It's more than enough to plan and escape this palace. Till then I need to survive. Merely live. My plan after the escape is all laid. Just two more months.

"Tell the King I desire to meet him." I say to the maid who delivered the message.

"As you say, princess." She says bowing her head as she leaves.

After few minutes, the maid came back with a message.

"Maharaj (king) has asked you to come to his study if you want his presence." She says politely.

Ofcourse. What did I expect from this arrogant king. I leave my chamber after informing Kamakshi. The maid leads my way towards the study. Once we reach there, she knocks on the door and leaves.

"Come in." I hear.

I open the door and step in. I close the door behind me. He is on his desk, reading a book. I don't have the time to admire anything in that room. So I get straight to the point.

"Maharaj, I wanted to discuss something about the swayamvar." I say.

"Go ahead." He says without looking up from his book.

"I want a competition to be held during my swayamvar. The prince who wins in that competition will marry me." I say talking to the wall.

"Anything else?" He asks finally looking up.

"No, that's it." I say without making an eye contact. Tit for tat.

"You may leave." He says again burying his head in his book.

I leave his study and go straight to my chamber. I go to my chamber and sit on my bed. That's it. It was so easy to convince the king. I never thought he would agree so easily.

I see the chamber door open. It's Kamakshi. I had sent her to fetch something to eat. I could only trust her here. Who knows if they poison my food? I can't be taking any chances.

"Let's eat, Aparajita." She says. I'd asked her to stop getting formal while we were alone.

I silently get up from my bed and sit on the stool. She places the giant gold plate in front of me. She brought everything in double quality. She takes out some empty bowls, fills them up with content of the plate. She sits on another stool opposite of me and starts eating, leaving me the contents of plate to eat. I don't question her. I eat my food silently. She leaves the room, with the utensils soon after we finish eating.

I return to my thoughts. Abhaya. The first name that comes to my mind. I see his figure forming in front of my eyes. Without me realising, I picture his eyes, just his eyes. I've always admired them. A pair of masterpiece. Immediately my mind goes back to the encounter I had with him during the war. How firmly he held me along my waist. His hands embracing me.

Thinking of war, my mind drifted off the the post-war scene...

__

Flashback~

"Kamakshi, speak. What happened?" I say in an impatient and dominant tone.

"Rajkumari..." She hasitates "We lost the war, and... And..." She turns her gaze, unable to speak more.

"Speak, Kamakshi. For God's sake, don't keep me in the dark." I say in an irritating tone.

"She will not speak anything. I will tell you what happened." My focus shifts on the figure with whom Kamakshi was talking previously.

As soon as my eyes fell on him, I recognise him. The second prince of Kapila. Aniruddha. Perfectly chiseled face. High cheekbones. Well built body and eyes of the deepest brown colour. No wonder everyone called him the reincarnation of Kamadeva (god of good looks). But what was he doing here?

He kept staring at my face, "I am here to take you Princess. Fortunately or unfortunately, your father has gifted you to my kingdom. I am here to acquire our property." He finally speaks, smiling shrewdly.

My blood starts boiling with his words. How dare he speak as such to me? Whoever he is, it doesn't give him the right to speak in such way. Scoundrel.

"आपको हमसे इस भांति वार्तालाप करने में लज्जा नहीं आती राजकुमार? लांछन है आप पर! क्या आप सभी स्त्रियों के साथ इसी भांति वार्तालाप करते है?" I ask him showing pure disgust through my expressions.

(Aren't you ashamed to talk to us like this, Prince? Shame on you! Do you talk to all women like this?)

"आपसे क्या लज्जा, राजकुमारी? आप तो हमारी प्रियसी है." He says smiling playfully. "And I've reserved my sweet words only for you, no other women." He adds.

(Why should I be ashamed, princess? You are my darling.)

I nearly puke at his words. This man. The audacity. How could he say this when I could be his future bhabhi (sister-in-law). I chose to ignore his nonsense. I shift my attention towards Kamakshi. She's standing there not knowing what to do.

"Fetch father." I say her slowly.

"Yes, Rajkumari." Saying, she leaves. Leaving me and Aniruddha alone. God no! He keeps getting on my nerves.

"राजकुमारी, क्या आपको ज्ञात है, आप अति सुंदर दिखती है. हम आपको देखकर सममोहित हो चुके है." He speaks bluntly.

(Princess, do you know, you look very beautiful. I am mesmerized seeing you.)

I don't even know how to respond to this. After thinking for a while I come up with a reply.

"क्षमा चाहती हू राजकुमार, किंतु यह उचित नहीं है. अगर आप हमारे साथ कोई खेल खेल रहे है, तो यह प्रयास असफल रहा." I say.

(I am sorry Rajkumar, but this is not right. If you are playing a game with me, your attempt failed.)

"Well answered, Rajkumari. I was just wondering how would you react on my words." He says laughing between his words.

I notice he looks much more humane and lot more charming when he's genuinely laughing. His laughter brought an unusual warmth in the room.

The chamber door opens. I see my father entering with my brothers and Kamakshi following him. One of my brothers is missing. The realisation hits my heart and my head starts throbbing. He gave up his life, just for our father to surrender like a loser.

"What is it, princess?" He asks patting my head.

I move away from his touch. He's a coward.

"What happened father? Were you so desperate to live that you sacrificed your only daughter and never once thought about my brother who gave his life to protect you?" I ask as tears fills my eyes and my voice cracks with anger.

"Aparajita, you leave the palace along with prince Aniruddha, Kamakshi and a few gifts I've prepared for King Madhavdev. You will be departing in an hour." He says ignoring my words "Kamakshi, get her prepared to leave." He adds.

"Very well father. If this is what you desire, I will obey you. Like always. You may happily live on the grave of your son's life and daughter's happiness." I say shivering.

He stares at me for few seconds and leaves silently. My brothers, all pats my head and leave one by one. As soon as they're gone, I fall on my knees and start sobbing. I keep crying and crying. I feel an embrace around my shoulders, from behind. I turn to see. Aniruddha.

Even a stranger, from enemy kingdom knew how miserable I was and sympathised me. I didn't fight back. I needed that embrace. Even my own family didn't know my misery. They were more of strangers then Aniruddha. I kept on sobbing in his embrace until my head started to spin.

I lift up from my position and make my way towards my chamber. I start to pack things I must take along with me, as soon as I reach. I see Kamakshi and Aniruddha watching me from hindsight. I finish up packing my things.

"Let's leave." I say slowly.

"Alright." Aniruddha says.

We leave after 20 minutes. Without meeting anyone. Because nobody was here whom I can call my family.

Flashback ends.

__

"Rajkumari, Prince Achyuta wishes to see you." I come back to reality with Kamakshi's voice.

"Why? What's the reason?" I ask blankly.

"He didn't inform about the reason." She says.

"Okay, I will go meet him." I say, thinking why he wants to see me.

I stand up from my bed and leave the chamber. Outside the chamber, there is a guard standing to fetch me. He gestures to follow him. I comply. After a walk of eternity, we reach his chamber. I knock the door.

"Enter." He says

I enter his chamber, closing the door behind me. It is the biggest, most elegant room I've ever seen. It's simple, yet sophisticated. I must admit, he has good taste.

"Rajkumari Aparajita..."

***

This is it for today. I hope you enjoyed this update. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter in the comments. Suggest changes if you think and also leave questions if you have any. Don't forget to like and comment. Add the story to your library to get updates. Thanks for your support. xo

~Rose