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Author's Pov
"No, don't keep it there!" Nandha instructed as she watched her hand maids pack her clothes and accessories for her travel, "Keep it in the second box, the brown one."
Her female attendants moved around the room, shuffling through various clothes and accessories as they prepared the arrangements for Yuvrani Nandha's departure.
Shaking her head, she moved towards her vanity and took out a small coffret. It was a small box made of sandalwood, carved with beautiful illustrations of Shree Ram and Mata Seeta. Her fingers traced the carved wood, rough yet smooth, her eyes filling with unshed tears.
With a small jerk, she opened the coffret and a tear drop slid down her cheeks as her heart sank in despair. Inside the small chest was a broken Chudamani, her broken happiness. The pearls and gems, detached from the Chudamani spread around the velvet covering the insides of the box.
The Chudamani, her most precious regalia, has lost all its beauty and prominence due to just one mistake from her part. A mistake that caused her, her happiness. Her heart ached painfully at the mere sight of it, the old scared memories of the dreadful night resurfaced.
She didn't know why she still had this piece of jewellery with her, even after everything. How much ever her mind wanted her to dispose the broken piece, her heart was not letting her do so. Because once this piece of jewellery that showed that she belonged to him.
'Did he ever love her?' She couldn't help but ask to herself. 'It didn't even take him a minute to conclude that she was a whore, a characterless woman who sleeps around. Why? Just because she was seen together with his brother.'
She closed the small chest and kept it safely among her clothes that were being packed for her journey. She was carefully arranging it when a shrivelled voice broke her stance.
"Pardon me Yuvrani, if I'd utter something erroneous, but do you think a trip to your motherland is necessary in this situation?" Tuya's voice shook Nandha out of her thoughts.
Wiping the tears hastily, Nandha turned around and looked at the old woman, confusion, "What do you mean, Tuya?"
"Yuvrani, day after tomorrow Yuvraaj is leaving to Kalinga to attend the swayamvar of the Rajkumari, so isn't it your duty to fulfill the responsibilities of Yuvraj in his absence. And moreover, when he arrives to Hastinapur with his newly wedded wife, shouldn't you be present here to receive the couple?" Tuya paused and looked at Nandha, who seemed to be contemplating her words.
A nasty smirk crossed her face as she continued to torment the young girl with her words. "In our times, the young brides were forbidden to leave her husband's home, be it to her own home or another. We used to worship our husband's as god's but now the women have become contemptuous, no respect for their husband as well as their marriag-"
"That's enough, Tuya maa. The packing is already done and it would be really nice if we could let Yuvrani rest. She has a long journey awaiting her tomorrow. Moreover, you would be tired from the packing so, why don't you take some rest as well?" Madhu interrupted the old woman.
