The Promised Princess

Pain

She was sitting there by the pool thinking about the happenings of the day and tears brimmed in her eyes but she stopped herself from crying by thinking about her beautiful memories with Baahu, that's when her friend Bhalla came and sat near her and looked at her for a few moments and then turned his gaze towards the serene view of the moon. 

"Are you ok?"
He asked not moving his gaze and she just signed and put her head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her. They just sat there talking about everything and anything to distract them from their own misery. The time passed and it was time for dinner so parted their ways as Aradhya wanted to have her dinner in her room and asked Bhalla to inform this and he just nodded. 

While going toward her room she saw Baahu and Devasena standing next to each other and talking with a smile on their face she looked on as a tear flowed down her beautiful eye and she just went to her room and locked herself inside and sobbed quietly. 

There was a knock on her door and she immediately sat up and rubbed away all her tears and tried her best to hide her red face and then went and opened the door thinking it was the servant who has brought her dinner but was shocked seeing her mother figure standing there with a concerned expression with a plate of food in her hands. Aradhya gently smiled at her and prayed to God that Rajmata Sivagami does not find out that she had been crying for the past hour and welcomed her inside. 

Sivagami entered inside and felt that something was wrong but she could not put her finger on what it was, she came inside and made Aradhya sit on the couch on the balcony and started lovingly feeding her as a mother will to her child and Aradhya felt a bit better because of the affection she was getting and after a long day. After feeding her they talked about whatever they could think of and had a good time, they moved to the bed and Aradhya lied on Sivagami's lap and Sivagami patted her head.

"I am so sorry Aradhya."

After such a long time the Rajmata of Mahishmati apologized to someone, Aradhya immediately sat up and looked at her who looked very guilty and sad.

"You were supposed to get married to Baahu, you would have had so many dreams and all of us just broke it."  

Aradhya just smiled at her and said that Baahu's happiness is her priority and she was happy that he was happy and reassured her that she was okay when in reality she was not. Sivagami knew that she wasn't okay and that she is hiding her pain so she just tried her best to support her. Aradhya once again lied on Sivagami's lap and slowly drifted into sleep and Sivagami gently placed her head on the pillow and went to her room. 

Sivagami was utterly broken from the inside from all the happenings in just a day, how could her own husband want his own niece's misery? Was he the one who had tried to kill Baahu all the time? Did he poison her son too? Was Bhalla even ok? Did she take the right decision?

There were so many questions in her mind that her head pounded and she sat on the bed with a thud and stared into the space not knowing what to do. 

Baahu was very happy that he was going to marry his love (according to him) but there was a part in his heart that was very hurt but he did not know why he was sad. He was restless that something was about to happen. 

Devasena felt very happy that she was going to marry Baahu and she was not getting any sleep she blushed seeing the moon but she was not aware a very handsome guy was gazing at her.

Bhalla stood in the garden looking at the beautiful princess in front of him, he wished that she was his but it was her choice and he was not a monster to force her. He signed quietly thinking about the mess and went to his room. 

Ayan was there in the garden too but did not see either Bhalla or Devasena but he heard the sound of anklets, and he was mesmerized by just the sound of them but the sound suddenly stopped and he signed and looked here and there but could not find the maiden but he found one of her anklets and walked to his room smiling to himself.