✔️Tale as Old as Time (Kunwar Pratap/Ajabde [Praja])

25//~prince of her dreams~

I had forgotten all about my previous worries when we entered the mahal. It was decorated like never before. Every square inch was covered in flowers. People were dancing and singing. I got out of my palki and Kunwar Pratap got off his horse as we entered the mahal. We were showered with flowers and in the distance, I could spot Ranima, Manjrima, and another woman.

Kunwar Pratap looked at me awkwardly as if asking if I knew what all of this was for. I shook my head in negative. Then, Kunwar Pratap's eyes landed on the other woman. He hurried to her, practically running.

She had tears in her eyes as she hugged him.

"Chhotima? Aap vapis aa gayi?" he asked.

"Ji," she replied. "Hum ab aap hi ke saath rahenge,"

"Aap jaanti bhi nahi hain, humne kitna yaad kiya aapko," he said.

I touched Ranima's feet, then Manjrima's feet and I guess Chotima's as well.

"Sada sukhi raho," she said.

"Ajabde?" she asked me. I nodded. She smiled at me and gave me a big hug.

"Aapke vishay me kitna sunna hain humne," she said. "Hum aapki Chhotima Dheerbai hain,"

"Ajabde humne bataya tha aapko?" Kuwnar Pratap reminded me. I nodded with a polite smile. Kunwar Pratap and I turned back to Ranima.

"Kaha reh gaye the aap?" she asked Kuwnar Pratap. "Aapke chhote bhai kal raat ko aa gaye the aur saari dasiya aur sipayi bhi aa gaye kaal raat ko. Aapka koi patta hi nahi tha unhe,"

"Jaane dijiye na Jija, abh abhi laute-"

"Dheerbaiji, hume apne putra se koi sawal kiya hain jiske uttar ki hum unse apiksha rakhte hain," she said.

Kunwar Pratap explained everything to Ranima and instantly her stern demeanor changed to a worried one.

"Aap dono thik to hain na? Kahi chot to nahi aiyi?" she asked hugging us both.

"Hum bilkul thik hain," I said. "Aap chintit na ho,"

"Vaise Ranima, eetni tayari kis baat ki?" Kunwar Pratap asked.

"Iss saal Ganghaur ke avsaar par pure Rajputtana ko nimatran bheja hain," Ranima said. Kunwar Pratap looked a tad bit skeptical and to be completely fair so was I.

"Achha woh, hum Krishna mandir ho kar aate hain. Meera ma ki krishnaji ki murti ke ek baar darshaan karle," I said. That deity was divine. Being around it gave me peace of mind.

"Hum bhi ho aate hain," Kunwar Pratap said.

We walked towards the mandir in awkward silence. I didn't know why it was so awkward. My feelings were ruining our friendship and it was not ok.

"Aapke ghaav vedji ko ek baar dikha dijiye ga," I said.

"Aapne lep lagya hain to koi jaldi nahin hain," he said and looked at me. He knew what he was doing! One of these days he's going to make me melt.

We reached the mandir and closed our eyes to pray. Once I was done, I opened mine and looked at Kunwar Pratap, he was crying. I moved forward to comfort him but then I realized that I wasn't supposed to. All of this stuff was going to make it harder to watch him love someone else. He was 17, he would get married soon enough to Phool Kanwar. He wasn't mine to think about.

He looked at me. I pretended not to notice and closed my eyes. Hey kanhaji, help me and guide me to do the right thing.

:~:~:~:

The princesses and their mothers had started arriving this morning. All of the princesses were snobs except one of them, Phool. She was a bit of a snob too but she was Heer's friend and I liked her.