Love Across Time

Forty Two

-𝓓𝓮𝓯𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂-

Aanya lay in bed, her mind buzzing with thoughts of the evening's events. She couldn't believe she had actually kissed Arjun - yes, it was just on the cheek, but it still counted! It had been a total spur-of-the-moment thing, but now her mind was off and running with all sorts of wild scenarios and possibilities.

Restlessly tossing and turning, she huffed in frustration at her overactive imagination. "Oh man, why did I have to go and kiss him? I mean, it was so unexpected, but now my brain won't shut up about it," she murmured to herself, pulling the covers over her head with an exasperated sigh.

"What if he thinks I'm silly? He didn't say anything at the time. What if I made him feel awkward? Stupid Aanya, why did you have to go and do that?" She buried her face in her pillow, feeling embarrassed. "Well, there you go, Aanya. Certified Idiot," she lightly tapped her head.

Aanya jolted awake as the sound of her own anklets filled the room, their gentle jingle echoing in the stillness of the night. Her eyes widened. "Why did I have to bring up Manjulika earlier?" she muttered, making a comically exaggerated frown. "Now, she's going to haunt me with that 'Ami je tomar' all night long." She sighed, realizing that the eerie sound was nothing more than her own anklets.

She snuggled under the covers, allowing sleep to wrap around her like a cozy blanket. The next morning, she woke up late as usual, greeting the day with a big yawn and a rub of her sleepy eyes as she slowly adjusted to the bright sun rays streaming into her room.

"Finally, you decided to wake up," Jeevika asked, giving her a disapproving look.

"What happened to you early in the morning, Mateshri?" Aanya asked, squinting her eyes in mock concern.

"It's not early, Rajkumari Aanya," Jeevika countered sarcastically.

"I was not sleepy last night," Aanya muttered, wiggling out from under the tangled blankets. She gave the pesky bedding a glare as she finally managed to free her legs and hop out of bed.

She stretched and let out a contented sigh, feeling the excitement of the day ahead. After getting ready, she stepped out into the garden and was instantly greeted by the sight of Jayadrath and Duryodhan. Their presence made her usually cheerful mood turn sour.

"Tauba Tauba, saara mood kharab kar dia," Aanya muttered irritably to herself as she tried to retreat, but her awkward stumble on the stairs had already drawn their attention.

"Oh, great, Aanya, why can't you walk properly?" she chided herself, brushing off her clothes.

As Jayadrath appraised her with a scrutinizing gaze, Duryodhan interjected with a frown, "What are you doing here?"

Aanya rolled her eyes and muttered, "Did you eat bittergourd so early in the morning? Can't you speak nicely for a second?"

Duryodhan scoffed and ordered, "Go to your room."

Aanya shot back indignantly, "Excuse me? I don't take orders from you, you know."

Unfazed, Jayadrath chimed in with a nasty smile, "Who are you, Devi? I don't remember meeting you last night."

Aanya shot him a withering look and muttered, "Because you're not worth meeting." Duryodhan intervened, shaking his head, "She is Rajkumari Aanya, Vasudev Krishna's sister."

Glaring at Jayadrath, Aanya muttered under her breath, "Creep," before storming off to seek refuge with Dushala.

Upon entering Dushala's room, Aanya wasted no time in getting straight to the point. "Tell me that you have already rejected Sindhraj."