Cittaja || Indian Historical Romance

31.

The celebrations continued in the hall. Shakra sighed as he sat there. Yuvika joined him, showing him the henna design on her hands. Shakra nodded but remained silent.

"Don't be shy. Tell me. It looks beautiful, doesn't it?" She insisted.

"It's good," he replied, glancing around to find Mayurakshi. She was in a purple outfit, seated next to her maids.

"Akka, you're asking as if the Prince of the Battlefield would understand intricate henna designs," Mayurakshi commented.

"Oh, did the peahen finally decide to give me a moment of her day?" Shakra grinned.

"Mayura, be nice to the guest," Yuvika scolded. "Do I need to ask Amma to teach you behavior class again?"

"Whatever," Mayurakshi muttered, with her friends suddenly asking him about his opinion on the henna. Shakra couldn't be sure, but he could almost sense her irritation.

Shakra wondered what was up with her. Why was she suddenly acting annoyed? He smiled at the women who were asking him.

"I'm sure you're all excellent at choosing your henna artists. I'm hardly the person to comment on art," Shakra laughed.

"Oh, don't mind Mayurakshi. She's just jealous. Her henna got ruined last night when she decided to hover around the palace, playing 'snoop around other people's business' instead of actually going to sleep and letting the henna take its beautiful time to ripen."

Shakra grinned. So, she was actually there last night. That's why Karma instantly came over to shoo away the dancer who was almost climbing on him. Usually, she doesn't bother with shooing them because it doesn't matter to her. His little sparrow was jealous of the dancing girl enough to ruin her henna.

Soon, Shakra excused himself and went to look for his love. He found her near the garden, her maids fussing around, trying to repair her henna.

He walked over towards her, and she saw him.

"I appreciate the Prince offering to give an opinion, but I worry that I truly have no need to show his highness my henna," she answered with a Princess Training Smile.

Shakra walked ahead and signaled them to leave. They quickly scattered away. Mayura almost cursed her friends for being such cowards. Shakra sat next to her, extending his arm behind her over the bench and looking at her.

"I didn't ask the woman to entertain me. She was just doing her job; I can't just push them to the ground."

"I didn't ask. None of my business who you sleep with," she said and stood up. Shakra grabbed her hand and pulled her back. He opened his hand and looked at the henna. With the feather, he tried to correct it.

Slowly, he corrected her henna by drawing a sparrow and an eagle over her hands, creating designs around them. When he finished, he grabbed her throat and pulled her close.

"You have nothing to be jealous about, Sparrow. I am yours. I have been, and I will be. There is no woman I am going to sleep with except you."

"Excuse me. That's not a nice thing to say to a Princess that you want to sleep with them."

"It's a very nice thing to actually sleep with my wife, Sparrow. It's an important part of married life."

"You're pretty much confusing me for someone else."

Shakra laughed. "Go on and deny it for now, but when you become mine, I will show you how nice it can be." He winked at her.

"I'm sure the Prince is quite 'nice'. I heard something similar from Anita when I was in Ambikapuram." Shakra burst out laughing at her comment. His heart was beating with delight. His sparrow was quite the spy, digging up all the information she could about him.

"You're going to put something that happened 9 years ago against me now? Ten years ago, you hadn't even completely blossomed into the beautiful woman. You must have just entered puberty. I was already out of Gurukul by then and had already been to 2 wars."

"None of my business. I'll be going my merry way."

Shakra gave her a look, warning her that if she dared to move an inch, she would regret it. Even if he played nice for her, he was still the spoiled Prince who could cause great trouble for her.

"If dancing girls are making you so jealous, then how about you come over and claim what you want? Go on, put a ring on my finger and let everyone know I am yours." He brushed her hair out of her face and admired her beautiful brown eyes and cherry lips.

Mayura stared at her henna. Shakra desperately wished she was as easy to read as his sisters. Her silence rang in his head, and he wanted to know what she was thinking.

"What are you thinking?"

"That is my personal thought. I don't suppose that it comes under host duties to spill out thoughts to guests." Shakra sighed and stood up.

"Alright then, let that henna dry and take color. While you're at it, get yourself some cold buttermilk; you're burning up in jealousy that is pointless." With that, he left her alone.

Mayurakshi stared at her henna. The eagle was next to the sparrow. Unlike how she always believes is the case with eagles and sparrows, the eagle didn't seem to wish to eat the sparrow. Even if Shakra claimed that he didn't have much knowledge of the arts, he was a pretty good artist.

'Why am I feeling so burned? He can take any woman he wants. It isn't exactly forbidden for a man to be attracted to a dancing girl. He isn't my husband. That is exactly what dancing girls do. Their job is to entice men and please them.' She wondered. She pushed her head back over the bench, exactly where a moment ago Shakra's shoulder was, and closed her eyes.

His bloodied hands grabbed her throat, pulling her forward toward him, and kissed her shoulder. She stayed on his lap even after the job she wanted to do was finished. His beard tickled her neck and sensitive skin. Mayurakshi hadn't met a man who could match the beast.

She immediately sat up and shook her head.

'Is there a point in regretting now, Mayurakshi? You knew that you are crossing a line with that,' her mind chided her.

"Rajkumari, Yuvraj's wedding is beginning. Maharani is asking for you."

"I'll be there," Mayurakshi assured her.