THE RULERS OF RISHABHAPRIYA

6

Surabhi's POV

There was absolute silence in the huge hall for a few moments until Guruji chuckled to lighten up the tension. I did not tear my eyes off the arrogant man in front of me who was shamelessly asking me to share the chamber with him. "I'm sure there is another way to keep you safe while keeping in mind that you aren't a couple. Let us do this, Bhargav", he said his name like a warning making him back off and move away from me. That somehow made my chest swell up in ego. "We will make arrangements for her stay in the palace in the same floor as you. This way she will be around you all the time and there will be no rules broken".

I looked at Guruji and said," I have no problem with that", he nodded too and said, "Even though I don't need her to save me, I'm saying yes for you", he said and walked away from there. All of the others left and it was only Guruji and me when he started," Rajkumari, you may be thinking I am doing all this for your favor. But there is my selfishness in this too. This island kingdom has to be brought to its former glory and right now, the only man in the whole kingdom is him. And he needs support from someone who knows what is it to be a royal".

I just stood there watching him as he told me how he grew up in this kingdom and how he wanted to start a new reign before he left. I had no idea where he was going and I was least bothered about it. I was not there to listen to someone's emotional story. I had accepted my fate and was there just to stay away from my family in Ratnagarbha. But I had to be close enough to know what was happening there. And if being his guard would help me do that, I had no problem in being one. I nodded and walked away to go find this floor he was living in in the huge palace. I removed my hair from the braid and made a low bun while going up the stairs to the top floor of the palace. 

The first thing I saw was white cloths here and there and the smell of alcohol and something weird. The whole floor was filled with such disgusting smelly pieces of fabric most of which were white. I walked carefully not stepping on it and entered a bright passage and there he was, standing in the middle of the passage looking around disgusted. "So this is where I should be living, huh?", I asked grabbing his attention. His face went from disgust to annoyance in seconds. "Yeah, I hope it's better than the dungeon you were in, prisoner", I fisted my hands in anger when he called me a prisoner but there was nothing I could do. He was a king. And I was just his babysitter.

I walked to him while saying," Watch out. You don't want to step on something disgusting", he looked at me in annoyance as I added," baby". His eyebrows lifted as he turned towards me and asked," What did you just call me?", I chuckled and repeated," Baby. I called you a baby", he crossed his hands across his chest.

"So, you are giving me nicknames now?"

"It's not a nickname. It is what you are. A baby. Because your Guruji just made me your babysitter. That means you don't know how to take care of yourself"

He inhaled loudly and said, "I know exactly how to take care of myself. I killed the goddamn king of this kingdom and conquered it just one night ago. Do you really think I need your protection?"

I stepped in closer and asked in an angry tone," Then why am I here? Why am I your personal bodyguard when you are so powerful? When there are literally hundreds of men out there who are physically stronger than me? Why?"

"If I knew why Guruji was doing all this, I would find another way. But he is being mysterious as always and not letting me know anything"

"That doesn't change the fact that you need my protection"

"I do not-"

My feet landed on something sharp and I lost balance and was about to fall on the dirty floor when he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest. I gasped as I felt how muscular and strong he was beneath his cotton shawl. No wonder he killed the king. We looked at each other for a few seconds until his lips turned up into a smirk and he whispered.

"Who needs protection now, baby?"

As if mocking me and I pushed him away staring at him angrily as I cursed at my fate and turned to look at what I had stepped on. I moved a white fabric and saw a small piece of metal laying on the ground. It looked as if it was iron and when I picked it up, I saw a part of a symbol of some kingdom on it. I did not know which kingdom it belonged to but decided to keep it with me until I knew who it belonged to. 

I stood up and turned to look at him trying to move the dirty clothes away with his feet. I chuckled," You are a king", I stated. "Thanks for letting me know something I already knew", he said nonchalantly and continued his work. I clapped twice loudly making him stop and look at me and I heard footsteps behind me and his sight fell behind me. "Ji, Maharaj", the attendees said making him move his lips without knowing what to say. I smiled and turned around and said," Maharaj wants this floor cleaned as soon as possible. The whole palace is spotless. Why is the floor which should be occupied by the king so dirty?", the attendee replied not looking at me," We were not allowed to enter this floor by the orders of the late king, my lady. If Maharaj allows us, then we'll make sure this place will be clean always", I nodded and walked away from there trying to find my chamber in the floor. 

I did not have to think a lot to know that the passage we stood in lead to the chamber to be occupied by the king and his wife only. I searched for the chamber farthest from his and opened the door to step in. It was huge as expected and decorated with intricate designs of lotuses everywhere. Surprisingly, the chamber was clean and untouched. There was smell of dust everywhere but it was nothing the attendees couldn't take care of. I called in an attendee and asked then to clean this chamber too and they immediately got to it. 

I walked out of the chamber and decided to inspect what the white cloths were which laid on the floor. I was about to pick one up when I heard, "I wouldn't touch it if I were you", I looked at the owner of the voice and saw an attendee looking back at me while cleaning the dirty floor. "Why what is it?", I asked. She chuckled, "The dead king used to be here all alone and only let us clean once it got really dirty. His only company here was the mysterious woman who would meet him once every month. And we all know what they did here. Do you need more explanation?", I immediately moved away realizing what those cloths were used for. 

"Have you ever seen her?", I asked.

"No", I was disappointed. "But we have heard her". My eyes snapped up to look at her. "She used to moan a lot", she looked away embarrassed. I was about to walk away when I heard another attendee say," But weirdly, she used to moan a different name. She used to call Maharaj Aditya. I don't know why", my steps halted as soon as I heard her say my brother's name. I was sure there weren't many men named Aditya apart from my brother as it was a name reserved for the royals only. 

I turned around slowly and asked," When did she usually come over every month?", they looked at each other and said," She should be here by the end of this week", I nodded and walked away with only one thought in my mind. This mysterious woman had something to do with my brother. And I had to catch her. If she was the only person except for that bastard on this floor, then the piece of metal tied to the end of my veil belonged to the either of them. And I had a very good chance to find out who she was. She may cause problems to the baby I'm taking care of for now and I did not want that. But I needed someone's help for that. I couldn't do it all alone. And that is when my eyes landed on the perfect scapegoat for that.

          __________________________________________________          

Sorry for not updating sooner.

I am unwell. 

Apparently, drinking water after eating watermelon is very bad for the stomach.

I had to learn it the hard way last night🫠

So make me happy by voting and commenting.

Lots of love girliessss❤️

❤️AISHWARYA❤️