The Urban Chronicle ✔

8: I'm Awesome The Way I Am

Neel returned from the fighting arena- caked with dirt, from head to toe, after his grueling practice session. Thankfully he went straight to the bathroom and cleaned up immediately.

As I've already told you, I cannot stand being so dirty.

At precisely eight thirty, a hand maid came to our room and announced that breakfast had been served and we were to be present downstairs. I realized that I was famished and my stomach grumbled at the mention of food. I could eat an entire feast right now!

Neel and I proceeded to the dining room, talking about how our second day in the past had been so far.

He described to me the various techniques of defense and offence and it was evident that he loved sword fighting. And from what I had seen in the morning, he was good at it.

I told him about Sanghamitra and her infatuation towards him.

I said teasingly, "Someone's got a new admirer. Who would have thought, that a princess would fall for you?!"

"Oh shut up! You girls are very dumb...." He retorted, having nothing better to say.

"Come on, don't be such a prick." I said, punching his arm as we walked into the humongous dining room, "Remember that she's younger than you, so be nice."

Both of us grinned at each other. It was a miracle that we had managed to be civil to each other for more than twenty four hours.

We were shown our places at the dining table. I was with all the ladies and Neel was seated with all the men. I had to sit next to some batty old lady who was giving me the stink eye.

Gosh! What did I ever do to her?! I cringed and immediately requested to be seated beside Sanghamitra, who flashed me one of her bright smiles when I sat next to her.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, no one talked at the table. Most of the royals just stared at Neel and me, trying to be discreet. But it was pretty obvious. I ignored them and continued to eat the marvelously cooked food.

I didn't know any of the dishes. I only recognized kheer, which is basically boiled rice in condensed milk seasoned with saffron and a variety of nuts.

After stuffing our stomachs to our heart's content- Mahindra, Neel, Sanghamitra and I were just about to leave the room when one the queens approached us. I figured that she was Sanghamitra's mother because they looked similar.

The queen smiled sweetly at all of us and said, "Oh, how lovely it is to see all of you having so much fun!! It reminds me of the good old days of my childhood."

Turning to Neel and me, she said, "I hope you have a wonderful stay at our palace. You have no idea how happy and privileged we are to host you. It's not every day that people appear out of thin air and claim to have come from the future. Not that I don't believe you- It just seems hard to believe."

Neel lifted the queen's hand and placed a chaste kiss on it. Then he said as charmingly as he could, "Well, not all of us have the privilege of such a wonderful family hosting us. I assure you we will not cause you any trouble, and will remain out of your way."

I had to admit that Neel was a great actor, but I feel that the kiss on the hand was a bit too overboard. The queen on the other hand was impressed by his charms and blessed him, "May you have a long and happy life!"

Then she said, "Now if you'll please excuse me- I would like to have a word with Tara, alone."

I thought she stressed on the word alone, but it was so subtle that I guess I imagined it.

I wondered what she wanted from me. The others didn't seem to notice that emphasis and let the queen lead me out to the royal rose gardens.

I asked her in a sweet voice, "Your Majesty, how can I be of any help to you?"

She laughed coldly and said, "Oh, so now you're acting all innocent like you did nothing wrong. You may be able to fool the others but not me. I see exactly what you're trying to here."

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." I said, confused.

"Are you sure?" she asked incredulously and shook her head, a look of disgust on her face.

"I really don't know what you're referring to." I said, knitting my brow.

"Well then, let me enlighten you." She said coldly, "You are an extremely ill-mannered girl, with absolutely no ethics. I would rather die than have a daughter like you. I know perfectly well that you're bent on spoiling my angelic daughter. Oh the way you talk to boys so freely, the clothes you wear, you act as though you can equal the strength of a boy- yes I heard of little competition yesterday. It's sacrilege! Have you no sense in that microscopic brain of yours?! I wonder how in the world that lovely young boy, Neel, bears you. You dare not spoil my daughter; I don't know what she even sees in you. She hasn't stopped talking about you ever since she met you this morning. Stay away from her!"

I bit back my tears that threatened to flow out any moment now. I utterly despise people shouting at me, especially people I didn't even know.

What had I done wrong? Was it my fault that I was born in the 21st century, and that she was some ancient hag who no one seemed to care about?

I ran to my room, faking a smile to everyone on the way, trying to hold my tears in. Frankly, I overdid it and it was obvious to everyone that I was about to cry. The moment I reached the room, I requested our hand maids to leave immediately and shut the door after them.

I sat on my bed and cried for a while as I replayed the queen's words in my head again and again.

After that I was overcome by a massive rage that I took out on a flower vase by kicking it, but ended up hurting my toes (it was made of brass). Ouch!

Someone knocked on the door. It turned out to be Neel- he said in a concerned tone, "Tara, are you all right? One of the maids told me that you were crying. Do you want to talk about it?"

Gosh! Didn't he get the fact that I wanted to be alone for some time? Was it that hard to percept? I hate it when people pity me because I cry.

It was bad enough that I was hurt; he didn't have to come and make things worse. The more he acted concerned, the more I felt the urge to go out and punch him in the face.

But I contented myself by shouting, "GO AWAY!"

"Fine, I'll go. But call me if need me. I'll be around." Neel said. A big bar of chocolate appeared before me and I knew he had summoned it for me. I couldn't help but smile at this sweet gesture.

I hate pity but I can't refuse chocolate, it's against the laws of nature to do so!

I opened it immediately and nibbled on it as I pondered on what the queen had said. The chocolate made me feel a lot better, and I kind of had a eureka moment after that.

I realized that that it didn't matter what the queen thought about me. I was who I was and I loved myself, and what mattered was that Sanghamitra liked me for it. I decided that the queen was an annoying numbskull and wasn't worth wasting my precious lacrimal secretions on.

I put away the remaining chocolate in my secret stash behind a thick curtain. It would be useful for my midnight snack. I washed my face, put on a bright smile and walked out of the room to join the others.

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