Love and Redemption

Chapter 44

The scorching heat of the sun was really unbearable for the prince of Shivgarh, Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput who was riding on the back of his black shiny horse. He remembered the blank letter in response to his last letter by the innocent queen of Vijaygarh, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore as the horse galloped into the outskirts of Shivgarh neighing loudly.

He was amused and frustrated at the same time when he received no response, he wondered as he scratched the back of his neck. No doubts, no one had ever insulted the prince in this manner but for now, he was helpless because he had a goal to decimate the pride of the queen. He had made up his mind to take revenge for every tidbit of insult queen had done to him which included sending a blank letter too.

Taking a deep breath and wiping his sweat, the prince Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput wondered if the responsible queen of Vijaygarh, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore would come in the forest to meet him or not. Veerbhadra was enticed with the mesmerizing beauty of the queen and was indeed, addicted to her enchanting charisma. No doubts, his heart was betraying his mind as somewhere he was dying to have a glimpse of her.

Since he was aware about the fortification of the kingdom of Vijaygarh, he formulated a plan to enter the premises of the queen's territory. He had recently captured Narendranagar in his maiden victory.

As per the peace treaty signed between both Vijaygarh and Shivgarh, the natives of both the kingdoms were forbidden to trespass each other's territory as demarcated five years ago but the peace treaty was not extended to Narendranagar, which at that time, was a separate kingdom. Fortunately, the trade between Narendranagar and Vijaygarh was still taking place. Finding the loophole in the peace treaty, Veerbhadra had planned to enter the premises of the prosperous kingdom of Vijaygarh via a long route of Narendranagar disguised as a merchant.

Scoffing and panting hard, Veerbhadra got down from his horse at the check-post between Vijaygarh and Shivgarh to pay the toll tax when a royal guard stopped him. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prayed to Lord Shiva to make sure he is not caught while he made up lies though somewhere he had complete confidence in himself.

"So, who are you?", the royal guard questioned with an expressionless face keenly observing the chiseled shoulders and broad, muscular chest of the traveler.

With a small smile plastered on his face, Veerbhadra politely answered, "I am Veer Bhardwaj, the cloth merchant from Narendranagar. I have to visit the market to meet some cloth traders."

"I have not seen you much", the royal guard retorted back curtly as he continued to eye him suspiciously.

Veerbhadra continued to smile and said, "My father used to come earlier. He is ill so he sent me."

Royal guard seemed to have bought the lie spoken by the prince of Shivgarh, Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput, and nodded giving him permission to enter the premises of Vijaygarh.

Veerbhadra took a deep breath relaxing himself as he simpered mentally praising his confidence and conniving skills. Paying the hefty tax of fifteen gold coins, he rode towards the marketplace of Vijaygarh on his horse. From the marketplace he pulled the harness of his black horse, gesturing the tired animal to gallop faster so he could reach the forest as early as possible. After all, he could not wait anymore to meet the queen.

Reaching the outskirts of Srirampur, Veerbhadra realized he could not take the horse in the forest fearing to get caught. In one of the public stables built for commoners, Veerbhadra made the payment and finally his tired horse could rest in the stable while he went to meet his goldfish. A smirk appeared on his face, as he walked past the village entering the premises of the lush green forests of Vijaygarh enthusiastically with the painting of the queen in his hand.

Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore, the queen of Vijaygarh, on the other hand, was patiently waiting for the stupid prince of Shivgarh, Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput. Her heart was thumping loudly. Vigilantly she was spying every nook and cranny of the forest wondering how the prince would enter her territory. She had appointed her spies to monitor activities of every minister and noble of the royal court to keep a check on everyone. She was sure Veerbhadra would contact the mole in her kingdom. She got furious at the thought of his mole in her territory but she was looking forward to catch the culprit. Little did she know that she was underestimating the cunning nature of the prince!

Standing timidly in the heart of the forest on the wet soil, she contemplated if the prince would come or not. The large tract of the forest which was cleared by the dacoits was covered with moist grass and weeds. It had rained the previous night and the fragrance of damp clayey soil mixed with the scent of green leaves of Mahogany and Sal trees greeted her. Normally Aparajita would have loved the cool breeze inhaling sweet fragrance of the nature but today, she was anxious and lost in her thoughts.

Her thoughts halted when she heard the rattling sound in the forest. Scrunching her nose, she glanced sideways and concentrated on the sound of footsteps coming in her direction. She was taken aback at the audacity of the prince to have entered in her territory to meet her which was indeed, equal to entering a lion’s den to meet a lion and unknowingly she smirked.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to calm her nerves. Veerbhadra, on the other hand, was delighted to see his queen waiting for him. He snapped for once as he referred to Aparajita as ‘his queen’ and unknowingly a satisfying smile came across his face.

“So, the spark does exist!” he mumbled as a guileful smirk appeared on his lips as he mentally emphasized over his idea of revenge. With his eyes clouded with lust, he keenly observed the beautiful face of the queen that depicted innocence and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

Taken aback by the deceiving thoughts crossing his mind, he took long strides towards the queen and folded his hands in front of her greeting her formally as soon as she opened her eyes. For the first time, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore keenly noticed at the typical manly features of the prince of Shivgarh, Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput.

The seventeen year old adolescent girl in Aparajita was indeed, mesmerized by the brownish black hair of the prince that flew with the wind like a victory flag. Reaching his shoulders, the silky hair of the prince attracted the attention of the queen whose chocolate brown eyes were struck at the golden earrings of the prince. His chiseled shoulders and muscular chest clad in a cotton tunic was drenched in sweat. His manly body fragrance was enough to give rise to an unknown emotion inside the queen. For once her breath hitched as her heartbeat raced as she looked in his hazel green eyes which were an ocean of negative and positive emotions.

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Hi everyone

In the next chapter, we are going to have a wonderful conversation between the prince and the queen. Trust me they have lot much to talk about! 😍 😍 😍

I will be updating soon till then shower your love on this story with your valuable votes and lovely comments. 😘 😘 😘

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