Exiled Hearts

Prologue

~ Sumedh ~

Clink. Clink. Shing. Silence.

Even through the silence, my sharp instincts never failed me. With more concentration, the footsteps behind me began to be audible. Turning my ear in the direction of the sound, I lift my sword ready to attack again. As he inched closer, I tightened the grip on my sword. Hearing their sword slice through the air, I raise my hand in precision to meet in the middle. Clang!  The echoes of his heavy sword, crashing to the marble ground, rang in my ears until I was satisfied.

"Well done, Rajkumar!" came the voice of the kingdom general, defeated from the short practice session.

"There's always room for improvement, General...both for you and me." my voice came out more fiercer than intended as I took off my blindfolds.

"Y-yes, Your Highness."

As I took off my armour, the footsteps of the palace guards arriving in the room stole my attention.

"Rajkumar Sumedh...we got a petty case that doesn't need to be taken to the Maharani. We thought you could deal with it..."

A moment of silence lasted for a while until I broke it: "What's the case?"

"This villager was caught stealing from many stalls in the market."

My answer was rather spontaneous. "Kill him."

"R-rajkumar?" one of the guards dared to question. "But he only --"

"You do remember what our region is, right? Sondhara, one of the largest, most powerful, and prosperous kingdoms. Taking out every single flaw is a necessity...no matter what its size is." I concluded, eyeing the villager right in the eye. He trembled, looking like he could pass out any moment now.

"I u-understand Rajkumar, b-but--"

"GET RID OF THIS DEFECT IN OUR KINGDOM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" I couldn't find any other alternative to make these guards listen.

"Y-Yes--"

"There will be NO need for that!" a female voice sounded. Bhabhisa. She made her royal entrance into the room, a flash of anger in her eyes. Everyone bowed down at the entrance of the Rani. "Fine the villager and make sure he doesn't repeat the same mistake again."

"Jo hukum (As you say) Maharani," the guards obeyed and quickly escorted out of the room, leaving the two of us in silence.

"What are you doing Sumedh?!" I remained silent at her irritated words. "Sumedh...everyone in this kingdom is already afraid of your er-misfortune. Why are you increasing their fear even more by this behavior? They're going to lose confidence in this kingdom if you keep intimidating them like this! Please Sumedh...control yourself."

These types of conversations were normal. There was a time I used to argue back, used to not believe it, but time showed that maybe my so-called "misfortune" was the truth in my fate. I lost hope. And I lost words to prove myself.

I turned around and walked out, leaving her shaking her head in disappointment. As I entered my private chamber, I walked over to the spot where I hid my most prized possession. A book of parchment in which I write my heart out. It's precious - to me at least. Honestly, if anyone accidentally caught a hold of this, they probably wouldn't even believe it's me. For the rest of the world, I am no other than a cruel Rajkumar. But this parchment knows...I'm everything but that.

Oh Kismat,

I'm reminded of it everyday. My "misfortune". It seems as if it's a curse. Maybe if the past was different, I would be a different person. More liked by everyone, accepted by everyone....loved by everyone. No! That word, love, has turned my whole life upside down.

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~ Mallika ~

Curses. Why do they even exist? Forget that...why are they even implied on innocent people? It has been 5 years since the throne of Suryani was cursed: No one was allowed to take the position of royalty. It was fine at first, our kingdom is small and self-sufficient. Peace and unity was easily attained when the curse was first placed. For a few years, nobody had any complaints and troubles, including me and the rest of the royal family. But recently, things started to go downhill. Bhaiya has already predicted this time to come. "No proper rule or political structure can erupt even a small kingdom like ours into disasters." And now...just that has happened.

"Rajkumari Mallika!" Shristhi called, which broke me out of my thoughts. "It's time to go see the people." I turned to face my personal maid, more like my best friend, and gave a swift nod. 

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Andddd...WE ARE BACK! 

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