Exiled Hearts

9: Stranded

Mallika

I really wanted this all to be a dream. Just a scary nightmare. But as soon as I opened my eyes, it was as if that nightmare had come to life. I did a full 360 scan, not believing what I was seeing. Trees everywhere. And then my eyes landed on him. That frog-eyed rajkumar. How stupid of me to actually believe he was Sumedh. He was standing there, HAPPY?! As if this was all part of his plan.

"I swear to god, I can't believe he ABDUCTED me and pulled me through a magic tunnel into a FOREST!" I mumbled, trying to figure out what to do next. "This frog-eyed idiot is standing there looking happy while I am here trying to figure out how to get back to where I was. My life was all good until this guy came along. And WHO am I stuck with...? A frog-eyed IDIOT! STUPID! MAYAVI!"

It seems I have said this a bit too loud. He turned around and stared at me coldly, his frog eyes narrowed.

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Sumedh

Amazed! I was amazed by this magic! Now I just have to face whatever challenge in this forest and get back to Sondhara soon--

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted when I heard mumbles. Darn, I forgot about her. I narrowed my eyes as I intently listened to what she was saying. "Frog-eyed...idiot...mayavi..."

I turned around and gave her a deadly look, which seemed to have shut her up. Seems like I don't even have to talk to her...my looks are enough to--

"Excuse me? What is that look?" she started, bickering at me. For a second I was shocked. Nobody has ever had the guts to stare at me in the eye, nevertheless talk back. "Are you even listening?! Why did you abduct me? Take me back RIGHT THIS INSTANCE!"

I took a step closer to her.

"Are you trying to i-intimidate me? Well that's not gonna work!"

I didn't stop stepping closer until she was fully stuttering.

"O-okay l-listen. I don't know w-what you w-want with m-me....but just t-take a minute to e-explain..."

I finally decided to speak up...her reason of fear was understandable. "Look I don't know what all this stuff is either. So it's better if you give your mouth a break and try to cooperate here."

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Mallika

What?! What is he talking about?! He doesn't know what all this is? He abducted me...he had that glowing book thing...and he doesn't know what all this is?! If that was an excuse, he sounds so stupid.

I scanned my surroundings: lush green trees, shrubs, vines, stretching over the land. In a way, it was certainly beautiful. But in another perspective, being stranded with nothing but some random kidnapper wasn't an ideal situation for anyone to be in. I turned back around...to see that he disappeared! I immediately spun in a circle trying to see where he went...but no avail.

"What kind of person is he?! First he kidnaps me...then he uses his magic and brings me to a random forest...and finally HE LEAVES ME HERE?!" I was getting frustrated, but that suddenly disappeared when I heard some slithering noise from a distance. Beads of sweat started forming on my forehead as I gulped. Where in the world did he go?! Suddenly, I heard the crack of a twig behind me. Get ready Mallika to face the worst. I shut my eyes and turned around. Silence. I slowly opened my eyes to see...he was a couple inches away from my face. I sighed in relief and slowly relaxed my body. Bad move. He started smirking.

"Adjusting already huh?"

It took me a second to understand his counter before widening my eyes. "NO! Having YOU around me is NEVER going to make me comfortable. You abductor!"

His eyes flashed with anger, as I felt a sense of hesitation. "I was gone for two seconds, and you started panicking! And as soon as you saw me, you relaxed! What is that supposed to mean?! I'm telling you...cooperate here and time will run by smoothly. If not I'm going to leave you here stranded and not even bother feeling guilty!!"

Now it was my turn to get angry. "Do you think I need YOU to survive?! Who do you think you are?! Talking as if you are Rajkumar Sumedh of Sondhara?!"

For a second, I saw a sense of unease in his eyes before they returned back to its cold self. He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the sound of footsteps interrupted our dispute.

"Are you lost, kind sir?" a voice of a man cut in. Our eyes directed towards the sound of the voice. And there, out of the shadows of the trees, appeared a young man.

Before I could open my mouth, Frog-Eyes decided to do the talking. "We happened to have lost our way navigating through this wondrous forest. If you could assist us in any way, we'll be very grateful."

I was stunned by these words. What a coverup. Such a great performer he is....

"Most definitely! It will be an honour to assist you and your spouse."

My eyes widened as I choked on my breath. Beside me, he started coughing furiously.

"Anything wrong? Anything I said?" The man looked genuinely concerned.

And before I could unleash my fury, I felt a bolt of shock through my body as he held my hand and gave it a squeeze. I jerked my head to look at him, but his gaze was straight ahead.

"Not at all! We were simply just er-surprised by your kindness."

How in the world is he okay with me being called his SPOUSE?!

"Alright then! Follow me...I know a hut near our village that could be used by you two."

"Don't you realize who we are?! How dare you offer us a hut to live in!" he remarked.

"Sir, I don't mean to offend you, but to me you seem as Brahmins," the man said, folding his hands in front of us.

"BRAHMINS?!" the both of us exclaimed at once. We both jerked our heads down to look at our clothes. And that's when I realized - our clothes had changed. Somehow through the portal, our clothes had turned into those of Brahmins - plain, simple, orange. My heavy jewelry had turned into a simple strand of rudraksha beads. My velvet shoes were now replaced with hard, wood chakdis. I was adorned with a small garland of jasmine flowers wrapped around the simple bun on my head.

What is going on?! What kind of illusion is this?! I just want to go back HOME! Not to some hut dressed as Brahmins! But some sensation kept my thoughts inside my head. I decided to ignore the feelings of suspicion. There was nothing I could do except follow the village man....holding hands with the Frog-Eyes. 

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Eek...things are not looking very good so far! What do you think is going to happen next? Will their relationship continue like this? 

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