Chrysalis

14

A faint chill strode across the apex of her neck. She could sense the slight muscular movements beneath her.
The chirps of the thrush and lapwings awakened the sleeping woods. The bonfire had long burnt off leaving the ashes welcome the morning dew.

Abhimanyu inhaled a deep breath after opening his eyelids. The light caress of slender fingers upon his chest spread a blush on his cheeks. He traced his fingers on hers. Turning to his left he stared at her asleep eyelids. She held the rug to her chin tightly; the quiver of her lips didn't go unnoticed by him.

He relived each moment of the previous eve and how the green grass and the old rug meant a world to them. It was fantastic in a nutshell.

Tara's sleep was eventually broken as she rose up from her position. The thought of embracing him the whole night was overwhelming but her royal duties had other expectations.

She scrutinised him, as he pretended to be sound in sleep, not letting the beautiful morning leave so quickly.

"Ahem.." She attempted to seek his attention but in vain. His pretence was adament. The second thought which struck her was that what would she call her husband, he seemed to be too young to rever as "Maharaj". That would be too formal, she told herself. On the other part, the upright side of hers wasn't convinced enough to put 'O, Lord, hey prabhu' to words. Furthermore, it was unlikely and unheard to name someone's husband, as this was what her Kakishree had taught her. The idiocy of her own thinking brought a chaos in her mind.

"Wake, up." She patted on his folded arm.

He opened one of his eyes murmuring in a sullen voice, "This is how you behave when the whole night I had been your headrest. See how this arm hurts. It's numb." He whined placing his left arm on her lap.

"I didn't ask you to be my headrest. You offered me your grand arm. Whatever, it was a nice pillow though." She smirked playing along with his antics. "Is it aching that much?"

"Well, not more than my heart when I expected a good morning kiss. But, its fine." He turned over not showing his wide grin to her.

"Trust me, you're bad at wooing girls. So, Maharaj Abhimanyu, I am not least amused by your statement. Now, get up. We should get going." She adjusted the hem of her choli and dupatta before wrapping up the rug.

Nonetheless, he had to abide by her wishes.

"Coming or not?" She cried out, heading towards his steed. The reins looked better in her hands, he realised.

Furthurmore, they had to set for Indrapuri before sunset and more importantly before the maids find out their midnight rendezvous.

It had been more than eight hours that they were travelling across the gravelled paths. The camels, so rightly called the ship of the desert, steered through the warm sands. The bushy cactus sprouted as the only sign of life within the dark gravels.

The dunes posed grand ripples on the landscape. Tara peeped through her palanquin. She quenched her thirst with the last sips of water from her leather water bag. The jewelleries on her arms irritated her more.

The desert did end soon after, and the rolling highlands took over. The cacti was accompanied by the fleshy scrubs. Bead like red flowers were popped out, denoting the newly found exuberance of the nature.

Abhimanyu strode over a black horse, occassionally sneaking a glance of his newly wedded wife.

"Just a few miles." He assured, flickering a small smile to which Tara uttered no words.

The entrance to Indrapuri was indeed magnificent. The ivory white marbles held a sight to behold, especially the lion silhoutte carving on its nooks stole Tara's eyes. The red marbles on the lower carvings posed a contrast to its albino companion.

Tara was followed by her maids and companions. The soldiers bowed in reverence. The trumpets were blown to announce the arrival of their King and the new Queen. They were drenched in the shower of flowers and sandalwood and rose scented attar.

Before she could step on the threshold of the interior of the Indrapuri palace, a dominating yet calm voice stopped her from doing so.

Abhimanyu etched a pleasant smile on his face, whilst Tara anticipated for a second reply as the sound of the numbers of pairs of trinklets grew more pronounced, revealing the source of the voice.