From afar - Madhavgarh is as much a royalty as any other small erstwhile princely states. After all, what could be different for a princely state in the 21st century. But the politics inside the palace and the evil lurking around the corner make thi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The world was never dark or white; it always had shades of grey. Arna gave a bitter smile as she surveyed her leg in the silence of her hospital room. True to Akanksha's predictions, she had woken up from her slumber during lunchtime, and thankfully, this time she had been alone in the room. It was not that she was not grateful for the company she had, but there were times when one wanted to be alone. And this was one such time.
As she took stock of her surroundings she realized that she had managed to hurt herself quite badly. What Akanksha had described as a hairline fracture in her knee had been aggravated because she had managed to hurt herself in the same place twice. How she has managed it is a mystery even for her.
The hospital caterer had delivered her lunch and it had been horrible. But there was no one to complain so Arna had finished her lunch with the minimum of fuss. It was at times at theses when she missed her parents and lamented her decision of coming to Madhavgarh. Her father had been against this decision of hers. Why had she not listened to him?
She has given the lame excuse of trying to carve her own identity, of being independent – at least that was what she had told her mother. Now she herself no longer believed in it.
The thought of her parents brought forth the memories of another person who had been her rock in the god-forsaken place – Shubham. Where was her friend? Had he not come back from his tour of Rajasthan? Why was he not there in the hospital for her? And where in the name of all that was holy was her phone? When was the last time she had talked to her Maa, her Baba, and Shubham? What day was it today? How long had she been in the hospital?
She suddenly realized that she had lost all track of time in the hospital. And she was all alone here. Why was no one from the institute besides her? What had actually happened?
She looked at the flat-screen television mounted on the wall in front of her. Deciding to get some answers, she looked around for the remote but it was not there. Cursing under her breath, she decided to ask the nurse for the same. As she leaned sidewards to ring the bell, a furious commotion outside drew her attention. She could hear the pitch rising in Akanksha's voice, but the ice-cold voice which cut the objections short suddenly ingested a new life in her. She knew this person.
In sheer happiness, she flung aside her bedcover and made to get down from the hospital bed. Her leg twisted and a sharp cry tore from her throat. The warring voices outside stopped and the door of her cabin flung open.
The tall figure who framed the doorway was a treat for her sore eyes. In the blink of an eye, he was by her side and had picked her up in his arms. He put her back on the bed and adjusted her position with extreme care. She could see the disapproving frown on the face of princess Akanksha, but she couldn't care less. She felt so happy to see her friend by her side.
"Shubham ! Where had you been?
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Shubham stared at the girl in front of him looking like a mess and felt his anger thawing. It had been an extremely hectic 12 hours for him. Ever since he had received the call from Arna's parents, he had been worried sick about her.
