A Princess to remember

The first meeting

Days passed and in Surkanda , but on that particular day , Firoza was sadder than usual due to Hameed leaving the kingdom and thus she came out of her chambers and decided to go to the nearby pond which was surrounded by green trees , to get some fresh air.

So , she went to the pond and sat on the banks of the pond , when tears sprang up in her heart , and they rolled down her pink cheeks and began to fall in the pond. She didn't had anyone of speak to and share her happiness and sadness after Hameed left. She felt lonely and lost interest in all the things around her. Also she was worried about how Hameed was surviving , though she didn't doubt his capabilities , she was thinking about where he had gone and if he was taking care of his health and eating properly , sometimes she also wondered if he missed her as much as she did but then assured herself that he would be missing her more than she was missing him.
                        
                              ****

          Meanwhile in Suvarnagiri...

On the same day , in Suvarnagiri , Maldev wished to roam around the kingdom and thus went to his father , Jaydev to ask for his permission , and also tried to persuade him to let him go alone as he was grown up and could take care of himself . Though the king had objection for the prince to go alone , he agreed to it reluctantly after some argument trusting that his son was capable enough.

   So the prince went through the kingdom in plain clothes , taking his dagger and bow with him , for emergency. He walked through the busy streets of Suvarnagiri , with various items , being sold on both sides of the road. He bought himself , bedai (poori) and jalebi which were being sold at a corner of the street . The vendor recognised that it was Maldev and was extremely pleased to see yuvraj buy his food.
Everyone on the street , stopped to look at the rare view of yuvraj eating street food. The local people found Maldev's gesture of eating street food very impressive. After eating , he paid the vendor and made sure to appreciate the food and went forward.

As he kept walking through the streets the memories of his first visit to the market came rushing to his mind and he remembered everything....the forest...the berries he ate....and the TUNNEL behind the bushes !!

Without any further delay , he increased his pace and headed straight to the forest , it took him some time to locate the exact position of the bushes and then , he tried to push the bushes aside and found the tunnel. Without a second thought , he entered the tunnel , which was filled with darkness , after walking about 3km , he found some light and as he headed forward he found that the other side of the tunnel too was covered with bushes , as he pushed the bushes and walked out of the tunnel , he could see infront of him , lush green trees , green grass , a palace which was partially visible as it was hidden by the trees , and he also found a small pond , and a young woman , sitting on the other side of the pond , facing downwards and weeping.

    Firoza , lifted her eyes a little bit , and could see the royal shoes and legs of some man on the other side of the pond , she immediately wiped her tears and lifted her head up , and she saw a young , handsome , man stood in front of her . As soon as she lifted her head , cool breeze of air , greeted her face and the curls in front of her face , were pushed backwards. She was awestruck by his beauty and couldn't take her eyes off him , so she just kept staring at her , when suddenly , Maldev , lifted his bow , and shot an arrow with a speed of lightning , near her.

  She was confused and angry at this and stood up , all of a sudden , but realised that something was moving in the grass , near her feet , when she looked closely , she found a snake struggling as it was hit by arrow. She thought that that young man just saved her from being bitten by the snake , though she wasn't getting words to thank him her eyes told it all , and she just smiled at him for saving her life ,  for which he smiled back at her.

    She was so lost in just looking at him , that she didn't had the thought to think or ask him , how he reached there from behind the bushes and suddenly , Maldev realised that it was time for him to leave , as he didn't feel it right to stay in there alone , with a young woman , so he just smiled and left to his fort , passing through the same tunnel.

     It was only after he was gone , that Firoza , regained her senses , and thought of what happened . She wondered if she was day - dreaming , but then she found the snake , which was dead by then , so she crossed the pond and went near the bushes to see how the young man just disappeared through the bushes and found the tunnel , she thought that it could be a secret passage from her kingdom to some other neighbouring kingdom and was just wondering as to if she should step in or not when she heard

    " Firoza , you are here and everyone is getting tensed about you in the palace and what are you doing near those bushes?" ~ It was Saleema again , who was standing on the other side of the pond.

    Hearing this , Firoza hurried to her fort , along with Saleema.

     Later that night , Firoza wasn't able to sleep , since , as soon as she closed her eyes , she could see only one face in front of her .

   Face as bright as sun ,  strong body as that of a warrior , brave , tall and handsome , with a dagger in his clothes , bow in his left hand and arrow in his right , royal shoes , charming smile...

  He was simply mesmerizing ~ she mumbled , but she didn't knew who he was , though she was a bit sure of him , being the prince of some kingdom.

Saleema who saw Firoza lost in her thoughts and smiling to herself teased her that she was lost in the thought of her sapnon ka rajkumar, to which Firoza replied that there was nothing like that and shifted to her to the other side and tried to fall asleep.