Their Darkness

wedding

I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night. I kept tossing and turning in my bed thinking about how my life will be after. Some time at the dawn sleep finally evolved me, I was awoken by, the harsh sound of my alarm blaring through my room.

I had just finished brushing my teeth and was preparing to take a bath when a knock at my door broke my advances. I opened the door to see four girls around my age dressed in off-white sarees standing in front of me. "Yes?" I asked them, they gave me a small bow. "We are here to help you in the bath and preparation Yuvrani sa," the one in the front said keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Umm....that's fine I can take it on my own"  I replied feeling a little awkward. " But Yuvrani sa rani sa has asked us to help you as per the royal traditions," she confessed. I nodded my head, I need to comply with all the traditions. "Ok come in then," I said opening the door wider. "Not here Yuvrani sa in the royal bath room," she said I nodded and I followed her after grabbing my towel.

She led me through the corridor and stopped in front of two big golden gates. Two women guards dressed in black stood in front of the gates searching for any danger. They gave me a small bow as we reached the gates, they opened the big gates and a suite came in view we walked inside and the door shut behind us. They then led me to a slightly smaller gate and pushed it open I almost gasped at the sight in front of me.

A big pool filled with water is built in the room. The whole place is illuminated by beautiful candles placed in the steeps of the wall. Vessels filled with different liquids sat at the side, the girls ushered me in the room, and the doors closed behind us. The flame of the candles cast a golden glow on the water reflecting it in the room.

I looked up to see the ceiling is curved as a dome, intricate patterns lined the walls adorning them as jewels. The whole place looks so beautiful that I couldn't tear my eyes away. I stripped out of my clothes as they turned their back to give me some privacy, I stepped my foot on the first step as the lukewarm water tickled my feet. I continued going down until I could no longer feel the steps and the water reached above my chest. My muscles started loosening as the warm water massaged my limbs, the girls grabbed the vessels and poured a little bit in the water the whole room instantly smelled of lavender, lemons, and Cinnamon. My body instantly relaxed at the feeling. 

One of the girls grabbed a bowl that had a yellowish paste by the smell of it sandalwood paste. She applied the paste on my arms and my neck massaging my body gently. The other girl poured a big vessel full of rose petals in the water, she then grabbed my hair gently and started washing it with a faint rose shampoo.

The royals sure care a lot about their ancient traditions, all this is making me feel like some Princess. After rising my body with a lavender body wash they walked out of the room to give me privacy.

I slid the soft white bathrobe on my body and walked out of the room. The girls made me sit at the white vanity. One of them brought a container that has smoke coming out of it which smelled of roses, she placed it under my hair moving it back and forth on the length of my hair.

That dried my hair too so she braided it into a fishtail and helped me moisturize my body. They then put me in a gorgeous heavy blue lehenga that has gemstones on the hem and the dupatta.

She then put on the jewelry on me, decorating my neck, ears, and legs. I then walked out for the final puja before my wedding. The pandit Ji started the puja for the well-being of the family and accepting me as the bride.

Time skip
The puja took most of the day and evening came sooner than I wanted. I looked towards the clock to see the time is dot five. My hands shook in anxiety and fear of what will happen now, my breathing labored and my breath came in short pants. I counted backward as my therapist told me but to no avail. When my throat constricted from the breaths I pulled open my closet and took out the bottle of small white pills. I poured out one on my shakey palms and swallowed it down with a glass of water.