Aradhya ||Indian historical fiction||

25| TWO PATHS ONE KINGDOM

Aradhya woke up to a baby's cry right beside her. She woke up with a gasp. She saw a man, in his twenties, probably almost or older than Vihaan, sitting by her side. He was tending to her. Aradhya looked down at her gut and her heart skipped a beat.

He was stitching up an almost four-inch long cut on her belly. The man gently smiled at her and calmed her down when Aradhya started to panic. She was in a straw house and she knew not where.

"Don't stress yourself out. Your stitches will pop out." The man said, "I'm Gaurang. I see we've met before."

"I saw you the last time with the outcasts," Aradhya said. A realisation hit her. The cut was on her belly. She looked at Gaurang who looked back at her with a pang of similar guilt on his face.

"Does...does this..." Aradhya stuttered. Gaurang nodded and sighed.

"Yes, you...you are no longer with child. The assassin aimed directly at your gut. I had to remove your womb. If I hadn't done that it would have affected your stomach and also your other internal organs."

"No! Just tell me this is a joke. Tell me this is all a lie!" Aradhya wailed. Gaurang did nothing but hang his head.

Aradhya tried to get up but he held her down. Her wound was tended to very carefully and her panicking was not on the side of the healing wound.

Aradhya sobbed. She was truly left alone now. The one who she determined to live for was now dead. Dead before even being born. She felt Gaurang's comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know. This child was important to you. It was the last thing that connected you to him." Gaurang spoke as though he knew everything. As though he witnessed it with her.

"How do you know that? You weren't even there." Aradhya asked.

"I don't have to be there to understand you Aradhya. It is the talk of the kingdom that he casted you out." Gaurang stated as he walked behind her. He picked up a child from a cradle made of cloth. He put it in Aradhya's arms.

"This one lost her mother and you, your stillborn child. I found her by the tree where you lay unconscious. She was most probably abandoned. I'm not saying that this is going to be the same, but you can look after this one like your own."

"But before all this? How long has it been since the attack?"

"I was surprised really. That you still managed to push that assassin off the cliff after he stabbed you. And you slept for four months like it was nothing."

. . . .

Back in the palace of Ashokdhar, Vihaan's attitude changed like none other. He became ruthless. He never took peace or understanding as an option. He only ever saw war and blood as the solution for everything.

Though through all his coldness, there wasn't a single night Vihaan had gone without remembering Aradhya -though it was to hate her- he didn't love her. At least that is what he told himself.

Vihaan had moved Aradhya's belongings away from his room. Everything she touched and everything that was in her possession was pulling at his heartstrings and there was nothing more frustrating than that.

Four months had gone by since Aradhya had left. Everything seemingly had gone back to normal again. The people had forgotten about the incident. Rajmata's corpse had been burnt and from then on nothing mattered to Vihaan.

Acharya Chitrabhanu grew concerned about his behaviour. He had tried his best to stop Vihaan's careless behaviour. But he knew now that with the departure of the person who was Vihaan's love, the heart in him had broken. There wasn't any care left in him.