The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

54. Burning embers

Shravani had a class test that morning, and the questions the professor had jotted on the green board in the classroom were too straightforward to answer. She knew everything about the strong-headed Cleopatra and her undying love for her Roman paramour. She could describe in detail the political intricacies of the Roman Empire that led to the downfall of both Cleopatra and Antony. And if needed, she could even write sonnets about the immense love the two had shared millennia ago. But then she was just not in the mood to write since her mind vacillated towards something Rudra had said a week ago.

Fiddling with her pen, letting her gaze sweep around the room where the rest of her classmates were either yawning or sleeping or, in Surbhi's case, swaying to imaginary music, Shravani chose to ponder over Rudra and the strange relationship she shared with him. He was in love with her—or he thought he was—but she wasn't romantically inclined towards him. She had never been; she could never be. And even for Rudra, it was not limitless love that he felt for Shravani. It was love, yes, but for the blurry-faced girl from his dreams, whom he was assuming to be Chitralekha. If only Shravani could wash away this misconception of his!

But then another question of his had her bothered. He had asked how Chitralekha and the prince broke up all those centuries ago. Alas! They never broke up. They tried to—once—but could not.

Chitralekha couldn't bear to face the prince without her cheeks reddening. She had avoided meeting him and evaded going to the palace and the royal gardens, citing certain health issues of her mother. Though they were not entirely true—her mother had only caught a common cold—she had been able to turn the soldiers back with her excuses. No, they were not Kalavati's soldiers. The princess was too busy coming up with ways to attract Raghuveer, learning her tricks from the magician sitting atop the hill. Hence, Kalavati couldn't care less about a random handmaiden of hers who had been missing work for the past fortnight. Instead, much to her amusement and exhilaration, those soldiers were the prince's, seeking her out at his behest, asking if something was wrong since she hadn't been reporting to the gardens.

But then how could she? The last she had seen him in isolation behind Kalavati's palace, he had placed a strange request in front of her. Yes, she desired to be his princess, and yes, the mere thought made her giddy, but she knew the moment she would come across him, all sane thoughts would abandon her, and she would surrender herself fully to him.

But then she couldn't miss work any longer, for even Raghuveer was censuring her for being so insincere, given the warrior was not only chivalrous and honest, but he was fiercely loyal to the royal family as well.

Hence, Chitralekha was left with no option but to tread towards the princess's palace. She resumed her duties like any other day, clearing out the weeds in the gardens, watering the shrubs, and plucking a few blossoms since Kalavati had ordered them to be brought to her quarters.

But as soon as Chitralekha stepped inside Kalavati's room, she was appalled. The windows were as usual boarded up to prevent any sunlight from flitting inside. The contents seemed to have been lounged from one end to the other, the bed was unmade and the sheets creased while a freshet of blood dripped down from the corners of the wooden frame. The golden goblets and chalices the princess once used to drink water and wine from now held a strange brownish liquid, stinking of rotten flesh and urine. The other scary thing was the festoon of skulls hanging from the corner of the ceiling, the other end touching the floor. And if Chitralekha was not wrong, those were human skulls. After all, the magician practiced the darkest of magic and some said he went to the burning ghats at night to perform sorcery beyond human comprehension.

Gulping at the state of the messy room as well as the skulls that eerily stared back at her, she greeted the princess in a meek voice. Kalavati looked up at her from the couch she was perched on, the dead eyeballs giving the young girl sudden chills down her spine, and then the princess dismissed her.