INSEPARABLE II

II

In the enormous metal gates of the Kurrali palace, Chief Prem Singh Dhaliwal stood next to his wife, Chand, and the rest of his family to welcome the Queen. On either side of gates stood a line of servants with trays full of freshly picked roses to shower upon the Queen as she passes by them. The Queen, her arrival, and her stay had been the topic of nearly every conversation in the palace of Kurral since the day the news of her upcoming visit broke out. Everyone from the servants of the smallest level to the highest ranking Ministers of Kurral had immediately become concerned with how to best play their role before the Queen. After all, this was the one area their Chief would tolerate no mistakes in.

The ruling family of Kurral watched members of the Queen's guard rush to their positions as the carriage carrying the Queen came to a stop. Sevak, followed by Arjan Singh Sandhu, Noor's father, arrived at the carriage door and held it open. Out stepped the most powerful and arguably still the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom, Queen Noor Kaur Sandhu.

Chief Dhaliwal let out an audible exhale in an attempt to maintain his deceivingly calm exterior above the undeniable ache in his chest. Surrounded by twelve guards, the Queen, her father, and her most loyal advisor began down the stone pathway towards the gates. She walked gracefully, dressed in her usual all-white attire but wore just enough of her precious jewels to be recognized as the Queen of a flourishing kingdom. When the first bit of roses rained down on her, she allowed a small smile on her lips. She too, however, appeared to sneak in a sigh behind her smile just as she arrived before the Dhaliwal family.

Standing within arm's length for the first time in five years, the Queen and the Chief finally made eye contact. For a moment, time stopped. And they simply stood eyeing one another over their rebellious heartbeats which were fighting to reawaken every emotion they had managed to suppress over the years.

"Welcome to Kurral, Your Highness." Prem spoke in a composed tone after a moment.

"Thank you, Chief." She replied with a small nod, shifting her eyes to the rest of the family.

"It is a pleasure to host you, Your Highness." Prem's father, Ajit Singh Dhaliwal, greeted her next.

"Thank you for having me, My Lord." Noor bent down to touch his feet in obeisance. She was the Queen, which meant she was not allowed to lower herself before anyone but Noor was never the one to follow rules in the first place. She always did as her heart desired and her heart always wished to be respectful before her elders. Lord Dhaliwal placed a hand over her head to bless her with nothing but warmth in his eyes.

Stepping up to Noor's father, Prem too lowered himself to touch Lord Sandhu's feet in a greeting. Once he was blessed, he repeated the same gesture with Sevak, a man he deeply revered.

"Noor..." Jageer Kaur Dhaliwal, Chief's Dhaliwal's mother, then stepped up to her. "Welcome." She said holding out her arms. Noor bent down to touch her feet as well before entering her arms and hugging her. Lady Dhaliwal closed her eyes to hold back her tears. She was embracing the girl she would have done anything to bring to Kurral five years ago. The only girl actually worthy of her son, the girl her son actually deserved, the girl they didn't let him have.

Taking her time withdrawing from the affectionate hug, "the pleasure is all mine." Noor whispered subsiding her own emotions. She then greeted Prem's Uncle, Ajaib Singh Dhaliwal, and his wife in a similar respectful manner, touching both of their feet as well before turning towards Prem's wife.

"Hello, Noor." Chand smirked in a raised eyebrow. Her smirk implied triumph, communicating that Noor may have won everything in life but lost in the only area that mattered to her, Prem. He belonged to Chand.

Noor didn't hurry into responding to her.

"I hope you're okay with me calling you Noor, after all, I'm a longtime friend. Titles are for strangers! Right?" She exclaimed.