Fallen ~ The Tale Of Exploration And Love

6- Sorrow

Aanya saw as Vikram's figure slowly disappeared into the shadows of the dark forest. He left his trustworthy soldiers behind with her for her protection, which was no longer needed.

When Aanya returned to the palace, she noticed maids and servants hurrying around, plus some soldiers assisting them in cleaning up the mess left by all the fighting. After confirming that everything was alright, she headed back towards her chamber.

The whole palace was full of workers, but it seemed empty to her; maybe it would be the same forever. She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling depressed, lonely, lost, and incomplete. Her mind was a mess, surrounded by a thick, suffocating fog of painful thoughts.

I am the most unfortunate mother in the multi-realm world. She had lost quite a large number of her family members in the past 90 years.

But her sister, unsure of the reason for her death, surely became one of the most hated people in her life. After what she did—she loved her and she was younger than Anaya—she couldn't forgive her.

Because of her, Anaya lost her son. Even if her son was not dead, he was not here with them. He didn't see his baby sister or any of his cousins. Her younger sister took him away from her. News of her sister's death came to them eight weeks after she took her son away. Aanya was not able to hold a name-giving ceremony for him. She didn't even get to name him.

Her daughter has been taken away from her now. She was the joy of her life; after such a long period of 8 years, she felt complete and happy. Only she knew how she spent her days crying, oversleeping, and feeling depressed for these 8 years.

She thought about the attack. The common thing was that both the attacks eight years ago and today are after the birth of my child. I must be thinking wrong.

She broke out of the chain of her thoughts with a slight tap on her shoulder. She flinched; it was Vikram. She didn't know tears were streaming down her cheeks. He hugged her tightly, and she cried in his embrace. Without getting to know her, she drifted to sleep.

~~

She slowly opened her eyes and blinked them a few times to adjust them to the sudden brightness. She didn't know how long she slept, but it seemed to be afternoon. She slowly tried to get out of bed but was unable to move. She felt arms around her waist, and she saw Shourya sleeping with a worried expression on his face.

He kept one of his hands on her waist and the other on the pillow; he was sleeping on his stomach. She started caressing his hair with the thought of calming him, and it worked. He relaxed. She knew why he was so worried. She felt warm tears streaming down sideways from her cheek. She slowly got out of bed, trying not to wake him up.

As she left the bathing area, her gaze fell on the bed and then on Shourya, who was still sleeping. She slowly went to the side on which he slept.

She kneeled beside him, feathering his cheek softly, and asked him to wake up in a sweet voice, which, as expected, didn't come out; her voice was hoarse. He slowly started opening his eyes and shifting a little. His tired eyes met her sad ones. He sat up on the bed, and she stood up straight.

"I am sorry. I was not able to protect you and Isha." He said, pointing at the wounds on her left arm, which were wrapped in a bandage, that she didn't know where they came from.

"There is no need to say sorry. It was not your fault; it was the situation. And about not being able to protect me and Isha. You made the right decision to take her away from this dangerous environment. And see, I am fine. These wounds are healed by now; I need to remove the bandage. There was no need to wrap them in the first place. They would have healed on their own in an hour or so." She said it softly, trying not to make him feel guilty. But he was already going deeper into the sea of guilt.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. He mumbled, 'I Love You' and she replied, "First go bath; you are smelling like a rotten rat." He got up from the bed and entered the bathing area. Only to lighten the environment. His heart was feeling like it was being stabbed again and again and twisted dangerously.

Aanya didn't feel extremely sad, as Shourya would have chosen the family who would keep Isha happy."

The story ends, and the girl regains consciousness. She just sat there, looking confused. She opened her mouth several times but remained speechless.

"So you are telling me that all this time I was with my foster family, and they don't know that their real daughter is dead?" She started with an awkward laugh at the end.

"Yes. And now let us see your life until now. Though we already know most of it," the lion spoke. The girl was still in confusion, rethinking her life choices.

"You already know?! How? Have you been spying, no, stalking me?!" She asked, bewildered. The lady in magenta was worried that the girl's eyes would pop out of their sockets if she continued to widen them.

"No, kind of yes, but not in a bad way." The same man in a brown jacket answered.