Royal Arrangement

1) NALINI ~ A Pin-point

The smell of henna, jewels engulfed with my perfume made my insides churn. The rituals were long done. I was sitting alone in a very unfamiliar room. The heavy skirt of my attire was hopelessly tying me down to the centre of the bed. It had been more than an hour since I have been waiting for someone to help me out of it.

The room was well furnished, as expected from the royals. I wasn't surprised, my family had worked for them since the beginning. I was used to visiting the palace but somehow it was overwhelming to realise that it was my room from now on. And the room belonged to someone who was barely seen here. The eldest son of Shekhawat's, Kabir Shekhawat.

I stood up slowly on the bed, lifting my heavyweight skirt up before I took a small jump off the bed. My anklets were as if yelling in the silent room. I sighed. "Fuck the rituals." I was tired of wearing this all day long. My skin was starting to itch from the feel of it. If I were to marry a man I love I would have looked forward to the night, maybe. But because I hadn't even had a proper conversation with my dear future husband, it all seemed very delusional to began with.

I removed the heavy dupatta from my head. It fell on the ground and I lifted it up, walking to the mirror. I threw it on the bed as my hand started undoing my skirt's hooks from one side. It pooled around my knees in a second, revealing my cycling shorts underneath. I chuckled but I felt so good. My other dupatta was pinned to my blouse and alas, I needed help to undo it.

I breathed a stable breath before I pulled my skirt up again, hearing the footsteps. My heart picked up the pace as I pulled it back on and secured it immediately. The door was pushed open and my hands went back to removing my jewellery as if I wasn't flustered and shocked. My eyes shifted to the person's face through the mirror. Kabir.

For the first time in so many years, he was looking at me. I had seen him everywhere, occasionally met him formally but never did he ever spare me another glance. I felt weird, he looked as interested as he did during the wedding. I wanted to roll my eyes so bad but damn, only if I didn't care.

A matching beige sherwani, same pearl necklace and the cold expression. His fair skin glowing under his neatly styled hair and handsomely features. His eyes stared at me with a weird intent. He didn't like me. I could sense it in his gaze alone.

I looked back down as he walked closer. I removed my necklace putting it down with calm. I was well aware of the door next to the mirror, probably his closet. I was right, he disappeared inside but he didn't bother shutting the door. I looked inside and the excitement rolled inside me. Always wanted a personal closet, a check sign appeared on my mental wish-list.

I saw him unbutton his sherwani and I quickly averted my eyes. I wasn't decent enough to be shy, I had seen better but I didn't want to ruin the boldness I had built. The worst part was the silence, one slip of my laughter and I'd regret it. After I had made sure I had taken off all the jewellery, I realised I wasn't allowed to take off my set of bangles. It looked good though, I smiled lightly.

I picked up the jewellery and made my way inside the closet. I saw it, all the empty space. I opened one of the drawers and placed it inside carefully. I started taking off my pins from my hair one after another until I felt my hair slip down to their original length. I massaged my fingers through gently, almost forgetting I wasn't the only one there. I sighed as I pushed them on one side. One last thing was left before I could crash the bed.

I looked over my shoulder and found Kabir staring at me over his shoulder like I was. He had changed already, I didn't even notice. He was wearing a proper cotton t-shirt hugging every inch of his broad shoulders to highlighting his every muscle. His trousers were full length making him look rather attractive.