Ruthless Rulers of Rakshatra (RRR)

Chapter 23 - Intimacy

He looked at her for a minute and leaned towards her,  kissed her lips softly which even surprised her as this was totally different from their other kisses which were with passion or tease.  After the kiss he took the morsel from her hands.  And She continued to feed him the entire plate of food.  Then both of them slept together in their usual position, this time in his chamber.

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The next day started as usual and the Royal court resumed as well.  Kalindi also watched the court proceedings and it was more like reporting from provincial chiefs.  Once the court proceedings were over, Maharaj Virendra asked for a meeting with all the Royal family members.  When Kalindi reached there, others were already present and even Maharani Oormila was able to walk with the help of maids.  Kalindi noticed that one of the provincial chief was also present there and it confused her.  Soon Maharaj said, "So, Chief Vishnu have come here to discuss about Rajkumar Kaushal's marriage with his daughter which was informally decided previously.  Maharani, Do you think it's the right time?".  Oormila was caught off-guard as she didn't expect this person to initiate the matter so quick but somehow she wanted to stall this arrangement for sometime more.  So she said, "Maharaj, I feel that we should atleast wait till next year before getting them married.  Why I'm saying is that Yuvraj had got married only 3 months back.  So we should wait for sometime before bringing a new member into the family.  If both the daughters-in-law are new then it would be difficult for them to get along with eachother".  When Oormila saw that Maharaj is not so convinced, she added, "Moreover Maharaj, Yuvraj and Yuvrani should be given sometime to have a child so that the next daughter-in-law wouldn't give a child before Yuvrani.  People will take bad about Yuvrani".

After saying so, Oormila took a look at Yuvraj to check whether she unknowingly provoked him or not, only to see that he is looking nonchalant about the whole matter.  Finally Maharaj was convinced about her reason and agreed to fix the engagement and marriage after a year from now.   Everyone went back to their rooms.  Oormila went back with the help of her maids and Kaushal followed her to her chamber.  He asked his mother, "Mother!  Why are you postponing my marriage?  I know that you want a princess from an influential kingdom to be my wife but I can marry even after the first marriage.  So why is that a problem?".  Oormila signalled the maids to go out and then said, "You want to know the reason right.  Then let me tell you the real reason.  I want you to become the Yuvraj of Rakshatra before your marriage.  Above all, that provincial chief is very loyal to the King and will not side with us, even if you are his son-in-law.  Atleast if he was someone who wants to help us then it's fine but he is of no use for us".  Kaushal released a frustrated sigh as he felt that the reason was totally baseless and he liked the girl too.  He went away leaving his mother to her thoughts.  "How would I tell you Kaushal, that it's my ego which is stopping me from accepting this girl as my daughter-in-law?  When that Chandria's daughter-in-law is a Princess of another Kingdom, how can my daughter-in-law be any less?  Soon I will find one way or other.  And if you become Yuvraj then it is easy to break the engagement", Oormila thought to herself.

At night, Abhyuday was hugging Kalindi's back as usual while lying on the bed, but both of them were not sleeping.  Kalindi asked, "Yuvraj, I have a question".  He simply hmmed with closed eyes and she proceeded to ask, "Do you think there is some other reason behind Maharani's rejection for the early preparation of the proposal?".  He once again hmmed and nestled her neck breathing in her fragrance.  She got annoyed and turned around still in his arms and said, "Are you even hearing what I am saying?".  He has some special power to crack her calm facade and irritate her to the core.  Abhyuday opened his eyes to look at her and saw her glaring at him with a frown.  He pinched her cheek and said, "cute".  Then he wrapped his hands around her once again and Kalindi asked while controlling her flustered expression, "Answer my question now.  Do you feel that there is some ulterior motive behind Maharani's actions today?".  To which he replied, "My intelligent wife!  If you know that already, why are you asking me again?".  Kalindi thought for a minute and said, "I'm just thinking about the reason behind her actions or let's say her motive".  Abhyuday was caressing her cheeks and tucked the few strands of hair behind her ear.  He said, "Don't work your brain too much.  Whatever that woman does, it will ultimately have only one goal.  That is to make her son as the Yuvraj of Rakshatra.  Nothing else".  Kalindi looked at him in surprise while his hands are now caressing her waist.  He looked at her and said, "There is nothing to be surprised about.  Every Royal family with more than one Queen will have the same kind of problem.  I'm sure if you were a boy, even your mother will also be bitter towards you".

Kalindi was surprised that he thought about her situation.  There is nothing to feel hurt because she had already thought about this scenario many a times.  Whenever she thought that she needed freedom like her brother, instantly she reminds herself that her relationship with her mother might change if she were a son.  Seeing her in deep thoughts, Abhyuday asked, "Is that a sensitive topic for you? If so, I will not talk about it again".  Kalindi looked at him again and said, "No, I have overcome that phase long back.  So that's not an issue.  But I wanted to ask, is your mother a sensitive topic for you?".   A smile formed on his face slightly.  No one dared to talk to him about his mother and here is his wife, who herself has a big load on her heart but trying to share his miseries.  She is indeed a strong woman, with or without weapons.  And she is his woman.  He answered, "Yes, She is a sensitive topic for me.  And I will share about her with you when the time comes".   His hands tightened their grip on her while he was talking and then both of them went into a comfortable silence.  Then Abhyuday said, "That woman had said one thing good in her entire rant in the morning", when she tilted her head to look at his face waiting for him to complete his words, he said, "As the Yuvraj and Yuvrani, we should think about the heir of this kingdom.  Don't you think this is the right time, my Yuvrani?".  The last words came out in a whisper.

Slowly redness spread over her cheeks although Kalindi tried to hide her expression with a straight face.  She replied, "When did I say that I am not ready, my Yuvraj?".  She said that last words in the same way he said.    He looked into her eyes for a few seconds before leaning down and kissing her.   Once they broke apart from the kiss, he rested his  face in the crook of her neck and said, "But today, I'm tired.  So let's sleep".  Saying so, he settled near her neck while his arms were around her waist as usual hugging her.  Kalindi knew that he was simply making up some excuses because he was not a person who gets sleep easily and is a light sleeper as well.  Even a minute noise could wake him up.  And he preferring sleep over his desire, is not something she could accept as an excuse.  But she let it be, since she could get some more time to understand him and judge him, properly this time as the initial judgement went wrong.

A few days went by and Oormila could now walk without anyone's help but still under medication.  Abhyuday and Kalindi were now more like friends who know about each other's likes and dislikes.  They talk a lot among themselves during their sleeping time at night.  And the preparations for their departure to the confederation of Royal Princes in Krishakya kingdom, was also going on in full swing.  It was at night when Abhyuday and Kalindi laid down to sleep.  Kalindi said, "Yuvraj, You should stay away from me and avoid coming to my chamber-".  He didn't let her finish and turned her to him and said, "Why? Why do you ask me to stay away?".  She sighed in annoyance and said, "If you have let me complete, I would have told the reason.  It's just that I will be in my menstruation period from tomorrow, so that's the reason".  Saying so, she turned around to sleep.  He too went to sleep while hugging her.

Glossary:

Maharaj - King
Maharani - Queen
Yuvraj - Crown Prince
Yuvrani - Crown Princess
Rajkumar - Prince
Bhai - Brother
Bhabhi - sister-in-law
Chacha - Father's younger brother
Shastrasala - Godown of weapons with practice arena
Gurudev - Teacher

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Hi guys,

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Thanks,
SM.