The Last Princess (18+)

24.0 Royal Commands

Anika used the large brown hand fan to aerate her husband as he ate his very late lunch. While, even as a princess, her sister and she lived quite a simple life at Singhall. Everything about Mewar screamed royal, riches, and wealth. Singhall was located near the ocean, hence there were more caves, and not many large permanent settlements were usually made.

Well, everything about Shivaay, her husband, her king, and the Samrat screamed regal and posh. The hand fan was such proof, the intricate details on it were only fit for a king as prestigious as him.

They were seated at their new home. She now understood why he had placed the eating arrangements in their courtyard, not only did it offer a spectacular view of both the sky and the ornate details of the palace but had good ventilation.

Shivaay had been very busy that day, hence he sat eating his lunch when it was almost sunset. After her breakdown the day before, he had assured her that he would soon free her of all her worries and his wife had blindly believed him like always. Often, her trust in him scared her.

Anika stared at his jaw as he chewed on the roti, he was so fine that she couldn't tear her eyes off his face. He was concentrated on their lavish arrangement of delicacies and fruits placed in front of him however Anika was aware that he had a million thoughts running through his mind at that very moment.

A handful of loyal servants that Anika now had, had informed her of the contention that had gone down in the very morning between her husband and his mother. And Anika was the sole reason behind the dissension.

Anika was hesitant about asking him anything and making him even more upset, but it was her silence that was actually making him lose it.

"Shivaay...?"

The pair of hazel eyes shot up to her face, almost knocking all the air from her lungs.

"Ji?" (yes?)

"Aaj subhe jo kuch bhi hua, hum usske liye bohot sharminda hai-" (whatever took place in the morning, I'm very ashamed due to it)

"Jis vishay mein aapki galti thi hi nehi-" (the matter that you weren't at fault for-)

"Agar hum aapko kuch nehi batate toh ye sab hota hi nehi, Shivaay!" (if I hadn't told you anything, then nothing of this sort would have taken place, Shivaay)

"Hum pata laga lete, Anika, aur aesa kuch nehi hai jo aap humse chhupa sakti hai," (I would have found out, Anika, and there's nothing you can hide from me)

"Hum nehi chahte the ki hamari wajah se aap Maa sa se larein," (I didn't want you to fight Mom for my sake)

Shivaay let out a small sigh, sometimes his wife was a little too naive for his liking and it made him corrupt her even more.

"Aap chinta na karein, Anika, aapki har cheez ka khyal rakhne aapke pati hai," (don't worry, Anika, your husband is here to take care of your every need)

Anika blushed at the teasing smile he sent her way. Shivaay's heart clenched painfully in his chest, the same heart he had thought was dead unless it was her in question who made the organ want to leap out of his chest and present itself to her, as his final gift.

As the sun set over the horizon, covering the sky in the colours of its love. The dying, slanting rays of the setting sun gifted a warm orange tinge to the sky. Thus setting the sky ablaze with its dying fire.

The symphony of colours and the sky of flames amazed everyone except the couple who were too lost in the tint and inferno of each others' eyes.

As they lay on their new bed, Shivaay listened to his wife's steady heartbeats as she played with his silky hair. While it was her hands tangled in his hair, it was his thoughts that were tangled. Shivaay, for the very first time, was this agitated. As a Rajput, he was well aware that the truth can never be hidden or buried for too long. It had to come out, emerge and crawl its way up no matter how deep one had buried it.

He feared his wife's reaction for she was a woman of strong principles who loved and respected values, relations, and age-old values. She viewed him as an honest king whom she had fallen for with courtesy to the ploys of fate that had bonded them together in the holy bond of marriage. But what if it all turned out to be a stratagem of her husband?

"Shivaay?"

He hummed, brushing his thoughts at the sound of her sweet voice as he buried his head in her chest further.

Anika ran her honey-brown eyes on their new bedroom, in short, it was beguiling. Her husband truly had an eye for the very best. The previous day, Anika couldn't bring herself to sleep on their new bed. She blamed it on the emotional instability of the tiring day, but it was the lack of her husband's familiar and intoxicating scent on the pillows and the sheets. She had spent her night gawking at her handsome, yet exhausted sleeping husband and had no idea when sleep embraced her in its welcoming embrace.

"Aap kya soch raahi hai, Anika," (what are you thinking, Anika?)

"Aap itni der se kya soch raahein the, Shivaay," (what were you thinking for so long, Shivaay?)

Shivaay grinned, his face hidden in her generous bosom. He snuggled into her, making her laugh. It was an amusing yet endearing habit of his little sparrow to answer his questions with a set of her own.

"Yehi k aap Singhall jaane k baad, hum aapke bagair guzara kaese karenge," (after you go to Singhall, I wonder how am I going to manage without you)

"Hum toh nehi jaa rahein kahi bhi," (but I'm not going anywhere)

"Agar hum kahein k aap jaa rahi hai toh?" (but what if I say that you are going, then?)

Shivaay angled his face to look into her eyes, while still laying on her, his face on her chest. Reluctance and bewilderment both were in harmony in her champagne eyes, making him almost swoon at how adorable she looked.

"Shivaay, hum...hum Maa sa ko aur shikayat ka mauka nehi dena chahte," (Shivaay, I...I don't want to give any more reasons for Mom to complain,)

"Maa sa se hum baat karlenge, Anika, aap chinta na karein," (I'll talk to Mom, Anika, you dont worry)

"Aap unse phir larai karenge, Shivaay? Hum ye nehi manenge," (you are going to fight with her again, Shivaay? I won't accept this)

"Aap Singhall ja rahi hai, Anika, aapke pita ko apki zaroorat hai, humse bhi zyada," (you're going to Singhall, Anika, your father needs you, even more than me) Anika opened her mouth to protest but he beat her to it.

"Ab aap chahe to isse hamara aadesh hi samjhiye," (now if you want, you can think of this as my order)

***

Raghav Singh, one of the most proficient spies of Mewar stared at the letter with the royal seal that included two golden elephants facing each other. For a moment he couldn't believe what he read, the Chakravarti had expected his return. To Singhall.

And he had asked him to come with his family.