Chavi entered her room, her legs shaking and her heart beating fast. The mirror at the far end of the room showed her the red in the parting of her hair, even from such a distance. Chavi sank down as if all that had happened was gradually crashing into her understanding.
Darsh's words echoed in her head, "I'll tell our parents tomorrow. Don't fret, love."
The tomorrow he referred to was just three ours away. Chavi gasped in a deep breath as she felt a weight in her lungs. She had made a mistake. She wasn't right for the throne. She was a free spirit.
But just then, she had become the wife of Darsh, the would be king of the most powerful kingdom in Ashokdhar.
"Chavi..." Tara slowly approached Chavi,having just walked out of the bath with her clothes. She noticed the vermilion in her hair and the sheer panic on her face.
"I erred, Tara." Chavi spoke in a broken voice. Tara hurried over, gathering her in a hug, in an attempt of calming her down.
"No, Chavi. There are no mistakes. What is meant to happen will happen." Tara pulled back from the hug, wiping away Chavi's tears.
"No, Tara. Nothing that happened to us can be justified. We are married!" A terror-struck Chavi stood up holding her head. She had acted out of her heart's desire. She had said yes to be his wife.
"Chavi, sit down and think for a minute. You are panicking, right now."
"Pack our clothes, food and water." Chavi firmly stated. Nothing out her eyes seemed like panic. It didn't at all reflect in her stance.
"Wha- Where are we going?"
"Away from here."
"Are you just running away? After you just got married?"
"Yes, Tara. Stop asking questions and do what you're told to do. And get me paper and ink." Chavi's sharp words cut Tara in her gut. She, for the first time, felt just like a handmaiden. She left the room to fetch paper and ink.
Chavi waited only for Tara's return to be accompanied by an unwanted arrival.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Abhik shouted as he headed to Chavi. Chavi simply sighed and stood up. She looked at Tara accusingly but addressed Abhik.
"Abhik, if you so much as to respect me, stay out of this."
"Then I don't respect you."
"Why is this a problem to you? When I was forced into this life no one seemed to have a problem with it. Now that I want to find my peace and leave this royal life, everyone's interfering."
"Why are you leaving? You just got married, Chavi!"
"Yes! I am leaving." Chavi stood her ground not flinching at all at Abhik's words, "You know, why? I hate this place."
Chavi walked back putting distance between them, "My mother, who was so in love with Maharaj Vihaan, didn't ask me if I wanted to be here. She just brought me here against my will and I came because I loved her. No one here understands my plight."
"Darsh understood you."
"Yet he married me. He knew I hated the royal lifestyle but he still asked me to marry him, knowing that I wouldn't be able to say no to him."
Abhik ran his fingers through his hair as frustration became evident on his face, "Darsh will kill me if I let you go."
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Chavi sat down at her table.
"It would pull his life out of him if he realises you left him. Chavi, think this through. It would kill him."
Chavi picked up the ink-dipped feather and as her ears gave out to all the blabbering outside. All her ears could hear were the words she inked down into the paper. All that she saw in the crevices of her letters was Darsh's cedar eyes and his every-so-striking face. Heartache started creeping up into her chest as a result to which tears welled up in her eyes.
How cruel. She thought. How cruel the matters of heart were. While it took days together for her to accept her feelings for Darsh, it only took an hour for her to decide to flee from him. The hours of closeness the two shared was shattered by one moment of false belief. Just one moment of fear.
Chavi stood up and folded the letter up before shoving it at Abhik, "Give it to him."
She headed straight to Tara who stood with readied bags of both of their belongings. Chavi grabbed hers. She pulled the curtain down from one of the huge windows and made it her way out of the window from the second storey. Without thinking twice, she jumped.
Tara grabbed her bag, disappointed. She was about to jump down as well when Abhik grabbed her arm.
"Atleast tell me where you are going."
Tara lowered her eyes, "I don't think even Chavi is aware of that, Maharaj."
Abhik groaned, "Do you know the Vishnu temple on border of Trikaala kingdom?"
"Very well."
"I don't know how long you'll stay gone, but meet me there every month without fail."
"As you wish, Maharaj." Tara said. She was utterly taken aback when Abhik hugged her before bidding farewell.
Abhik looked at the letter in his hand, turmoil on his face and guilt in his heart.
•••
"Chavi think again. You don't have to do this." Tara tried stopping Chavi until the very last moment. But Chavi was too haunted by the throne that she heard none of it. She should not be the one that sat on the Queen's throne. It should be someone Darsh can rely upon not someone who knew not a thing of running a kingdom.
Chavi and Tara sat atop their horses, galloping ahead. Chavi's eyes filled up as she envisioned Darsh reading her letter. He would never believe her again. And once she disappears from Ashokdhar, no one would need to believe in her. She would be free.
Two horses ran through the streets to wherever Chavi guided them. No destination in mind, no path set in stone. She just left. She crossed the walls of Ashokdhar and went further and further. Her tears flew behind her due to the strong wind. She let out a shrill cry as pain of leaving Darsh wove itself into her heart like a lifeline.
•••
A small dingy quarters of the head-chef of the palace. Gaurang woke up with a start, his forehead drenched in sweat and a weird glint in his eyes.
"It's begun."
🌺
There is a very specific mystery to Gaurang in this part rather than the first, isn't it?
Chavi had parted ways...how will you think Darsh would react?
We come to a near end of "part-1" of this book, hope to see y'all in the next with the same enthusiasm.
Until next time
-AB
❤️
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LEGACY ||Indian Historical Fiction||
Historical Fiction||PART- 2- REGAL DUOLOGY|| (Can be read as a standalone) Darsh, the most illustrious son of Ashokdhar, is kind, loving, caring and simply just too good to be the Yuvraj. So, he's all set to become the king. He had his priorities set straight, the ki...
