When Aastha met Veer, she knew they had a connection.
However, the connection would be from two centuries ago, she never could have imagined.
A love story that remained unfulfilled, broken by evil, and destroyed to ashes - whose reference hide...
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"Why are we here?" Aastha exclaimed as she stepped into the beautifully decorated cave temple. The idol of Goddess Durga looked radiant, with remnants of the pooja performed earlier still evident.
Veer stood behind her, guiding her inside. "Veer?" Aastha twirled around to face him.
The setting sun cast an orange hue across the sky, filling the cave with a warm glow. "I thought if I'm going to ask you, I should bring you to the place where our destiny was redefined," Veer said, smiling.
Aastha looked at him in surprise. It had been only a few days since they were reunited. Their families were overjoyed, and life felt like a fairytale. Veer's cast had finally come off, and after a few more days of treatment, he was now fully recovered and cleared by his doctors to even ride his bike.
Veer loved taking Aastha out on impromptu dates and this one was one such last-minute date idea.
Aastha and Veer were counting down the days to their engagement. Their families had found an auspicious day three weeks away for the ring ceremony, with the wedding to follow a week later. Shakti Mahal and Prem Mahal were chosen as venues for various celebrations.
Since their engagement announcement, Roopgarh had been rejoicing. Aastha would be the first princess in a long time to live long enough to marry. Amidst the rumours and gossip, Aastha was finally living the life she was destined for. A part of her felt sad for the girls who had died and those who survived. She wished things had been different.
She and Gouri Devi wanted to reveal the royal secret, but her great-aunt Ambika, who lived in London, wanted nothing to do with it. The same went for her other surviving aunt, Durga, and her daughter Nupur. They refused to let anyone know. Nupur claimed that revealing the secret would jeopardize the royal family's reputation and the work they had done for the welfare of the people. Roopgarh could suffer tremendously.
"Hey!" Veer called, bringing Aastha back to reality.
"Veer." Aastha smiled and asked again, "What are we doing here?"
"I just told you!" Veer laughed. Dressed in a simple shirt and pants, Veer looked effortlessly handsome. Aastha, in an elegant Kurta and palazzo, looked ethereal in her simplicity.
"Didn't you want a proposal?" Veer winked.
Aastha stared at him in shock. "Are you crazy? Here?"
Veer shrugged. Aastha shook her head, laughing. "We're only a few days away from our engagement, and you want to propose now?"
"Why not?" Veer asked.
Aastha giggled. "Veer, it's okay. I'm glad you thought about it, but we don't have to..."
Veer shook his head and walked towards the idol with his hands pressed in front of his chest, and a look of devotion on his face. A small tray adorned with flowers was kept at the foot of the goddess. He touched the goddess's feet for blessings and picked up the tray.
