The Battle Of Hearts A Choice Between Power And Love

Chapter 3 Visitors From Afar

Annika's pov 

thoughts ranged my mind with endless possibilities as it deprived me of my sleep. I stayed awake, staring at the ceiling in the darkness of my room, only to be dimly lit by the candle on my bedside table.

It flickered against the darkness and the cold winds of the night. To snap myself away from the train of thoughts, I turned to observe the flickering flame.

I don't know when it happened. As I sighed and opened my eyes, the light was no more, extinguished by the ruthless winds and the endless cold the night brought with itself.

I stared blankly at the ceiling hoping it held the answers to my endless streams of questions. It did not. I knew it, but I was simply desperate for some answers.

I found myself half asleep in the morning, wondering how and when I fell asleep in the first place. I don't remember anything.

The first thing I did was get ready for the day ahead, with the timely help from my handmaid - thank god for Lakshmi ji or I wouldn't have made it through my daily morning routine!

After breakfast, papa took me to the Rajput royal stables, where all the horses and camels (the best of the best!) stood with pride in all their glory in the desert regions of our state. Horses cannot be used to travel after a certain distance, but nevertheless, I wanted to learn how to ride one, mainly because they looked so majestic!

I picked out a black horse. It was taller than the others - it was almost the same height as Aditya's! It put up quite the show when Papa opened the stable doors - it almost knocked down the stable man!

It looked like it was ready for a fight (or better, a kill). It neighed, its nostrils flared and it shook its head from one side to another, its beautiful black mane swaying from the action.

The horse calmed down after a while, after some stern commands from the stable men. I put my hand a little close to it, as it took in my scent. I ran my hand through its beautiful mane softly, as an act to reassure it.

After picking the horse I liked, it was time for my riding lessons with Aditya. Papa left the stables with a messenger, saying that some important work had come that needed his immediate attention.

I skipped my lesson with Aditya for the day, promising to return in the evening. I had too many things in my head - the new horse and riding it was not one of them..

My mom was busy with some of the palace maids and some decorating work for the upcoming festival. I informed her that I had to meet dadi. She looked at me, rather concerned.

"Maa! Papa isn't here! This is the right time and I can't let it slip. I promise it won't take long. I just want to clarify something with her, it's about the visions. Please! I need to do it!" I said, desperately trying to convince her.

She accepted, after some thinking. I rushed to the west wing of the palace where my dadi stayed. It had been so long since I last met her properly, which is mainly when she came out of her chambers once in a while or when we hosted some festival in the palace.

I knocked at the doors of her chamber, only to be greeted with silence, followed by a creaking noise and the sound of footsteps, accompanied by the handle moving and there she stood, wrapped in the finest silks, her snow-white hair in a bun. Her face breaks out into a beautiful smile.

"Dadi! There you are!". Finally she welcomed me in, as the silence stretched into the room. She still held that powerful aura, as the attendees bowed to us and hurried to leave the room. The door creaked as it closed after them.

"Dadi maa, I'm here to seek your guidance. I need to know to truth about these-"

She looked at me sharply. "I know why you are here, my darling. These powers were passed down to the many generations of our family. You know these powers were once mine to yield as well. Yes, they can indeed drive us mad, but only if you don't know how to yield them. I only learned how to yield these powers after a long time, but if you need me, I can teach you how to yield yours before they grow and it's only right that you learn how to do that at an early stage".