Trishalini ~ The Jewel of Mahabaleshgarh

2 ~ He is Taller Now

THE YEAR 1652

Trisha POV

After meeting the King, I returned home. My heart was beating wildly, not because I had to meet Yuvraj Abhinandan but because I had to convince him to return home.

As I contemplated our upcoming meeting, I couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt. Would he even remember me? He had visited my father countless times yet never tried to speak to me, only offering a friendly smile.

I did not know what kind of potential King saw in me that he believed I could convince him of. Maybe it was because I was a woman, and he thought that he would be understanding towards a woman.

Whatever it was, I had to do this for the King.

Not for any wealth or anything else, but for him only. The way he removed his Pagdi in front of me made me feel a father's pain. I could feel what he was going through. I had seen my father worry for me often, too, and I knew it was difficult for him.

And, the kind of anger Yuvraj Abhinandan had, it was even more difficult.

The much I understood him in a year was that he was not the man of many words that one might take him as an arrogant Prince. But he was caring and helpful at the bottom.

"What was it?" My father asked, returning from his Ashram and finding me near the stove.

I stood up and walked to him to touch his feet, and he gently caressed my head, blessing me.

"God Bless you, child,"

I loved him dearly. And, in no world, I could hide the truth from him.

"The King has asked me to meet Yuvraj Abhinandan and try to convince him to return home," I said, walking back to the stove and rolling the chapatis with my hand.

He inhaled sharply, sat on the floor, and shook his head.

"The Kingdom and the people who reside in it are often ununderstandable. I will not let you walk into their matters. It is their family matters, and they shall fix that on their own," he said, and I nodded weak-heartedly while baking the chapatis.

"They cannot even handle their son and daughter. And God knew what Rudra thought before putting such a low act. I am ashamed of my teachings," he murmured, and I stayed silent, serving him dinner.

"Pitaji," I muttered slowly, sitting near him and putting water in the glass for him.

"He is ill. He said that he has little time left for himself, so he needs my help. He thinks that Prince Abhinandan takes me as a good friend, and I can convince him," I kept my voice low. I was not trying to convince him to let me go, but it was my duty to tell him all the facts I knew before he could make a decision.

"What happened to him?" he asked all of a sudden.

I shook my head. "I do not know what exactly happened to him. But, he told me that no one knows about his failing health, and amid all of this, he needs his son back. He also removed his page to request me," I said slowly in the last line, and my father stared blankly at me.

"You and Prince Abhinandan are good friends?" he asked, and I lifted my gaze to look at him. Something weakened in his gaze, and I felt a pang in my chest.

"Not that good," I managed to say, and he lowered his gaze.

"Okay, you can go and try. It is not like Pratapgarh is very far. It is at walking distance," he said, and I tried to hide a tiny smile that dared to appear.

After dinner, washing the dishes, and looking after the buffalos and their meal, I went to sleep.

Waking up early in the morning, I finished my morning business, went to the river to take a bath before the World could wake up, and got ready to leave.