Her Love

HER

~Flashback~

10 months ago

Kingdom of Mewar

Author's POV

It was a busy morning. The meeting room of Poshak was busy with employees rushing to get everything ready for the meeting. Their CEO was a very strict woman. She was ruthless and wouldn't tolerate any mistakes. Just as they were done placing the last file on the table, the meeting room door opened to reveal the princess of Mewar, Jaanki Shekawat. She walked in with her face, which, as always, gave away nothing. She had a poker face. They could never make out what she felt and that kept everyone on their toes. She got seated at the center of the table. "Can we start?" she asked her secretary. "Yes, ma'am, we are ready," she replied, gesturing for the team to start their presentation. Jaanki's complete attention was on the presentation as she listened to everything they had to say. The company was working on presenting designs for the fashion week that was set to take place 6 months later.

"We'll take a break, and then I'll give you my opinion. Is that okay?" Jaanki said, making her staff nod before they left for the break. She slumped in her chair, exhausted. She looked like nothing could exhaust her, but she was human, after all. It had been 2 days since she had any sleep. She just had too much on her plate, and she was all alone. The royal council was hell-bent on making some far-related cousin of hers the king as she wasn't married or even had any prospects yet. This is what made her hate the patriarchy. Why could a man with no wife inherit the crown, but the rules were different for her? It annoyed her, but there wasn't much she could do.

As she was lost in her thoughts, her secretary interrupted her, reminding her of the meeting. She nodded, letting her know she was ready to resume. The team walked in and got seated. They were tensed. She wasn't a rude person, but she was ruthless in giving her opinions. She was a perfectionist. She never yelled at anyone or was rude to anyone, but always put forth her opinions with such precision that it made everyone nervous around her. "So, I went through the designs. Great work," she paused, making everyone breathe a sigh of relief. Alas, it didn't last long. "The color palette is great, but I would like it if you guys added more Indian colors like Maroon and Navy blue. I know pastels are a trend, but we are going for a very traditional collection. Keep the pastels, but add these." They nodded, realizing their late nights hadn't ended yet. "I also would like you guys to take inspiration from the statues carved on temple exteriors for design. I want to go for a cultural look, and that doesn't end at Mughal art," she completed and left the meeting room, leaving behind a team that knew it had more work to do.

As soon as she reached Mewar's palace, her lawyer was waiting for her. He was the only person whom she trusted to an extent. He was one of the only men who remained loyal to her parents and gave her true advice. "Arvind uncle, it's been long," she said, greeting him. "Yes, Rajkumari. I hope you've been well." "I've been well, uncle. Has something come up again?" "Yes, you know about the succession problem. You need to get married. There's no other way. Your cousin is very close to snatching all of this away." She sat on the couch, holding her head in her hands. "There's no other way?" "I'm afraid not." She sighed. This is what made her hate the regressive rules. But there's nothing she could do. But she was sure of one thing: she wasn't going to just watch some idiot cousin of her's take away everything she'd spent all of her life protecting, and if that meant getting married, she would do it. But the issue was finding a good man. She wasn't expecting to love in a few months, but a good mad wouldn't harm. "Do you have any prospects in mind?" she asked, looking at her lawyer. "I'll get right into it." He left, leaving her with her thoughts.

2 months later

Today was the annual conference of all the heads of the kingdoms. They all sat and discussed trade and business. Jaanki, too, would attend, unaware of the fact she would meet someone who would change her life. The conference was scheduled for 3 days, with various sessions scheduled for each day. This wouldn't be the first one she would attend. She had been attending them since she was 18. The first time she attended, she was scared, but she didn't let those old men intimidate her, and now all of them knew she wasn't a pushover. The conference this year was set to happen in Mewar, and she had been so busy with the preparations. Of course, the government would do the major paperwork, but the royal family would organize it. She had to host the 30-odd kingdoms, and that was no easy task. Today was the first day and she was sitting in the car with her secretary, moving towards the venue, which was the official palace of Mewar, all important government events happened there. She lived in the vacation palace, which was smaller than the main palace. It was small by no means; it was huge, but the official palace was way bigger.

Theyreached the palace in no time. There was around 30 minutes before the guestsarrived. She walked into the palace. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard,the memory of her parents hit her. The visual of their bodies being broughtinto the courtyard before her 7-year-old self was something she would neverforget. Just recollecting that memory made panic sour through her. She quicklywalked past the courtyard into the conference room. Each part of this palacewas filled with the memory of her parents, and it brought forth memories shedidn't visit to revisit. She knew the day was going to be difficult for her, andshe prepared, but no amount of preparation could prepare her for the gust ofpain that she felt.