The following morning, the sunlight was a pale, lifeless glow, its usual brilliance dimmed to an unnerving quietude as it crept over the horizon. Gray wisps of cloud hung low in the sky, casting a melancholy mantle over the sun's rays. Normally crisp with the promise of a new day, the air felt thick and depressing, as if the very nature of things held its breath for disasters that were yet to come. The world below appeared to be shrouded in a fog of doubt, as birds rarely chirped and sang with a lack of their habitual vigor. It was a dawn that threw a shadow over what ought to have been a time of renewal and hope, whispering dark omens to anyone who ventured to look past its ordinary aspect.
Today's proceedings were unusually tense in the sumptuous court of King Tathya, where intrigue frequently danced beneath the surface of regal propriety. The unspoken tragedy, the evil omen that had clouded the realm, weighed heavily in the air. Crowned king Tathya, with his severe features and keen mind, sat with his head bowed in thought.
Beside him stood Aadrika, her eyes betrayed a hint of sadness and the turmoil in her heart rose to her eyes as tears as she stole a glance at Tathya. Occasionally, Tathya's eyes darted across the court to Aadrika, his confidante and the person who had unintentionally won his heart. Their brief eye contact was laden with unspoken words and the pain of unfulfilled love. He felt feverish and mildly giddy and thought it might be because of the relentless rain and meditation.
Aadrika's body trembled recalling their passionate encounter.
A bittersweet ache lingered in her rattling heart as she remembered the unconsummated encounter she had with King Tathya last night. She remembered the electric current that had ignited between them, an intense tension that had pulled them in but kept them apart. Aadrika closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of Tathya on top of her, the rain beating down upon their feverish skins, the desire in his eyes, the ache in his touch, the heat of his breath against her skin, the depth of his stare that revealed a wealth of unsaid yearning. She missed his touch, missed those brief moments when their worlds had merged in a dance of restraint and passion, in the depths of the night. With a sorrowful heart and a prayerful voice, she breathed his name into the quiet, hoping against hope that one day fate would give them the opportunity to finally experience true love.
Suddenly realizing she might have said his name out loud, she looks up at Tathya who is seated on his throne, he looks up like he had heard his name leave her lips, but only he looks up at her proving her wrong as their gaze lock for a brief moment.
While the courtiers whispered among themselves, focusing on the tense atmosphere between the monarch and Aadrika, a nobleman Naksh watched attentively from his position among the upper class. Naksh, who was renowned for his slyness and ambition, had long held animosity toward Aadrika because he felt very strongly attracted towards her, he wanted to trample her allure and ravish her beauty ever since he first laid his eyes on her. Using the occasion of yesterday's display of bad omen, he spoke.
"There have been inauspicious things happening ever since Aadrika has set foot on this revered land. Tell me not that the cow's milk has curdled at her touch and the holy Tulsi withered in her shadows. There were deaths in the woods and now this terrible terrible omen. I tell you she is the harbinger of death and destruction, she is cursed... this... wretched whore... She.."
"Hold your tongue.. now be careful... Of what you say, be careful before insulting any lady in my court, in my presence.." the monarch cut him off before he could finish his sentence, his voice like a sharp blow.
"My beloved king, she is the poisoned one..." He retaliated.
"We do not know that, and you do not speak with proof." The king questions him.
"I had her followed, she broke your penance." Naksh accused.
Tathya's eyes widens and nostrils flare as he grits his teeth.
"The attacks happened when she was present in the palace, she is innocent, I will have you thrown into the dungeons if I am being followed. It is treason."
"But... My king.." Naksh pushes.
"Do you have anything substantial to say? If not then forever hold your silence."
Naksh sits down, slapping his thigh in disappointment.
Aadrika is trembling in her place and as blood rushes to her head, she feels like she is about to swoon and she leans back to the wall heaving as two handmaids rush to her help.
In the dimly lit confines of her chambers, Aadrika paced restlessly, her thoughts consumed by the unwavering support that king Tathya lent. She was convinced that she could not longer have her loyalty to Malini and that she owed her life to Tathya, she knew how severe the punishments were for treason and she was warned about the same and that was why Malini had been careful about the incidents surrounding the poisoned one to just keep the attention away from her. She saw fury in his eyes for Naksh, it was the love he has for her that burned with that intensity, she was convinced that she was to let go of this path to choose the one which would favour Tathya for she owed him her life. She belonged to him. She had nothing but love for him. She was waiting to give herself to him for she burned for him. She could no longer stay away from him. She had to find a way. She decided to take the help of the Vaidya Guru and she would find a way to convince him to help her, sure that he would understand her feelings and how much she is suffering by staying away from him.
"It will take a fragment of your life force, like a slow poison." He had said, but she needed to, she would be lifeless without him for she needed him like the very air she breathed. She needed him more...
