(I had so much time to re-check and re-do this chapter that it feels like it's one of my best-written chapters of the book lmao)
The royal visit to Bengal had been postponed due to the sudden arrival of Drucilla and Amar... Was a decision that echoed through the halls of the palace.
The drapes of the windows were drawn back, allowing beams of sunlight to spill into the shadowed corridors. Everyone was making haste in the preparations, except for one... Ekta. For Ekta, this delay meant she might never visit Bengal again.
Ekta's heart felt heavy, trapped between the weight of her long-held desires and the sudden shake of fate.
She often sat and wondered how life could give off good fortune one moment and snatch it away the next. Was this the universe's way of reminding the common people of their insignificance in the grand play of existence? She thought to herself.
This thought lingered in her mind.
The picture was quite different in the other sectors of the Palace.
To the maids and servants of the majestic palace, it seemed like Rani Sa's long-lost smile had finally returned. She no longer seemed to be in a place she didn't probably belong. Meanwhile, Bindiya remained secluded in her dim chamber, mourning the death of someone she hadn't realized she was so deeply attached to.
Shefali found herself at a crossroads though.
Since she knew fingers might rise on her sinless child, she had to choose between being a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, or a mother.
After a while, her heart spoke clearly: she would be a mother.
Being a mother was as hard for her as it was for Eshant to be a father. Like Eshant even she had never known what it felt like to have a mother.
Why do some parents abandon their children while others, who have none, yearn to share their love with every child they meet? This was, although, not the root of Shefali's internal conflict.
"They are all waiting for you,"
Said Aai, breathlessly, as she knocked lightly on the door.
She placed the sleeping child tenderly in Aai's loving arms.
"Can you please"
She could not finish before Aai cradled the baby.
"I am right here,"
Aai said without needing to know what she would want to say.
Shefali smiled to herself and got up on her foot.
She must go now.
Putting on the gorgeous veil of the beautiful lehenga she wore, Shefali walked out of her chamber... The sound of her anklets making their way before her.
Each sound of the rushed corridor was underlined by the tingling echoes of her anklets.
In the common balcony that was bathed in the afternoon sun, a certain mist of laughter flooded through.
Ekta stood in the corner of the door of the entrance, observing the chaos, feeling like an intruder in a celebration that did not involve her. Never did.
Eshant's focus was consumed by Sardar Amar, his discussions marked by serious glimpses of the stately matters... Where was her place among the people who sat there?
An announcement had gone out to the peasants and kingsmen that the royal court would remain closed for the day due to an urgent internal meeting called by the beloved eldest daughter of the late king. Drucilla's request, a rare occurrence after years, could not be refused by Eshant.
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𝟏𝟓𝟐𝟗: 𝐀 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚| Indian Historical Fiction
Tiểu thuyết Lịch sử𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 Ⅰ 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐀𝐉𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐈-𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 Shefali Roy had lost her parents in a pandemic when she was just one year old. That was the first time she was orphaned. The next time she was orphaned was when she was seventeen. The army of...
