A pessimistic storm glided inside the walls of the palace.
Shefali stood gazing out the open windows, her brow furrowed deep.
She herself was in a storm of thoughts that rushed against each other. She had a lot to speak about but should she? Would it be appropriate enough? Perhaps not, she knew... yet Shefali couldn't discard the only escape through it all... for Ekta and for the honor of the family itself.
Only if someone could marry her off would stop everyone's faithless mouths... The unsaid words hung thickly in the air around her.
It seemed like the huts far off from the palace refused to sleep so soon too.
No matter how long she stood there, the little candles there did not go off. Perhaps they too were well absorbed in the same situation that had dug its roots deep into the land here.
As soon as she felt Eshant's hand on her shoulder, she spun around with eyes as big as doe-s.
He had known her reason for refusing sleep was something she couldn't dare approach on her own. Thus, there he was waiting for the words to finally shower his way.
Shefali, with the wisdom of a sister and the heart of a friend, considered her options, her mind racing toward a solution that could offer Ekta refuge amid the storm.
She finally spoke...
*
Ekta in her chamber sat on the floor solemnly, her eyes sore from all the tears that left her scarred.
It felt like she could not bring herself to cry anymore.
Her tears, all that she had, probably dried up.
She closed her eyes, imagining a life beyond the walls of the confined—one where the whispers faded into mere echoes of the past.
The door to her room was wide open and for the urgency caused by his wife, Eshant ventured inside after alarming his visit with a cough.
He, aware of the sensitive nature of the topic, approached Ekta with caution, choosing his words as delicately as possible.
"Ekta,"
He began, his voice a softened murmur.
"It's hard for you, I'm aware but"
He stopped, unable to handle a situation as such.
Never in his dreams had he ever thought that being someone as bad as putting forth words that flooded with emotions, he would be made to take charge in a situation as such.
"We must discuss your future. Words have been cast our way, and the kingdom's honor hangs in the balance... beside yours"
He finishes.
"What future awaits me that doesn't fill me with guilt and regret, Bhaiya?"
she responded, her voice as distant as the outer seas.
"Shefali has thought of Satyendra,"
Eshant uttered quickly unable to hold the words in his throat with the obvious weight they carried, grappling with discomfort because matters as fragile as such weren't normally discussed between siblings.
"He, Shefali assures, would have your hand in marriage."
At the mention of Satyendra, a flicker of disbelief ignited within Ekta, momentarily overshadowing her fears of a future that brought shame and nothing else.
Her eyes touched the sky outside that had started hiding in a mist.
"But he is humble, Bhaiya. I cannot bring such a burden upon him."
She says looking at him for the first time now feeling guilty enough to actually consider the idea in her heart.
If somehow she could manage to marry someone... anyone, she would probably be able to run away from the shadows of disgust here.
She had seen Satyendra once but now was the first time she had actually started rethinking of him.
She felt guilty for thinking of another man the same day as Jagdish died but apart from this, is there any other way to actually survive in this society?
"He'll know better but as of now all we can do is hope... Otherwise, all the future will part is the ill of you, Ekta, and of our family,"
Eshant replied looking pretty distracted.
"This move could perhaps bless you with a new beginning?"
He asked her... and himself.
As night fell, shadows danced along the walls, yet in the gathering darkness, the first flicker of dawn began to appear for Ekta.
Perhaps truly a new beginning?
*
In the days that followed, whispers unraveled the story of Ekta's plight across the estate and beyond, but it was no longer one of shame.
The dirt thrown on the walls of the palace soon fainted till it was not visible anymore.
The far-off corner of the town heard stories of the not-so-glorious marriage held in Bengal. They heard the groom was strict with his principles and never wished for an outshining marriage at all.
When the royal family came back after a month of celebrations, no lips parted to speak of the daughter of the royal blood.
The little child, although, cried a lot addressing the absence of someone who was no less than a family member.
Shefali no longer had a friend to talk to all afternoon.
"Shefali, leave him with me for now. Don't worry about him, go meet Aai freely"
Bindiya would say very often playing with the little Dev who had started sitting on his own.
It looked like Bindiya had started letting go of the immense grief she held all this while after all.
She wondered, how Ekta's married life would turn out there. She hoped for the best...
A/N
I did not write much about Ekta's marriage or her life after cause I have plans for later lol
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𝟏𝟓𝟐𝟗: 𝐀 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚| Indian Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 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...
