Samanth Putri

Part 19 : Engagement

Morning after the wedding , Ajabde was in Maanvati's chamber with her friends and cousins who were giving company to Maanvati before they left for Mewar. Just then a maid entered coming towards Ajabde "Baisa, Kunwar Pratap is asking for you in his chamber".
Ajabde could not help but blush as everyone was looking at her. She could feel Rajkumari Yashada's eyes digging at her from her vicinity. Maanvati chuckled and nudged Ajabde slightly to tease her. Ajabde quickly excused herself and came out where Giridhar Bhiaya was waiting for her. He greeted her to which she smiled. They did some small talk about Chittor in her absence till they reached Kunwarsa's chamber.

Pratap was looking out the window waiting for his Ajabde. He had missed her past few days. He had gotten used to seeing her whenever he returned home from work. He turned towards the door when he heard the familiar sound of anklets. As soon as she entered, she ran straight into his arms.
"Ajab, I hated it when I could not find you at home," he said, hugging her tightly to him.
"Now you know how I feel everytime you leave home," she replied. Her voice was a little muffled as her face was pressed to his chest. He smiled, not responding to that.
"You know today I could finally see the glimpse of the queen of Mewar coming out" he teased.

She looked up at him frowning. "The stunt you pulled at the wedding. I loved how you acted like my wife over there. It was befitting the queen not entertaining any stupidity" he said grinning.
"It was she who pulled the stunt. How dare she. Even I do not dare think of such a thing to gain your attention" she huffed angrily.
"So what do you do ?" he asked, pulling her to him, holding her waist tightly. She frowned, not understanding his question.
" To gain my attention. What do you dare think to do then ?" he asked with his face dangerously close to hers. She blushed hard and tried to push him with all her strength but she could not manage to even move him an inch.
"You are enjoying this don't you?I suppose this isn't the first time girls have been throwing themselves at you." she pouted.
He kissed her pout lightly "You did not answer me."
She tried to escape again but to no avail. Then a thought made her grin at him teasingly.
"I will call you Bakasur." she said
"Huh?" he raised his eyebrow not expecting her to answer.
"To gain your attention I will call you Bakasur" she said with a victorious smile.
He lifted her off the ground, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them.
"Is that so? This Baksur has been waiting to eat you for so long" he said with his lips hovering over her. Ajabde could not handle his huskier tone and the proximity. She tried to create some distance, but he cupped her face, capturing her lips in a searing kiss, pouring all his longing from the past few days into it.

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Next day, they left for Mewar. Maanvati was inconsolable leaving Marwar. After all she was the darling daughter of their family. Everyone from her grandparents to her brother loved her. They all were accompanying her for the after wedding function but it would not be the same.
Back in Mewar, preparations were being done for the engagement and the feast for the wedding.
Ajabde had asked Ranima if Ishvar Kaka, Mohan Bhaiya ,Manu Chacha and Sakku and their family could attend the engagement function from her side. Her Ranima was more than happy and she herself had visited their families requesting them to come and stay in the palace the day before the function representing her side of the family.
Engagement was two days after they returned from Marwar. So the next day went in welcoming the guests for the wedding feast as well as the engagement. Ajabde was so happy to see her family from the treasury office by her side in such a happy moment of her life. They did not give any room for her to miss the conspicuous absence of her own blood family.

Pratap and Ajabde could not meet even during their breakfast time after they returned. He was busy with preparations and other work pending due to his absence for a week. Ajabde on the other hand was spending time with all the guests but she also made sure to spend time with Maanvati to not make her feel alone in her new house. She got to know from Maanvati that Kunwar Kishan, although looks rough from outside, is very soft at heart. She was happy to know that Maanvati found a good husband in him.However, the presence of Rajkumari Yashoda was like a small thorn in all of this. It seemed she hadn't taken the advice well; her actions were filled with spite as she tried to impress Ranima while undermining her. Kunwarsa had informed her that Rajkumari Yashoda's father was indeed trying to propose to him after Marwar was out of the picture. King Chandel believed that Pratap wasn't ready because he wanted to make Ajabde his first wife, which a large kingdom like Marwar would not agree with. However, the King was fine with his daughter being Pratap's second wife, as securing an alliance with Mewar was more important to him, given that Chandel was a very small kingdom. She knew that if her Kunwarsa could handle Marwar, managing Chandel would not be a challenge for him.She was not worried about that but it still irked her when Yashoda attempted to sabotage her happiness in petty ways.