When Kingdoms fall for Love

Prologue

The river was their secret.

Nestled beneath the shade of the tall, ancient trees, the water flowed gently, as if it understood the weight of the promises made there. Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, casting dappled shadows on the soft grass, creating a place that was hidden from the world—just like their love.

VikramAaditya had always known that there was something special about the riverbank. From the first day he had stumbled upon it as a boy, with the sun beating down on his back and the scent of wildflowers in the air, he felt drawn to it. It had become his sanctuary, his place of peace, long before he ever met her. And then she had arrived—quiet, mysterious, and unearthly in her grace. She had turned his sanctuary into something much more.

Avantika.

Even now, her name whispered in his thoughts like the breeze that danced along the river. He could almost see her, the way she had been when they first met—barefoot, her silk skirts billowing around her, a soft smile playing on her lips as she looked at him with eyes that spoke of secrets. Her voice had been soft then, a mere echo of the confident woman she would become, but even as children, they had understood each other in a way words could not explain.

For years, their meetings had been innocent. They had been nothing more than two children escaping the pressures of their royal lives—Vikramaaditya, the second prince of Ujjain, and Avantika, the hidden princess of Madan. No one knew of her existence, not even the people of her own empire. She was a secret, known only to her family and a select few. And to him.

He had never questioned her secrecy. It was a part of who she was, a part of what made her so different from anyone he had ever known. She was free in a way that he was not—free from the eyes of the court, free from the expectations that weighed on his shoulders. She had been the one person who saw him not as a prince, but as Aaditya. That was what she called him, and only her. To the world, he was Vikramaaditya, a name heavy with history and responsibility. But to her, he was Aaditya—the boy who laughed too loud, who dreamed too big, and who loved her in ways he could never fully explain.

But love was not simple. It never was.

Not when you were a prince, and she was a princess hidden from the world. Not when duty pulled at you from every side, demanding that you become something more—something greater.

He still remembered the day he had left her, five years ago.

It had been at the same riverbank, beneath the same trees, with the same sunlight filtering through the leaves. But everything had felt different that day. The air had been heavy, thick with the weight of their unspoken words. He had known that he had to leave, that he had to go to the ashram with his brother to learn the ways of kingship. It was his duty—his responsibility to his people, to his kingdom.

But leaving her... it had felt like tearing out a piece of his soul.

"I'll come back," he had promised, his voice barely a whisper as he cupped her face in his hands. Her skin had been warm beneath his fingers, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "After five years, when my training is done, I'll return to you. I swear it."

She had nodded, her lips trembling as she fought to hold back her emotions. "And I'll wait for you, Aaditya. I won't see you until then. I won't let anything distract you from becoming the king you're meant to be. But when you come back—when you come back, we'll meet here. At this place. Just you and me."

He had kissed her then, softly, gently, as if trying to memorize the feel of her lips before they were torn apart by time and duty. It had been a kiss filled with all the love, all the longing, all the promises they had yet to make. And then he had walked away, leaving her standing by the river, her figure a blur in the distance as he turned his back on her.