Sands Of Time - a timeless love saga

Chapter 74

Just as Saanvi had predicted, Aastha's day had been impossibly long. Every passing moment felt heavier than the last. From the moment she had stepped out of bed, someone had been hovering around her — fixing her hair, adjusting her dupatta, touching up her makeup, draping her jewelry. It felt like an entire army had been deployed with one singular mission: to make sure Aastha looked nothing less than an ethereal royal princess.

And beneath all of it, one thought refused to leave her alone. She needed to talk to Veer. The words she had been holding back since yesterday sat like a stone in her chest, growing heavier with every passing hour.

Amidst the endless rotation of stylists, rituals, relatives, and last-minute preparations, her phone buzzed. The moment she saw Gagandeep Sir's name on the screen, Aastha immediately excused herself and slipped into the washroom, locking the door behind her. She played the voice note he had sent.

"Aastha, first of all, I am so sorry I couldn't make it for the engagement on time. I am already on my way and should reach by tomorrow morning. But listen carefully — this is much bigger than I initially thought. When I first started digging into what you sent me, I assumed it was history mixed with folklore and myths. But as I dug deeper, I feel like I have opened a pandora box! This is something beyond my understanding. A lot of data, footages and notes that you sent me resembled a few things that I had read long time agao. 

I met with Dev Rai Singh few days ago, and I was given access to some very old records belonging to a sect traditional vaidya family. This small sect of people have been practicing medicine for generations, but what's unusual is that they documented everything alongside religious observations, rituals, and spiritual references. Aastha... some of these records go back nearly two hundred years."

She held her breath.

"And the things mentioned there," Gagandeep continued, his voice tight now, "match too many things connected to Rudragarh. Disturbingly so. I have already coordinated with Suraj, and he helped me get in touch with your family's priest Vedavyas Shastri ji. We all need to sit together and go through this properly, because I genuinely think time is running out. I'm sending you all the notes, references, and scanned documents. Go through them when you can. Once I arrive, let us all pool our findings together to come to a conclusion."

The voice note ended. The silence that followed felt strangely loaded. Almost immediately, multiple files began downloading onto her phone. Aastha tried opening a few but before she could even get through the first pages, the knocking started.

"Aastha Ma'am? We need you outside!"

"The jewelry team is waiting!"

"JIJI!!! We are running out of time!!"

She exhaled, locked her phone, and slipped it away. Later tonight, she told herself. Once this madness settles. But as she walked back out into the room full of people preparing her for the most-awaited evening of her life, the unease sat firmly at the pit of her stomach and refused to move.

***

As the evening finally arrived, so did everything else.

Aastha was breathtaking.

Her lehenga woven in luminous shades of pink, gold, and green shimmered beneath the lights with the precision of master craftsmanship. Every thread carried intricate embroidery and regal motifs drawn from centuries of Rajputana heritage. The wide flare moved gracefully with every step, giving her the quiet, undeniable aura of royalty from another era. The delicate dupatta rested over her head and shoulder, its finely detailed borders framing her face beautifully. An exquisite Rajasthani choker sat at her throat diamonds and rare gemstones catching the light like fragments of dawn. Matching statement earrings, layered jewelry, and every last considered detail completed the picture.