The Village Girl

Chapter Eleven - [Seetha]

When my tears had dried and Maadu had finally fallen asleep, I stood up, deciding that it was time that I went to sleep too. My eyes were tired and swollen and my heart was aching. Plus, tomorrow would be a new start for me. If my desire to speak with my mother about marriage actually went through... then everything would change almost instantly.

I was eighteen.

That was old in my mother's eyes.

My sisters were both married off at sixteen, my brothers at nineteen.

I knew my mother was eager to have me married to someone, before I became, what she called, an "old maid" which no man wanted to marry.

After blowing out the candle that my brother had lit, I opened our little barn's door and was surprised by the chill. It was a cool night... cooler than usual.

The thought of whether or not Aaryan was riding home in this chilly night flashed through my mind, but I ignored it. Instead, I closed the barn door, pulled the hanging end of my sari around me to keep me warm and picked up the basket which I had left at the entrance.

But just as I lifted myself up, I heard something that sounded like a horse.

I held my breath for a moment, trying to hear it more clearly, and realized that it was coming closer and closer. Suddenly, the sound stopped.

I took a step forward, realizing that it was coming from behind the barn.

I felt a fear rush through me.

The last time I heard horses this close to my home was when I was a child and our village was under attack. I wondered if that was why there were more warriors than usual occupying the streets of our little village. Were we going to be under attack?

I froze again when I heard a thud, as if someone had gotten off the horse, and then quick footsteps coming in my direction.

I prepared myself to scream, to warn my family. That was the best I could do.

But just as I took that breath, a man was in front of me.

I blinked, feeling the breath I had taken be knocked right out of me as I dropped my basket in shock.

I barely recognized him at first... but it was Aaryan.

He wasn't in his usual simple tunic, nor was his hair tied back into a stubby ponytail. He didn't look like a simple warrior today.

He was wearing the loveliest kurta I had ever seen in my entire life. It was a rich royal blue colour that fell to just below his knees but had an embroidered cream waistcoat with a short collar that was raised. The sleeves were also a royal blue and were long, but were pulled up to below his elbows and the trousers were a clean white.

Even at the most grandest of events, the most elegant kurta my father and brothers owned was a simple white one. It was the only one they owned, and the kept precious care of it. Aaryan's entire outfit made my families richest of clothes look like rags.

He didn't wear much gold though, aside from simple gold earrings, a simple gold chain, and that one bangle which had caused so much trouble over the last few weeks. And his hair was combed back, though looking slightly windswept, strands of hair falling over his face.

And on his forehead, he had a crescent moon shape drawn on in red, both of the ends pointing upwards.

He looked like a prince now. He really looked like a prince.

I was lost for words as he stared at me with an odd look of exhaustion.

And then a strange embarrassment ran through me. Here I was, standing in front of the most beautiful man in the world... and all that I was right now was a mess.