Prithvi... [Vol 5]

Chapter 115

Prithvi ignored his phone for some moments, then with a muttered abuse, he glanced at it disinterestedly. It was the number of the main guard he had posted in the village.

He answered the call immediately. When the call ended, his conflicted gaze fell on the door. After a minute, he called up Sumer Singh.

"Baba, I want you to take Nandini to Rajeshwari's room. I was going to do it myself but I need to go out for a short while," he murmured. "And let me know as soon as you meet her. If she doesn't open the door, try calling on the phone in her room. And if she still doesn't answer, call me immediately."

Sumer Singh was perplexed at the instructions. However, hearing the strain in Prithvi's voice, he promptly said, "I'll do as you say, My Lord. But could you tell me where you're..."

"To the village," Prithvi said vaguely. "I'll return in half an hour or so."

Ending the call, he walked to the door and rapped hard. Then he called out her name twice with the faintest hint of desperation.

There was no response.

Trying to curb his tension and remain calm, Prithvi forced his mind away from the purely emotional plane and strode off unwillingly.

Nandini ceased her frantic efforts to maintain silence and looked up tearfully at the door. He was leaving...

But she waited for some more excruciating moments before allow the first gasping sob to escape her.

When she finally gained a bit of control over herself, Nandini got up shakily and fumbled her way to the bathroom again.

The phone began to shrilly but Nandini did not glance at it.

In the bathroom, Nandini removed the white cloth and threw it in the trash bin. Then, standing at the sink, she fiercely scrubbed off the green salve and the medicinal oil, uncaring of the soreness and discomfort, and then wiped her face and right hand harshly with a white towel.

She did not look at the mirror till she felt clean again. And the image she saw frightened her.

Looking away quickly, Nandini left the bathroom and walked straight to the bag that contained her possessions. She searched the contents for some seconds and then removed two pieces of an envelope.

Rajyavardhan's venomous curse reverberated in her head...his voice echoing repeatedly with a cruel relish...

"...mark my words... my daughter's return will be the beginning of a never-ending eclipse for you."

Nandini stared at the pieces, only dimly aware that someone was knocking very loudly on the door.

***********************

Sumer Singh had not been unduly worried when Prithvi had given him those puzzling instructions. He had assumed that yet another fight had taken place between the youngest couple in the palace.

So, he had continued to wait outside Indrajit's room till the manager had arrived to take his place and instructions had been given to everyone concerned. In the meantime, he had called on the phone in Nandini's room to inform her of the plan. Though the calls had gone unanswered, he had still not taken the matter seriously.

Then, on nearing Nandini's suite, he had run into a maid holding a breakfast tray and had learnt that the woman had paid two visits to Nandini's room so far but no one had opened the door. That had triggered a spike of tension.

And now Sumer Singh's stress levels were skyrocketing because of the lack of response to his increasingly loud thumps on the door.

He didn't want the situation to worsen to the point that he would have to notify Prithvi, Sumer Singh thought uneasily as he struck the door with greater vigour.