The Village Girl

Chapter Twenty Three - [Aaryan]

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for your patience and sorry for the delay! I'm going to try my best to have updates for you every week but they may be delayed by a few days because I'm vacationing in Sri Lanka right now! :)

In the meantime, don't forget to vote and comment! I love hearing what you guys think!

Love, Luckycharms

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I had not heard from Seetha over the last few weeks and I wondered if she was okay. I thought at first that maybe she was ill, and I worried. But then I remembered she was busy now and I could not expect her to be so frequent with her letters.

Of course, that did not offend me at all. It actually made me happy. I was happy she was making herself at home... finally.

The march was long, but my excitement to be home made it feel longer.

And this was new.

I was never so thrilled to go home. I was always happy to be out of battle but that was it. Going home never really excited me.

Aathikara was expecting our arrival, so when we crossed through the gates, men, women and children gathered around, throwing flowers in our path to honour our victory and return. There were cheers and excitement and it was nice. But I was still more eager to get back to the palace.

After the long procession through Aathikara, it was with my arrival into the palace was when I finally let out a breath of relief. I jumped off of Bhumi and walked towards the smiling Lady Suhanya, who was waiting with a happy smile. "Welcome home, child," she said, putting her arms around me. "And congratulations."

I thanked her and smiled, but when I looked around, I noticed that my parents and brothers were here, but Seetha was not. "Where is my wife?" I asked as I walked towards my  parents.

"Not following instructions, clearly," my mother said. I barely heard her though, because my father spoke over her. "Now is around the time the servants eat. She must be preoccupied."

Before I could respond, the King of Kiyo's carriage pulled in behind me. My father, who had received word of the King's visit, walked past me and greeted the King happily. "Welcome!" My father said to him as he stepped out of his carriage.

The older king hugged my father. "Your son has brought glory to my Kingdom. I could not return home without thanking him and paying respect to his country and family."

"I am happy to hear such good words from you," my father said. "Come in, come in... we are preparing a grand banquet in honor of this victory!"

The King seemed pleased as he turned to me. "And where is your wife? I was looking forward to seeing her?"

"I–"

"Aaryan!"

I turned around, thinking that she was just on time, but the second I did she jumped into my arms. "You're back! I'm sorry! I was just in the middle of cooking and I didn't want the servants to wa–"

"It's fine, Seetha," I chuckled. She smelled of curry... something spicy. "I'm happy to see you."

She pulled away, looking at me with an ecstatic smile. "I have a surprise for you! But we have to be alone."

She whispered the second half, making me smile and raise a brow. "I'm looking forward to that."

She laughed before I turned her to face the King of Kiyo. "Seetha, meet the King of Kiyo. He's been looking forward to meeting you."