Manjha A String of Complicated Relations

Dances

Advith had worn a dark grey custom made three-piece suit with a light pink tie. He looked every bit like the classic tall, dark and handsome army officer.

Aniket Rai Chauhan, on the other hand, had gone with a midnight-black, custom-made three-piece. He looked like a royal, as he should have, a prince waiting to sweep his lady off her feet.

His eyes searched around the room for his lady and like magnets that can not help but be drawn to their opposing force, he found her. A queen in the making, standing regally and gracefully.

Aniket had a notion in his mind that he was going to be sweeping Shambhavi off her feet but it seemed that the young captain had erred in judging the roles here. It seemed as if his feet had been swept off the floor.

Both the young, handsome men moved towards their respective ladies with no other person in the ballroom mattering to them.

Advith was welcomed by a pleasant smile from Anisha and mischievous looks from the rest of his family. They greeted each other and talked softly. Advith noticed his family and greeted them as well.

"Arey! So soon? You should have been lost in her beauty for at least a minute or two more," Sanyukta Ma'am teased his son when he noticed them after 5 minutes of talking to Anisha quietly.

"Look at that! Aniket, the poor boy, has no idea that the world still exists around him," Sanyukta Ma'am continued and motioned everyone to glance towards Aniket and Shambhavi.

Aniket had also walked towards Shambhavi as if in a spell. The moment their eyes met, the world around them dissolved into nothingness. They had been bound by an invisible thread and wrapped around in an invisible blanket of warmth and compassion, built on mutual understanding and trust.

Aniket looked at Shambhavi who gazed right back into his eyes. They both had failed to notice the entourage around them, looking at them with varying degrees of mischievous and wistful smiles on their faces.

Their spell was broken when someone around them cleared their throat. Actually, there were a few people.

Aniket and Shambhavi both blinked and looked around to see who had cleared their throat only to find Advith and Anant gaping at them with their eyebrows raised, and Shreya and Anisha looking like their face would split into two due to their wide smile.

Shambhavi looked everywhere except at her friends while Aniket just challenged Advith with a small staring contest.

They all had a mini catch up. Sanyukta and MG Rathore told them what had happened back at the academy, and the cadets had been very enthusiastic in telling MG Rathore what they had been up to at IMA.

Soon the ballroom doors were shut and everyone was called to attention. The topper of IMA gave a speech and welcomed all the guests. The first dance of the ball was announced and all the elder couples were called to the floor to commence the ball officially.

MG Rathore and Sanyukta Ma'am went along with other couples and performed a beautiful dance. When the dance stopped everyone cheered the older officers and their better halves.

The next song started and everyone else was requested to join in.

Anant took Shreya's hand, while Advith asked for Anisha's hand. Aniket did not ask Shambhavi through words but did put his hand in front of her as if asking her to take the hand, yet giving her the choice to reject him.

Shambhavi put her hand in Aniket's and he led them towards the floor. The lights turned off and the song started playing in the background.

Aniket took the lead turning and twirling Shambhavi but Shambhavi also was at par with Aniket's passionate dance. Anyone in the vicinity of them was long forgotten. The song playing was perfect for them.

They glided around the room, moving in sync with the song and in sync with each other. Each step was filled with a passion, each beat filled with jolting electricity. They moved as one soul, lost in each other's eyes, forgetting everything around them. A world of music, passion and something akin to love.

The people dancing around them were so engrossed in watching them dance that some of them stopped dancing midway. The ones who were not dancing were entranced by their dance. To those who did not know them, they seemed like two people who were irrevocably in love with each other.

The song came to an end and the only couples left dancing were Shambhavi and Aniket, Anisha and Advith, and Shreya and Anant. The rest of the couples had stopped dancing midway to watch the three young couple dance. Everyone cheered and they all bowed gratefully.

The night progressed and the dance continued. At one point, both the girls danced with Anant and also with each other's partners. It was a lively night full of vivid shades of happiness and mirth.

The dance was halted as it was time for dinner. The entourage moved towards their respective seats and had a lovely dinner which was accompanied with decent wine for those who were interested and Anant sneaked a little and dropped it in everyone's glass of drinks.

Because of the wine the Captains and the girls loosened up quite a bit and were laughing freely with a few light touches here and there.

Aniket had spotted Yash Narayan Vashisht in the crowd although Yash had no idea that Aniket was even attending the Ball. Raghav and Arti had done their best the whole night to not let those two cross paths with each other because had they seen one another then surely Shambhavi would learn that Yash was Aniket's mentor and Yash would know of Shambhavi joining the army.

Arti had been successful in keeping the news about Shambhavi from Yash for quite some time now and only a few months were left for her graduation. She was not going to let Yash ruin something so beautiful for Shambhavi. Arti had seen that Aniket was good for Shambhavi.

Arti had seen Shambhavi since she was a little girl and after her mother's passing, Shambhavi had always been so closed off, carrying a heavy burden on her shoulders alone. She had turned herself into a recluse, always formal or sad, but that evening Arti could see a girl who was happy, free and outgoing, a girl who was enjoying her life, living it to the fullest all because of Aniket, and if Shambhavi learned of Aniket and Yash's relation, she might break again.

But unfortunately, Aniket had spotted Yash and he was bringing Shambhavi towards the latter. Arti was busy with Raghav and Shambhavi stopped in between to fix her sandals.

Aniket approached Yash, "You didn't even meet me when you came, Sir," he said to Yash who had his back towards Aniket.

Yash turned. He was a man in his late forties or early fifties, although he looked younger with his salt and pepper hair, a strong muscular build and a tall frame. He exuded authority while his face showed years of experience.

Yash smiled looking at Aniket, "Ah, Aniket! My boy! I have been a bit busy and when I became free Raghav did not let me off the hook, so I did not get the chance to let you know that I was here. Anyway, I had no idea that you were attending the ball, You did not attend balls earlier."

Aniket smiled and touched Yash's feet as a sign of respect, "I think I told you something the last time we talked on the phone, You can say a lot has changed due to that," Aniket replied with a serene smile on his face.

Yash's smile grew and his eyebrows shot up. "Well then, what exactly are you waiting for? Where is that someone? If I remember correctly, I had a meeting with them."

Aniket also smiled and turned back to look at Shambhavi while Arti tried her best to divert Yash from there. But it seemed like it was destined to happen. Yash turned to talk to Arti and Shambhavi turned back towards Aniket as he called her.

Shambhavi smiled and walked towards Aniket with a smile on her face. Yash could not be seen because of Aniket standing in front of him, but as she moved forward, she could see the side profile of a man. As the man turned, Shambhavi's feet froze.