Love and Redemption

Chapter 8

With anger, hatred and deceit dripping in his veins, the disappointed Vikrant Singh Rathore was sitting on the banks of river Yamuna flowing through the small village of Pranathgarh outside the kingdom of Vijaygarh. Having disrobed from the title of Yuvraj or the prince, Vikrant was beyond angry as he struggled to fit in the life of a commoner. His father Ajeet Singh Rathore had suggested him to send the message demanding help to their allied kingdom, Shivgarh but Vikrant Singh Rathore had denied the offer.

Sitting idle on the embankment, he was wondering about his next step to ruin the arrogant bird, Aparajita Singh Rathore who was flying high after becoming the queen; when he heard the galloping sound of the horse. He was startled at the arrival of the strange visitor realizing that no one owned horse in the poor village of Pranathgarh. Notably, Pranathgarh was an independent tribal village ruled by a village headman Avinash Singh Shekhawat who was a friend of his father, Ajeet Singh Rathore. The little village had a small army and few elephants in the name of cavalry however, horses were considered a legacy.

Vikrant was highly disappointed at the loss of the kingdom of Vijaygarh and associated power. However, he knew he was helpless for now. He did not want to stay in the small tribal palace which looked like a servant chamber of the powerful Vijaygarh but he knew he could not do anything to improve his situation. Stranded in this pathetic situation, he was missing his collection of the exotic ale from different parts of the world along with the relaxing touch of the courtesans he spent time with it.

The only relaxation in his wretched situation was the beautiful princess of Pranathgarh, Nandini Singh Shekhawat. Nandini was a beautiful girl of seventeen years on whom Vikrant had laid eyes upon. Vikrant was drowned in the beauty of Nandini as he was planning to find ways to relish her womanhood, when his chain of thoughts was broken by the arrival of Siddharth Pratap Singh, the visitor whose horse was galloping few moments ago.

As Siddharth removed the piece of cloth covering his face and revealed his presence to the ex-prince. If someone would have said, Vikrant was shocked, it would indeed be an understatement. He knew what arrival of Siddharth Pratap Singh meant. An avid loyal royal guard in the palace of Vijaygarh, Siddharth was a devoted servant of his uncle, the generous yet, a foolish king, Vijay Singh Rathore. Vikrant smirked realizing that his foolish uncle sent help through his loyal dog, Siddharth Pratap Singh.

"Your highness, the great king Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore sent me to ask about your well-being", Siddharth said as he bowed down in front of Vikrant.

Elated at the arrival of a golden bird in form of Siddharth, Vikrant made a sorrowful face and said in a grief-stricken tone, "Tell the Maharaja that we are fine against the wishes of her daughter."

As much as Siddharth Pratap Singh hated the devious vibes from Vikrant Singh Rathore and as much as he revered the old king's decision of crowing the Princess Aparajita Singh Rathore as the queen, Siddharth was bound in the clutches of his duty.

Though he wanted to say that the great queen Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore made a mistake by banishing her cunning relatives as these snakes disguised as saints did not deserve to live, Siddharth knew he could not do that because the old king had ordered him to make sure that the cunning Ajeet Singh Rathore and his guileful family remain safe. Taking a deep breath and synchronizing his thoughts, Siddharth said, "Your highness, the king had asked me to make sure that you, being his nephew, have an impeccable life ahead."

Vikrant looked at him skeptically as he realized his irrational uncle who trusted him blindly and loved him like his own son must had sent something valuable with his loyal dog for their sustenance. Trying to hide greediness that had begun to shine in his eyes, Vikrant took a deep breath. "The king's daughter banished us. How can we enjoy the legacy we were accustomed to live in?"

Siddharth wanted to tell him that an alcoholic brat like him who used to spend time with the courtesans had not done anything fruitful to live in this world or enjoy luxuries but he knew he was not authorized to say so. Taking a deep breath, he said what he was expected to say. "Your highness, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore is not in power anymore. Now not being in power, he cannot do much except sending you gifts and hoping for your well-being."

Having said this, Siddharth took out a big red colored pouch from his cloak and stretched his hand offering it to the guileful Vikrant. Looking at the velvety pouch, Vikrant's eyes gleamed with happiness and his hands urged to snatch the pouch however, maintaining his ego, he said, "Tell the king that we are not beggars", as he looked into Siddharth's eyes darkly.

Trying to control his laughter, Siddharth bowed his eyes down. He knew that the man claiming not being a beggar in front of him was not just a beggar but a thief, a dacoit, who was dying to snatch the pouch from his hands like his mother snatched childhood from the life of his queen, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore.

Being the youngest son of Abhay Pratap Singh, Siddharth had honed his swordsmanship skills when his father trained Aparajita. Having seen her practicing violently after the encounters with Vikrant's mother, Maharani Shyambhavi Devi over these years, Siddharth had definitely seen the pain in the sorrowful eyes of the young princess all her teenage years.

Controlling his anger, Siddharth said, "Your highness, the king has sent this with love". As soon as Vikrant heard him, he took the pouch from Siddharth's hand and thanked him profusely hailing fake shouts of joy for his generous uncle. Siddharth left from there after completing his job to return back to the palace.

On the other hand, cunning Vikrant Singh Rathore smirked as he opened the big pouch made of the red velvet cloth. Seeing the contents of the pouch, he was bewildered. He shook his eyes in amazement as he saw the myriads of glistening exotic diamonds, precious gemstones, and rare jewels. He gulped his saliva as he concluded that his uncle, the old great king Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore was indeed the biggest fool born on the planet Earth. He wondered the foolish man had not only given the rarest jewels of his kingdom to Vikrant but had also given him the key for ruining the ostentatious kingdom of Vijaygarh.

Looking at the exquisite treasure his uncle had sent for him through Siddharth Pratap Singh, the treacherous royal Vikrant Singh Rathore simpered realizing that the priceless gems in his hand would ultimately help him to succeed in decimating the royal kingdom of Vijaygarh. He planned that he would overthrow the bitchy queen, his cousin sister, the so-called Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore and crown himself as the long-living king of Vijaygarh.

The ambition to become Maharaja Vikrant Singh Rathore of prosperous kingdom of Vijaygarh became resolute along with the goal to ruin Aparajita who was responsible for their pathetic state, once Vikrant got the most expensive and highly valuable gems in his hand.

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