Love and Redemption

Chapter 35

The construction of the palace was complete and the tribal priest had graced his presence in the humble court of Pranathgarh.
The old priest smiled meekly when the village headman announced the wedding of his daughter, Nandini Singh Shekhawat with the royal of the Rathore clan, Vikrant Singh Rathore.

Vikrant, who was sitting in the court of Pranathgarh along with all the other wise ministers of the village smirked looking at Nandini who was also present in the court, standing beside his mother, Shyambhavi Devi.

Everyone blessed their tribal headman’s daughter while Nandini tried hard to control her tears as she remembered her last encounter with the snobbish royal at the banks of the river.

She cried silently when her to-be mother-in-law, the cunning Shyambhavi Devi hugged her feigning to pacify her and murmured, “You are a nice actress. First you captivated my son in your charms and now you are doing this drama”, leaving Nandini appalled.

“Your son wants to satisfy his lust so he has taken this promise from my father to marry me. From the next time, don’t say anything to me or else I will forget you are elder to me”, Nandini hissed angrily hugging her to-be mother-in-law while Shyambhavi Devi mumbled profanities cursing her.

Looking at some ancient scriptures, the prudent old priest announced, “Looking at the stars of both the girl and boy, the wedding should be held next week on Sunday sharp at eleven in the morning”, while Vikrant simpered as he remembered he had bribed the priest to announce the wedding the next week.

The old priest had his head hung in shame. He was in dire need of money for the treatment of his unwell son otherwise he had not agreed for the wedding. Notably, the marriage of Nandini Singh Shekhawat with Vikrant Singh Rathore was not bound to sustain but the priest of helpless.

Nandini shed her silent tears as she remembered the day when she asked her father to cancel the wedding. Her father, Avinash Singh Shekhawat’s words resonated in her ears and she flinched as she recalled her father saying, “Nandini, the alliance is strategically good for both our village and you. Rathores are powerful and you are lucky. It is my final decision that you will be marrying him.”

Everyone present in the humble court of Pranathgarh were merrily enjoying when Avinash Singh Shekhawat folded his hands respectfully in front of the priest and said, “How will I manage in a week, respected priest? Nandini is my only daughter and I want a lavish wedding for her. Please suggest some other date”.

Ajeet Singh Rathore, who was looking forward to this alliance, frowned when Vikrant stood up and said, “Your highness! Don’t worry. We will manage everything together. The wedding will happen on coming Sunday in my palace.”

The old village headman was indeed impressed with his to-be son-in-law who was been a great help. He sighed looking at Nandini mentally trying to tell her that Vikrant Singh Rathore was indeed, a right choice for her.

Nandini closed her big doe-like eyes realizing her to-be husband was indeed, the biggest hypocrite who could do anything to satisfy his lust while Avinash Singh Shekhawat looked at him with indebted eyes. Nandini had just one question in her mind, "Why was she the one whom Vikrant wanted to marry?", and she couldn't find any answer to her query. She wondered she was indeed, not a very beautiful woman and she knew, the royal Vikrant Singh Rathore had met many gorgeous women earlier. She could not find any reason and she cursed her fate which was sealed with a monster by her own father.

Being a father, Avinash Singh Shekhawat wanted the best for his daughter and according to him, he could never find anyone better than the royal Rathore prince. He knew Vikrant had promised him that he would not marry anyone else in future. He had also observed the behavior of Vikrant and his father and hence, he could conclude, Vikrant was still interested in ascending the throne of Vijaygarh. Being a doting father, he was visualizing his grandchild to be the heir of the throne of Vijaygarh.

As a village headman of a poor village, Avinash Singh Shekhawat knew the alliance with one of the most powerful royal clan would definitely uplift the living standards of the villagers along with improvement of trade relations of Pranathgarh with neighboring villages. Overall, he was thinking for the benefit of his daughter and his village but little did he know, he and his daughter were mere pawns in the game of Vikrant Singh Rathore.

The old village headman announced that the marriage ceremonies would began soon from the next days and the humble court of Pranathgarh was adjourned.

Nandini rushed to her room, shutting the wooden doors and cried her hurt out cursing her fate while Vikrant Singh Rathore just chuckled along with his father, Ajeet Singh Rathore as they headed towards their shabby room.

“Finally, we got a free land and a magnificent palace without paying a single penny to the villagers who constructed it”, Ajeet Singh Rathore said chuckling as he patted the back of his cunning son.

“See, I told you, I will manage everything”, Vikrant said laughing with his father as he sat on the wooden resting chair kept in the room.

Taking a deep breath, Vikrant sighed and said, “Finally, we can live luxuriously like earlier”, smiling at his proud father who was looking at him with admiration in his eyes.

“So what now?”, Ajeet Singh Rathore asked his son while Vikrant answered, “Get ready for the marriage”, raising his eyebrows.

“What about sending an invitation at Vijaygarh?”, Ajeet Singh Rathore said choosing his words wisely. He did not want his brother or his arrogant niece to grace their presence but he was looking forward to the royal gifts from his foolish brother who loved him unconditionally.

Vikrant Singh Rathore was visibly annoyed as he remembered his overconfident cousin, the filthy queen Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore, who had banished them from the royal palace and kingdom of Vijaygarh.

He glared at his father and questioned, “For another insult. Don’t you remember their deeds, father?”

“Ah! My intelligent son, I do remember everything. I also remember your stupid uncle sent us royal jewels”, smirking at his son.

Now Vikrant Singh Rathore realized what was going inside the cunning mind of his guileful father.

Smirking enthusiastically, he said, “Father, so let’s get ready to receive a plethora of royal gifts”, as he winked towards his father. No doubts, Vikrant knew the price of the valuable jewels and he was in dire need of the royal jewels to fulfil his guileful plan.

Father-son duo had a hearty laugh as they planned to send an invitation to the emotional fool, the old king of Vijaygarh, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore.

They sat together and made plans for the revenge against the haughty queen of Vijaygarh, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore who was flying high in the sky and it was really necessary to cut her wings according to them.

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