Love and Redemption

Chapter 52

Weeks passed and month came to an end. Clad in a white cotton skirt and blouse, the queen of Vijaygarh, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore was lying on her bed still wondering whether she should go to the forest and meet the prince, Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput or not. The royal court proceedings were not to be held at the last day of the month so she was free for the day.

As soon as forest came into the mind of responsible queen of Vijaygarh, her thoughts drifted towards the construction of scarp all over the kingdom. She was really happy that the tri-layered scarp was completed around the forest as the old minister, Dharmendra Singh had informed her.

The region of Vijaygarh surrounding the belt of tribal villages was left to be fortified. The queen Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore was satisfied with the progress of construction work going in her kingdom.

Thinking for a long time, the seventeen year old young girl inside the responsible queen finally convinced Aparajita to go on hunting expedition with Veer, her newly found friend who had made her happy with his enticing letters and lovely talks. With a smile plastered on her face, the queen of Vijaygarh, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore got up from her bed and began her day.

Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput, on the other hand, was frustrated as his friend Uday could not find the real culprit behind killing the then queen of Vijaygarh, Maharani Manjughosha Devi. He was anxious and finally he had taken the matter in his hands.

Veerbhadra had hatched a plan with Uday. Pretending to be an ally of Ajeet Singh Rathore; Uday Singh Chauhan, the commander-in-chief of Rajputana army was going to Pranathgarh to meet the guileful old friend of Maharaja Mahendra Singh Rajput with plentiful of royal gifts.

Veerbhadra hoped to get a clue from him while Uday was still apprehensive. Following the orders, Uday was going to meet Ajeet Singh Rathore. The journey to Pranathgarh was long and it would take Uday four days to reach the tribal village, Veerbhadra thought as he anxiously waited to receive some clue.

The commander-in-chief of Rajputana army and best friend of Veerbhadra since childhood, Uday Singh Chauhan was internally pleased to see his friend caring for Aparajita. He was well-aware that the queen of Vijaygarh was indeed, unbreakable and invincible therefore, he wished for the welfare of his friend, the prince of Shivgarh, Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput for he knew, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore had power to blame Veerbhadra in flames if his friend laid a finger on her ever.

The prince simpered looking at his reflection in the regal mirror with crystal glass framed in pure gold as he got ready to go to Vijaygarh to meet Aparajita. The seventeen year old queen was truly enticing and amusing to him and he just wished that she would come to meet him.

Unknowingly, the prince of Shivgarh was lost in gorgeous beauty and unparalleled brilliance of the distinguished queen of Vijaygarh however, still his mind pulled him towards revenge every now and then.

Still being skeptical whether the queen would meet him today or not, Veer sighed as he began his torturous journey to Vijaygarh via the long route on a summer day. Aparajita, on the other hand, was having the royal breakfast with her father and she was constantly smiling.

“Dear daughter, you seem to be very happy today”, her father, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore remarked gleefully.

Aparajita just smiled as she mumbled, “Father, I am going for hunting today for a change.”

Taking a sip of water from the royal glass made of pure gold, she gave her father a small smile and said, “There is nothing much”, as she reminded herself that there was actually nothing except she was going to the forest. Aparajita wanted to de-clutter her mind ad remove every thought of Veer that invaded her brain but she was helpless and powerless.

The old king Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore felt sad for his daughter as he wondered if he had taken a right step by burdening Aparajita with the responsibilities as a ruler but then he assured himself that he had surely done the right thing. He remembered when he had received an alliance for marriage of his daughter Aparajita with sly prince of Nandangarh few months back.

Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore knew the king of Nandangarh had greed of power to ensure his son sits on the powerful throne of Vijaygarh. That marriage proposal had made the king realize that his daughter was growing up and since Vijaygarh lacked a Rathore prince, all the Rajput kings would try to usurp Vijaygarh sooner or later.

Trusting his daughter, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore had taken the decision of crowning his daughter as the new ruler silently answering all the greedy monsters that Vijaygarh was never weak. Today, he was indeed, proud of his daughter who was handling the kingdom efficiently.

Aparajita sighed as she mentally reprimanded herself for getting driven towards Veer and his alluring charisma. The queen of Vijaygarh felt guilty for hiding things with her father but she knew that the old king would not accept his daughter meeting a man in forest. To decimate her guilt, she questioned herself if she was doing anything wrong.

Reassuring herself that she was not committing an unredeemable sin in reality, she smiled looking at her father.

The father and daughter chit-chatted about the ongoing ventures in the kingdom when suddenly, the old king said something that startled Aparajita.

“Aparajita, remember you are the ruler of Vijaygarh. You belong to the most powerful Rathore clan. Never consider yourself weak in any respect. You are growing up. I want you to find a suitable groom for yourself.” Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore said to his daughter leaving her bewildered.

A blush crept on her face as her cheeks tinted red as Aparajita wondered she had truly got the best father.

The old king just chuckled looking at his daughter who was rendered speechless as he continued, “Find someone who will be your shadow because it is only you who deserves this royal crown, my child”, and that was when Aparajita smiled widely.

Unknowingly today the king had felt an urge to tell his innocent daughter that she had to protect her kingdom and pride of Rathore clan from all the guileful princes and kings who would want to marry her for the throne of Vijaygarh.

“Dear father, people of Vijaygarh are mine to serve. I will take care of them as a ruler forever”, Aparajita said as she realized her father had truly given her the best advice. Never in her life could she ever think of being a wedded wife of some king who would enjoy the power of being king of Vijaygarh. It was not the power and greed that spoke inside her rather it was her own innate voice that wanted her to nourish the people of Vijaygarh like a mother nurtures her child.

After a short yet, meaningful conversation, both father and daughter dispersed after relishing the lavish royal breakfast. Dressing up into a green colored kimono-type hunting dress, Aparajita smiled looking at the mirror. Her father’s words had surely given her motivation to go with the flow of her life. She felt proud of her father but at the same time, she was disgusted at herself for hiding things from him.

With myriads of thoughts running in her mind, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore headed towards the forest sitting on the back of her pet horse, Shera that galloped and rode faster towards the heart of the forest.

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