Exiled Hearts

8: It Happened

Sumedh

Confusion. Confusion was the only emotion that flooded through me from that previous encounter. Sumedh...what are you doing?! I honestly never encountered such a strange feeling in my life, nor do I even have the words to explain it...if only I could see her one more--FOCUS SUMEDH FOCUS! Unwillingly, I diverted my thinking back to the riddle.

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Mallika

I was seated in front of the mirror, but I was looking at something beyond my reflection. Perhaps, the thoughts inside. The maids were helping me get dressed for the royal dinner, but my mind was far from that. This morning's incident kept finding a way back into my head. Who was that Rajkumar? Why was I so stunned by him?

"Rajkumari, this or this?"

I looked up to see Shrishti holding two different sets of jewelry. "Whichever," I replied back, not caring. The one person that I was hoping to meet is not even here. What is the point of this whole thing anymore? Unless that person could be...

After a couple more minutes, I was ready to go. I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. The maids had done a good job, that was for sure. "Mallika, you look so beautiful," a voice said from behind.

"Thank you, Bhaiya," I replied, not even having to turn around. I nodded with a smile to my maids and they left quietly, leaving me and Bhaiya alone.

He walked over to me, a painful smile on his face. Noticing the tense mood, I decided to ease his worries. "Bhaiya, I know you still aren't fully ready to accept this idea yet - but this is important. We need to do this for our people."

He nodded, knowing already, but sometimes a person just needs reassurance - and that's exactly what I was trying to do. "Bhaiya, I love you. Always have. Always will." Saying that, I hugged him, and he put his arms around me.

"It's just that this palace will be so...empty without you. After Mata Pita passed away, you were all I had left. I'll miss you...a lot." He had whispered the last part, choking a bit. A tear slid down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away, trying to stay strong. He let go and looked me in the eyes. "Mallika, promise me. Promise me that you will take care of yourself. Promise me that you will stand up for yourself. Promise me that you will put in all your efforts to be the best queen you can ever be."

This time, I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my eyes. I saw that his eyes were also wet. "I promise you Bhaiya," I said, holding his hands. He smiled and put his forehead to mine. "Mata Pita would have been so proud of you."

"No," I started. "They would be proud of us."

After a moment, he separated. Wiping the tears out of his eyes, he looked up. "I'll see you in a bit." With that, he reluctantly left the room.

Gathering myself, I faced myself in the mirror. You got this. I left the room, heading straight towards the royal dining hall.

Walking down the hall, my mind went back to the person I had seen this morning. For some reason, I just couldn't get my mind off of him. His eyes flashed before me every time I thought of him. I have to find out who he is. He has to be present at the royal dinner with the other attendees. I'll meet him there.

Not realizing where I was stepping, I stepped on my long dress. Unable to balance myself, I tripped and bumped into something. Not until I turned around did I realize I was wrong...

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Sumedh