The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

57. Fire

It had been a long and exhausting week for Chitralekha. Ever since she nearly ended the relationship with the prince and sprinted away from him, he had been trying to repeatedly summon her to his palace, but she was dodging the order one way or the other, irking Surya to no extent. A secret message reached Chitralekha from one of the trusted servants of the prince. Either she was to go and meet him at the crack of dawn and tell him the reason behind such insolent behavior on her part or he would be compelled to announce a punishment for her.

However, she couldn't step out of her house at the crack of dawn the following day owing to the arrival of a few guests early in the morning. Guests who were to be her in-laws really soon. She had purposefully defied Surya's orders since she felt the adamancy to do so. The fact that she was not a princess nor could she become one tore through her senses, rendering her in a state of utter dilemma.

Her days were either spent moping over lost love or listening to her mother speak at length about her groom while braiding and oiling her hair. Since Kalavati had left for Amber, she wasn't going to the gardens or the palace, preferring to remain cooped up inside her house.

Until she could no longer breathe freely after the proposed date for the wedding was decided by the two families. Her mother was still tending to the guests when she quietly slipped out of the house, heading straight towards the Shiva temple at the entrance of the royal quarters where she knew she would find some solace as well as Chitra and Raghuveer spending some time with each other.

True to her intuitions, the sunlight was receding from the plinth of the temple, faintly illuminating the idols placed inside. A solo lamp was lit, flickering due to the winds blowing while Raghuveer was waiting for Chitra to arrive, running his finger along the edge of his sword to check the sharpness.

Seeing him, she collapsed on her knees at the topmost step and broke into a fit of sobs.

His head snapped towards her, and he quickly went closer, patting her back as her conniption refused to subside. She was speaking incoherently, hiccuping a lot, sniffling, flailing her arms and legs, and he was unable to catch a single word. Concern tugged at his heartstrings, and he ruffled her hair. "Calm down, Chitralekha. You need to control yourself and tell me what's wrong."

She controlled her snivels with a lot of effort. "I don't want to get married to anyone else. I just need my Prince. Do something. Please."

He pursed his lips, exhaling heavily. "If that's what you want, why did you not go and meet him for the last fifteen days? He was so furious, and he was repeatedly asking me why you behaved the way you did."

She hiccuped once again, a frown developing on her features. "Because I am not a princess."

He groaned, raking his hand through his mane of thick hair. "He doesn't care, Chitralekha. He genuinely loves you, and through his gestures for you, he has proven it time and again. He is willing to talk to the King after the threat of the impending war is over. He will be crowned soon, and his decision will be accepted by one and all. But no! You had to be stubborn."

"Take me to him." She slumped her shoulders. "Please take me to him."

He shook his head as a scowl made its way to his features. "After you didn't go to meet him at the crack of dawn, he left for hunting in the hills."

Her lips parted and more tears streamed down her cheeks. "When will he come back?"

He peered at the full moon rising above their heads in the darkening sky. "Hopefully soon. I just received a piece of worrying news. The enemies had backtracked earlier, but now they have increased their war preparedness with double the intensity. The spies opine that they might attack any day now."