King of Hearts and Queen of Swords✔️

Chapter One

All the festive noises, hustle and bustle outside had died down. Just the occasional pitter-patter of footsteps on the cold, white marble floor as the guards passed by on their usual rounds, filtered through the tiny slit between the huge, cast iron doors that had been securely bolted and locked from within.

Avantika tossed and turned in her bed. Her heart pounded so loud that she could literally hear it. She placed her palm over her heart and continued to listen to her heartbeats.

"Mahendra, Mahendra, Mahendra...", they seemed to beat.

She withdrew her hand with a jerk. She sat up and hugged her pillow close to herself. She drew several deep, calming breaths before kicking aside the red, fluffy blanket. Her control over herself was slipping. She felt exposed and vulnerable.

She walked in lazy and languid steps towards the window to her right and threw it open. The moonlight filtered into the room. The wind rustled and the white veil she wore over her bodice fluttered in the wind before gently slithering down her milky white and creamy shoulders.

A slight disturbance near the ledge of her window instantly put Avantika on her guard as she backed a step and drew the knife from within her bodice lightening-quick. She lurched the veil that had fallen at her feet and whipped it around the neck of the intruder while pinning him against the wall beneath her window with her knife.

"Wow! That was quick, my Queen. Mind giving me a hand up? It has been a good, chilly half-hour on this ledge", drawled the voice that belonged to the only person who could drive Avantika crazy even in her dreams. Her face turned a deep red as she held out her hand for him. A soft smile overspread her lips as she shook her head with exasperation.

Her eyes peered behind him to take in the sheer drop beneath the window ledge. Her knees woobled a bit as she saw the stars spinning in her eyes. Mahendra clutched her hand to hold her steady as he shut the window and closed the curtains.

"You're...you're...", she said, as she fumbled for words to express her thoughts about Mahendra's innappropriate behavior.

"I'm what?" He egged her on, trying to get a rise out of her.

The chamber was enveloped in utter darkness. The lights had been put off earlier by the maids as a preparatory for the night. Avantika lit the lamps one by one as she continued to gaze at Mahendra without even blinking her eyes.

"You could have fallen from there."

He shrugged his shoulders as he waved aside her concerns.

"That was nothing. I climbed that huge waterfall the first time I saw you."

She broke into musical peals of laughter.

"I've heard that from you before. But now, I am begining to think that it is just a tried and tested method of wooing that you tried upon me"

After a pregnant pause, she continued, "And maybe, many others before me."

His pupils dialated as he closed her mouth with his right palm and cradled her head in his left palm. His voice turned hoarse with emotion.

"I'll climb that waterfall before your own eyes one day. Then you will believe me. You are the only one for me, Avantika."

The intensity in his eyes momentarily frightened her. She gave him a slight push as she stepped aside and saucily wagged her thumb at him.

"I'll wait for that day then."

Her veil was still fluttering around his neck. He whistled a soft tune with his lips as he flopped upon her matress with a plonk. "Hey, this jumps like a spring. Did you see?"

Mahendra touched the edge of the matress with the tip of his index finger and let it go to demonstrate his point. Avantika stood beside him, her hands on her hips and her eyes averted sideways. She cleared her throat, "Ahem! Ahem!"

She looked towards his neck pointedly before she blurted rather hurriedly, "I would want that back."

Mahendra broke into a goofy grin before he handed over the veil to her.

She turned to the other side and proceeded to wrap it around herself. He stretched back and lay down while not taking his eyes away from her even for a single moment, "You know you needn't do that. You know, we're practically married to each other."

"No, we're not." She pouted

He stood up as he edged closer to her. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the rapidly decreasing space between them. Her breath hitched within her throat.

"Of course we are. Gandharva Vivaham. That day in the forest, I chose you and you chose me", he said

"You mean what happened between us in the forest? Your people will never accept me. They would want somebody worthier as their Queen."

Mahendra took both her hands in his as he kissed them, "Hush! Shouldn't my wife be whom I want?"

"You were an ordinary man then. We were free to love. But now, you're the King. Everything has changed."

"Nothing has changed", he said as he punched the wall in frustration.

"If nothing has changed, why didn't you come through that big door, right and proper? You snuck in here through this window like we're doing something wrong or we have something to hide?"

"I did that because I wanted to protect your reputation. I didn't want people speaking wrongly about you, Avantika."

"Okay, the easier way would have been if you had just stayed away from my chamber?" She said in half-jest.

Mahendra's expression darkened as he said, "I'll go away if you want."

Avantika pulled him closer to herself, "I didn't mean that. I want you to stay. I missed you. How are feeling after everything that happened today?"

"I just feel burned out like a lamp wick from both ends. I have everyone or so I'm told. But, I feel all alone in this crowd. You remember the first time I met you, I asked you, 'Who are you behind this mask?' I've always been true to myself till now. But after everything, it feels as though I am no longer the real me. I have to wear this mask of King at all times."

Mahendra clenched his fingers into a fist. Avantika unloosened his fingers and smoothed them out as she said, "Mahendra, you're both. The man and the King. You just have to make peace with this change."

"Not if it means losing everyone and everything I've cherished all along. Nobody will dictate what I do with my own life. I'll talk to the Rajamata about both of us after the coronation. We'll get married properly this time. Do you trust me?"

He encompassed her tightly within the folds of his arms.

She shook her head gently as she said, "I do."

"Will you be beside me when I am crowned as King?"

"People will talk", she whispered as she traced half-circles with her index finger on his chest. His muscles bristled as they responded to her touch.

"Let's give them something to talk about then, my love", Mahendra said as he blew out the lamps.