Sarvaan city, Mandhaar
Girikraaj was older to his sister, Kuntala, by three years. While studying at the prestigious Sarvaan gurukul, he came into acquaintance with the then young and dashing Chandraveer who belonged to the prestigious military Sirsa clan.
Upon close observation over a period of time, Girikraaj realised that despite his heroic demeanour, Chandraveer was a fairly simple man in his personal interactions, in fact almost an introvert.
Sensing an opportunity, the smart and visionary Girikraaj increased his closeness with the fellow batchmate and ensured that he created a few 'chance encounters' for his sister, Kuntala to run into the shy Chandraveer.
Under the subtle ministrations of the Kola family, Chandraveer found himself betrothed to the pretty and gentle Kuntala even before he finished his course at the gurukul.
It could be said that the straightforward Sirsa family was no match to the smiling and conniving Kola clan when it came to interpersonal dynamics.
Before Chandraveer left for his first military expedition at the age of twenty, Kuntala was already pregnant with their first son, Agastya.
Girikraaj and the Kola clan benefited a lot due to this association as the prestige of their son-in law rose gradually.
But unfortunately, all the efforts of Girikraaj still came to naught as the Mandhaar royal palace kept rejecting the proposal by the Kola clan over the years of being included in the Royal Chambers of Merchants.
Many years passed by but the status didn't change. As a result, like his father, Girikraaj also eventually pinned his hope on his children. His wife, Sulabha was from a family which had always been on the fringes of the upper class, just as how his mother had been.
Unfortunately, Sulabha was not even half as good when it came to his mother's intelligence, vision and forbearance.
Hence the responsibility of bringing up his children - daughter, Avantika and son, Avanish, was once again passed onto his ageing mother. Girikiraj didn't want his descendants to follow their mother's shallow thoughts and narrow-mindedness.
Under the guidance of the Kola family matriarch, not surprisingly, Avanish followed his father's footsteps and was currently studying in the Sarvaan gurukul.
Avanish coincidentally met the gentle, fourth prince there who had been sent to Sarvaan city many miles away from Dima to learn and grow.
Recently, Avanish had even managed to procure an invite from the prince to start a new business together in the capital once they graduated from the gurukul. Both of them were currently only fifteen years old. Hopefully, it was going to be a long and fruitful association!
On the other hand, both Sulabha and Girikraaj had always planned for their beautiful daughter, Avantika, to marry into her paternal aunt's family. Since Agastya was the first born and would be the next head of the Sirsa clan, they naturally wanted their daughter to be matched with him. Not only had the Sirsa clan's prestige grown with the ascend of General Chandraveer and his army, even his three sons showed a lot of potential already while in the nascent stage of their careers.
During their growing years, Avantika had subtly maintained a close relation with Agastya but suddenly, two years ago, she started showing a clear preference for Dushyant, much to her parents' dismay.
Even though both the brothers were talented and accomplished, a first born was a first born, after all, meant to inherit the title and the inheritance.
Moreover, Agastya was good looking with a broad face, fair skin and wavy hair. His features were extremely similar to his father. His eyes were always twinkling with gentleness and he had an easy going personality. There wasn't anyone who didn't like him.
Dushyant, on the other hand, was a withdrawn, cold person who seemed to keep everyone at bay, including his blood relatives as well. To be honest, he was extremely good looking as well, but there was a tinge of cruelty and indifference in his features which made people feel wary of him.
Moreover, his disposition and looks were not similar to anyone in his family. He was polite towards everyone but not warm to anyone, not even his own parents!
Even if the first born status wasn't there, as the parents of a treasured girl, both Sulabha and Girikraaj would infinitely prefer Agastya as their son in-law instead of the sulking devil with an unpredictable temperament.
Avantika had shown great potential in carrying out her father's silent aspirations over the years but her sudden determination to show blatant affection towards Dushyant had made him dissatisfied with her.
It was only after a lot of cajoling and assurances and a strong directive from Girikraaj's mother, that her parents agreed to fall in line with her thoughts. But, of course, this was all happening on the side of the Kola clan.
Madam Kuntala remained unaware of her brother's designs on either of her sons for the sake of his clan's progress.
Coincidentally, Madam Kuntala was quite fond of her niece. The girl had spent more time in the Sirsa household than in her own courtyard during all these years. While Madam Kuntala's own sons left the house early, first to the gurukul and then on their military assignments, it was Avantika who had kept her company in the past ten years.
As a result, Madam Kuntala made a promise to herself that she would find the best groom for the girl!
Having spent decades of lonely years as a military daughter in-law, she didn't want her cherished niece to have a similar fate which is why she never entertained the possibility of matching Avantika with one of her own sons.
Moreover, none of her sons seemed to be interested in the fairer sex, anyways! They were busy following their father's footsteps of focussing only on working for the greater good of the kingdom, personal life be damned...
Now that Avantika was seventeen, Madam Kuntala had asked her sister-in-law to send for the best matchmaker to look for prospective grooms for Avantika. She had even started scanning her own network to find potential families at her end.