The Maharaja and Maharani of Pradii sat on their thrones, with their respected guests on either side.
As the people settled in to witness the wedding rituals, Durga was watching the faces of her parents, the happiness and pride clearly reflected in their eyes, her little brothers as they tried to appear demure, her older sister with her two little kids on either side of her, a glow in her face, and her older brother as he looked back at her with grief and happiness.
She knew that both were for her. Grief at parting and happiness for her happiness. And lastly, she looked at all the subjects that came to wish her for her future happiness and knew, deeply, that they all loved her in their own way.
Storing the image in her mind, she vowed to herself that she would never forget this day, nor would she ever abandon them. The curtain lifted and Durga Krishna was looking into the dark eyes of the Yuvraj of Rajas.
