The intense, intoxicating aroma of perfumes and scented wine made the air heavy. The musicians and singers, all dressed in lavish silk robes, seated inside the innumerable white marble porches, poured out the enchanting melodies in sync with the charming performances of the gorgeous dancers. The beautiful courtesans, decked in gold and silver jewellery with their long, fragrant dark hair decorated ornately with gem studded embellishments, moved from one corner to the other, serving drinks to the royals. As for the royals themselves, the men were lost in pleasing their eyes as they ogled the beautiful maidens, while the women of the royal family, who were hard to spot amidst this buzz, preferred to gather in small numbers in the inner chambers of the palaces. This was Vaimadri, the rich neighbour of Sailam, that was one of the most affluent and powerful kingdoms of the Deccan at the time.
"Prabha!" It was the voice of the first wife of prince Utpala. "Where are you headed?"
Princess Prabhavati stopped, "I will be back soon, aunt. I am just going to get some sweets for our guests."
She rushed away, her long gold threaded beige gown trailing on the granite floor behind. The sweet tinkle of her anklets and bangles resounded across the large hallway and her soft dark tresses clashed against the gold adornments of her arms as she hurried her way through the corridors. She was the only daughter of King Vidala, the monarch of Vaimadri, and the elder brother of Prince Utpala.
As she turned round the corners, crossing many passages that wove in and out of the many quarters of the palace, and happened to enter a rather empty and deserted corridor, she spotted a man walk towards her, his steps unsteady, his body swaying from side to side. Judging by the wine cup in his hand, it wasn't difficult to conclude that he was drunk. Prabhavati stopped. Confronting men when they were drunk was something any woman like her would hate. Anyways, she had to cross this man, and hurry on her way to the kitchen.
As she was about to cross him, the man suddenly stretched his hand and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back and pinning her to the wall. Prabhavati gasped, shock running through her body. She was about to shout out for help, when her eyes fell on the man's countenance. She froze.
It was the crown prince of the kingdom of Sridant.
Disgust ran through the princess' body. Hadn't Sridant lost a big battle to the kingdom of Sailam just three days back? What was their crown prince doing at a royal feast in Vaimadri? So, had all those rumours about this hedonist been facts? Even when his kingdom was faced with a crushing defeat, he had the face of turning up in another kingdom. Such a shame!
"Prince! This is below your dignity! Let me go!" She scowled, trying to wring her wrist free from the prince's clutches .
"That will be foolish of me," the prince drooled back. "Not every day do we get to see a beauty like you." He drew closer.
Prabhavati's heart started palpitating, and blood drained off her face. "Guards!" She shouted. But it seemed this corridor hadn't been guarded at all. The festivities required good security measures, so even the palace guards had been stationed at the most important and vulnerable places. This realisation only heightened her dread. "Help! Somebody!"
"It's no use calling for help, beauty," His words chilled her spine. "If you are caught here, I won't hesitate to play the victim, and claim you seduced me," he sneered.
He lowered his head and planted a kiss on her exposed neck. The prince was right. If he claimed that she was the one taking advantage of him, there was no way she could prove her innocence. Her body began trembling with fear. A drop of tear rolled down her cheeks. "Please, let me go!"
But the prince was enjoying this. He smirked, before proceeding towards her lips. Scared beyond words, she shut her eyes. What was she to do? What if someone found out? What an extreme shame would land on her! In this society, the prince, being a man, would be able to get away with his misbehaviour. But her reputation would be stained forever. What would she do then? A certain someone's face flashed in front of her eyes. How would she face him?
But the prince's lips never touched hers.
Rather, a loud thud was heard. The grip on her wrist loosened immediately. Confused, Prabhavati opened her eyes, only to find the prince's body lying still on the ground. The wine cup had rolled off his other hand as well, and its contents had spilled all over the floor.
She looked back. A guard was standing there, his sword unsheathed. Though immensely relieved, Prabhavati felt her body go weak. She had been saved by a royal guard, but would this person spread rumours about her? What would she do then?
But the next moment, the guard did something shocking. He pressed his naked sword against the neck of the prince who was lying unconscious on the floor.
"Should I slit his throat?"
Prabhavati stilled. This voice!
She looked into the eyes of her saviour, and her heart leapt in joy!
"Prince Chitraksh! It's you!!"
The guard smiled. "What are you crying for? Yes, it's me. Tell me, should I kill this jerk? How dare he touch you!!"
Prabhavati grasped Chitraksh's hand, startling him. "How dare you sneak into Vaimadri!" she hissed, an angry expression on her face, a hidden smile dancing in her doe eyes.
"Heh," Chitraksh smiled, "You don't know to act, princess."
"Come with me," Prabhavati tugged at his hand. All the terror that had come upon her a few moments before had already dissipated. She cast a disgusted glance at the prince who was lying on the floor. "It will be bad if someone sees us, specially you. Don't forget you the heir of an enemy kingdom."
"Enemy kingdom?" Chitraksh frowned. "Is that what I am to you?"
"Of course not!" the princess blushed. "How can you be an enemy in my eyes? I just don't want you to get hurt. So that was a reminder."
"I see," Chitraksh smiled. In the disguise of a guard, it was difficult to see his face properly. On top of that, he had hidden almost his entire countenance with a cloth, revealing just his glistening eyes, that now sported a mirthful gaze. "Prabha, do you really worry this much for me?"
Prabhavati felt her cheeks heat up. She looked away, trying to hide the redness. "Come with me."
How could she not worry? Chitraksh was the crown prince of Shankhet, an enemy of Vaimadri. If he was ever caught in their territory, the consequences would be disastrous. He could be killed instantly, or worse, held a hostage, used against his kingdom and then slowly tortured to death. If she hadn't fallen for this prince, she would have seen him as an enemy as well. But things had happened differently, and the more she got to know him, the more she realised she wanted to keep him safe, keep him for herself.
The case had been similar for Chitraksh. The first time he had set his eyes on the daughter of his father's enemy, he had felt a terrible urge to remove the stigma of being an enemy princess from her. But the relations between the two kingdoms only continued to deteriorate, reducing them to the state of being a pair of lovers who couldn't ever expose their feelings.
As they continued to walk through the passageways, he glanced at the princess who was leading him.
"Won't you ask me why I came today?"
Prabhavati hesitated. The virtues of being an ideal princess that she had been taught over the years required her to speak with restraint. She couldn't possibly tell him that she knew he had come for her.
"Do you expect me to know?"
Chitraksh smiled. He had seen her hesitate, and that was enough to confirm what she felt. "Do you need to act like this with everyone?" He asked. "Why can't you speak your mind?"
"Speaking my mind isn't what I am supposed to do," she replied. "That isn't like a princess."
"Oh, is it?" he smiled. "Have you heard of Princess Mallika?"
Prabhavati chuckled. She knew what he was driving at. Of course she had heard of Princess Mallika. In fact, who hadn't heard of her. There were so many anecdotes about her that it was difficult to not have noticed them. Besides, anybody who interacted with her, seemed to remember her quite well. So evidently, there were a lot of sources that could inform one of this princess. But most of the tales spoke of how unlady-like she was. Evidently, this was what Chitraksh was trying to imply.
A sly smile spread on Prabhavati's lips. She decided to turn the conversation. "The First Princess of Sailam? Of course, I have heard so much about her. They say she is of unmatched beauty, equally skilled with swords and bangles. Prince Chitraksh, please be benevolent enough to not compare me with a lady of such rare virtues."
"How can I compare you?" Chitraksh grinned back. "I just wanted to know if you think she is a virtuous lady or not?"
"Of course she is. To be frank, I even think I admire her." Prabhavati meant the last clause heartily. Even though her demeanour was nothing that could match that of Mallika, she secretly hoped to be as brave as her someday.
"Oh, then you will like the following anecdote. Once, there was a lecher who tried to make a move on her little sister, Princess Madhuri. Do you know what happened then?"
Prabhavati felt instantly curious. Given that she had faced a similar situation just minutes before, and felt that all-gripping desperation swallow her, she wanted to know how another woman might have responded to a dear one facing it. Seeing her curious gaze, Chitraksh smiled.
"Princess Mallika beat him up till his nose and mouth started bleeding and there were scars on his back. Then, she flipped him over the edge of her terrace. The man remained in coma for about a month. After he recovered, he sustained a fear of women so much that he still runs away even if he merely sees a lady. You see, he is doomed to remain unmarried all his life. It turns out that he was the eldest son of a prominent minister of King Bajrabaahu's court. His father went ballistic after seeing his condition even after he had recovered from his coma and charged the princess with accusations for trying to murder him. The next day, Mallika got the man kidnapped, and forced him to admit his misdeeds in the open court. Say, what do you think of this?"
Prabhavati was speechless. Her admiration for the First Princess seemed to skyrocket in an instant. "That's so courageous of her. I really admire the Princess."
They had walked out into the abandoned back garden which was dark and forlorn at this hour.
"Prince, thanks for coming and thanks again for saving me. But you should not compromise your safety in this manner."
"Why are you worried?" Chitraksh smiled. "Even if I got caught, it would never accelerate to worse things."
"What gives you the confidence?" Prabhavati asked. The mere mention of the words 'get caught' had made her stomach lurch.
"Haha, as long as Lord Arjun is there, I am sure he would come, save me if I fell in a mess."
"Indeed, he would certainly come, save you, then break your legs and leave you to the wolves if you dare to make a mess again."
All colour drained off Chitraksh's face the moment he heard the voice. Prabhavati panicked as well, but when she turned, she could not spot anyone around.
"Prince, who is it?" She asked, breaking into a cold sweat. It wasn't that she was unaware of Lord Arjun or his relationship with Shankhet. It was just that she could not fathom who would dare to make such a casual remark about that man who seemed to be revered by all.
Chitraksh on the other hand, was not scared, to say the least. Instead his face spelt 'disappointment'.
"What rotten luck!" He slapped his forehead. "How could I run into you?"
It was then that Prabhavati felt a movement in the inky darkness. She gasped, clutching Chitraksh's arm, as she watched a man emerge from behind the trees.
"Relax, he is a friend," Chitraksh gently patted her hand.
"Prince Chitraksh," The man scowled. "How dare you sneak out again?!"
When the stranger had come close enough to be visually inspected, Prabhavati began sizing him up. Though he had a strong built and an imposing structure, he had a rather sweet looking face, with gentle features. He gave off an amicable vibe. He bowed to her and she reciprocated immediately.
"Pramath, you know you scared my beloved?"
Chitraksh frowned, watching the two exchange greetings in silence.
However, Prabhavati's eyes widened. Pramath?! This was Pramathesh? A Jana?! One of those mysterious legendary men who followed the equally mysterious Lord Arjun?!
"You...You are?" she stammered.
"Indeed," the man replied, with a gentle smile on his lips. "Princess Prabhavati, I am a Jana, my Lord's follower." He bowed as he mentioned 'my Lord's'. "As for why I am in your backyard, the idiot beside you should know best."
"Who is the idiot?" Chitraksh growled. "Watch your words, else I will complain to your Lord."
Pramath shook his head. "Seems like Lord Arjun has been too lenient with you, you spoilt brat. You know what, you should thank your stars if I didn't report you instead."
Chitraksh made a face and turned away. He was having a bad time, having to face this big bad brother infront of the girl he wanted to leave with a good impression. But the girl was having a hilarious time instead. She had never imagined someone could rebuke a crown prince to his face in such a manner. Silently, she had begun to enjoy herself.
"Chitraksh, come with me this instant. Else, don't sulk if your father grounds you later."
The already saddened prince looked at Prabhavati with a pitiable look on his face. "You see, I have to leave now. These bullies simply don't care for my feelings."
"It's no time to care for your feelings," Pramath cast him a look that said, 'How can somebody be so careless?!!'. Then he turned to the princess. "Just act as if you don't know what happened with the prince of Sridant. He has already been discovered lying unconscious. You would better go back safely and let me handle this idiot.
"That prince is dead. I will personally see to it that he dies," Chitraksh kicked the ground.
"You need to stay alive for that." Pramath replied. "Princess, please hurry."
Prabhavati nodded immediately as she glanced at the prince, who was busy scowling at his bad luck. She had an immense urge to pinch his cheeks, but she knew better.
"I will take my leave then. Please be careful."
She turned and ran off, smiling in a way she hadn't for quite some time now.
As she walked past a particular balcony, she heard her father's voice.
"The last attempt to assassinate Mallika has failed. She has already reached the capital of Sailam now. We don't have much time left. The only alternate to keep her within our clutches now, is to force her into a marriage with Vaimadri."
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Author's Notes:-
Sridant and Sudant are referring to the same kingdom.