Tainted Desires : Bound By Misfortunes

18 | Saga of Anantara and Devrath

Annahita's POV

"But how could he just appoint someone as his personal bodyguard without knowing about them?" I asked Adhiraj, who raised his hands to correct and drape my shawl around me, which had slipped while I was engrossed in the story.

I got flustered at his gesture, and he withdrew his hand, saying, "He knew."

"What did he know?" I asked Adhiraj, confused by his response.

He chuckled at me and continued, "He knew about her identity. He knew that she is not a soldier of his kingdom but Princess Anantara. No one else could discern her real identity, as she mastered the art of personification, but he could. The moment he saw her in his mansion, he recognized her as Princess Anantara, and that's why he appointed her as his personal bodyguard."

"But how did he recognize her when nobody else could?" I asked Adhiraj.

"Due to the scar on her left hand. The scar made by him on the battlefield," said Adhiraj.

I gasped at the new revelation. It must have hurt her a lot.

Adhiraj continued telling their story. "After spending a month with him, she got relieved that he wasn't what people tell about in their stories. He was strict and cruel but never did any injustice. On the day she decided to leave the position of his personal bodyguard and go back to her kingdom to agree with his marriage proposal, he gave a pendant to her and said to wear this on their wedding day. She was scared but also surprised at his revelation that he knew about her identity. She couldn't say anything to him, took the pendant, and went back to her kingdom."

Adhiraj shifted a little closer to me, tucking the baby hairs fallen on my face behind my ears. I got flustered, and my cheeks heated up, but I was relieved he didn't say anything.

He said, "You know, we still have that pendant in our family. It's passed down to the first daughter-in-law of this family. Our precious heirloom."

"Can I see that pendant?" I asked Adhiraj.

He smirked at me and said, "Of course you can. It's going to be passed down to you after all. I'm the eldest son, so you'll be the eldest daughter-in-law of this family."

I blushed at his remarks and said, "Stop flirting with me and tell me what happened after she went back to her kingdom."

He softly held my hands and said, "I wasn't flirting with you, jaanam, and was just stating the fact. Anyway, let's continue our story.

So after Princess Anantara went back, she informed her father that she will marry King Devrath but after signing the peace treaty. Her father said that she doesn't have to marry him just for the sake of others. But she assured him that she really wants to marry him. Days passed, and she got married to him. She fell in love with him, and he was already madly in love with her. At that time, kings used to have many wives, but he promised that he will never marry someone else till he is alive.

Things were going well, but one day Anantara's cousin brother from distant relatives waged war against Rudrapur. Because she used to stay in Panchala and manage the state affairs from there, the news of the betrayal got delayed."

"So, what happened next? Did her cousin ascend the throne?" I asked him, totally getting lost in the story.

Adhiraj said, "No, before he could, Anantara and King Devrath reached there. They both fought against him in the battlefield. At first, King Devrath denied letting her fight, but she said, 'That's my kingdom, my motherland, and as its heir, it's my duty to protect it with my own hands.' King Devrath didn't have any other choice but to agree with her. He himself joined the battlefield with her.