On the Other Side

Chapter I

A small girl wanders in the bustling streets of Manidgarh, her feet bare, feeling every inch of the fresh mud mixed with the smell of an after shower. Her face bears an extensive expression of fear and excitement as she walks through the colourful streets, her face hidden with a dupatta.

She held her hand tightly with Ambar's and they walked as fast as they could towards the Jamshid Mosque. The girl felt more and more excited, her heart was racing, beating, rejoicing. As they finally reached the place, they were met with a contrast in the background.

The stalls of marigold, chameli, and jasmine were replaced with beautiful handicrafts, a bright look of greens and whites. The fragrance of kesar rasmalai entered her nostrils, her mouth salivating with the taste of the rasmalai from Kaker's Mitthai Dukan. She dashed ignoring the scenery, she wanted to see him and him only.

The petite 10-year-old girl pulled Ambar's hand after shooting him an irritated look.

"Hurry! He might leave soon!", she pressed.

Before she could enter the premises of the mosque, someone grabbed her hand. She turned around at once to see a grown, hefty man. His face bore a huge moustache and his chest was bedecked with the royal symbol. Her eyes filled with terror when they drifted to the view of Ambar trying to tackle a guard.

"Rajkumari Vishaka, you have been summoned by His Grace," he announced.

After earning a few looks from the pass buyers, Vishaka was put into the carriage and driven to the palace. Her eyes bore the look of a child whose toy was stolen, but in this case, it was her best friend, her life's most precious person after her father. She gave a huge pout to the 13-year-old next to her.

"It was all your fault Ambar," she said, "I could have gone by myself, and NOT gotten caught, but you insisted on accompanying me. Now, look what has happened."

"What was I supposed to do? Let you roam around in the streets of Mandigarh with no one to protect you? Have you seen the people out here Vish? Scary, malicious people who can do anything to earn a buck."

"You think too much dada, the people love our father. They love and respect our kingdom enough to be loyal, good citizens.", Vishaka said.

"You are too young, Vish, too innocent."

"Oh really, and you are just 3 years older than me. What does that make you now?"

"I am a boy Vish, there are things that I can deal with and you cannot.", Ambar dictated.

"Pft- I am sure that I am very capable of doing everything you do." Vishaka spat. Her brother fell silent, but her mind was racing with thoughts. Her friend at the mosque, was he waiting for her to come? Did he take offence to her absence? Was her father going to limit her visits to the kingdom for being careless?

Her eyes slowly made their way to the very front of the carriage, where the guard sat.

I will make sure he does not tell tales to Appa.

She sat near the small window that connected the two, and spoke loudly,

"Oh, how tired I feel, oh how faintly I feel. Ambar, I feel as though I might have a disease, whatever may it be. Oh, I simply wanted some fresh air and this guard -"

The guard gave no reaction.

What a mandoos. She pouted and complained even louder, "This guard has no responsibility towards me, what a shame."

The guard simply smiled and said, "I very well know your intentions princess, but I'm afraid I have to report this to the King."

Vishaka glared at her brother before seating herself on the lush benches of the carriage. If only they would have been caught 5 minutes later, maybe she would have caught a glimpse of him, his smile, and those eyes that lit up every time they would meet.

Most of all she wanted to play with him, read endless books, and talk about how they shared their love for dal makhani and gulab jamuns.

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Hope you liked this first chapter of On the Other Side, keep commenting and letting me know what you think.
Shout out to apollo8_me for inspiring me to post on wattpad and write more :D

Until next time <3