Smriti

Chapter-3

Swish!

The arrow hit the target right at the centre, erupting a cheer by young children and maidens who had gathered near the archery arena designed specifically for the second-born prince of Avanti.

Satisfied with his shot, the prince placed his bow on a table and began polishing it. Warriors respect their weapons, and so did the prince, but this respect often took the garb of an obsession. The bow looked as shiny as new, yet the prince took over the task of polishing it again. It had only been an hour of rigorous archery practice which would not lead to any discolouration, but the prince thought otherwise.

"Rathish dada this one's for you," said Siddhi, handing over a flower to the prince with a toothy grin.

"Ahh! To what pleasure do I owe this flower, Siddhi?" asked Rathish as he accepted the flower from the girl. His hand gently patted the girl's head.

Siddhi was the daughter of one of the queen's maids. She was only five years old and would always hover about Rathish. Even though she was a child of five, she knew when to tag along with him to have fun and when to not distract him during work. Rathish doted on her as if she was her sister. He would feed her the most delicious sweets, give her the most exquisite dresses, and was also looking for a suitable tutor for her education.

"It's because I am seeing you after two weeks, dada. I missed you so much," said the child, her arms stretching out to hug the young prince.

"I missed you too Siddhi! And I got you something from Vallabhi!"

"Dada, this is very bad. You should not spend so much money." Siddhi chided the prince who was busy smiling at her.

"From the next time, I won't, but now head back home to see your gift. Shoo!"

Siddhi ran as fast as her little legs would carry her to her house. Ekaksh was about to enter the archery arena when she bumped into him.

"Sorry Ekaksh dada, but Rathish dada has sent a gift for me, so I was in a hurry. Suprabhat!" Saying so, she began running again, making the two brothers chuckle.

"So, what did you buy this time for her?" asked Ekaksh, examining his brother's bow.

"A jewelled comb from Vallabhi," said Rathish. "I still bargained for the price, though."

Ekaksh widened his eyes. "You are a prince, Rathish! Why do you want to bargain? Let the shopkeepers earn their due."

"Forget that. Tell me, what have you been up to all this while?"

Immediately Smriti flashed through Ekaksh's mind. It reminded him of their blissful afternoon conversations. Indeed, it was blissful, for he had never found someone that easily with whom he could freely engage in a conversation. Smriti's infectious laughter rang through his ears, making his lips curve upwards.

Rathish had noticed the little upward curve on his brother's lips. He couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Come on, tell me! Why are you smiling like that? Did you do something?"

Ekaksh laughed and patted his brother's shoulder. They were twins who shared everything with each other from childhood. This was the first time he wanted to hide something from Rathish. He would tell him about the mischievous, beautiful girl from Kashi sometime later.

"These two weeks were occupied with the same usual work that I do every day. Come, now tell me about Vallabhi."

***

It was their third day spending time together, and Ekaksh had a lot to talk about with Smriti. Smriti, on the other hand, could not wait to meet Ekaksh to tell him about her day's activities. She had helped her sisters to cook lunch and tried her hand at stitching patterns. Her cooking activity had passed smoothly, but it wasn't the same with stitching.