My steps resounded in the considerably dark corridors of Medinikhand's palace where the rays of sunlight were the only source of lightning with mirrors reflecting them at every corner, trying to ward off darkness that was seeping from every cranny. To many, this would be an uncomfortable place to be but for me, this has been normal since, ever. My memories of warmth were only from my family, the palace provided me with none of it. What it did provide to me was solace from the heat that wrapped me in comfort on the hottest of days and memories of an abode that was distant yet close to my heart.
As a child, I remember, often getting scared of these towering walls that shadowed down all sorts of scary tales my mind could contrive but as I grew up, I started accepting that this is the only place I could call my safe spot to be. Alas, this safe spot of mine was painted red by my own family. The events of the day started playing in front of my eyes when a palm shook me while my steps grew slow.
"Rajkumari sure knows how to play games." The voice of Nyrvig broke my trance. Chanchala who was walking behind me along with Shailaja stopped and pardoned themselves, though.
Speaking of Chanchala, thankfully, with much of my begging, didn't receive any punishments this time, albeit my mother was still furious with her- the reason why she has been given a handful of hard work from my mother's side. Not that she could complain because this was a much better option than severed legs as previously proposed by mother.
"Lost in your thoughts again?" Nyrvig nudged me again, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Seems like your head is always in the clouds."
"Looks like Rajkumar is fond of Malyudha. There is a mark of a punch, or is it a slap on your face." I sassed back. I was not the one to hold myself down, which he saw in the court today. I could see surprise and mischief in his eyes as if he was here to measure me up.
"What can I say? Mednikhand's beauty attracted me towards the market and in end, I got this mark." Him addressing me as a beauty, a truth that I already knew, gave me a giddy feeling in my body. WHY IS MY BODY ACTING WEIRDLY?
"Has the Rajkumar stopped me to only discuss about the evergreen beauty of Medinikhand or does he have something important to say?" I opted to ignore his statement cause I knew if that would have been continued, my traitorous body would have gotten me to react weirdly.
"Oh! I am sorry Rajkumari but I couldn't skip a chance to praise the beauty of Medinikhand. I apologize for it but I wanted to discuss about the proposal that I raised in the court." His reply was formal, something I did not expect from my past experiences.
"What about that Rajkumar. I do remember I made my expectations clear in the courtroom itself. I do not think anything is left to discuss." I spoke with full confidence. I was not going to open the gates of my overthinking mind again by remembering the courtroom.
"Well Rajkumari, I am not here to discuss about your request about me staying here. I am here to talk about my proposal." The way he spoke proposal, I knew it was not the one he kept in front of me today. It was his actual proposal- our deal.
"Well, I did accept the proposal Rajkumar. I just added my conditions to it. Don't you think your future wife has the right to keep her comforts first and get to know her to-be-husband a little?" As soon as I finished the sentence, I felt a tickling sensation in my stomach and a warmness and contentment in my chest. Perhaps, my empty stomach.
He simply chuckled and I again felt the same sensation. Perhaps I need to eat, FAST. "You are smarter than I was informed, Vijaya." My body responded to the name in more ways than one but I kept my face neutral. I was not going to show my feelings easily to him. He was still unknown to me and I was not going to repeat my mistakes.
"Palace is a veiled place, Rajkumar. It has many secrets and you too know about them. Getting information about a royal should be from the most trusted source." I was speaking from my experience. I too did trust Nirmala blindly and the bearer of my fault was my blood. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment before directly looking into Nyrvig's eyes.
His eyes were focused. He had been measuring me since the start. My previous words made a frown appear on my face but were soon replaced by the stoic face that I was bearing currently. The face hides many questions and emotions.
"One more thing Rajkumari." He glanced directly into my eyes. His obsidian black eyes were twinkling, similar to that of a child waiting for his prank to get successful. My stoic face dissolved and my breathing became calmer, just by his mere glance.
"How was my performance at court, Rajkumari?"
It took me a moment to realize what he meant and by the time I came out of the trance he put me into, he was gone. It was an act. Or was he again playing with me? The way he addressed me Rajkumari, in the end, was spoken as a taunt. He behaved similarly to the way he acted in the market.
I was again left confused, thinking about the real him. Was he the one I interacted with in the market, or was he the one I talked to right now? Was it just a game to him? Was he playing me and I was just a pawn to him, a pawn that would take him a step closer to his ulterior motives? I was lost in my thoughts when Shailja's voice called me.
"Rajkumari?"
With just a mere nod I continued walking toward my room. I needed to know more about Nyrvig if I was going to marry him. And I knew who could help me with this.
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Rajkumari- Princess
Rajkumar- Prince
Malyudh- Game similar to wrestling, practiced in fields covered with mud
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