Arranged Tale

1• Petals of Defiance

Mishti :)

"The prince is coming back from America, hurry up beta!" Papa said in an alarming tone. I ran towards the door from the kitchen, holding a water bottle in my hand. "He must have come in his private jet. If you reach the airport late, it won't affect him. He can wait for five minutes," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. He was in a hurry, so he didn't waste any more time and left.

I sighed. The elder grandson of King Aryan Rajvansh was coming here after twenty years. The king has three sons, and his elder son, Yuvaan Rajvansh, had shifted to America twenty years ago because he wanted his son, Abir Rajvansh, to live a normal life without royal treatment. But they were rich enough, so he got all kinds of privileges.

India is a democratic country, but some royal families still have power in some places. Rajvansh is one of them. Aryan Rajvansh is the king of Jodhpur, though he doesn't rule this place. But people worship him and respect him as the king. This family maintains its legacy, but their traditions have changed a lot with time. They have become modern—from their outfits to their living style, everything has changed.

According to me, they are just billionaire people with power. I hate when people worship them for no reason. Just because their ancestors were worshipped by people doesn't mean people will still worship them in this century when India is already declared a democratic country. Though I can't deny the fact that Aryan Rajvansh is the kindest person, he does a lot of charity for people—as he should!

My father, Rajpaal Agarwal, works under Aryan uncle. He is the royal driver of the Rajvansh family. We live inside the territory of the Rajvansh palace because Papa is always on duty. Mamma left the world after giving birth to me; she had some pregnancy complications. I never lived in this house. I used to stay in a hostel during my school days, and then I started living with my friends in a hostel during my college time.

Until a gut-wrenching incident happened to me last year, and I had to leave my master's degree in the middle and come here. For one year, I have been staying here, and the incident shook my father to the core. He has become extremely terrified of letting me out of his sight, and there’s no safer place than the Rajvansh palace. As we live inside the territory, we are protected by guards.

The trauma is still fresh in my memory; the wound still burns in my heart, but there is no therapy for me. I keep myself busy the whole day until darkness embraces me, and I find myself in a never-ending loop. The chain of my thoughts broke when I heard a constant knock on my door. A royal worker was standing outside, holding a bag in her hand. I smiled at her politely.

"Mam, it's the king's order for everyone to be present at the gateway to welcome his grandson. Wear this outfit and reach the gate in fifteen minutes. Abir sir must be arriving!" She didn't wait for my response and left after handing me the bag. I looked at her disappearing figure until I came back to reality. One thing Papa has taught me is to never disobey the king's orders because we work under him.

The only reason why I hate this kingdom is because I don't like the treatment. They may be a king, but for me, they are just human beings, and I don't like to obey them. But only because of my father, I have to stay under him. Papa gets a substantial amount of money, which he wouldn't get if he worked under any normal rich people. As he is the royal driver, he gets a good salary.

So I always keep my mouth shut because I don't want him to lose his job. Plus, there's one more benefit of being the royal driver: after a certain period, when my father won't be able to work, they will give him a pension.

If tomorrow something happens to him, they will take care of all the expenses. So I never go against him.

I wore the white lehenga and placed the red dupatta on my left shoulder. A pair of heavy jhumkas was sent by them; I wore them as well. After applying a bindi and lipstick, I looked at myself in the mirror. The lehenga was simple yet beautiful. I wore my sandals and headed towards the gate.