Strings Attached ✨

32. A Perfected Skill

" Ruh, I don't know how much I'm a fan of my father or how much I follow him in everything, but, one thing I know is that he had a successful and happy marriage. Now that I'm myself so close to getting married, I want to follow him because I want this marriage to be successful and happy more than anything. ............I don't want to limit you to anything. You should pursue something you like, something you're passionate about and not care about the gender that the task is associated with." ............his eyes were glowing as he spoke, a kind of glow that only came when you were speaking from the core of your heart.

Indeed, his words held deep meaning but it was rebellion to be direct. Women weren't supposed to do what they like, which is in fact so stupid.
Humans shouldn't decide what other humans should and should not do, and no matter man or woman we're all our own humans.

Every last doubt that I had about tying myself to him for the rest of my life now took a fleet to air.

I was overwhelmed, so I couldn't do anything except nod my head a few times. I didn't know till now what I was going to pursue. There were so many things I had always wanted to do, so it was going to be hard to choose.

The rest of the night was spent talking like that. This talk, it was not just a light conversation, it was deep and it felt like in one night we'd know everything about each other.
He didn't even hesitate to share his secrets and thoughts on uncomfortable topics. He trusted me so much, it was in fact taking me over the edge.
Really odd topics, personal observations, ideals, goals, and at some point we even started to decide future advancements for the kingdom.
Yes, it was that intimate and in a single night we're closer to each other, more comfortable, more friendly.
It was almost magical. But, I knew it was him. He tried to make me comfortable and he was doing it so hideously that he almost hid the fact that it was only happening because of his efforts.

(The next day)

The morning after, I knew I could talk to him more freely. The little border of hesitance that lined our relationship was now fully gone.

Next day, it was a big day.
Anuj was returning.
It was the day that my addition to the royal family would be announced among the people of the empire.
How they would react was one thing, but how I would handle it was a bigger one, or at least I had been told so by Aksh.

Keeping every last thing in mind, it was my time to get ready for the big announcement and also to welcome Anuj. I felt more excited for the latter, and wasn't guilty for it too.

After taking a nice bath, I wore my casual attire and went to the beauticians as I was told to.

As I approached the said room, I was hit with another wave of nervousness to see the queen also approaching from the opposite side. She was accompanied by lots of servants, maids and guards. Many of them held big golden packets, plates and containers that looked heavy.

As soon as she saw me, she stopped and showed a palm to the servants behind her. They followed the signal and went inside the room with the packets. The guards however went ahead and assumed their position in front of the gates.

I realized how I had stopped walking and it was starting to look disrespectful. Instantly, I started walking towards her. As I bent down to touch her feet and take blessings, she withdrew her feet jerkily. My fears were verified once again. I knew she wasn't exactly fond of me, but I didn't see why she would not allow me to show respect.

Nevertheless, I touched the dust of the place and swapped a hand on my head to show respect. As I got up, she looked at me and nodded, showing that she accepted it.

" Let's go" ...she said as she turned towards the room and went inside after making sure I was following her. The room smelled of various perfumes, agarbatti and flowers, and around six ladies were seated with one place each which was designated for a specific adornment.