Dark Knight [A Wattpad Featured Story]

Chapter 25: Sweet Sorrows (Part 1)

The clouds rolled ominously across the skies, gathering over the palace turrets and casting shadows over the crevices, throwing a pall over its steeped slabs. This perfectly matched Siya's  mood as she dourly walked through the almost abandoned palace grounds. It was not yet monsoon season, but today was clearly going to be marked with a downpour as the blue-grey expanse above foretold. Siya stared unseeing at the lush grounds and frowned as she realised where her feet had pulled her to, without conscious volition. Memories assailed her as she looked upon the same spot where she had stood under a deluge from the fountain jets. The fountain today was still and lifeless, no mischievous prince to turn the disused sprinklers on. Thinking about Aaryan brought back the pain, manifesting as an ache in her limbs. Siya sank down, sitting at the rim of the fountain, her head bent, looking into its empty depths, with the events of the past few days crowding into her thoughts.

Since the sensationalistic revelations and confrontations of the night that they had returned, things had been tense, and yet most of the residents of the palace tried to go about to restore some form of regularity. It is human nature to take refuge behind the routine and familiar at times of upheaval, and the Shekhawats and Udawats were no exception to this. Siya had been led away by her mothers after the outcry and had later clung to them, sobbing piteously in their arms. She had cried that she was telling them the truth, and had not eloped with Aaryan. She implored Padmavati first, and then Vijaya, to believe her and she liked to think that they did, although none of them was able to discuss in much detail as the consequence of that would be to address Keerti's betrayal. Siya knew how painful this was to her family. They were faced with the choice that one of their two much beloved girls was a charlatan and worse. After all, accepted Siya, did you want your right or left arm amputated if the choice had to be made? Both would surely hurt equally. When her father had joined them, the tension and lines on his face made Siya feel terrible. Things had been strained, and Vijaya eventually took her father away, leaving her mother to tuck her into her old bed, counselling her to sleep, repeating how happy they were that Siya was returned unharmed.

Padmavati had looked at her battered and bruised child, and unable to restrain her fears anymore, asked if the stories they had heard of the torture by Devendra Rathore had been true. This broke down Siya's resolution to stay strong, and she collapsed against her mother's bosom like a child. In little snatches she told of the ordeal, not able to fully describe the horror, especially as she didn't have her anchor with her at present. Padmavati listened with growing abhorrence as she realised what her daughter had suffered. She could also tell from the halting account that there was a lot held back, and she sensed that most was to do with Aaryan. It was clear her daughter had come to hero-worship her abductor, which collaborated the way in which he had treated her on their arrival. This filled Padmavati with deep dread; fear at the outcome of any feelings Siya had developed proving complicated, and possibly detrimental, eating at her. Padmavati did not have to be reminded how precarious a woman's position in their stifling courts and families was. She had lived under its yoke all her life and had paid a heavy price for it, tolerating unjustified censure and superciliousness for most of her adult existence. Padmavati knew that, however unfair it was, Siya's reputation lay in tatters. The steps Aaryan had taken earlier went some way to ensuring that it was made clear that she was not to be reprimanded, but applauded. Yet such approbation did not lead to a happy ever after for a woman once the men got caught up again in wars and politics, leaving them to run their fine houses. The question uppermost in everyone's mind would be at the basest level - what had been the relationship between the beautiful young princess and her dashing kidnapper? She gently probed, hating seeing the pain she saw on Siya's face as the intent behind her not so subtle enquiries registered. Vijaya had also entered silently by then, and Siya earnestly set them straight.

She spoke of Aaryan in glowing terms, cutting of Padmavati's criticism of him for having taken her. She angrily pointed out that she would be dead otherwise, and in her agitation, plainly stated that maybe they needed to allocate blame where it lay in this instance and accuse Keerti. This silenced Padmavati and deep sorrow settled over Vijaya's calm visage, making Siya withdraw. However it was not before she decisively clarified how Aaryan had never once behaved in an inappropriate manner, and had in-fact risked himself to secure her safety. Both the matrons noticed the way Siya's eyes dropped as she talked about Aaryan and the way she blushed, and fiddled with the edges of the sheets around her, and they both exchanged worried glances. However, the truth of her words could not be mistaken and it seemed undeniable that whatever had taken place between them, it was not illicit in nature. Vijaya offered to stay with Siya but she surprisingly refused, claiming that it would be better to be alone if she was unsettled in the night. Both the women acquiesced, realising that so much had happened, they needed to tread gently with Siya. What they were not to know was that Siya was aware that she would sleep little. She did eventually doze off in the early hours but it was a fitful snatched few hours, forced by sheer exhaustion and brought her no real rest.