The Village Girl

Chapter Seven - [Seetha]

"I was afraid," I said. "But Maha leant me her sari," I gestured at the simple sari. "So I slipped out and the guards didn't even know."

"The hijra?" Aaryan asked as he guided me out of the palace. "I don't know how I feel about a man–"

"She has a name," I said. "And she isn't a man. You know, your guards were also being disrespectful? When I left, they thought I was her because I was wearing her sari."

"What did they say?" Aaryan asked.

"They called her a pervert," I responded, frowning. "I thought I could ask you to discipline them, but it seems you are just as bad as them. She's been nothing but kind to me."

"I'll talk to them," Aaryan said, sounding almost like he regretted being rude in the first place.

I smiled.

When we made it outside, Aaryan walked over to a small building without seeming to be worried about me being with him. There was no one in the area, but that didn't stop me from being worried.

However, when we reached the building, I realized right away that it was a stable.

"Wait here," Aaryan said as he jumped over the short gate and entered the stable. Within moments, he returned with Bhumi, who jumped over the back fence with ease.

Though I still didn't find myself comfortable with the idea of riding a horse, the first thing that crossed my mind was whether or not the poor horse was tired. "Doesn't he need to sleep?"

"He'll be fine," Aaryan said, patting the horses back.

I chuckled as I let him help me up, and as soon as I was on his back, Aaryan didn't waste another moment. He pushed Bhumi into a gallop, and I closed my eyes as the beast jumped over another gate, leading into a field, and then another one, which lead to outside the palace.

---

The spot that Aaryan took me to was nowhere near as pretty as that spot he found back at Nandioor. The spot was at the bank of some long river, and though it was quiet and peaceful, the sound of the river so relaxing, however, the water was not as clear and it did not reflect the moonlight the same way as the little lake back at home did.

Either way, it didn't really matter because Aaryan and I were finally getting some time alone.

As Aaryan lead Bhumi to the side of the riverbank to drink some water, I sat down in the grass nearby, hugging my legs and enjoying the relaxing night breeze.

It was so much warmer here in Aathikara. Nandioor was always so much cooler at nights.

"What do you think?" Aaryan asked as he walked over and sat next to me.

"It's nice," I smiled.

"My friends Lakshmanan, Saumiya and I would escape here in the middle of the night and run around."

"Really?" I chuckled.

He nodded. "Before we grew up."

That sounded a little sad. "Am I going to get a chance to meet them any time soon?"

"You will," he said. "Lakshmanan was actually here for a little while but had to leave with his wife to meet with her father. Saumiya is pregnant, they wanted to share the news with her family before returning to the capital."

"Well," I started. "That's lovely! You're going to be an uncle."

He snorted before smiling, and I could tell that the thought made him happy.

I leaned against his shoulder, still looking out at the river, and we stayed silent for a little while before he spoke up again. "How was your day?"

"Fine," I responded. "Lady Suhanya put me to work almost all day. And when I say work, I mean dancing. She made me and your relatives dance and dance and dance. It was exhausting."

He chuckled.

"And then she went to introduce me to a tutor, who was surprised that I could read and write. And so I asked him to teach me what they teach you all learn, and he looked surprised by that too. He said that women don't need to go into such extensive studies but I said I want to. And so he said yes."

"Lord Suresh?"

I nodded. "Yes, that's him."

"You're going to hate yourself for asking that," he said with a silly smile. "Lord Suresh takes education very seriously."

I shrugged. "Well, I want to take advantage of what you offered me," I said, making him laugh and look down at me. But then he stopped laughing, taking my chin in his hand and lifting my head up so he could examine it. "When did this happen?" He asked, touching the new piercing on my nose.

I winced a little, as it was still a little numb. "This morning," I said. "Lady Suhanya said I needed to have a nose piercing."

He frowned a little. "You could have said no."

"It's fine," I smiled. "I kind of wanted one anyways... I feel like I fit in a little more now."

"You don't need to fit in," Aaryan said. "Just be yourself, everyone will learn to love you."

I chuckled. "Yes, you've said that many times."

Aaryan let go of my chin before kissing my lips. "And I mean it," he said, softly.

I smiled against his lips. "I know you do."

Aaryan and I didn't actually end up swimming, though I did get my feet a little wet. Nonetheless, the night at the river was pleasant. It felt like the first time in a while that we got to just sit down and talk, and the calmness of my surroundings made me really come to terms with how hectic and busy that last few weeks were. And when thinking of the last few weeks, I did begin to miss my family.

When were they going to arrive?

I really hoped it would be soon.

As I promised Maha, I did return back before sunrise, and Maha was happy to see me safe and sound. Of course, I thanked her profusely for allowing me to use her sari.

I fell asleep as soon as I pulled the covers over me on my mat, and when I was awakened in the morning, I was exhausted. But that didn't stop Lady Suhanya from getting me to practice dancing for hours and hours. I also started going to my first lessons with Lord Suresh, who, as Aaryan had promised, was quite tough. Though he was impressed with my skill in reading and writing, he was unhappy with the fact that I was not well versed in any iconic texts, and that I did not have any of the Sacred Verses memorized. There were over a thousand Sacred Verses, each a couplet, and though I knew quite a few of them, I could not recite them in order or with the correct terminology.

So my first assignment was the begin memorizing.

As the days passed, Aaryan and I continued to spend our nights by the river, and he even helped me memorize quite a few of the verses, seeing as he could recite them as if he were reading them straight out of the book. He would lie down with his hands behind his head and eyes closed, looking like he were sleeping, and correct my pronunciation, or tell me if I mixed words up or just show off.

I was actually a little envious of him.

I wanted to be smart, just like him.

Maybe one day.

And who knows, maybe one day I may be even smarter than he was.

But really, who was I kidding?