The Village Girl

Chapter Twenty Seven - [Seetha]

"Am I supposed to just sit there and let him be so... violent?"

The look in her eyes was a familiar one. It was the same look my mother would make when someone would say anything bad about her sons. It was defensive... and maybe a little dismissive. "He is a warrior prince, my love," she said, seemingly trying to be reasonable. "What did you expect?"

I took a deep breath.

"Aaryan knew violence before he could even read. The Maharajah would take him to battles as a toddler. Of course he would never fight, but staying back in a tent does not mean you do not see the violence."

When I just stared at her in shock, she continued.

"I see why it is so hard for you to understand... but in order to even begin to understand you must first accept that he is different. He will never be like any of the boys you are familiar with... the boys you grew up with... in fact, though I am like his mother, I never even imagined he would even ever fall in love... I never knew he cared for that.

"And so you must accept it. He is violent, yes, but that does not mean he is a monster. Aaryan would never hurt an innocent person, and you know that, don't you? Hold onto that. Hold onto that because when you love someone, you must make sacrifices. And in this case, you will need to sacrifice what you've learned to be normal when it comes to what is right and wrong because it's not the same here. It just isn't."

I listened quietly and though I did not exactly agree with some of what she said, I did not question it.

Especially the part about sacrifices. If anybody knew anything about sacrifices, it was her.

"Your relationship will crumble into pieces if you do not understand each other... so do everything you can to understand him. Try to understand that he hurt his brother because he loves you. That, and because his brother committed a crime by trying to hurt you. Aaryan's actions are extreme and cruel but he did it because he loves you."

"But–"

"Remember this... if it had been anyone else who hurt you... there would have been no trial, no questions, no nothing. The man would have been executed on the spot."

My eyes widened.

"Do not be surprised... in my life I have seen people executed for much less."

I looked down, not knowing what to say.

Lady Suhanya reached out and held my face in her hands. "So go back to him, love. Go back to him and instead of being angry and fighting and leaving each other alone... talk to him and ask him to help you understand... I promise... if you ask that of him... he will ask you the same thing and maybe you will both reach a balance you are happy with."

I took a deep breath and then let it out. "Okay."

She smiled, looking pleased. "Seetha... you are a light in his life... his world his dark and he needs you to help him find his way. Remember that."

Those words hurt more than I would have liked, but I smiled at her before saying goodnight and being led by two guards back to his room.

As we made our way back, I tried to walk slow... and I tried to think of what my father would say.

My father always knew how to make me feel better.

He was not one to condone violence, but he also would have found men like Aarun intolerable.

If he knew what had happened to me, and Aarun's history, he would have probably done everything he could to have him punished, whether he was a Prince or not. He probably wouldn't have gone far, but he would have still tried.