Nandini

Delicate

Finally nandini could feel the connection with the princess, finally the dots were connecting but the best she could think was that both of them were connected but how and why was still the main concern for her.
Nayantara took a paper and a quill and was scribbling something desperately. She folded the paper carefully and tied with a ribbon and then covered herself with a huge tippet and moved out of her room. She was careful on her way, it was dark in the palace with fire torches at every period, Princess was trying to avoid any close contact with such torches so that her shadow wasn’t visible to the guards.
Finally she entered into a room, it was not as huge as rhe rest of the rooms in the palace but it was adorable with puppet dolls in the corner and there was also a sitar over the other side of the room. This room belonged to piyali, she was lying on her bed, but immediately stood up on the sight of nayantara entering into her room.
I’m sorry piyali, for barging in so late but it was necessary and sort of urgent and I need your help, said nayantara with her voice wrapped in anxiety. Piyali nodded and said “whatever you need princess”.

Nayantara handed her the letter and said, “ Piyali this is important to me, it’s a matter of life and death, do you take it as your responsibility to hand this letter to my love(the king of balvan ghati) he is living in tents with his soldiers outside the boundary of our territory, give him this letter and tell him that I want to meet him as soon as possible, ask him to come in disguise so that no one would be able to recognize him”. Piyali was calm and composed, she bowed infront of nayantara and said “ my princess, I will fulfill your orders till my last breath and you don’t need to worry about the king I’ll make sure that I give him your message as soon as I could, with your permission my princess, I take leave now and will update you soon”.
Piyali left and with that nayantara rushed towards her room, she didn’t want for anyone to notice her roaming in the palace so late, as it would raise a lot of suspicion. She was moving towards her room when she a heard a whisper and it sounded just like her father’s voice so she followed the sound, and what she found out was unbelievable. It was her father, her mother and yogeshwar the vice president and they were having a serious discussion about something. Nayantara thought it must be related to her marriage with the other king and therefore it was important for her to listen. She e hid herself behind the wall, while holding her breath tying to figure out what were they conspiring.
The king said in heavy, rusty voice,“ As soon as king of tatvagarh would arrive to the palace, we will immediately conduct a wedding between the princess and the king. This would benefit our kingdom in more than one way.”
The queen (which is the same lady that came to nandini in the corridor accusing her with some sort of betrayal) further added, “ marrying nayantara to the king of tatvagarh will not only solve our problem of fortune and jewels but will also increase our status in power among rest of the kingdom and it will also solve our biggest problem which is interference of princess nayantara into internal affairs and welfare of the kingdom and her absence will give yuvraj (prince) an opportunity to rise and shine in administrative affairs and would help in building his image before common people so that they would look at him as an upcoming king and not as a spoilt prince.”

Everyone nodded over Queen’s suggestion.
Nayantara was devastated, she couldn’t believe her own parents were plotting against her, all this while she used to think they want her to marry king of tatvagarh just because he has a larger kingdom than her lover and that they think they are doing a favour for her but it wasn’t about her, it was about their selfish ambitions.
Nayantara was shocked but she didn’t say a word, she didn’t even cry, she went straight to her room without saying a word.
Nayantara blew each and every lamp into her room until there was complete darkness, she wasn’t scared of dark anymore.
It was a long, tiring day for nayantara and all she wanted to do was to lie there in the darkness setting free her demons and imaginations until piyali brings any sort of news from her lover.