She reached canteen with a loosely formed plan in her mind.She spotted Aditi sitting in a heavily crowded area, dreaded meeting those friends. Aditi had already spotted her and waved eagerly. Riva kept her bag on an empty chair and inspected the curious faces as she sat.
" Riva, these are my friends , Kaveri and Jheel!" Aditi introduced, happily," They were dying to meet you!"
" Aditi told us you're staying with her as PG." Kaveri chimed eagerly, " Where are you from?"
" A small town. Not as pretty as Prathampura, though." Riva said evasively.
" I know, right! Wait till it's November! The hills will be covered with wildflowers and daisies!" Aditi exclaimed, kicking Kaveri under the table. She had warned them Riva was a private person and might not take their questions kindly.
" Oh right - ouch," Kaveri glared at her, " Anyway , I'm sure living with this cavewoman must be a horrifying experience."
Before Riva could jokingly agree, a fourth person sat next to her, uninvited. He was a tall, broad shouldered boy, with wavy black hair. He wore a white shirt, rolled up at the sleeves and his arms flexed. Despite his casual appearance, Riva could sense nobility and austerity oozing from him.
Kaveri and Jheel hitched their breath in shock and their cheeks were bright pink.
Aditi froze like a statue and was on the verge of panic attack. Why is he here? Riva's going to kill me! My poor mother is going to be so lonely in this selfish , harsh world! She mentally screamed.
" You signed up for the debate club?" The boy asked Riva seriously. His dark eyes swept over her unapologetically and he frowned once he completed his inspection.
"Of course not. Even if I did, is that a problem?" She retorted, unamused. She didn't like the harsh way he was scrutinising her. Something about it reminded her of Badi Maharani sa.
" I'm Vikram.The president of that club." he said heatedly.
She was playing clueless, wasn't she? Acting as if she hadn't coerced Professor Malkani to ask him on her behalf. Pretty tactful, since he couldn't say no to a Professor. He hated the kind of people who curried favour with people of authority.
" I've never seen you in this town before." He continued," Where are you from? And what was your last college?"
"I studied in It's-none-of-your-business college." Riva said acidly , "In Don't-poke-your-nose-where-it-doesn't-belong town. It's pretty famous, you know."
She knew what was happening.It had only been a few days, the pesky seniors who went around ragging new students and freshmen had already found her. Riva clenched her fists and glared at the hateful boy in front of her. What kind of man went around ragging girls? Shameless!
Kaveri and Jheel gulped in fear, their hearts pounding in anticipation. Aditi wished that the ground would split open and swallow her whole.
" Now is there any other irrelevant topic you wish to discuss?" Riva continued grimly.
She hated people who used their power to haze others. And they always did it so patronisingly. First, they'll force you to give up personal information, then they'll start making you do their chores.
" For a girl with no looks and no brains, you sure have a lot of nerve," Vikram spat angrily, " I asked a simple question."
" I'll state it simply if your non-existent brain can't process my words. Screw you. " Riva said through clenched teeth.
This argument was going nowhere, but she didn't want to end until she had the last word.He had an oppressive aura around him, as if he's used to ordering about everyone.She wouldn't give in to such a shameless bully.
" And you think hurtling insults would get you out of this? All I wanted were your personal details." Vikram snorted mockingly.
"Don't use debate team as an excuse to what you're doing!" Riva said staunchly, " And how can I give you all my details without knowing you're not a stalker?"
Aditi felt her vision blurring and she almost fainted but Kaveri and Jheel held her in time.
" Do I look like a stalker to you?" Vikram spat, eyes gleaming with anger and hurt pride.
" You look like a lot of things to me." Riva counted them off her fingers, " Pathetic bully, narcissist, eve teaser—"
"What did you just call me?" Vikram snarled, the colour draining from his face. Rage was burning in his veins. She called him names to his face!
" Nothing that you don't deserve!" Riva stood up, unyieldingly," Don't you have any female seniors to harass the new students? Or are you a desperate pervert—"
" Shut up!" Vikram roared, " I'm not ragging you! Stop trying to defend yourself! You blatantly asked Professor Malkani to help you enter the debate club! You're pathetic and desperate!"
Riva blinked a few times in confusion.What did he say? She never asked Professor Malkani about any debate cub! The hateful boy didn't look like he was lying.Perhaps he's after some other person.
" You've got the wrong person." Riva replied coldly, " I didn't ask Professor Malkani.I flipped out because I thought you were one of those holier-than-thou seniors who went around making freshmen's lives hell."
" So you implying that professor Malkani vouched for you on his own?" Vikram raised his brows.There was something about her unyielding attitude that he liked.
" You're too afraid to admit your mistake, aren't you?" Riva smirked, knowingly," It's fine, you don't need to apologise and bruise your manly ego."
" How about I accept you into the debate club instead?" Vikram grinned cheekily.
The previous anger had dissipated, but he still wondered why Professor Malkani refused to give her details.His earlier suspicions rose, he decided to have his contact in the administration office dig up her file.
" Do you think I want to be around a knucklehead like you?" Riva snorted.
Vikram gave her a lopsided grin and left the table without offering any explanation. He decided he'll keep her close until he figures out what is so unsettling about her. She had a fiery spirit and a powerful aura, arguing with him without fearing his identity...
Riva scowled and gulped down some water to cool off her raging nerves. Kaveri and Jheel glanced at each other and waited for her to calm down.
" You really shouldn't have provoked him." Kaveri released the breath she was holding.
" Didn't you hear that infuriating imbecile? He wanted me to argue with him!" Riva replied, tensely.
" Look, he's a royal. You can't offend him." Jheel added nervously . Watching Riva's shocked expression and parted mouth, she clarified , " That was Prince Vikram Singh Ranawat of Prathampura."
*
Ambika placed the heavy bags at the door, and rang the bell. It was well over six, the evening sky was a deep saffron colour, and flocks of birds returning to their nests with loud cries. Aditi opened the door with solemnly, and for a moment, Ambika wondered what had dampened the spirits of her over zealous daughter.
Aditi took the bags wordlessly and went inside. Something must have gone wrong, perhaps Aditi had a bad day at college or a disagreement? Ambika's suspicions were confirmed when she saw the girls sitting on the table.
Riva was engrossed in a thick book with an unforgiving expression, while Aditi sat across her, shelling a bunch of peas, looking expectantly at her. There were invisible undercurrents of emotions and tension between them.
Ambika smiled softly at their childish antics. It was only natural for young women to banter with each other. She shouldn't intervene and wait for them to sort out the problem. Her thoughts shifted to the new recipe that her friend Meenal told her at work. She found the ingredients and soon a delicious aroma permeated the entire house.
Aditi sulked at being ignored for the entire day, and flicked one pea on Riva's book. The latter shifted the page with a sigh, but refused to spare her a glance.
" I'm sorry." Aditi whined, keeping her voice low.
" You should be." Riva muttered , angrily, " I'm in a grave situation thanks to you."
" I was warned not to talk about royals unless asked." Aditi mumbled, innocently.
" No matter what , Aditi , you should've stopped me." Riva shifted another page forcefully, " If my cover is blown, I'll be in danger. And Abhimanyu would toss me away to another shack."
Aditi exclaimed defiantly , " Do you think my house is a shack? No, don't answer that. I know you're only saying this because you're angry."
Riva sighed in exasperation, " What do you want , Aditi? I'm already caught up in a huge mess."
" Look, I can't lose a friend," Aditi said, a clog forming in the throat, "That's what we are , whether you agree or not. Things escalated before I could react, and I had no ways of stopping you before it was late. You can be angry at me for the whole semester if you wish."
" Why? It doesn't solve anything." Riva snorted mockingly. Another pea was flung at her and she dodged it.
" Please forgive me, O generous friend!" Aditi pleaded hopefully, " I promise that I'll tell you all the facts and gossips about him and his intolerable sister!"
" If only this secret remains between us," Riva agreed tacitly, " Abhimanyu must never know about Vikram."
" My lips are sealed-" Aditi rectified quickly, remembering that it got her in trouble, " I swear it on our friendship!"
Riva rolled her eyes and Aditi playfully tossed another pea at her.
" Would you stop doing that?" Riva groaned, as Aditi laughed.
*
Rajmata Nayantara was taking her evening tea in the quiet balcony of Pratham Palace. Far away she could see the bougainvillea groves, ablaze in the golden light of the setting sun. Somewhere the temple bells were ringing for the evening puja.
The door behind her opened noiselessly. Vikram sat next to her, careful not to disturb her pensive and silent mood. He waited for her to finish her tea and said, calmly," I had an interesting day. Recruited a member for the debate club."
" I'm surprised he didn't run for the hills." Nayantara chuckled softly, knowing her grandson's extreme methods on the potential aspirants. The debate club meant a lot to Vikram and he managed it with an iron fist.
" Something about her is unsettling." Vikram said, eyes glittering with awe, " She calls me names without any regard to my status. She has a fiery and uncompromising spirit."
" Nothing unsettling about that," Nayantara said, teasingly, " You just met a girl with an imposing attitude like yours."
" I feel like she's hiding something," Vikram confessed, suddenly, " I had someone look into her file. They don't have a single document validating her details. It's so strange, what is she hiding? After the attack on the Rathore family...I must be wary."
The news of the attack on Raghavendra Rathore had spread around like forest fire among the other royal clans, although the Rathore family took considerable pains to keep it out of media.It served as a chilling warning to everyone, exposing the vulnerability of their so-called-powerful-clans.
Nayantara refuted firmly, " The Rathore family has intense conflicts amongst themselves. Brother killing brother for throne is not something new. I don't want you to worry about these things, Vikram. Nothing can hurt our family and certainly not a mere girl." She paused for a moment, and smiled knowingly , " Unless you're interested in her secrets for your own reasons?"
Vikram stumbled for words, his cheeks tinting light pink.A brief memory of her hazel eyes came to him and he shook his head in denial. She was only an ordinary commoner, it was his own suspicion making her more mysterious than she is.
" I was only thinking about our clan. The person who attacked Raghavendra Rathore must not be an ordinary enemy."
" Vikram , I assure you that will never happen," Nayantara said with absolute certainty and her eyes glinting dangerously. She didn't want him to think about the attack, or ask questions about it. Vikram was extremely clever, what if he figured out the truth?
Vikram grinned roguishly at his grandmother's sudden seriousness. She was always fierce when it came to protecting their clan. She was the epitome of a true Rajput queen- proud yet righteous, fierce yet kind, clever yet honest.
" You sound like you know whose the attacker!" he joked.
Nayantara smiled cursorily and ruffled his hair. Her heart was pounding nervously, she feared she had said more than she intended.To her immense delight, a servant interrupted them and bowed humbly.
" His Majesty wants to meet the Prince in his study." He said courteously.
Vikram said coyly, " Dad gets jealous when we spend time together."
He winked at his grandmother and followed the silent servant inside.Nayantara let out a shaky breath once the balcony was empty. Some secrets were better left unearthed.