What is the most enviable thing in the world?
Surely not beauty - there are too many people famous for their beauty. Not money either, because there's always someone with more.
Soha didn't envy money or looks, because she had both since childhood. Her mother was a successful actress. People envied her for her beauty and lavish lifestyle. But it wasn't enough. It never seemed enough. She didn't have power and her identity wasn't influential. Nobody feared her name and her title.
Soha decided that power must be the most enviable thing of all.
When she became the Princess of Prathampura, the desire was fulfilled. Pride coursed through her veins and she had finally risen away from the lowly commoners. Beauty can fade and wilt, but the power of her title? It will remain with her until she dies.
She was a Princess!
How could she tolerate a lowly girl from middle class background speak so harshly towards her and get away with it? Soha clenched her jaw in annoyance. Nobody dared to speak to her that way, she commanded utmost respect and fear!
She wouldn't not let the girl's insults go unanswered.
Soha would bring that girl to her knees and beg for forgiveness.
" What's wrong, Soha? You look a little tensed?" Riddha, her friend, asked her uncertainly.
" I want to get rid of a pesky insect." Soha gritted out, " And make it as humiliating as possible."
" Woah." Riddha blinked in confusion, " Who would dare to offend you?"
Soha sneered as she crossed her arms.
The girl she hated was right in front of her, on the stage, giving the most boring debate possible. Even though her words flowed like water, Soha had no idea what she was talking about. And her blue sari was looking hideous- no that was an understatement, it was downright horrendous. Her voice was screechy and gruff, like nails on a chalkboard.
Soha was glad when the girl finally stopped , even the crowd cheered and clapped loudly as she sat back with her teammates. Perhaps they all shared Soha's sentiments that the girl was a pain to their ears.
" What's the name of that ugly looking girl who spoke just now?" Soha asked.
" Oh, the new girl? Riva, I think." Riddha shrugged, " Riva Rathi."
" Riva?" Soha tested her name and disliked it.She turned to her loyal friend and whispered in her ear, " I want you to do something."
*
Riva went to the backstage when her event was over. They wouldn't tell the results until the last, and she wasn't exactly patient. She thought she covered all the points and summed it up quite nicely. The college against them was struggling to counter their statements.
However she was stuck with the two people she didn't want to be stuck with.
" You weren't as bad as I originally thought." Vikram told her considerately.
" Really?" Riva cocked her head, " Sadly, you didn't meet my expectations."
" Oh, burn." Maitreyi hooted from behind them, " What do you have to say, Your Highness?"
" That I've been the best speaker for the last three years." Vikram said, haughtily, " And I'm going to be undefeated until I graduate."
" Stop daydreaming." Riva mumbled under her breath.
But truthfully, he was good. His arguments were logical and well framed. And he delivered them with great confidence and exuberance. He might actually deserve the best speaker award, if it wasn't given to him because of his status.
" Yes, Vikram." Maitreyi said pointedly, teasing him," Stop daydreaming."
Vikram turned on his heels, and mouthed, 'Shut up!' To his agony his friend just chuckled evilly, and shook her head.
" I'm going for a walk." Riva said reluctantly (she hated moving in saris), " I don't want your mad sister to barge in and spout nonsense again."
The memory of Soha and her accusations were still fresh in her mind. She wasn't the forgiving kind, but her current situation doesn't allow her to retaliate.
But Riva could hold a grudge for a very long time.
" Soha is not my sister, but she's definitely mad." Vikram said seriously, " And I can make her apologise to you. It won't be very sincere but-"
" Vikram, she's already gone." Maitreyi nudged her friend.
*
Riva thanked the canteen manager for her coffee and sat on a random table. She should have brought her Thermodynamics book along. She took a sip of the coffee and winced. How she missed those frappes and spiced lattes. How she missed home, and her father....
" Hey! You're Riva, right?" A voice startled her.
She looked up to see a girl she had never seen before. She was wearing a peach colour sari with a low cut blouse. She was pretty but she was wearing a lot of makeup.Her dark hair framed her face nicely.
" I'm Riddha." the girl introduced herself, " Um, your friend sent me here. She needs your help with her costume!"
"Aditi needs my help?" Riva muttered to herself, but stood up anyway.
Riddha nodded affirmatively and said, " Can you please hurry? Her event is about to start and she's panicking!"
Riva ditched the cup of coffee and followed Riddha out of the canteen.
" Who are you?" Riva asked, curiously.
" I was helping out on the backstage. Aditi asked me to find you." Riddha said hastily.
Riva struggled to match her rapid strides. She wondered what was wrong. It was unlikely that Aditi would need her help. She didn't even know how to pleat a sari, and Aditi was an expert. Maybe her costume got ripped or her makeup was ruined, or she wasn't wearing enough bangles-
" She's inside that room." Riddha halted abruptly and pushed a door open.
Riva peered over her should to see a dressing room. Many of the classrooms were converted into green rooms and dressing rooms for the dancers and performers, but she had never been in this room before.
" You should go inside." Riddha pressed.
Riva furrowed her brows in suspicion and crossed her arms. Why would Aditi be in a room so far away from the auditorium? And besides, she had never met this girl before, so how did she find her with a name alone?
" What if I don't?" Riva challenged. Something about Riddha wasn't right. She was sure of it.
" I'll just do it myself." Riddha snarled and pushed her towards the room.
Riva got tangled in the folds of her sari and fell on the floor. Her head hit the ground painfully and she groaned in pain. Her vision turned bleary and she could feel something warm trickling down the side of her face.She heard the loud thud of the door being shut and punched the ground in frustration.
" Don't do that. You'll hurt yourself." a croaky and guttural voice said.
She blinked a few times to clear her vision. A tall, swarthy man wearing a loose fitted shirt and rugged jeans leered at her. His hair was electric blue and hung on one side of his face.
" Seriously?" Riva attempted to stand. Locked in a room away from everyone, with a shady man- someone had set her up.
" You can shriek all you want." The man told her, " But no one will come, you see. I can make it as painful as I want, but if you cooperate, I'll make you feel good."
" You're fucking delusional." Riva concluded, " Who sent you here?"
The man was ignored her response and his eyes traveled down her body suggestively.
" The door outside is locked. I don't mind forcing a woman. You're all here to please a man anyways. Doesn't matter whether you want it or not."
" And now you're getting on my nerves." Riva growled, wiping away some of the blood on her forehead. Her day seems to be getting worse by the minute.
" Are you so scared that you've lost your mind?" The man wondered closing the distance between them. His dirty little hands stroked her bloodied forehead.
" Scared?" Riva sneered internally gagging at the scent of his cheap perfume.
She belonged to the bloodline of dauntless kings who waged war and conquered lands. Her ancestors knew nothing but fearlessness. Someone as disgusting and crude as him didn't even deserve to breath the same air as her.
" I have a feeling you're going to be fun-" The man tried to grab her hand. Riva dodged him and punched his horrible nose. He staggered back and clutched his bloody nose, wailing swear words and cusses.
" You're going to pay for this -" He shouted angrily.
Something shifted in her. Her heart became cold and she felt the same intent to kill she felt on the night of the attack. Her hands trembled in fury and contempt. She grabbed one of the chairs next to her and swung it at the repulsive man forcefully. The chair was made of thin metal and it screeched and clacked as it hit his flesh.
The man cried in pain and fell to the ground. Riva threw the chair and tucked the hem of her sari's drape. Her brain had gotten numb and all she knew was that she wanted this human scum to suffer and writhe in pain.
She kicked his pelvis again and again, ignoring his cries for mercy. She couldn't stop venting her anger and wrath until he passed out and laid on the ground like a broken doll. Blood trickled from his nose and splotched his yellow shirt.
Riva stepped back and looked at him scornfully. She had gone too far but it was to protect herself. Someone wanted to stain her reputation, and they used the crudest way possible. She wiped away the sweat on her brows and panted slightly due to her exhaustion.
She still couldn't be caught with this man.If she got into trouble for beating up a student, no matter how she pleaded her innocence, everyone would point fingers at her. It's the curse of being a woman.
She had to deal with him.
She looked around the classroom and found cable ties in the cupboard. Realising that the man would probably wake up soon, she tied his huge meaty hands and legs in multiple cable ties, hoping it would hurt like hell.
She dragged him towards the professor's table and hid him under it. As useless as he was, he weighted a lot. And the goddamn sari was her nemesis. She wasn't going to wear one for the next three years, no matter what.
She stuffed a dirty rag into his trash like mouth (she found it fallen on the floor) She just needed to leave the room now. Her head hurt and the blood was caked on her forehead. The wound must be checked or it may get infected.
Her skin was hot and itchy. She hadn't done so much exertion in her life and the adrenaline had started to wear off. Her body was weary and limp now. But she was okay with it. She had saved her honour.
She was glad Zorawar Bhai taught her how to fight and defend herself. Or else what would she be? Disgraced as a woman and tainted as a princess. Her father would be ashamed and humiliated for the rest of his life.
" Why is this room spinning?" Riva mumbled, clutching her head. She needed to call for help. But her thoughts couldn't stop jumping in her head and the fucking ground wouldn't stay still. Her knees wobbled and she felt the overwhelming urge to vomit.
She was tired now.
She didn't have the will to stand on her feet anymore.
Riva closed her eyes and hoped the ground would hurt less when she falls this time.
Something banged open and the most beautiful voice she had ever heard shrieked," Rivannah!!"
Author Rant :
Daunting day for Rivannah...
Who do you think became her knight in shining armour?
Well there's not much to do, since our heroine turned the villain to pulp already ;)