Abhimanyu was grinning as he swam back to the shore.
He had spent most of his evening surfing- it was high tide and the waves were tumultuous enough to give him some challenge. Droplets of waters dripped down his wetsuit, and he shook his head, keeping his wet curls out of his eyes.
Now that thrill of adrenaline had subsided, he remembered he had to read the party manifestos, and send some emails. Abhimanyu picked up a fluffy towel lying on the sun chair, and patted himself dry.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a dark figure at his far left.
He turned his head to the side, and the figure immediately hid behind a grove of palm trees. Abhimanyu clicked his tongue in annoyance. It was a private beach- trespassers couldn't be tolerated. His family hardly visited Coral Loft, it wasn't uncanny that locales took the liberty of using their beach.
" What are you doing here?" He asked, loudly.
He'd give the trespasser a warning, maybe a threat or two if needed. The figure poked his head from behind the palms, visibly trembled and started bolting away. Abhimanyu grew suspicious and tossed the towel.
" What a nuisance." He shook his head, before chasing the intruder.
There were no sources of light on the beach, there was only a faint glow emanating from the house. He could barely see the dark blurry figure. Abhimanyu was barefoot, but the sand was wet and soft so he didn't mind.
" I said stop!" Abhimanyu yelled at him, picking up his pace. He was tall and had longer strides than his skinny intruder, almost catching up to him, when the intruder stopped suddenly, panting and huffing.
Abhimanyu couldn't stop his motion and crashed directly into the person.Both of them tumbled into the sand. Abhimanyu got elbowed in the stomach, his limbs were all mangled with the soft ones of the intruder. He had to cough out hair that wasn't his own.
" Owww!" He heard a familiar cry.
" Damn it!" Abhimanyu cursed, propping himself on elbow, and looking down at the intruder squashed beneath him. He had becoming increasingly aware that the intruder was a woman, and he was close enough to see exactly who.
" Get off me!" Rivannah groaned in pain, " You're heavy!"
Abhimanyu blinked in utter horror. How was he supposed to know it was her? She'd retired to her room after declaring that she was going to study! And why in the world was she running away from him?
He could feel Rivannah squirming under him, groaning and grunting, and immediately propelled himself to stand. His cheeks were burning in embarrassment and he did his best not to think how her good soft body felt against his.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words left his lips.
Rivannah complained, forcing herself to sit, " Why are you after my life? I just came out for a swim. I can't believe you tackled me to the ground. Do you have seriously no regard that I'm a girl? You were so heavy! I was crushed under your weight. I've got sand in unspeakable places!"
" I didn't know it was you!" Abhimanyu defended himself vehemently, " I thought someone was trespassing."
Rivannah gave him a murderous glare, " Who chases a trespasser like a madman? You should've just let the poor bloke go."
" You should have stopped running." Abhimanyu grumbled under his breath.
" You tackled me to the ground." Rivannah was almost going to cry.
She used to be a spoiled princess and she'd never been subjected to such callous behaviour. Her shoulders ached and her ankle felt like it's been twisted.
" Okay, one, I didn't tackle you," Abhimanyu said hastily, " You halted so abruptly that we crashed. And two, I'm sorry."
Rivannah choked on a sob, as she attempted to stand on her wobbly feet.Abhimanyu held a hand out to help her, but it was bitterly ignored. He let out shaky sigh and never felt so awkward in his life.
*
Man Singh was ordering the kitchen staff for the dinner, when he heard the front door open. He knew His Highness was out surfing and had probably returned. To his surprise, it was Rivannah covered in sand from head to toe. She sauntered towards the stairs without a word. There was slight limp in her stride.
" Watch the carpet." Man Singh garbled under his breath.
The door opened again, and this time it was Abhimanyu. He was wearing the black wetsuit, spotted with wet sand. There was immense guilt written on his face. His eyes were full of worry and anxiety.
" Your Highness?" Man Singh asked worriedly.
Abhimanyu gave a side long glance, and sighed, " How should I apologise to her?"
*
Rivannah didn't want to get out of her room. But it was already early morning, and she really, really wanted to drink a cup of coffee. The equations and numbers in her book were becoming blurry.
She couldn't avoid Abhimanyu forever.
She went to kitchen noiselessly, and found the entire place in frantic chaos. The kitchen staff was scurrying in and out, fiddling with ovens, pans and dishes. One of them, maybe the leader, asked her, "How I can help you, Princess?"
" Coffee. Macchiato, lot's of sugar." Rivannah mumbled. It was a very long time since she was called Princess. It kind of felt good.
Sensing that the staff was getting anxious in her scrutiny, she came out of the kitchen. There was an obnoxious amount of food being prepared for breakfast. Maybe Abhimanyu had guests coming over? Her lips were hooked into a mocking smile. It better be that crazy lady from yesterday.
" Good." A throat cleared, " Morning."
Rivannah's small smile dissolved into a frown. She turned to look at him, her arms crossed in front of her. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt that said 'Dartmouth' in blue letters. His hair were tousled and messy, as if he had just woken up.
" Hear me out." Abhimanyu explained, " I got paranoid about who was trespassing my property. Should've figured out it was you. I am sorry." He paused to read her stony expression and started again, " I know asked you to come here, and that was absolutely no way to treat a guest, let alone a girl. That's why, as an apology..."
Rivannah arched an eyebrow in question. Her blank face made Abhimanyu secretly tensed. He had practiced this speech in front of the mirror. He had forgotten how prideful and indifferent the Princess could be.
" There's a car outside. You can do whatever you like, all day. I will not stop you."
" You never let me go anywhere alone." Rivannah said suspiciously.
" It is an apology." Abhimanyu pointed out.
To his surprise she started laughing. And it wasn't her toneless and polite laughter, or mocking giggle. Her smile was full of delight and joy, like a young girl. Two indents appeared in the at the corner of her lips. Abhimanyu didn't know why his heart skipped a beat.
" Apology accepted." Rivannah said, as she stood up, " I'm gonna take the car for a ride!"
" Sure. Enjoy your day!." Abhimanyu grinned.
He was very strategic about the kind of bribe he had offered her. Radhika and her Dad would be here for breakfast anyway. He didn't want them to see Rivannah. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
" Oh, you bet I will." Rivannah said in sing-song, rushing to her room.
Once she was out of ear shot, he turned on his heels, " I'm trusting you to keep an eye on her, Man Baba. But don't let her catch you."
" It's a piece of cake, Your Highness." Man Singh replied, " Will you be fine here, alone? Radhika Shekhawat sure seemed tenacious-"
Abhimanyu rolled his eyes, " There's nothing to worry about. You already brought the coffee, Mrs D'cruz? I didn't even ask for it yet, but thank you."
Before Mrs D'cruz could answer, he had taken the cup and sipped it appreciatively. Strong and extremely sweet. Exactly how he wanted it today.
*
" Now, remember boys." Man Singh said, adjusting his sunglasses, " We have to follow Princess Rivannah around, protect her and make sure she doesn't find us. Simple thing, really. But I should warn you, she's a reckless driver."
He still felt chill in his spine, when he thought of that horrid day.
" It's fine," Harish, the driver said, "I don't know why His Highness is going through all this trouble."
" He's very generous." Man Singh gloated.
They were following Rivannah's yellow Beetle around the streets of Goa. She led them through countless streets, desolate roads and congested roads where they had to move inch by inch. It was like a wild goose chase. She finally stopped at a local bazar. It was so busy, that Man Singh and his team of three guards struggled to find Rivannah around.
" I can't see her anywhere!" Man Singh yelled over the voices of the shopkeepers. He was being squished between people.
" Me neither, Sir!" a guard agreed.
" Maybe Princess Rivannah went that way!" Harish pointed to the right. Another guard said, " I'm sure she went to the left!"
Man Singh jumped in surprise when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to rebuke the person and stilled. It only took Rivannah about a few minutes to find them. He felt like he always underestimated this girl.
" I just knew he wouldn't let me go alone." she smirked.
" You shouldn't mind us. We're just here to make sure you're not hurt." Man Singh said awkwardly.
" I don't. I'm asking you to accompany me." Rivannah said mischievously, " It feels boring if I'm alone."
" Accompany you?" Man Singh repeated in disbelief.
" Then we will have breakfast at that diner." Rivannah pointed to a distant building.
It seemed hard to refuse the beautiful Princess, when she was being so nice and polite. Her light coloured eyes were clear like the sky with no ulterior motives. And she was smiling at them. That smile had a magic of its own.
Man Singh got flustered, " As you wish, Princess."
*
" So what are your plans for the future, young man?" Dylan Shekhawat asked eating the freshly baked croissants.
" I want the MLA seat of Suryagarh. Then I'll try for a Ministry." Abhimanyu said matter-of-factly.
" I meant your plans for a life partner, Abhimanyu." Dylan chuckled, " You are already twenty-five, right? I had married Radhika's mom when I was barely twenty-one."
" Marriage, me? Not a good idea. I don't have that kind of time right now." He answered briskly.
" How silly, Abhi. Who doesn't have time for his wife?" Radhika laughed.
" I'm not ready for it." Abhimanyu said truthfully.
He hadn't thought about his marriage seriously before. But if he gets a life partner, she has to be a Princess. She has to understand his dreams. She has to learn to love all the things that are dear to him. She has to love his faults and the darkness inside him too.
" It's alright, Abhimanyu. I'm sure after the elections, you will be thinking differently." Dylan teased.
Abhimanyu sighed internally and wondered what Rivannah was doing. Was she shopping or eating in some restaurant? Maybe she was just sitting in some beach, or visiting churches. At any rate, she was having more fun than him.
" Where's she by the way?" Radhika asked suddenly, as if reading his mind.
" Who?" he asked sharply.
" You know, the girl who was here yesterday. You didn't even tell me her name!" Radhika said good-naturedly.
Abhimanyu tensed in his seat. Dylan could recognise Rivannah's name. Besides, he didn't want Radhika to know about her. She was easy to jump into conclusions.
" I don't know. She was one of the staff members, I think." Abhimanyu shrugged, " This reminds me, I am meeting the man who owns the BlueFreddie casino. I heard he runs an elaborate dark web network. I needed some info about a rival. I wonder if he's good in this business?"
Dylan Shekhawat sighed loudly, took a sip of his herbal tea, and said, " That man is a bastard, Abhimanyu. He only trade information for your secrets. And the secrets have to be commensurate with whatever info you want.Nobody knows his name.He only became famous three years ago, but he dominates the entire country's dark web market."
" So you've never met him?" Abhimanyu wondered. Dylan Shekhawat was the MP of Panaji. BlueFreddie wouldn't act carelessly around him. Perhaps BlueFreddie had some kind of leverage over the seasoned politician.
" Nobody has ever claimed to meet him." Dylan shrugged, " I don't even know if he's a man or woman."
" So who runs BlueFreddie then? Who owns the building?" Abhimanyu was intrigued.
" I asked my subordinates to investigate him. He's a force, Abhimanyu. Money can't sway him, power doesn't bother him, fear doesn't faze him. I've tried everything in the book. BlueFreddie legally belongs to a man named Frazier DiMellos. He's sixty years old and has been in coma for the past twenty years."
" That makes no sense, Dad." Radhika chuckled.
"Somebody is just using his name. The real BlueFreddie, of course." Abhimanyu crossed his arms, " Doesn't it bother you to have him in your city?"
" He's nuisance, sure."
" Abhi, stop thinking about that guy. If you like casinos, we can just go to the one I own. It's near the beach and the sunsets are just gorgeous there!" Radhika leaned closer to him.
" I can't, Radhika. I have a conference in the evening." He glanced at his phone, wondering why Man Baba hadn't texted him. He was supposed to do it every hour and tell him about Rivannah's whereabouts.
" Oh, come on, son! This is Goa, you have to live a little!" Dylan urged him.
Abhimanyu was very close to snapping. He had a lot of patience. But they were both scrapping it away bit by bit. Before he opened his mouth to speak something, his notification pinged. He tapped the photograph and laughed instantly.
It was Rivannah and Man Singh standing in front of a sea diner with the brightest smiles on their faces. The two guards he had sent, stood awkwardly around them, holding huge bags. The caption read, We tried our best, Your Highness!
" What's so funny?" Radhika peered into his phone.
Abhimanyu's heart was whirring inside his chest. He couldn't understand why he desperately wanted to be in that photo with her. The bursting emotions inside of him wasn't some momentary infatuation.
He was willing to do anything for Rivannah's smile.
Radhika-