Devkirti was gaping at the pool in front of her. Taash was showing her the entire palace except for the north side of the palace since it was a forbidden territory for her. The whole palace was a pieces of artwork. Sculptures of different kinds were engraved on the walls and the ceilings. There were numerous stone statuettes enhancing the beauty of the palace. The stones had slight tinge of blue colour in them. It was mesmerizing. Taash took her to her room. Her room was at the end of the corridor. It was a beautiful room. Large and comfortable. Furnitures were laid in a proper way. It had the same sculptures like the entire palace. The ceiling was carved with intricate details portraying various pictures of animals and birds. The window gave a good view of the greenery outside. It had an adjacent door that lead to a small courtyard and there was a garden that was inside the palace itself. She was shell shocked to see such a beautiful place. It was magical. It was enchanting. Many flowering trees covered the garden. Smell of berries tickled her nostrils. It was a delicious scent. It had many flowers that she couldn't even name. Rippling sound of water from the fountain, Chirping of Birds and whirligigs of butterflies made the place even more magnetic. The fresh breeze made her feel more alive. The pool had clear water. She could almost see the little pebbles underneath it. It was the most bewitching place she had ever beheld in her life. It was peaceful, soothing and heavenly.
She couldn't hold herself and asked," Taash, am I allowed stroll in this garden?" She couldn't believe that such an enchanting place was belonged to her.
"Of course my lady. Master don't come here often. Like he said everything here belongs to you my lady." Taash replied.
Kirti became exhilarated after listening to Taash. She had always envisioned a place surrounded by nature and that she could stay there for hours and hours free from every stress and limitations of the world. She was having a hard time believing that her dream had almost came to reality excluding her impassive, absurd and sinister husband.
After sometime Taash showed her the kitchen and other places like the sanctum where a beautiful effigy of Mother Goddess was placed where she bowed and joined her hand to take her blessings,then she went to the hall in the middle of the palace, she also saw another garden outside the palace. Everything was so new and spellbinding for her.
She had intaken every view that she could through her eyes but something still felt missing. Her curious mind could not seemed to shake off the urge to explore the north side of the palace but she knew that she didn't have the courage to face her treacherous husband. His warnings still rang in her ears eliciting a jolt of fear in her. She opted to douse her curiosity after thinking about the possible consequences.
When she was done with her exploration. Taash left. She went to her room and gave it an once over. That was her sanctuary for her whole life. The place where she had to spend her lifetime. It was petrifying and nerve wrecking. But its the truth that she couldn't defy. All she could do was to give time and get adjusted to her new life.
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Guru Srihasti was looking through an ancient book to resolve a question that had been piquing his mind after the Atmakarana of prince Abhiranjan and princess Sanghamitra. It was a rare happening that had not occurred in centuries. There must be a serious reason behind it. Moreover,the frequent attacks were indicating the advent of a big and disastrous problem. He had a presentiment that everything was interconnected. He had to demystify everything before the danger appeared announced.
After a moment a man came and bowed in front of him.
"Gurudev, I have found something very important. It is concerning."
Guru Srihasti gesture him to continue. The man nodded.
"Gurudev, my sources had informed that the attack in the market that day was not orchestrated by the Kashavargas. I have been told that around that time no one from their land had crossed the river. There are many soldiers who had attacked the civilians that night. So,it was little strange. How is it possible that no one saw them coming"
Guru Srihasti looked like he was in deep thoughts. Something flickered in his eyes. Its like he had discovered something.
'Agni, if your sources are correct. If the attack was not from Kashavargas. Then the whole attack might have been planned by someone from the land of Jyotiragas." Guru Srihasti said.
"Gurudev,why would anyone do that? We Jyotiragas don't betray each other. We don't kill our own people". Agni furrowed his brow. It was an unbelievable notion for him.
"And that's what we have to find out Agni. Was the mastermind behind the plan a Jyotiraga or not? Or is there something else that we should know about. Go and tell your people to search for more information. Try to find out what kind of poison was used in those weapons that night."
"As you say Gurudev " Agni bowed and left.
Guru Srihasti was determined to find the real culprit soon. Along with the unsolved puzzle he had in his mind for a long time now. He glanced at the idol of the Mother Goddess in his room and prayed to her to seek her protection and blessings for the unknown danger lurking unnoticed.
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Sanghamitra was feeling lonely. After the morning Puja( prayers). The guests started to leave. Her sister Urvashi was crying and she had to assuage her. Urvashi gave her a good lecture about her duties and then wished her all the luck for her new life. It was hard to see her leave but Urvashi promised her that she would visit her soon. Maharani Sulekha and Maharaj Bibhuti had also left soon after her sister. They gave their blessings to her as well. Her father left with them. She felt her heart crumbled into pieces to see the look on her father's face. There was sadness, dejection and pain of separation. But she gave her father the assurance that she wouldn't let anything defile his name again. Her father embraced her for the last time and left for Padmanagar.
Later her mother in law, Maharani Jayanti had asked Guruma( wife of a Guru. In this case wife of Guru Srihasti) Madhavi to teach her the duties of a queen to be. She had to ignore the judgemental eyes of Maharani Jayanti. The queen still had doubts on her upbringing. Hence,the long teaching session. She knew that she didn't need any classes for moulding her into a perfect queen. But she didn't refused it because she would get the opportunity to learn a lot from Guruma Madhavi. And an opportunity like that shouldn't be missed.
Her classes would start from the next day. And now she was sitting in her room fighting against her loneliness.She was missing Kirti. She wanted to know how was she doing? Was she safe? Again thinking about her bring back the suppressed guilt. She was busy in her thoughts when a knock at her door jerk her out of her reverie. She saw Abhiranjan sauntering towards her.
"I hope I am not disturbing you Princess" Ranj queried.
Mitra shook her head," No. Actually I was quite bored. Feeling dull since I have nothing to do. I have also finished reading all my books. How was your day?"
"Busy as always but I got some spare time. I was passing by when I thought I should see you.I think I have a solution to your problem. Let's go."
Ranj didn't think much and grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. Mitra was too shocked at his sudden act. But followed him anyway. She could feel the heat emitting from his hand and seeping into her hand. The feeling was so weirdly enticing. They were passing through the corridor. She saw the onlookers looking at them discreetly. Some maids were whispering and suppressing their smiles. Mitra's face was almost red from blushing hard. She hadn't noticed that they had already reached their destination.
Mitra double take the place she was in. It was the Royal Library. He took her to the library. She saw the large shelves with numerous books new and old laid in an organised way. It gave her an immense pleasure to smell the lingering scent of old books. She darted her eyes toward him and saw him looking at her with a smile on his face. It evoked a great sense of happiness within her. It confused her but comfort her as well. She smiled back at him.
"I have a feeling that from now on this is going to be your favourite place". Ranj said.
"Hmm..There is nothing more satisfying than to spend time with books. They said that books are your real best friend. They never leave you." Mitra said. Her expression hold a mesmerizing light of happiness. Ranj felt an unknown bliss while looking at her. Was this how having the bond felt like? He wondered. You feel happy when your partner is happy. Like your emotions are same and one.
"Never thought in my entire life that I had to compete with books." Ranj uttered in an amused manner.
Mitra frowned a little. She couldn't decipher the meaning of his sentence.
Ranj leaned in a little that made Mitra drift a little away from him.
"I decided to be your best friend. So, once I got the position I won't get it go. You can count on me. I would never leave you. I never plan on doing that." He said solemnly.
Mitra could feel the weight of his genuine words. Her lips curled up into a small smile.
"Do you know its a tough job to be my best friend?" She teased
"I love challenges. I love winning a formidable battle." He said with a smirk. Eyes gleaming with humour.
"We will see" Mitra raised her chin and said.
"I will see" Ranj replied. The statement again made her frown but she ignored it.
They tread forward towards the array of the books that Mitra couldn't wait to read. She looked at them with her eyes wide opened and relishing the excitement that was emanating inside her.
She started looking carefully at each arrays of the books when see noticed an old book in the upper corner of the self. She tried to get it but her hands didn't reached there properly. After many attempts and failure she decided to ask Ranj to get it for her and was about to turn when she felt two hands encircling her waist and lifted her up. She stiffened for a moment. His touch creating havoc in her heart. She immediately grabbed the book and tried to unfasten her from him but his hold still linger over her. Brushing her belly at a painfully slow movement. She took a sharp intake of breath. Something quivered inside her stomach. Blood rushing to her ears making her look like the hue of red in the evening sky.
Ranj didn't realised what he was doing. His fingers were tracing over her soft skin out of their own accord. He couldn't stopped himself. He lost all his senses just by touching her. His intention was not to act like a degenerated person. It was to help her but something happened that made him do that. When he saw her blushing self and her shallow breath,he instantly moved away from her and cleared his throat. He couldn't find a plausible reason for his action except for the fact that their souls were merged and hence the attraction.
Both of them couldn't speak after that. However Ranj tried to utter an apology.
"I am sorry. I truly apologies for my action. It was not appropriate at all."
The situation couldn't get more awkward for Mitra. By now she was almost red like a tomato.
She just slowly uttered," Its Ok" in an almost inaudible voice.
Ranj didn't wait more and hastily dashed out from the library. Mitra stood there looking at his retreating back and tried to grasp the situation. But couldn't fathom the reason for his action. But one thing was for sure that she didn't feel any revulsion from his touch in fact it was a different kind of sensation that she had never felt before. And she didn't dislike it. The realisation made her scared of that unknown thing.
She tried ignored it and took the book with her to her room. She decided to forget all about what had happened at the library but somewhere at the back of her mind she knew that she couldn't forget about it ever.
She then slowly opened the book to divert her mind. The book was not in a good condition. It was really a very old book with yellow pages with some creases and tears. When she read the title, it was written as " The tales of Viswathal".
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