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Noor's POV,
I woke up with the sound of chirping birds and the singing of the cuckoos, preaching the arrival of Falgun(spring 'First week of February to last week of March). I turned the other side to see him but he was not there. I frowned upon realizing that he was already off for the battle. I sighed and got up from the bed. Exiting the tent, the view outside mesmerized me. The tall Sal trees, with the short yet thick mango ones. The smell of mango flowers wafting the air. Hackberry trees swooning over the air and flirting with their seductive smell and the Palash trees in their glory with the magnolias showing off their beauty of white and fresh green. I took a deep breath of the fresh yet pollened air and smiled. There were guards here and there guarding each tent when a few maids approached me.
"Yuvragni, Aap ke snan vastra tatha snan hetu instemmal kiye jane wale padarth , nadi ke kinare rakhe hai, kripiya kar hamare saath chalen.." (" Crown Princess, your bath robes and your soaps and pastes have been kept by the river, please accompany us.."
I just nodded and accompanied them. On reaching the river I noticed an bamboo structure made near the banks with red cloth hanging from them. I had to take a bath within the structure when one maid said,
"Yuvraj ne aapke liye khaas kar aaj pratah yah banvaya hai taki aapko snan karne mein asuvidha ya koi anya pareshani na ho.." ("Yuvraj had this specially made for you today at dawn so that you are not uncomfortable or troubled during your bath..")
A smile erupted my face and I recalled asking him if I could take a bath yesterday night. It was so thoughtful of him. Sudden wind blew through the banks making us shiver, and I couldn't help but think about the temperature of the water.
I went behind the bamboo structure and noticed yet another structure inside the water in a curve hiding me from the people on the other bank. I smiled and changed into a white cotton cloth, wrapping it around me from above my breast and the cloth ending near my thighs.
Entering the water , I started shivering as I stepped down into the water. My teeth chatterred and there was giggling within the maids. I giggled too and exclaimed that the water was freezing. After having a rather refreshing bath, I wore a yellow and red embroidered lehenga. It was much lighter than the ones I wore in the palace as they had no gold or silver thread, no fragments of costly metal on it and neither did it have layers of cloth weighing me down.
I walked back to the tent with a mud coloured shawl around me, shielding me from the bone-chilling winds. The maids decorated me rather simply due the the scarcity of jewels yet they made me look superior from them. A maangtika on my forehead with only the mangalsutra around me neck and a gold plane necklace. The anklets and the toe rings on my feet with our wedding ring and a diamond ring on my index . They braided my hair along with a garland of mogra flowers which they said to have found by the riverside. They put a pink tint on my lips and put kohl under my eyes. Finally completing with a red bindi on my forehead and a thick line of vermilion along my parting. I smiled thinking how he will react to this simple side of me when I remembered him saying that he liked kheer. Having nothing to do, I decided to prepare some kheer for him.
Entering the kitchen that was under the open sky and along the green land, I sat down on a small wooden charpai made for one person and asked someone to bring the dry fruits. Frying the dries, I boiled soaked rice into the milk. Crushing some spices such as cardamom, I mixed it into the kheer. Then adding jaggery into the prepared milk and rice I gave it a nice mix and left it to boil. The smell of kheer took over the air and I was happy that it turned out good.
The sun was in the middle of the sky and it was daytime, having nothing to do I decided to venture into the woods. I had just wore my jooti's when the soldiers stopped me,
"Yuvraj's orders, we cannot let you venture somewhere alone, forgive us for the daring intrusion."
My shoulders drooped upon hearing that and I returned into the tent. I had the lunch in a dejected manner and decided to take a nap.
Waking up, it was already dusk. The war conches were audible to the tent, announcing, the end of todays bloodshed. My heartbeats rose upon thinking about him. Will he be alright? How many wounds will he have in his body? I needed answers to my questions.
Waiting in front of the tent I saw Surya walking towards it. I dashed towards to expecting to see him but, he was not there. I was scared and I looked at Surya.
Surya bowed and said,
"Don't worry princess, Yuvraj is completely fine, he said he has some unfinished business and went towards the woods with his horse.."
"AND YOU LET HIM GO ALONE? YOU ARE HIS BODYGUARD, You ARE NOT SUPPOSSED TO LEAVE HIS SIDE.. WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HIM.. ONE SCRATCH IN HIS BODY AND I CUT YOUR HEAD OFF.. HOW COULD YOU?"
Surya looked visibly scared and I was surprised at my own pitch. I was almost going to cry out of fear when I heard him from behind me,
"I am fine.. Why shout at the poor soul obeying me?"
I turned around and jumped at him immediately. I wrapped my hands around him tight and let the tears flow .
"I wa..s so worri..ed about y..ou.."
I said in a croaked voice. He chuckled listening to me and I left him.
"You are laughing.. how dare you..."
He laughed harder and suddenly held my waist. Stooping his body lower he slung my body over his shoulders.
"Aaaahhhh! Yuvraj..put me down..they are watching..Yuvraj.."
He walked with me across his shoulder and walked back to the tent. Putting me down in front of the mirror, I looked at him angrily.
"My dear is angry at me now.. fine then I will go back to the batt.."
"NO NO NO.. stop.....fine I am not angry anymore.. tell me why did you go to the woods alone?"
"To bring...this.."
He showed me a packet of banana leaves. There was something inside of it. I looked at him confused when he opened the packet. There were beautiful pink and white champa flowers inside. They smelled wonderful and I smiled at him.
"Well you must be alone all day so to compensate that I brought you these flowers.. Turn around"
I turned around and her put a bunch of flowers on my hair above my braid. My braid was almost undone and he was adjourning it.
"The braid is messy.. Let me make another one.."
"I like all the mess of yours Noor.. you are beautiful the way you are.."
He slowly turned me around and gave a kiss on my forehead. I smiled and and then my eyes fell on a cut on his arm.
"You.. You are wounded!!"
"It's just a small.."
"Shut up.. why didn't you tell me before?"
He just shrugged his shoulders and I held his wrist and pulled him to the bed. Opening the strings of the armour I looked at his uttariya. It was clean except his left arm completely soaked in blood.
"Open it.."
I pointed at his upper and he obliged, opening it. I had seen him naked once but from far but this was the first time I was seeing a close up. He had many battle scars on his body and the wound added up. My mouth opened as my eyes went down landing on his well chiseled body. I gulped and looked away simultaneously. I could feel him smirk and he said,
"Like what you see dear?"
I immediately blushed and told him,
"This is not the time for jokes.."
I clapped twice and the maids entered with a cloth a bowl of water and medicine as if they knew what I would ask for. I was thankful anyways and I sat down beside him to dress his wound. Dipping the cloth in water, I wiped the blood off his bicep, and cleaned his wound. He did not flinch at all. I looked into his eye and saw him smiling. I brought my gaze back to his wound and said,
"Why don't you grab onto something?"
I smirked as I repeated his lines he had said to me before. This certainly backfired as he grabbed onto my waist and pulled me a little closer whispering into my ear,
"As you say.. my queen.."
I couldn't help but blush and I pulled my self back. Smearing some paste on my fingers I applied it onto his wound, his eyes boring into mine. The eye contact did not break for a moment and I said,
"It's ...done..."
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