Meera's pov...
As today is my birthday so I firstly went to the temple and did the maha Pooja feed as many people as I could in the way.
I love to donate as much as I could as God made me capable of doing so.
I don't consider these people as outsiders. They all are my family and I can do anything for them.
I spent the whole day with the people of my kingdom knowing about their issues and problems insuring them about the resolutions.
After the charity I went to the palace again.
It was just the time of dinner. So I directly went towards the dining room and saw my family was sitting there waiting for me to arrive. As this is a family rule that we can't start eating until everyone arrives to the table until and unless there is some kind of emergency.
I sat on my regular chair then the workers started serving everyone.
The environment was tensed today which was unusual. But I don't want to ruin everyone's mood so I stayed silent and had my dinner quietly.
After dinner I went to my father's chamber.
My mother was also there. They were discussing about something but as soon as they saw me they changed the topic.
Something is definitely wrong and I need to know that
I sat in front of my mom and dad.
" Meera baisa aap yaha vo bhi is samay sab khairiyat to hai na" my dad asked with concern in his tone.
( Princess Meera you are here and that too at this time. Is everything ok?)
" You tell me dad. Is everything ok?"
" What are you talking about child"
" I know. You are hiding something from me. Tell me is there something I need to know." I asked and looked at him while he just shook his head in denial but suddenly my mom interrupted in between.
" We can't hide it from her for too long. She will get to know it today or tomorrow. " She said looking at my dad
" But..." He tried to stop her
" Tell me mom "
She looked at me and took a deep breath trying to find words. My heart was beating furiously thinking about the worst scenario.
Suddenly she broke the silence.
" He is back..." These were the only word came out from her mouth and I could practically feel a lump formed in her throat.
I gulped down and asked " who "
" Abhimanyu Singh Shekhawat, the king of Mewar. He is back for the revenge. The revenge of the defeat in the last war. He sent a letter to us this morning."
" And?"
" He warned us about the war "
" Is our army ready for the war." I asked.
" There is one more thing"
" It's not the right time to tell her ranisa." My father interjected.
" It is the right time only Rana sa."
" Mom, don't make me wait any longer. Please tell me what's the actual matter."
" Abhimanyu has a condition to avoid the war."
" And what's that? "
" Marriage. A contract marriage of you and him"
I was blown away. My face turned pale.
"You don't have to worry about this. Your father is able to save you." My father stated in an authoritive tone.
" But dad..." I was about to say something but he stopped me in between.
" It's late go to your room and sleep."
I didn't want to argue with him so I left quietly. I could not sleep even in my room and kept wandering here and there due to restlessness.
I know my father can never see me sad but what about those innocent people, what is their fault. If we lose, what will happen to this empire? Just thinking about this made my heart sunk.
I have to do something...
I will talk to my dad in the morning.
I got tired of tossing and turning in bed and finally fell asleep.
My maids woke me up from sleep and after taking bath I went to talk to mom and dad.
They were sitting in their room and as soon as they saw me a smile formed on their face.
But I knew it was a fake one.
I greeted them and sat in front of them.
" I need to talk to you guys " I said and they looked towards me in confusion.
" yeah my child speak." My mom said.
I don't know how to say that but after a lot of struggle finally I managed to say.
"I am ready to marry him."
They looked at me with surprise.
"We will not allow you to do this." They said in union.
"But.."
" There is one more thing you need to know."
"And what's that " I gulped down.
He started narrating the whole incident.
" His letter arrived yesterday morning in which he warned us of war. We ourselves were strongly against this war, so at that very moment I went to meet him in his empire and proposed a treaty-
Udaybhan singh :-
Rana sa is there any way we can stop this war. The war can only ruin the wealth and infrastructure of both territories. Most importantly many innocent people will lose their lives just for the sake of the mistake in the past. I hope you understand. You are young and passionate. Time will teach you many things.
I tried a lot to convince him but everything went in vain. His next words still haunts me.
Abhimanyu:-
Oh my highness you took my most precious thing from me ten years ago now you are teaching me about the cons of war. You took something I will do the same. Tit for tat . I will snatch something which you adore and love the most. If you want to stop the war you have to marry your daughter with me . I want your daughter. The choice is all yours. I give you 3 days and if your answer is no then no one can stop this destruction."
I looked at him and my mind turned totally blank.
I hugged him tightly.
"Child, that is why we will not let you marry him. For him, you are just a means to take revenge from us. He will never be able to keep you happy and we can't see even a single tear in your eyes. Now you go and rest, your father is still alive to worry about all this."
I nodded and went to my room.
I spent the whole day alone in my room. After eating a little at night, I was watching the army preparing for war from the window of my room, when suddenly the door of my room opened and I saw my maid Ranjana coming towards me. She is my maid so to speak, but since childhood I considered her my sister. I didn't have a sister, so that void was filled in her form. She came and sat near me and asked..
" You have been very quiet since morning, you did not even come to the garden in the evening, is everything okay? " She asked with concern in her eyes.
" Everything is alright. Can I ask you something "
She nods her head in approval.
" Do you know Abhimanyu Singh Shekhawat, the king of Mewar? " I looked at her with millions of questions in my head.
" I don't know much but yes I have heard many stories of his bravery. He ascended the throne after his father's death ten years ago. He was only 10 years old, Even at such a young age he had knowledge of every subject. After his ascension to the throne, it seemed as if the fortunes of Mewar had changed. With his skill, he expanded his empire so much that today he rules over the whole of India. Apart from being brave, he is also no less good looking. I have heard that if someone looks at him even once, she falls in love with him. There are many stories of his bravery but recently he had hunted a lion unarmed. But I don't understand one thing, why are you asking about that? Have you fallen in love with him? Do you know he is our enemy? Ten years ago, your own father had killed his father and destroyed his life. I don't think he has been able to forget this hurt till now. I am sure he will definitely come to take his revenge.
"He is back." I whispered.
"Wait what!!" She exclaimed
" No. No. Nothing. I was just blabbering. I'm just really tired. I want to sleep."
" Call me if you need anything."
I nod my head in approval and she left.
I lay on my bed with a strange restlessness. Only God knows what will happen next. The next two days were spent in preparing for the war.
After two days, finally that day came. As soon as I got up in the morning, I went to the temple and started praying for everyone's well-being. There was an uproar in the whole kingdom. This scene was seen after so many years. I and my mother were encouraging everyone.
It was about to be evening when our spy called my mother. Preparing herself for the bad news, my mother went with him. I also followed them despite my mother's refusal. There was a curtain in the middle of a room, on one side of which he and we both were standing on the other side. So that he could not see our faces. My heart was beating faster.
Then my mother asked him "What is the news?" He said " Ranisa , the king of Mewar is much more powerful and capable than we thought. He killed more than half of our army single-handedly. Many of our capable soldiers also attained martyrdom. The king is surrounded by enemies from all sides but he is fighting them like a brave ruler. I have come here to inform you. Do not lose courage. Maa Bhavani will make everything good." Saying this, he left.
I could hear my mom's sobs she tried to control them but it wasn't possible.
"Now I have to go." I said looking down because I was not able to look into her eyes.
"Where?" she asked holding my hand.
"To Babosa ( father) " I stated.
"You are not going anywhere, your father has given us the responsibility of you, we will not allow you to do this." Holding my hand she said.
"It is very important for me to go Maa, my father needs me and perhaps you are forgetting that I have the blood of a Kshatriya in me, I cannot sit idle like this waiting for news of some mishap. Either I will come back after killing or after dying but trust me, in both the cases you will be proud of me." Hearing this she left my hand.
A few drop of tears escaped her eyes but I wiped it off.
I also started preparing to go to Warfield. Wearing soldier-like clothes and tying my hair, I stood in front of Maa to take her blessings. She did my aarti and applied tilak on my forehead and said "Vijay Bhava" (be victorious)
I nodded and left.
Going to the stable, I sat on my horse like a warrior woman. As soon as I pulled its reins, it started running. In no time, I reached the battlefield.
The situation there was really bad. In the middle of the battlefield, I saw my father sitting on a horse and fighting with the enemies.
Suddenly someone attacked his horse's leg, due to which it died groaning. Now my father fell on the ground, before anyone could attack him, I immediately went to him and killed the soldiers surrounding him. I was wielding the sword with both hands.
When I saw my father losing consciousness, I made him sit on my horse and said, "You go to the palace, I will handle the situation here." I said while caressing my horse and it started moving towards the palace rapidly.
During this time, I noticed that one of my swords was stuck in the horse, so now I only have one of my swords then I turned back and saw that about 10 men were standing in front of me, thirsty for my blood. They started moving towards me and I was also standing ready with my sword.
They attacked me together and I started to separating their heads from their bodies one by one.
Suddenly someone attacked my waist from behind due to which my clothes got torn from behind and my hair also got loose.
Seeing this, everyone was shocked.
I sat down on the ground
"Hey, she is a girl. A girl that too in the battlefield. How is this possible?" They were murmuring among themselves.
Then a voice came. "What is happening here?" someone asked in a harsh tone.
"King, this girl was fighting in the battlefield in the disguise of a man. You tell us what to do with her." One of them replied.
Oh, so this is the king of Mewar. I tried to see him but it was not possible due to this heavyweight dress. I could only see his dark brown eyes which were piercing in my my blue ones.
He came to me and smiled looking at me.
I am not able to see him but I can definitely say that he looks very cute while smiling.
What kind of a girl am I? The man standing in front of me is about to take my life and I am praising his smile here.
Very good.
"Let her go" he said looking at his men and getting down on his knees so he could come to my level.
He bent towards my ears and said "You are braver and wiser than I had heard Meera Baisa. By the way, I have also heard that people lose their senses after seeing your beauty. The time to see that will come soon. I will meet you very soon. Now you go and rest." He extended his hand towards me so that I could stand up and covered me with his shawl so that no one could see my bare waist.
Our soldiers came to save me and the bugle blew to end today's war.
We started moving towards our palace and when I looked back, Mewar's King Abhimanyu was watching us.
Or maybe watching just me.
But why?
Because he wanted to kill you.
But if he wanted to kill me he would have done that just now.
Then what does he want?
～ ᕙ[･･]ᕗ ～
AUTHOR'S NOTE..
I HOPE YOU GUYS LOVED THE CHAPTER
VOTES AND COMMENTS PLEASE
AND I AM STARTING A NEW SEGMENT ( ICECREAM WITH INAYAT) I KNOW I KNOW SUCH A UNIQUE NAME .
IN WHICH I WILL TELL YOU ONE OF MY REAL LIFE INCIDENT IN THE END OF THE STORY SO HERE IS TODAY'S...
Once in my childhood, I was sitting in the balcony of my house when a wedding procession of two brothers passed by. Both of them were sitting on horses. And to be honest, they were very handsome. So I cried for two hours that I also want two grooms.
So stupid of me 😮💨