Jyotimani was walking to and fro while biting her nails nervously. She couldn't get out of the fact that Lavanya knew nothing about adult things. Is princess okay? Did the prince explain to her what actually happens? What if she runs away after knowing what actually happens? Jyoti internally shook her head. No no! I should think positively. Everything is going to be fine. My princess is brave. She won't run away.
Jyotimani was pulled out of daze by the sound of heavy anklets entering the room. Her eyes widened when she saw Lavanya entering the room with grimaced expressions.
"Princess, what happened? Why are you here? Did the prince say something?" Jyotimani immediately walked towards Lavanya while the latter walked past her. "Sister?" Jyoti looked at Lavanya who abruptly stopped.
"He asked me neither to talk to him nor show him my face," Lavanya replied in a cold tone. Suddenly she turned her head to the side while her brows got knitted together forming a frown. She glanced at Jyotimani. "Did someone enter my room in my absence?" She asked in a grim voice.
"N-no, princess. No one e-entered the room." Jyoti stammered while looking away from Lavanya.
"Jyoti, why are you stammering?" Lavanya looked at Jyoti suspiciously. "What are you hiding?"
"N-nothing princess." Jyoti shook her head vigorously.
Lavanya's expressions turned into a serious one while her eyes examined each and every corner of her room. Suddenly half-moon smile formed on her lips. Walking quickly towards her table, she pulled out a drawer and took out a small dagger from it. Turning towards Jyoti, she held her unsheathed her dagger.
"P-princess..." Frightened expressions appeared on Jyoti's face.
Without replying, Lavanya pulled her arm a little back before throwing her dagger to the opposite wall, beside her mirror. "Surya, come out, you don't need to hide." She said in a casual voice while taking off her bangles. "I know that you are hiding behind the mirror. If you don't come out and I will scream."
"Lavanya! Why are you like this!?" Surya finally showed up as he came out behind the mirror.
"Princess, how do you know where he hid?" Jyotimani asked while her brows almost disappeared into her hairline due to astonishment.
"First of all tell me why did you hide him?" Lavanya averted her gaze to Jyoti.
"It's...he asked me to stay silent otherwise he will harm you," Jyotimani said in a low voice while looking at the floor.
"So Surya blackmailed you?" Lavanya chuckled.
"Princess, do you know him?" Jyoti asked as she was totally shaken by Lavanya's calm behavior.
"Yes. He is my best friend." Lavanya smiled. "He won't harm me in any way. But how did he sneak in?"
"It's a long story, your highness." A flirty smile was plastered on Surya's face as he bowed to Lavanya.
"Then explain to me in short," Lavanya commanded like a princess.
"As you wish your highness." Surya smiled.
Flashback
Jyotimani was sitting on the couch while tugging the end of her dupatta nervously. Her brows were knitted together forming a frown while nervousness was evident on her face. Suddenly she heard a sound from the window. She immediately gazed at the direction of the sound but couldn't find anything.
"W-who?" Jyotimani asked nervously while walking towards the window. "W-who is there?" She asked again as we almost reached the window.
Suddenly a man, dressed in all black jumped from the window and entered the room. Before Jyotimani could scream for help, that man put his palm on her mouth, stopping her from screaming while holding her at knifepoint.
"Don't scream! Otherwise, I will slit your throat and take away your princess." He said in a warning tone while Jyotimani struggled to free herself. "Don't think that this mere struggling is enough to free yourself from my clutches, just keep your mouth shut and I will let you go." He said while putting the knife almost at her neck to which Jyotimani nodded vigorously. When he felt that Jyotimani won't scream, he withdrew his hand from her mouth and removed his knife.
"W-who are y-you?" Jyotimani asked while her voice quivered due to fear.
That man's face was covered with a black cloth except for his eyes. His eyes traveled to Jyoti's neck where the herbal paste was applied.
"It looks like your princess already applied medicine to your wound." That man said while his brows arched a little.
"H-how do you know t-that princess applied the m-medicine?" Jyotimani gulped while she couldn't stop fearing him.
"Because the medicine she applied can be only made by her. No other doctor in this area can make this type of medicine." He replied confidently. "Moreover, I know your princess very well."
"W-who are you? W-what do y-you need from my p-princess?" Jyoti asked. "A-are you her l-lover?"
"You ask too many questions." He chuckled as he sat on the couch. "I am Surya and I am not her lover."
"T-then how do you know her?" Jyotimani questioned back in her normal tone when she felt that Surya wasn't a threat to her and Lavanya.
"Calm down first, girl." Surya snickered as he looked at her without removing the cloth covering his face. "I came here to meet her."
"She isn't here now," Jyotimani said. "You are saying that you know her then don't you even know that it's her special night with the prince?" She asked her brows while looking at Surya like a whiny kid.
"I am sure that she will come here after some time," Surya said with a voice full of confidence.
"Why are you so sure about this?" Jyotimani narrowed her eyes.
"Because I know her the best." Surya smiled. "Little girl, don't worry. It's not that I will kidnap your princess."
"Well, then it means you are staying here until my princess comes right?" Jyotimani uttered.
"Yes." Surya nodded his head. "I will hide behind the mirror and you won't even utter a single word about my presence."
"Okay." Jyotimani crossed her arms across her chest. "Let's see who wins. I am sure that she won't step into this room before tomorrow."
"Okay," Surya smirked.
End of Flashback
"Oh! So you two are betting about my first night?" Lavanya arched her brows.
"But princess how do you know that he sneaked into your room?" Jyotimani asked.
"Because of his perfume," Lavanya replied with a confident smile. "Since childhood, he had a special interest in perfumes. So he is used to using perfume wherever he goes. Today isn't an exception. He used his favorite perfume and it helped me to catch him."
"You know me too well, Lavanya." Surya snorted.
"Y-you two know e-each other?" Jyotimani's eyes widened while her brows almost vanished into her hairline.
"Yes, Jyoti." Lavanya chuckled at her expressions. "I know him since childhood. He is my best friend."
"So her name is Jyoti." Surya nodded his head. "But first of all tell me, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to stay with the Prince? Did he drive you away?"
"He said that he doesn't want to see me." Lavanya's voice turned into a grim one. "He is angry with me because he couldn't catch the dacoits because of me."
Surya closed his eyes tightly, trying to suppress his anger. "Lavanya..." He looked at Lavanya while his eyes clearly showed the resentment in them. "Who asked you to marry him?"
"I had no choice." Lavanya let out a deep breath while her facial expressions turned into a cold one. "The king sent the proposal and also it was my father's wish. So I couldn't deny it." She looked at Surya. "Let it go. We cannot fix the past. But tell me first, what are you doing here? You know that I am married and you cannot meet me whenever you want."
"I have something to talk to you," Surya while glancing at Jyoti before averting his gaze to Lavanya.
Lavanya understood what Surya wanted to mean. She turned towards Jyoti. "Jyoti, can you please guard the room do that no one can enter. I have something to talk to Surya in private."
"As you wish, sister." Jyoti bowed to her before leaving the room.
When Jyoti left the room, Lavanya gazed at Surya. "Mn. What do you want to talk about?"
"The dacoits," Surya said. "You were right. The dacoits planned to lead us towards their den and then destroy our existence."
"I know how shrewd Baldev can be," Lavanya said in a serious tone. "But tell me something, why didn't you come along Akshara at the right time? Why did I have to send signals for you? Did Devi Sena already become idle in my absence?"
"Akshara and remaining people were practicing their lessons," Surya informed. "Sorry for being late."
"Wow! So practicing is more important than saving people's lives?" Lavanya glared at Surya. "Suppose today it wasn't me but some other girls or other people who got captured by the dacoits. Do you even know the consequences of being late for help? They could have killed them!"
"I-I am sorry Lavanya." Surya lowered his head. "It was my fault. I should be more cautious about this. This won't happen next time."
"Mn." Lavanya nodded while trying to calm down. "It's okay. I know you didn't come only to inform this."
"That day, I told you that I already found out the location of dacoits." Surya paused. "But...it wasn't their original location. They live somewhere else."
"What!?" Lavanya looked at him. "It means you found the wrong place?"
"Yes." Surya looked at Lavanya with guilty eyes. "Today I tried to find their whereabouts but I failed."
"Baldev is becoming more shrewd day by day." Lavanya gritted her teeth. "Take rest for today. Don't stress yourself Surya. I know that you worked hard." She looked at Surya and smiled. "Surya, I trust you. So I gave the entire responsibility of Devi Sena to you. And you don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"This is why I feel lucky to have you as my friend." Surya smiled. "I will surely find the dacoits and clear the mess."
"No," Lavanya uttered. "Putting an end to dacoits is the job of the royals, not us. You just need to control their deeds and protect common people."
"Lavanya, you are so intelligent." Surya smiled. "Only if your husband has the intelligence to realize it." He huffed before rolling his eyes.
"Forget about it Surya." Lavanya chuckled. "You shouldn't sneak into my room like this. If anyone sees us then both of us will land into trouble. Just use our owls to send the messages at night. Okay?"
"Hm." Surya walked a few steps back and glanced at Lavanya. "You really look beautiful Lavanya in heavy jewelry. If I knew that you are this beautiful, then I would have married you."
"Ah-ha?" Lavanya arched her brow in amusement while a smile was plastered to her face. "Then why didn't you marry me?"
"Because princess Saanvi is more beautiful than you," Surya replied with a playful smile on his face.
"Surya!" Lavanya laughed. "She is already engaged to the prince of Avantipuram."
"She is ENGAGED not married yet." Surya wiggled her brows.
"Don't tell me something bad is brewing in your mind." Lavanya arched her brow.
"Don't worry. I won't do anything bad." Surya smiled "I am just joking around. How can someone compare me with Prince Harshik? He is far better than me."
"I think you are no lesser than a prince." Lavanya smiled. "I think you should go now. It's already late."
"Mn." Surya nodded. "When will you come to have a look at Devi Sena?"
"I don't know." Lavanya sighed. "Maybe soon."
"Take care," Surya said before climbing down the window using his rope.
After Surya left the room, Lavanya called Jyoti.
"Did he already leave?" Jyoti asked.
"Mn." Lavanya nodded while taking off her jewelry. "Jyoti, I am already feeling sleepy. Please help me to remove this jewelry."
After removing all the jewelry, Lavanya changed her clothes into a simple green lehenga vaani with a red blouse and braided her hair.
"Good Night Jyoti." She said before pulling the sheets over her.
"Sister, tomorrow the royal ladies and some guest ladies will visit you. So the Queen asked for your presence in her room in the morning." Jyotimani informed.
"Is this a part of rituals?" Lavanya asked tiredly.
"Yes," Jyoti replied.
"Then wake me up early in the morning." Lavanya yawned. "I cannot have the energy to speak now."
"Good Night princess." Jyoti smiled while Lavanya drifted into a deep sleep.
When Virendra entered Lavanya's room, he saw that the room was dimly lightened while Lavanya was sleeping peacefully. A small smile formed on his face and he walked towards her. He knelt down before her while his eyes carefully examined her facial features.
A small round face, cute little nose, beautiful thin lips. Virendra smiled a little. Her facial features didn't change a bit since childhood. She is still the same. Cute, little, wild cat. He chuckled silently at his own thoughts.
"I am sorry Lavanya. I didn't mean to yell at you." Virendra said in a low voice so that it wouldn't disturb her sleep. "Please don't risk your life for the sake of others. I hope you will forgive me."
He smiled before standing up and then left the room.
.