Chapter 26

I am overwhelmed by the comments I've received after the last update and I cannot tell you the number of times I have read each of your comments. I was equally surprised, to walk into our Inn in Arhasi and to find that there were very many new faces in the crowd. On behalf of my Comrades and dear readers, I, Aquiline, The Story Teller of this Gothic Tale, welcome to our circle, Crinklez, Appy_Indy, hellgirl, darya, srija.singh and indiavizion………..

I can never thank enough my dear Comrades and dedicated readers for their latest comments: curious Preetianjita, always there hoopoe, encouraging Vidya, my FF dedicated hatelove, new reader Kvarsha (thanks for recommending this FF to Appy_Indy), happy kushipugly, dear ASRandKKGSRfan, heartfelt kushiarnav, sweet sarun_deewani, dear music1, dearest dingle, chocolaty Vamarhi, My BigSis Kalpana, dear Shalve, mature lover of my FF saomom, steady masaf, dear garlic, dedicated angeldream, outstanding writer areeba, dear sariarshi97, friendly shakethebiscuit, dear AllSmiles, darling sweet Shas, dear deep Idealist, and dear young Shikha…….

Special thanks to dear Breeze for her return to the inn after a long break from her visits……Its good to see you, dear, among the faces of those seated around the fireplace here. This quick update is in honor of your happy comeback! And also for Leafs, my Forum Mentor, who has gone on a pilgrimage and will return to join our gatherings at the inn after three weeks……

Chapter Fifty Eight: Back Home

Payal and her Buaji sat on the steps overseeing the garden and looked out into the evening street.

"Shall I go and search for her?" Payal said a fourteenth time.

"No," repeated Buaji like every time, "That boy Ram has gone already to search for her, hasn't he? He is enough."

"But Buaji-"

"Payalbitiya-" Her aunt had interjected to warn her only to be interrupted when the sound of speeding horse hoofs headed their way.

Both of them stood up and gazed into the street and suddenly out of the darkness before them, came a black horse and upon it was a sleeping Kushi, her head lying against the shoulder of a mysterious rider.

"Kushi!" Payal's anxious address brought the horse to a stop before their garden and by the time Payal and Buaji had rushed to the spot, the man had already dismounted, lifted the unconscious girl down and was coming up the garden, carrying her in his arms.

Payal stopped in her tracks when she recognized the man, "Lord Arnav," she bowed, but when she looked up, her eyes were cold, "What have you done to her?"

She moved towards the man and inspected Kushi. She was relieved to find that her young sister was neither cold nor warm and that she was breathing soundly as if sleeping. Buaji's anxious expression also calmed on seeing the relief on her niece's face.

Lord Arnav disinterestedly looked from the scrutinizing sister to the elderly woman, "Where is this girl's bed chamber?"

"My Lord," Buaji bowed, patting her wig unconsciously, "This way, please."

She was stunned by the fact that the First Lord was in her humble abode and she walked as if drifting in a dream as she escorted him forward.

Buaji led the First Lord up her humble steps, through her humble door and straight into her humble guest room, while Payal followed the procession, anger and worry building inside of her.

Lord Arnav cast a glance over the room that was lit by a lantern on the table, his quick observant picking on everything and missing nothing.

He moved to the bed and laid her gently on it, her head dropping from its repose on his hard shoulder to the soft pillow and his eyes drank in her face one last time before he began straightening up. But then he froze.

His lingering eyes had fallen on her neck and he was taken aback by what he saw. His head turned to look at the other end of the bed, and his eyes spotted the blanket lying folded there. One hand reached for it and he was soon unfurling it and draping it over her sleeping form, his hands clasping the top of the blanket and pulling it up until he had covered her up to her neck.

Then, he released his hold on the blanket, stepped away and began to walk off, but he was barred at the doorway by Payal's suspicious gaze, "Why is she asleep? Or is she unconscious?"

"The latter," he said unconcernedly, "She had probably not had anything to eat in the afternoon and being such a frail thing, fainted, when it was time to return home."

Payal frowned at him, "You starved her to work?"

"She starved herself to work," he corrected, "She always has the choice to take care of herself while doing her work. I only insist my workers on getting the work done before closing time and so what she does before that is her responsibility alone."

"Of course not," said Buaji suddenly, "Are you telling me that I let my niece work under you, not being assured of her safety and health?"

"There was no contract of that sort signed between us that had any assurance of her health being under my care," said Lord Arnav curtly, frowning at the woman, "I am not her father or her doctor."

"My lord, I do not intend to get you angry," said Buaji, "but if my niece has been affected in any way by your dealings with her at your place, I shall have to overlook the respect I have for you presently."

"She is fine," said Lord Arnav, "She is only tired and needs some sleep."

"So you say, sire," muttered Buaji but Lord Arnav did not react to it.

He turned to Payal and decisively tossed his head to the left, indicating that she move aside, and Payal made way for him to pass.

Payal and Buaji had already begun nursing the unconscious Kushi.

Outside, Lord Arnav, on horseback, cast a last look up at the window of the room where she lay.

"Come on, Shadow," he murmured, "This is not where we belong."

And then the rider and his dark horse disappeared into the night which lay affected and awakened to mysterious beginnings that lurked at the bend of time.

Chapter Fifty Nine: Disturbances in the Dark

Kushi ran as fast as she could, slipping on the wet mud but gathering herself up again, as the sound of wild wolves howling and barking chased after her. Suddenly it began raining and as she ran, she tripped. She had hurt her foot, and she sat up, trying to see if she could try to raise herself. The wolves were almost upon her but before they could pounce, a voice called angrily in the darkness.

"Kushi!"

Frozen with fear, from where she sat, she looked up to where the voice had come from. Then through the pouring rain, she saw his tall form appear, his wet hair glistening in the moonlight. He was shirtless like she had seen him once in his room and rain water trailed down his chest muscles, kissing his alluring skin wet. He made towards her and the wolves withdrew, bowing, giving him full access to the fallen prey. He stood before her and then crouched down, one knee on the wet forest floor and, the other bent, with its foot firm on the ground. His eyes glinted as he hungrily looked at her through the rain, and said in a low whisper, "She is mine, alone..."

She shook her head fearfully, the rain falling down her cheeks and tasting like salt on her lips. His face moved closer towards her and she leaned backwards until she was lying on the ground with her back on the wet mud. She could feel the cold and dirt seeping into her skin through her plain gown. He was bending towards her, his eyes seizing her petrified gaze.

"Did you know lions could eat kittens?"

Kushi shook her head, the rain drumming on her forehead and cheeks. The shadow of his face fell over her pale face and she was no more hurt by the rain. His head shielded her from the downpour but as it neared hers, she turned her face away. A pail of scattered cocoons lay fallen beside them and silkworms crawled out of it, fleeing away from the evil Lord.

"My kitten," she heard him whisper in her ears as the rain wept and then she felt his burning mouth on her neck.

Screaming, she pushed him away and sat up, only to stare into the darkness where there was no rain and there was no dirt. But the cold remained and his voice still echoed in her ears.

"Kushi? Kushi?" a gentle but anxious voice called to her from the dark and she felt soft warm hands reach for her in the darkness.

"Jiji?" Relief etched in her voice and she fell upon her sister's shoulder crying. Payal, who had sat up at Kushi's scream, caressed her little sister's hair and, patting, assured her it was alright and that she was not alone.

"Was it a bad dream?" asked Payal.

"Oh, Jiji," wailed Kushi, "Things worse than bad dreams have happened."

"What do you mean?" Payal's heart pained at the sudden realization, "What has that man done to you?"

"Oh, Jiji, if I could only tell you..."

"Kushi," said Payal sternly, pushing Kushi away from the embrace and holding her at a distance by her hands on her shoulder, "tell me, this instant, what you have been hiding all along. I should have known you were lying to me every time you said the work was fine."

"I cannot, Jiji," pleaded Kushi.

"Kushi!" Payal was almost angry, "I will not let you carry the grief alone. Pray, spit it out!"

"I..." Kushi began and then she broke down and cried and, in the midst of her gasps and wailings, she said the whole story of her survival at the Industry to her sister.

Payal paled as each day pictured passed through her mind, seeing her little sister tortured and humiliated and terrified by the pitiless Lord.

"Kushi," sighed Payal, pulling her trembling sister into her arms, "you idiot girl! Why ever did you keep this all to yourself and make yourself his slave...if you had only told it to me, I would have told you how wrong this was. He was merely threatening you, you silly thing! I am certain there must have been a way you could have escaped all this. It is your heated head and your reckless reactions that angered him to make you do all this. And what a cruel man he is!! If I get my hands on him..."

"No, Jiji," said Kushi, sniffing, "I want to forget him, forget my days there…..….I feel ill from the very thought of him."

Unconsciously, her hand reached for her neck. Her skin was extremely hot there; she was probably running a temperature. Payal slid her hand to her sister's forehead and finding it cool relaxed but when she pressed her hand on Kushi's neck, she leapt out of bed, shocked.

"Goodness! What is that?" she rushed to light the lantern and as soon as it was lit, she brought it to bed.

"You are running a high temperature," said Payal, "But why aren't your hands and head warm?"

Kushi shrugged helplessly and Payal inspected Kushi's neck in the light, "Oh dear!!"

"What is it?" Kushi panicked; had her dream not been a dream after all?

"There are..." Payal didn't know what to say, "There are marks on your neck but they are faded and cannot be seen unless we are looking for them."

"Wait! What? Marks?" Kushi was panicking, her fingers running frantically up and down her neck, "Where? Can I feel them? Where is the mirror? Get me a mirror!"

"Stop fidgeting, Kushi," said Payal, "it's probably some scrapes or marks you got when running through that forest."

"But my neck didn't hit anything when running," said Kushi weakly, "I would know, wouldn't I?"

"Probably or probably not," said Payal, more to assure her, though she had a wary feeling about the marks, "But they are faded, Kushi. There won't perhaps be even a tiny trace of them in the morning."

"What do they look like?"

"Emmm..." Squinting, Payal studied the faded marks in the light, "Some are sort of tiny ovals, and there are some that look like...tiny rods."

"Rods?" Kushi repeated, "As in long and thin?"

"Yes, but shorter," said Payal and then she smiled, "you know, they don't look that frightening now. It looks like some sort of sensitive reaction to some insect bite...maybe bed bugs."

Both the sisters looked down on their bed, and next moment had scrambled out of their sheets and stepped on the floor.

"Bed bugs? I don't think so..." asked Kushi, as the girls eyed the bed warily, "Why did they not bite you then?"

She surveyed Payal's neck.

"Maybe they must have tested and found out that the blood in your neck was more tastier than mine," Payal quipped, her eyes shining with mirth.

Kushi pouted and then smiled and she rushed to tickle Payal to irritate her but the sister had quickly shut the light of the lantern and slipped into bed already. Kushi giggled through her dried tears and slid next to her sister and both of them embraced under the blankets and the little sister was comforted and slept soundly, undisturbed by any thoughts or dreams. Not even of bed bugs.

Next update will be on Friday or Saturday, busy with college work, that's why. So until then, enjoy the Sangeet and Wedding Preparations of the hottest fictional couple in Indian Television History………….

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