Chapter 95

Rabba Ve, folks.

Thankyou for the love and comments and good wishes, everyone. Welcome Rabiabegum, Lankan, amaypranay, namita11 and sanamsky to Arhasia. Hope you will like your visits here. Congrats Sansu on winning the throne and the hugs did do their *cough* work. Dear Shipra.Aqua, excited aafreen, dearest Farwa, darling Noor, sweet tender-coconut sister Music, rini_kat, dear dhrashtee, darling ShrutiPandey, dearest Mouktika, sweet rockingsoni, khareshelley, dear Mxk, 123vava, Keerthi, smartgirl9009, always rocking saomom, darling Lyraa whose presence at the Inn always has be bowing in gratitude, kaur, hatelove, darling gmsk with her tripping 'and's, varhsapan, Silver Fairy who was once Artemis, yashal khan who was once chochoo, dearest darling Hoopoe, flowers4u, vidya, gayatri, prabha, siamesecat, sweettintu, dear zainza, darling zonera, sweet shijina kutty, my Jammykins, sanjana, my darling Heta and her amazing humour, dearest Leena with her wonderful lil' fellas who always have me laughing, Surya, dear friend revathy, sweet sree_dey, dearest shikha, dear STB, sweet karsvinu, dearest friend saga_twilight, my BS Kalpana who had peeped into the Inn to say she was happy, sweet vaishiksg and seshatree……..all the love you guys give me simply delight my days!

Oh wait! What is this that the InnKeeper found at the doorstep of our Inn?? Some kind of announcement?

I am nervous. Very nervous. Because this Second Climax is the Major Point in the Tale, the Vulnerable Phase, where I stop "rewriting" the plot of IPKKND and commence the story my way. I have planned out the entire skeleton of the future of this FF till its 400^th chapter but I am not sure of what effect each chapter will provide its readers.

But the tale is not the matter I want to mention now. It is the security of the story.

Until now, I was kind and calm in my reactions to Plagiarism, but from this point, I am serious. Dear Potential Plagiarizers, I know you love my tale and want to share it with others outside of IndiaForums but the creator of this story WANTS to keep this tale here in IndiaForums alone. So refrain from sharing this story on any other sites or blogs. Also, I know very well that there are many readers (silent as well as commenting) who have saved the chapters onto their personal computer. I have no issues with it as long as you keep it to yourself and safeguard it as though it were a secret treasure you were entrusted to keep safe. There have been some readers who have been kind enough to ask my permission for saving my chapters on their desktop and I have only been affirming always. Because I trust too easily and I know you will not betray my trust.

Once again, thank you for loving Arhasia and for taking this FF to your heart and protecting it with utmost sincerity. Because a writer cannot protect her story along (especially if it as long as 168 chapters). However, she CAN protect her tale if she has readers who care about the FF as much as the writer does.

Chapter One Hundred Sixty Eight: Turning the Corner

It was sundown and the procession was to begin in an hour. After having sent OmPrakash off to hurry on a horse and hand the bouquet to the bride at the South Village, Lord Arnav had left for his room and on his way he met his sister near the foot of the stairway.

"Did you give it to her?" she asked, her hand on her inflated middle, the motherly radiance on her beautiful face.

He nodded, "She's in the ballroom with Nani."

And he would have continued his flight up the stairs if his sister hadn't put a hand on his arm and appraised him amusedly, "Why! Do my eyes deceive me or is my Chotey looking unusually thrilled tonight?"

"Don't be daft, Di," muttered her brother, with a frown, "It's a perfectly usual evening with nothing out of the extraordinary happening."

His sister narrowed her gaze at him and he sighed.

"Alright, may be its because its Akash's wedding, marrying the girl he wanted," stated Lord Arnav, "Would that reasoning suffice?"

She smiled, "Only one thing will make suffice me, Chotey." She cupped her brother's face and her sad eyes lit up, "Watching you getting wedded!"

He stepped back and cocked an eyebrow, "You're unbelievable, Di! Always adamant to hover the noose of ritualistic marriage over my head! Didn't you see what state Lavanya left in?"

"Lady Lavanya was a good friend of yours," said his sister, holding his hands in hers as she continued, "But I know just the girl fit to be your wife."

He paused and his eyes were curious, "You do? Who?"

His sister's eyebrows shot up in mock amazement. "Oh! Are you in earnest to know?" she teased. She had seen him arrive on Shadow with Kushi and had seen the way they had shared a glance before parting their ways.

"No, I suppose not. I couldn't possibly be interested," said her brother, turning to head for his room.

"Of course and it is good you are not that interested," said his sister, watching him slowly climb the steps, "Because that girl deserves a man who will sincerely love her and since you claim yourself heartless, I don't see how I will be helping her fulfill HER dreams. Nonetheless, I am certain after her sister is wedded off, her parents will immediately set out to seek a worthy man for her."

And with that Lady Anjali turned about and headed for the garden, a clever smirk on her face, while Lord Arnav stood paused half-way up the stairs, staring at his sister with a lost look in his gaze.

Lady Anjali walked into the garden, clutching the sides of her gown.

She stopped near the rose bush but without giving it a glance, looked to her right and her left, as though searching for someone.

Her eyes spotted the man standing tall and thoughtful beside the lake, his hands in his pockets and his gaze trained towards the sky.

With a demure smile, Lady Anjali walked towards the man, her hand on her abdomen.

He heard her before she reached him, and with his hands still in his pockets, he looked over his shoulder and smiled at her, "What is my Lady Queen doing out here in this cold night?"

Lady Anjali slid her arm around his and leaned her head against his strong shoulder, "I love it when it nears the winter. Do you see how beautiful the leaves look when autumn visits Arhasia?"

The General glanced at the trees in the garden, "Well, I can't see the beauty in the trees in the night. We'll have to wait for tomorrow morning."

Lady Anjali beamed, "And how different tomorrow morning will be! A new sister for me is coming to the Castle!"

The General nodded, watching her face, "You look beautiful when you smile."

"You would find me beautiful in my every expression," remarked Lady Anjali, bashfully.

"Quiet right!" the General winked, "In fact, I think you look your best when you are in tears."

He chuckled when Lady Anjali playfully slapped his shoulder, "How you like to tease me so!"

"I have only you to tease," said the General and he kissed her cheek.

"Well, you will soon have someone new to tease soon," she said and placed a hand on her womb.

The General's expression turned serious and he looked at the ground, thoughtfully.

Lady Anjali was worried, "Is something wrong?"

The General shook his head.

"Then why is your….…." she began, but paused and found the courage say, "I have been noticing it for quite a while now, my love. It seems you are not…...happy about us having-"

"It's nothing," he said shortly, and frowned, "Shall we refrain from talking of this?"

"So it is true," Lady Anjali was hurt, "You are not happy that you are going to be a father."

He looked at her, "And you know why."

Lady Anjali paled, "You don't think………." She breathed in, tears welling in her eyes, "No. No, my love. You mustn't fear. Why do you fear so? I assure you, this child will not bring you pain. She will teach you to forget."

The General closed his eyes, "My nights are a torment again."

"Maybe once the child is born the torments will end," suggested Lady Anjali hopefully, wanting her husband to love their unborn child, "Maybe the child is the one who will cure you."

He frowned at her, as though she had uttered something idiotic, "This child is not the one who will cure me."

"How can you be certain?" And then she blinked, "Are you telling me that you know who can cure you then?"

A face crossed his mind and he sighed.

"I am willing to be cured," he said abstractedly, "But the cure will take some time to be willing to heal me."

"I don't understand," said Lady Anjali, her gaze confused, "You are talking in riddles."

He smiled at her, "You don't worry about me, my Lady Queen. I know what is needed and I will take care of it. You just worry about the child in your womb."

The butler, after having monitored the servants readying the procession carriages, was turning to head for the living room when he saw Miss Kushi walk towards him.

"Why! You look quite immaculate in that white gown there, Miss Kush!" said the butler, his kind elderly face smiling at her with pride, "You must be really happy for your sister!"

"Very, Rahim Chacha!" said Kushi, delightfully, "You will come for the wedding, won't you?"

"I won't miss it for anything, Miss Kushi," the butler winked at her, "I am escorting Lady Mother like I always did. The procession will begin in an hour."

Kushi nodded, "I am excited and nervous all at once, Rahim Chacha. The First Lord has asked me to escort Lady Anjali through the procession."

"Ah, the First Lord is very protective when it comes to his sister," said the butler, "And to think that it's the first time in many years he is letting her venture out of the Castle grounds, I would say he would want to be extra careful. I suppose that is why he has chosen you I suppose." And the butler leaned closer and whispered, "He must trust you!"

Kushi went red in her cheeks, "No, he does not. I mean…..…he knows I do well any work I am ordered to do. Do not forget, I was his best employee at the Industry when I had been there, though he gave me the most absurd errands to accomplish."

She nodded importantly and the butler laughed, patting Kushi's head playfully.

Then he excused himself to see to the arrangements but had barely taken a few steps away when Kushi called out, "I forgot why I came to you…..….do you know where I can find Lady Anjali?"

The butler looked over his shoulder, "Yes, I believe I saw her going out into the garden. She must have gone to get her husband where he is waiting for the procession to begin."

Thanking the butler, Kushi turned on her heels and headed for the garden, cold winds blowing wildly as the land of Arhasia prepared for the approaching winter.

The hem of her beautiful white gown slid over the cold grass as she cheerily made way through the garden of the Castle.

As she walked, she traced her fingertips along the Castle wall, a smile on her face from the memory of all that Lord Arnav had said to her in the forest.

Her heart felt elated. Her sister was getting married to the man who loved her and who would keep her happy. Just like how Kushi had wished for at the North Temple's Wish Ceremony……...…

And there was another reason why Kushi was happy: She realized she was falling in love.

No, Kushi paused, I am in love. In love with a man I had vowed once to always hate.

She chuckled, remembering the mad thoughts that had raced through her mind after the first time she had met him, after he had thrown her to the ground when he'd found her inspecting his rosebush.

She was lost in her thoughts, feeling light at heart, when she found herself turning the corner of the Castle wall and stepping into the open space of the garden.

Her gaze slid beyond to where the lake was in the distance.

She smiled on seeing the couple in embrace, the man leaning down to kiss Lady Anjali on her lips.

How much he must love his wife! Indeed, Lady Anjali is worth such a loving man………

And then the man lifted his face from his wife's, the shadow over his face sliding away as the moonlight shone down on his countenance, and Kushi's smile froze.

Oh my! I can almost see all your expressions even before I have posted this chapter! You will just have to drink an ample dose of patience if you need to get the rest from me. Its a struggle making time to be regular but I love narrating this tale to you all because its about IPK and we all loved the show! Just like the Night of the First Climax which took needed many chapters, the Second Climax will also unveil little by little in a number of chapters...So the night is not over yet!

Those who need me to send a pigeon (Private Message) to announce you about my narrations (updates), do not hesitate to buddy request me. HOWEVER, I will not accept buddy requests from those I have never come across even once. Unknown names will be deleted from my Buddy List for it is not economical for me to PM to a long list of names.