Chapter 106

Chapter 179: The Wedding Night in the His Chamber

Lord Akash walked into his room, after a talk with his father, and found Payal perched at the side of their huge bed, her veiled head, bowed.

He shut the door softly and moved towards her, coming to sit beside her.

"Payal?" he looked at her.

She lifted her face, her tear-filled eyes seeking assurance, "Why is he so cruel to her? What did she do to deserve this?"

Lord Akash put his arms around his wife and pulled her to him.

"Brother's actions are often hard to understand," Lord Akash sighed, "But he never does things without there being a purpose behind it."

"Are you telling me he has a purpose for dragging my sister upstairs like an animal?" Payal fumed.

Lord Akash pressed his hand warmly on Payal's back, "In his anger, his actions are often cruel but I know my brother. He will not let any harm come to your sister."

"I wish I could trust your words as much as I trust your love," Payal said sadly.

Lord Akash slid his hands to her face and kissed her on her lips, "If you trust my love, you can trust my assurances, my dear……"

Payal smiled and he kissed her on her lips again.

"My lord," Payal was confused, "What with all that is happening, we can't possibly……."

She faltered, at a loss of words.

"Possibly?" his gaze warmed as he caressed her cheek.

She swallowed hard, "I can't…...I mustn't when Kushi……..."

Lord Akash kissed Payal on her cheek, where the blush was prominent even in the moonlight, "How do you know if Kushi is not being loved by her husband this very moment?"

Payal went red in her face and gaped in shock at her husband. Then she scowled and playfully slapped Lord Akash on his arm, "Don't you dare talk of my sister and your brother that way!"

"What way?" chuckled an innocent Lord Akash.

"That way!" Payal frowned and then looked away because a silly smile had crept on her face.

"Alright, I won't talk of them in any way that makes you uncomfortable," Lord Akash promised, "Forgive me, please, my pretty wife, for I am yearning for you to keep your worries aside……"

Payal looked at her husband and said seriously, "She will be fine, Payal. If she married him, then she is worthy of him."

"But he is not worthy of my sister," said Payal proudly, "My sister deserves a king. And a king with a heart."

"Hm," Lord Akash frowned playfully, "Do I hear my wife accusing my brother of being heartless?"

"He is not only heartless, my lord," Payal corrected, "But brainless too!"

Lord Akash studied his wife's face for a moment, and spoke as though to himself, "Her anger over the way he treated her sister is making her break her own rules of respect……….now, what shall I do to return her back to her sweet self?"

And before she knew it, Lord Akash's hands were at her waist, pulling her to him.

"Kiss me, my wife," Lord Akash whispered.

Payal gasped, "My lord, I-"

"Kiss me, try!" Lord Akash put one hand under her chin and drew her face closer to his. With his other hand, he lifted up her gown.

Payal's lips trembled but she obediently leaned her face towards his, as his gentle hand moved up her thigh and her white veil slid down from her head and slipped slowly to the floor.

After pulling Kushi into his room, Lord Arnav shut the door and, leaving her to stand at the door, he stepped towards his bed, the curtains of which were lifted up.

Kushi's attention, however, was soon claimed by the alien entity in the room.

At the farther end of the room stood an immense cage, its metallic bars thick and shining bright gold.

"Is that….?" Kushi stammered as she stared, bewitched by its brightness, "Is that…..?"

"Gold? Yes," replied Lord Arnav briefly, picking up his night pants that were lying on his bed.

"That was not my query," Kushi looked at him, annoyed, "Is that where you intend me to spend my night?"

"Precisely."

"No," Kushi crossed her arms before her, and looked away when she realized he was about to change his attire.

"I brought it down especially for you," he said mordantly.

"I will not sleep in that thing!" she stated determinedly, frowning at the window.

"You won't sleep on the bed," he asserted coolly, changing into his night pants.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"It's not safe," he threw his other pants into the basket near the lampstand which the servants would collect next day for the washing.

"What do you mean?" Kushi looked at him.

He shot her a look over his shoulder, "Don't ask too many questions, girl, or I'll be pushing you into the dungeon again."

"You won't dare to!" she averred, stepping away from the door, the ends of her veil dancing as she moved.

"Want to see me try?!" He cocked an eyebrow.

"I'd like to see you try!" she glared at him.

She was standing before him now, beside the bed, and they looked at each other like two contenders at war.

But after a long pause, he looked away, "I am tried. I need my sleep."

He slid into his bed.

"I won't sleep in the cage!!" She watched him crawl towards the center of the huge bed.

"Then don't," his voice responded as he lay his head on one of the pillows, his back turned to her, "Sleep on the floor!"

She stomped her foot, "You sleep on the floor, you foul fiend!"

He chuckled proudly, "I am the Lord of this land. I don't sleep on floors."

Kushi narrowed her eyes at his reclining back, the shirt a pale yellow, "You did once……"

"I did not!" he looked over his shoulder, curiously, "When?"

"When in the forest we stayed at the hermit's hut," Kushi prompted.

Reminded of the hermit hut brought back memories of the General sneaking into check on her and he was infuriated.

Scowling, he looked away, shut his eyes and lay still.

Kushi sighed. She looked at the hollow cage, glowing gold, and then at the man who had commanded it to his room. She realized just then that he had not spared a single glance upon that cage ever since it had appeared in visible territory.

Wonderingly and also annoyed by his verdict on her sleeping location, she sank to the floor, sliding her arms around her folded knees as she leaned her back against the wooden side of the bed.

Muttering curses upon the one who had sentenced her to sleep on the floor, Kushi found her mind was too tired to think clearly. Her muttering slowly faded away and her veiled head lolled back against the soft sheet of the bed and she was soon asleep.

However, her sleep was not as pleasant as the ones she always had at home.

Nightmares ravaged her mind and she found herself waking up every now and then and every waking revealed her back and limbs to being cramped and aching. Groaning from the effort of shifting her position on the floor, Kushi realized that when morning would finally be upon her, she would have red-shot sleepless eyes and pains all over her ill-placed body.

When she had woken a fourth time that night, she blinked around the moonlit room and tried to remember where she was.

First, her heart sank and then her lips pressed in anger, and she shot a look over her shoulder at the cruel man sleeping comfortably in his vast ocean-like bed.

"Lordy lord and his-" Kushi had begun to mutter again when she realized he was sound asleep.

He wouldn't know if I climbed into his bed, would he, now? I could wake up before he does and he would not have to know at all……

Thinking so, Kushi struggled to stand up, wincing from the pain in her strained back. Her legs were cramped from the long sitting but the reminder of not waking the sleeping lion cautioned the mouse in her to be extremely careful.

Noiselessly removing her sandals, she lifted the sides of her gown and crept onto the bed.

Probably sensing the extra weight on the bed, Lord Arnav groaned in his sleep.

Kushi stilled in her crouched position and stared at him, praying that he not stir awake.

Thankfully, her prayer was granted for she heard the return of her enemy's rhythmic breathing.

Sighing in relief, she proceeded further until she was nearly at the center of the bed.

At the foot of the bed, inches away from her husband's feet, Kushi lay down.

Smiling to herself, she pressed her cheek to the soft bed and felt comforted. Now she could sleep in peace.

With her veil and long hair blanketing her, crawled like an eager child, Kushi was soon fast asleep.

This time, she was bereft of nightmares and her mind settled into a calmer respite but then something made her jerk awake.

She blinked up at the curtained top of the four-poster bed and recollected where she was.

When she remembered, she sat up, fearing she had been found of thieving a space on his bed, but that was when she realized it was still dark and not yet dawn.

What could possibly have roused me up then? She wondered as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight again to pick the details in the room.

Her gaze was drawn to where she knew Lord Arnav was lying but her heart froze when she found it empty.

"Where-?" Kushi paled. Had he found her out?!

She hastily tried to get out of the bed and had nearly reached the end of the vastness when she heard a shuffling sound on the floor. She peered from the end of the bed and looked down.

Gasping, she stared at Lord Arnav on the floor, his hands struggling with a belt that was around his mouth.

"What hap-?" Kushi was staggered and forgetting her enmity, she reached out to help.

Suddenly, he moved away from her, his eyes fearful.

She didn't understand what was happening and why he was avoiding her aid.

"I'll help you," she offered and stepped out of the bed but he sprung away from her, his back thrashing into his bedside table.

"Careful!" she yelled, and advanced towards him.

With each move she took towards him, he shook his head, his gaze desperate, as his hands clutched tightly at the unbound belt around his mouth until his knuckles were pale with strain.

She stopped nearing him and looked at him despondently, knowing not what was bothering him.

"Tell me what I must do to help you," she asked him, crouching before him where he lay sprawled on the floor before her.

He closed his eyes and groaned, his fingers trembling. He was sweating immensely and his face looked almost colourless.

Kushi was afraid, "My lord, what is happening to you? I-"

Knowing she needed assistance, she had stood up to make for the door when she heard him choke.

She looked over her shoulder, anxiously, and was stunned to see his shadowed face glowering at her, the light in his eyes wild and his teeth bared.

She opened her mouth but no sound came forth. She could only stare, certain that something was not right. The belt was on the floor, wet in some places, but the air he exhibited was a dangerous one, as though he had cornered his prey.

In a swift move, she turned to the door, her hand reaching for the handle, but he leapt towards her and she ducked fearfully, her arms held protectively over her head, and he was left groping at nothing.

When he had sprung at her, he had stepped on the hem of her gown, and when Kushi shot up and scampered away from him, her gown tore and a huge slit formed on the side of her gown up to her knee.

Gasping, she fell to the floor and then she looked up at Lord Arnav where he remained crouched before the door, barring her escapade.

Her only resort was the space behind her, into his room.

Hastily getting on her feet, she kept an eye on her deranged husband as she stepped towards the bed. She had turned her head to crawl over the bed when, from the corner of her eye, she saw him rush at her.

Yelping, she stepped aside in a flash, away from the bed, and Lord Arnav leapt onto the bed, his grasp empty of the victim he had eyed.

She was too numbed to feel anything, but tears filled Kushi's eyes as she moved away from the bed and she blinked them away for she needed her obscure vision as she made her way through the dark room.

Sensing his eyes on her, she ran the other way, her veil flying as she sped across the room, and she looked over her shoulder to see where he was when she smacked into something hard and metallic.

Groaning in pain as she rubbed at where her arms had been hit, she looked up and found herself staring at the huge golden cage.

A guttural snarl from the bed made her lose all senses and before she knew what she was doing, her hands felt around the bars until she found the latch of the door.

Lord Arnav growled as pounced off the bed to grab at her but his hands swiped at thin air, for Kushi had opened the door of the cage and slipped into it in the nick of time.

Panting from the struggles to escape his strange clutches, Kushi stood against the far end of cage and stared at him through the bars.

He tried to put his hand in and get at her, but she moved away from his reach.

Crouching, he orbited around the cage, his hands slipping in every now and then to get her, but she moved away from him, circling within the cage.

Then suddenly he was no there and Kushi stared into the darkness, the silence so still, her heartbeat was loud and alarming.

And then……..WHAMP!

Kushi screamed.

His hand had heavily landed on the hem of her slit gown. She tried to move away but stumbled and fell onto the cold floor of the cage.

He snarled as he clutched at her gown in his fist and a panicked Kushi tried to crawl away from him.

A loud rip resounded in cage, and she stopped moving for the tear in her gown had now reached up to her hip.

Please no……

Lord Arnav tugged at her gown and Kushi fell on her back, her hands reaching out to pull her gown free of his hold.

But he was stronger and however hard she struggled against him, he easily dragged her towards the bars behind which he waited in a crouch.

"No, please no……" she pleaded to him, tears streaming down her cheeks and then, in her utter desperation, she did something she never thought she would have the courage to do.

She bit his hand.

Growling angrily, he let go of her gown and Kushi scampered away from him.

He looked at his hand as his fingers touched where her teeth had sunk in and then he looked at her, his eyes blazing with renewed wildness and anger.

Kushi paled as she watched him slowly rise to his feet, almost like a bear, and then his hands were clutched at the bars trying to pull them apart.

Kushi remained still as she watched him work at the bars, and she relaxed somewhat for she knew the bars were real gold and nothing could bend gold bars as thick as the ones on this cage.

But her heart leapt to her throat when she saw the bars bend where he pulled at them.

Her lips parted in shock as she watched his strained hands push the bars wide, the veins on his throat and his arms protuberant in the pressure he was putting to get the bars moving.

It was too late when she decided to get on her feet, for in a sudden move, Lord Arnav had squeezed through the space he had made between the bars.

Towering before her, his shadow fell on her petrified face where she sat cowered in the corner of the cage.

She watched as she slunk to the floor of the cage and crept towards her.

Trembling, she stared at his face as he neared hers and she closed her eyes when she felt his nose brush against her cheek. Kushi paled when she realized he was sniffing her.

She pressed her lips together to not scream in panic and tried to calm down.

She stilled when his sweat-drenched hair, which had fallen over his forehead, pressed against her cheek, and she gasped when she felt his warm wet mouth on the side of her neck.

His strong hands were at her ankles and with one gentle tug, he slid her to the cage floor, the long veil on her head spread on the floor below her like her wings.

She braved to look at his face and saw the wildness swirling in his unusually dark eyes. Her gaze slid to his lips that were moving towards her face.

She looked away but clenched her hands when she felt his mouth at her jaw.

She whimpered when she felt the heat of his tongue.

Breathing hard, she tried to roll away from him, but his arms were resting on her either side and she could only helplessly stare at the bars beside her as his mouth continued exploring her jaw and neck.

She groaned when his tongue licked down her neck and along her shoulder.

A tear drop slid down to the floor as his hand tore her sleeve off and his warm mouth sucked at her shoulder.

Goddess Mother…….she prayed, flinching when his warm breath brushed against her naked shoulder.

In a sudden flip, he had turned her over and he moved her veil and hair away from her back.

She bit her lower lip, as she felt the burning touch of his rough hand at her hip where the tear on her gown exposed her skin.

He slid his head under her veil and breathed in the scent of her maiden hair. For a long while, he caressed his face against her long hair, and strangely, Kushi found herself calming down.

And then, as though from somewhere far away, she heard him moan, "Kushi……."

Kushi stilled, recognizing his drowsy plea.

"My lord," she whispered but he didn't hear it.

Under her veil, he rested his exhausted head and, breathing in her beautiful hair, he soon fell asleep.

Unfortunately, sleep was a far thing for Kushi for she was too flustered by the bewildering events of the night that she could only lie still, staring at the bended gold bars of the cage, fearful if what had become of Lord Arnav would appear to terrorize her again. She realized that if given a choice she would happily lock herself in the dungeon rather than put up with the chase she had just endured by the monster of her husband.