So my sweet Praja fans I hurt my middle finger today and got a clean pass while showing it off throughout the day😛
So here is the new update...remember the drill leave me and my hurt finger loads of love at the end😉
Chapter 6
DheerBai was never a big fan of waiting but also understood the need for patience but Parvat Das was infuriating her by making her wait for so long as per his last message he had gone to meet Baadshah Khan , he would then inform him about Ajabde's final temple trip where Baadshah Khan would be waiting to capture her and as ransom he will demand Bijolia and then she would make her comeback but DheerBai forgot one tiny little detail that not everything goes according to plan and unfortunately for her the plan she thought would work wonders for her would only lead her to her death and a gruesome one at that
The final temple trip was finalised and preparations had begun everyone was visibly relaxed as spies had got the information that Afghans had moved their settlements to some place near to the Mughal Kingdom though Rawatji and Rao Mamrakh ji did take regular patrols at the borders with a small fleet of soldiers but at the moment even they were not highly concerned about the Afghans rather they were all looking forward to the grand wedding that would take place after Ajabde's final puja
Rao Mamrakh ji let me tell you that I'm going to be from the bride's side and I intend on bringing tons of gifts for my Ajabde Rawatji exclaimed
Rao Mamrakh ji smiled and said of course you have to be from our side besides you will be the one to gift the ancestral weapons and shield along with me, those are some really heavy weapons and I need all the help I can get
Rawatji: What about the jewellery and the clothes? Is everything alright there or...
Rao Mamrakh: Hansa Bai ji said that some tradesmen were coming with collection of clothes and jewellery but I'm not sure when, I need to ask her about it
Rawatji: Don't worry about it we will call for the finest tradesmen we know and tell them to bring only the best for Ajabde
Rao Mamrakh: Yes I finally have a chance at giving her everything. These past 3 years have been a blessing to me I may never make it up to her for my behaviour when she was a child but I try to show my love for as much as I can and she takes after her mother in the sense that gifts do not pacify her easily she rather have people show their feelings through action and words but now she will be married and go from Bijolia when the reality is we just found her
Rawatji: She is not going far Rao Mamrakh ji Chittor is near to Bijolia besides if the past 3 years are any indication then she will be dropping by Bijolia quite often as Kunwar Pratap has a tendency of doing foolish things
Rao Mamrakh: That's true but he also knows how to pacify her. I'm eternally grateful to Eklingji that my daughter will be getting a husband like Kunwar Pratap who loves her and is capable of protecting her
Both men smiled at each other and then received messages from the spies and other villagers
Parvat Das had finally made it to DheerBai who looked at him coldly and spoke in an icy tone what news have you brought for me?
PD: The Afghans have relocated near the village and are preparing for the time but may I ask you one thing why do you want Rajkumari Ajabde to be taken hostage by the Afghans? I mean you could very well use those dacoits who follow all of your orders...
DB: Parvat Das ji it is quite simple you see Ajabde took everything from me so I intend on doing the same to her, once she is taken as hostage Baadshah Khan will hold the upper hand over the entire Rajputana after all she is the so called "Shakti" of the Punwars besides as much as I know her she will kill herself than be taken as a hostage by a foreigner her death would cripple that Pratap and if Pratap is crippled than the entire Mewar family is crippled both Pratap and Ajabde will suffer as much as I have
Parvat Das (thinks to himself) Dheer Bai is a very dangerous woman I must have a back-up plan in case she fails
Chapter 7
The Marwar family had worked a lot to improve their image since Rao Maldev everyone in the family knew of his ways but being an elder no one could ever stand up against him so after his death they all worked for the betterment of the community and even started a civil relationship with the Mewar family. Princess Phool Kanwar was the one most distraught on learning about her grandfather and grandmother's true identities, their hand in ruining another girl a princess's life as well as their deaths. She loved them both dearly and was spoilt rotten as well by them but as she grew up and started to notice her grandfather's weddings with women half his age she would feel bad and sad for the new wives as well as her grandmother but the last 3 years she had matured enough to realise the right and wrong. Her first step was staring a friendship with Ajabde who accepted her as friend without any problems and both of them hit it like they were always meant to be good friends. She also had a civil relationship with Kunwar Pratap well she would call him a good friend but his brother Shakti was a total different case since they had met all they did was fight over trivial things but it was never her fault he started it all the time and then they would get into an argument and a fight would ensue
But she should be concentrating on Ajabde's upcoming wedding she had promised her that she would attend all the ceremonies and would also accompany her on her final trip so here she was preparing for her trip when her Subhagyawati Dadi her late grandfather's last wife along with her mother came in bearing gifts, the gifts were to be given to Hansa Baiji for her daughter's wedding and also a message that the entire Marwar family would be in attendance at the wedding
So laden with gifts and her personal stuff Phool Kanwar left for Bijolia to join her friend before her last trip
Ajabde was quite excited as Phool was coming and then together they would be making the final trip to complete her Puja before her wedding. Wedding it all seems like a dream throughout her time as Janaki she never thought that she would ever get a chance to be with her family be Ajabde again but here she was on the verge of getting married. This final puja held a lot of significance as Raj Purohitji had told her
"The final puja is your way of accepting Kunwar Pratap as your intended and so he will be proclaimed the protector after this puja. You as his would be wife are doing this to protect him from all evils and praying for strength, valour, love, long life and honour so that he is able to carry out all his duties towards the Rajputana but moreover in this puja your ancestors weapons and shield along with the jewels will be worshipped and prepared for your wedding. As I mentioned before you two will be getting married not once but twice - first time you as the Shakti will accept Kunwar Pratap as your protector as well as life partner and then the wedding of Rajkumari Ajabde and Kunwar Pratap will take place. For the final puja you are required to wear the ancestral clothes and jewels the puja will begin quite early and you will observe a fast (one without water like Karva Chauth) and it will break after you and Kunwar Pratap tie the knot in the evening under the moonlight
Ajabde remembered everything and all her essentials were packed she considered herself lucky to be getting a chance to marry the man she loves not once but two times this was one of the reasons that Phool was accompanying her and her parents will come later as they needed to make sure the preparations for the grand wedding were done
She was quite apprehensive as well on going back to the village where she resided for 5 years she did not know what kind of reception would she be given there? After all she did run away ironically on her so called wedding day to that monster Surtan Singh and ran into Pratap and now she was going back to perform a puja for her real wedding with Pratap a mirthless laugh escaped her but then on hearing her mother's voice she gathered herself and went to assist her mother
Chapter 8
Kunwar Pratap, Kunwar Shakti, Patta and Kunwar Balwant along with Chakri, Som, Veeni and Maan Singh all were all doing the last minute preparations before their departure from Bijolia, the Mewar Princes had come the night before a few hours after Phool's arrival in Bijolia and everyone had busied themselves in preparing for the trip ahead of them. Pratap was checking the weapons they would be carrying with them, Shakti was taking a look at the soldiers and other servants accompanying them both Patta and Balwant were taking account of the carriages, belongings and the palkis for the princesses. This trip was an undercover mission for the four warriors who had come to know about the Afghan re-settlement and if the information was correct than Baadshah Khan was already settled nearby the temple Ajabde was visiting as far as the princesses were concerned the four warriors were going along with them as the protective detail also it was their way of spending some time together before everyone got busy with the wedding
Ajabde and Phool looked radiant as they came towards their entourage as usual Ajabde had dressed simply and even Phool had followed her style this time because Ajabde has told her about the long journey it was going to be and a hot one as well
Shakti had to admit that Phool looked quite beautiful when she dressed in a simple manner not that she did not look beautiful when she was all decked up but he didn't know why but when she was all decked up she appeared vain but as he looked at her dressed up simply and smiling he thought to himself that she was quite beautiful
Pratap had to fight his entire self from looking at Ajabde because he knew that if he saw her than he would be entranced by her beauty and would end up making a fool of himself in front of his brother and friends unaware that his no glance or looking was scaring Ajabde who feared that he was angry with her. She had no idea why Pratap did not even greet her she was on time and had even managed to bring Phool on time for their departure maybe she was not looking good dressed down she thought but she was in no way decking herself up when they had this huge journey in front of them and on top of that the sun god was being way to generous so she thought of her own comfort and decided to dress down. She gave a sad glance in Pratap's direction before getting in her palki and then they all left for their destination
Parvat Das came through the gates a few minutes after the entourage had departed and so he never came to know that Kunwar Pratap himself was escorting his would be bride through her last trip. Poor Parvat Das had no idea the storm he thought he had started was about to take him along with it for a terrible ride