Chapter 16
Bade Daata sat waiting for Pratap to arrive he knew the young man creating troubles for Surtan Singh was Shakti Rana Uday Singh's young son while his brother had arrived in Bundi to take care of the situation. How did he know it was them? Well he did spend quite a good amount of time teaching both of them the art of warfare, politics as well as survival skills in the Gurukul before he came to Bundi and became a foster father as well as grandfather to Khetu
Pratap entered the meeting place of the rebels with an impassive look o his face but one glance at the elderly man seated in front of him made him smile
Greeting Guruji
Bade Daata: Welcome Pratap or shall I call you Sakha Veer?
Pratap: It will always be Pratap for you Guruji
Khetu: Bade Daata what do you mean Sakha Veer? Is this man here the saviour of the people? Is he here to help us all?
Guru Raghvendra looks at Pratap to answer his foster grand-daughter's questions and so Pratap does as he explains his reasons for being present in Bundi when Shakti along with Patta are brought in as well
Shakti appeared calm but Patta looked nauseous as he still could not believe Surtan Singh was involved with Dheer Bai and on top of that Jagmal was bound to make an appearance as well which meant danger bells for their family
Everyone greeted each other and the new comers (Pratap, Patta and Shakti) were taken through the rebels plan including the part of the ultimate sacrifice when Pratap said
I promise you on the day of the puja evil will meet its end and Bundi will be freed from the clutches of evil and we will bring down our enemies to make an example of them in front of the entire Rajputana
Everyone looks on with great admiration while Khetu still harbours some doubts about it
On the other hand seated in the royal court Surtan Singh and Jagmal were going through various ways of executing their devious plan - Jagmal wanted Ajabde whereas Surtan wanted to get rid of the rebels and both of them wanted Sakha Veer to die as well so they formed a plan which would help them achieve all their goals. As per their plan on the day of the puja DB would keep all the ladies busy and distracted while the princesses would go ahead for the darshan of the holy tree where Jagmal would be waiting with a few soldiers in disguise to kidnap Ajabde who would be there as well. Surtan Singh will blame the rebels for the kidnapping getting the council's permission to kill them all and seeing innocent people get hurt would definitely get Sakha Veer to make his presence in Bundi. As soon as Sakha Veer was spotted Surtan Singh would capture and present him in front of the council making his place reserved in the main council meetings as a leader
They thought their plan was brilliant but the fools they were did not know that the palace was filled with rebels who were in the guise of servants keeping an eye out for things so their plan which they were keeping hidden from everyone was well known by the enemies who had already formed a counter plan to put an end to things
Chapter 17
Pratap brought in all his allies to meet the rebels who now formed a strong force to meet and end Surtan's reign. Khetu and Patta were in charge of getting people safely out of the palace and nearby places Shakti and Balwant were looking at the protection of the princesses specifically Ajabde while GR and the other members were going to target the remaining power heads of Surtan Singh's army as for Sakha Veer he was going after Surtan Singh
The day before the puja was when all the princesses were observing a fast for their would be groom of their choice and DB was taking steps in ruining Ajabde's fast as she knew Ajabde would observe the fast for Pratap but poor DheerBai met her match in an unlikely foe who came running in every time she tried to harm or create unnecessary troubles for the princess. Ajabde had been observing Dheerbai's making all sorts of moves only to be thwarted by this amazing protector she had gained. She met him when Pratap was visiting Bijolia for the Diwali Mela organised annually in her birth home. The mela was a huge event which worked both as a means of increasing capital as well as entertainment for everyone. Ajabde usually spend her time roaming around trying to look for the perfect gift for everyone but this time Pratap insisted on joining her which was good as they both rarely got time to spend together
Flashback
Ajabde walked looking at the different stalls with Pratap besides her when she saw them - round and colourful like a rainbow hanging all together on a thread with light falling on them making them shine more brightly. She went ahead to look at it when Pratap grabbed them and started to help her wear them one by one looking into her eyes making her blush
Pratap: these bangles look beautiful on your hands Ajabde you should get these for yourself
Ajabde: Ji (blushing)
Pratap was about to speak to the vendor when a loud noise distracted them- a man was trying to calm down a white horse who was all agitated and trying to break free from his bounds while his owner was trying to calm the horse down but the horse wouldn't listen
Pratap was looking at it when Ajabde ran towards the horse at lighting speed
Pratap: Ajabde!!! He ran after her but as she reached mid-way the horse broke of his bounds making all the men around him fall on the ground and took off. Ajabde didn't stop and went after the horse making Pratap worry for her all the more. Before the horse could trample her down Pratap who had climbed up a roof jumped directly on the horse's back and took his reins into his hands. Even though he was an experienced rider but the horse gave him trouble before calming down a little bit but it was Ajabde's touch that completely calmed him
Ajabde ran her fingers over his mane while she instructed Pratap to bring the horse back in the royal stable where she tended to an injury on the back of his hind leg which was paining and causing him discomfort while Pratap kept a firm hand on the horse
The owner came looking all flabbergasted and surprised that Kunwar Pratap wanted the horse for himself
Owner: Hukum he can be a bit stubborn but my horse is a really good friend he will never leave you in a lurch once he gets to know you
Pratap: Hmmm that he is. Here is the money for the horse
Owner: No Hukum I cannot accept any money for him because he is like my child just promise me that you will take really good care of him. He is hungry for love - I saved him from monsters who killed his family - they abused them horribly I only wonder how he survived but glad he did because now you can show him that not all men are bad
Pratap stares at the horse that was happily eating the grass Ajabde fed him from her hands
Owner joined his hands and turned to leave
Pratap: Please tell me his name
Owner: Chetak. His name is Chetak
Ajabde: Thank you Chetak for keeping DheerBai away from me. The white horse nodded his hand as if accepting her gratitude making her smile as she ran her hands over his face
Arjun
