"Deva!"
"What?"
Both halted at the entrance to their bedchamber.
"Come with me!"
Saying he took her hand and went outside the palace through a secret entrance that Devasena never knew. She looked at him raising her brows.
"What? Only you know to make secret passages? This is royal palace and we do have our own secrets!"
He chuckled and pulled her through it. The other side of the tunnel opened to the little stream of Jeevanadhi that was flowing to the direction of Mahaparvatham. Devasena frowned as Amarendra pulled a coracle and helped her inside.
"Amarendra where are you taking me?"
"You will see!"
Devasena grunted. Amarendra drove the coracle very carefully minding not to make her feel uncomfortable.
They reached a side of the Mahaparvatham that was completely hidden behind many thick trees. Once there, Amarendra tied the coracle to a post. Devasena followed him into the jungle frustrated. Amarendra took her to the center of the mountain. Suddenly Devasena heard a bird singing. Apart from the sound of running river and the bird singing, she felt the nature around her. Suddenly she felt herself walk. Then she found it.
A beautiful Mango tree, that was as big as marri chettu(Banyan). There was a nice space between its branches that made it look like a house. But only problem was the height at which it was. Amarendra stood enjoying her expression.
"Enti Deva? What happened?"
"I want to go up there!"
She said indicating the little house like hole. Amarendra shook his head smiling as he knew she would ask for it. So he went about making a ladder that was made of tree roots. Devasena stood watching him work to make ladder out of the roots with his little horse headed dagger. The way his biceps contracted gave her heart a tough time as it kept racing. But she composed herself as she saw him finish his work. But her concentration was still on her husband.
He stood aside as she climbed the ladder only to trip and land on him who came to save her fall. She immediately was about to move from on him when his arm closed around her waist and held her to him on the ground. He looked into her eyes as her cheeked pinkened.
"Enti? Na Devasena drushti ekkado unnatundi?"
He asked tongue in cheek knowing her very well. Devasena glared at him and moved away from him letting him gather the roots again. As he was bent, Devasena grinned mischievously and walked to him. Without letting him to get what was going on, She stepped on his back. Amarendra for a moment had his eyes wide. But then smiled knowing his wife. Devasena too smiled which was not unnoticed by Amarendra. Holding her he slowly stood up and let Devasena climb to his shoulders. Then he rose to his full height and let Devasena climb to the tree hole. Following her he too jumped in with a help of a branch. Sitting there on the branch that held the hold, she looked and raised her brow making Amarendra smile and shake his head looking down.
"Devasena! If you are like this! I cannot even start to think of how my child is going to be!"
He said as he settled beside her and plucked a mango for her. Taking a bit of the mango, Devasena turned to him.
"My son is going to be like me! But like you too!"
"Thanks for the consolation."
Devasena laughed looking at the child like face her husband made. But her laughter stopped looking at the intensity growing in his eyes. He closed in, she breathed hard and he closed in more and she was going crazy. His lips brushed lightly on her tasting the mango. That's when she did that.
"Aah! Deva!"
He yelled as Devasena pinched him hard on his hip. Laughing Devasena pulled his nose.
"Never touch a woman without her permission. Else you will be punished"
He pulled her on to him making her gasp.
"I touch only one woman whom I know doesnt complain about my touching"
Amarendra laid himself on the thick branch inside the house like structure. He made Devasena lay on him and caressed her head as she kept her head on his chest and her fingers curled over his heart which made him smile.
"Amarendra! How do you know this place?"
"Amma used to bring me here when I was small. This was a place where she used to bring me and kattappa mama for hunting practice because this Dense cover makes it very difficult to take aim, but later it became my secret abode which not everyone knew about."
"Hmm! Rajamata has done a good job with you."
"Why don't you call her Amma or Atha?"
"Because she has not given me an opportunity for that."
Amarendra understood that there was a lot of depth in that one statement. Though his mother accepted Devasena open armed, he saw something in his mother. A distance she was maintaining from Devasena. He could not put a finger on it. He just kept caressing her hair.
"Amarendra!"
"Hmm?"
"Will you sing for me?"
Amarendra's eyes went wide!
"Huh what?"
"I am sleepy! Sing for me"
Amarendra was taken aback. Now how will he sing? What will he sing? But he should. His wife is asking him something actually demanding. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to sing and remembered a song that he heard long ago when he went on Desayatana in some place.
Aadinchi laalinche amma ledamma neeku
Maharani la chusukune nanna ledu neeku
Kaani kantlo patti chusukune nenunnamma neeku,
Na gundelo thala patti nidurinchamma.
He sang in his rusty voice very slowly tapping her.
Bangaaram toh chesina nagalu kadu,
Vajralu toh nindina makutam kadu,
Naaku antu unde anni sommu nuvve Rani,
Na gunda ni thindu chesi nidurinchamma.
He sang as he slowly fell into slumber not noticing the Tears in his wife's eyes.
Suddenly Devasena felt her shoulder growing heavy. Frowning she turned to see that Amarendra was resting his head on her shoulders as his eyes were growing heavy. Amarendra turned up to look at her and smiled sleepily.
"Na Devasena Drushti ekkado unnatundi?"
She chuckled as she remembered their beautiful moment. Her movement disturbed Mahendra. Caressing his, Avantika's and Aslam's head, she smiled. Then she also caressed Amarendra's hair as he scowled.
And she hummed,
Adugadugula kondaleki vachavu ga
Naa kalalani nijaluga nimpavu ra
Naa vodilo thala patti sayaninchara
Kanna nidurinchara..
Naa swamy nidurinchara..!
Amarendra and Mahendra smiled in their sleep.
And here Ends my LONG UPDATE!
Current Affairs
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