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Help Me, Uday
'Uday,' Jai sobbed dramatically into the phone, 'Just look at the nerve of that chawl girl...I can't go anywhere now.'
Uday nodded, half-distracted by the readings on his treadmill. It was a specially imported one that told you how much you'd walked in an amount of time. Apparently he'd burned out only two miles that day. What the hell is happening to you Uday? Walk faster. He increased the speed while simultaneously cooing to his distressed friend, 'It's okay sweetheart, I'll tell Dadisa-'
'You don't understand!' Jai moaned, 'She's actually grounded me!' Uday frowned. He couldn't be too sure, but he'd detected a frustration more unnatural than her usual princessy airs in her voice. 'And anyway, she doesn't trust your chaperoning skills anymore, we both know that,' Jai said hastily, eager not to let Uday make out the actual intensity of the rage boiling inside her.
'Hmm, hmm,' he said, while nodding with satisfaction at the beads of sweat standing out on his arms. That's good. Keep those muscles strong baby.
'I'll..I'll call you later,' Jai said suddenly. 'Yeah, I'll be waiting,' he drawled, while flexing his biceps in the mirror. He sighed with relief as she cut the call and made a mental note to visit her as well as check on the Jungli Billi later. I can't wait to see what new drama is happening inside there, he thought with a smirk. Jai had refused to divulge anything, leaving him no choice but to investigate later.
Uday sighed as Unnati called him, and stepped off the treadmill. Uday loved working out more than anything else, even partying. He loved the feeling of pushing himself to the utmost boundaries of his strength, of seeing the way his body heaved and strained itself in ways that a prince's frame was not supposed to bend. As a child, Uday had been disgusted by the fact that after Independence, most of the royals in his dynasty had succumbed to the comforts of their wealth and instead of training themselves for battle, had become obese hoteliers instead.
Idiots, he thought, able to train neither their mind nor their body. God only knows how the princesses of other families ever managed to like them. It amused him to think that Maanyata had no idea how lucky she was to find someone like him.
God, Maanyata, he thought dreamily, walking outside to where Unnati was waiting to tell him another piece of royal gossip. However, his mind was already on the 'chawl girl'. How are you ever going to charm her? No matter how hard he tried, she refused to soften to him. Instead her mind kept on wandering over, or was rather fixated to her Roadside Romeo, Aakash. That weakling, thought Uday, wrinkling his nose. Those who fight for a princess' hand must be capable of knowing the heart of one. Uday knew Maanyata right down to the 'T' of her 'Halkat'. But the trouble was, he also knew that she was obsessed with her old boyfriend, and not at all interested in her newly proclaimed fiance.
'Dada, are you listening?' asked Unnati intently. 'Yes,' said Uday, evidently bored, 'She ran away with someone else, so what...I'm not interested in such lesser cousins anyway.'
Unnati chuckled. 'Dada, it's not her title you should be interested in, it's her "someone else". Do you know that he's just an ordinary engineer? Nothing bad in being one, but still, he's totally red-blooded. And that Aakash fellow, he's not even that-'
'Don't take his name,' growled Uday, gritting his teeth. Unnati stared at her brother, taken aback. 'I mean,' said Uday laughingly, 'why do you worry so much? You know that when I want something, I don't let anyone come in front of it. And Maanyata's kingdom had been promised to me when I didn't even know the meaning of marriage.'
'Dada,' Unnati said carefully, 'her kingdom had been promised, not her.'
'Whatever,' Uday yawned, evidently disinterested, 'just chill. If anything or anyone tries to interfere, you know very well how I deal with my enemies...'
He quickened his pace, eager to get rid of his sister. Ordinarily, Unnati was his one and only confidante, but right now her talks were just a bit too realistic for his ears. Okay, so maybe now that the country was free, people did have a right to marry whoever they wanted. At the same time, they were bounded by birth to obey traditions. Maanyata would never be able to escape her inner princess. And she certainly wouldn't be able to escape him.
---
Maanyata hesitantly walked towards her room, still feeling awkward due to what had just happened. Mataji had just taken her side instead of Jai Nandini's. It would have made her dance with joy, had the situation not been so weird. On one hand, there was her, basti-waali Monia, incapable of being a royal, who sat cross-legged to eat at the dining table, who broke all the rules and loved getting away with it. And there was Jai Nandini the spoilt brat, who behaved every bit like a princess, and now she was in trouble.
How can Mataji love me more than her? Maanyata thought. The night before, it had unexpectedly touched her that the Rajmata kept a photo of her by her side when she slept. And despite the fact that she had not truly accepted her as her Dadisa, she couldn't deny the wisdom that sparkled in the older woman's eyes. Her own supposed 'father', that idiotic Maharaja, had accused her of being a thief. Perhaps the Rajmata truly did care about her more than she showed.
Maanyata decided to cheer up. After all, that stupid J would not get to enjoy any of her nighttime pleasures now. And anyway, why should she waste her time on that witch when she should be phoning Sonu and Chinki right now? She immediately decided to call them and ask whether they'd reached the chawl safely. Despite the fiasco that had been the sleepover, she couldn't help but wish that they had another one, this time with more tricks up their sleeves to irritate Jai and her gang.
Maanyata opened the door, and the blood in her face drained away before her mind even registered what had happened. Jai's side of the room was as pretty as ever, but hers was a mess. The rope she had tied to mark her territory had been cut. Her entire camp-out had been pretty much been invaded. Her mattress, her clothes, everything susceptible enough to human nails had been torn to shreds. Her steel suitcase had been flung in one corner of the room, with pieces of what remained of her belongings spilling out of it.
Jai smiled triumphantly from behind the door as she saw the shock and horror on Maanyata's face. Before she could face her elder sister's wrath, she decided to run away to some secret place in the palace. Her anger still wandered like a cloud over her head, refusing to let her accept the full extent of the damage she had done. You fought well Maanyata Jiji...but what will the queen do without her weapons now?
---
Uday whistled as he strolled through the corridors, smiling benevolently at the servants as they bowed their heads in respect to him. They have such old-fashioned uniforms, he thought pityingly, the same old red and yellow. I should really get them changed now.
He went about on a customary greeting round the way he always did, and announced to a pleasantly surprised Dadisa the reason for his visit-her beloved grand daughter Maanyata. 'She's in her room,' the Rajmata said, as he cunningly diverted the topic of conversation from royal affairs to the newly-imported princess. 'Oh and yes, it will please you to know that slowly, our Maanyata is accepting her identity as a princess.' I already know that, he thought, rolling his eyes, while smiling and saying, 'That's really great Dadisa, if you may...'
'Surely,' she said, daintily sipping on a cup of tea. Uday sprinted upstairs, grateful to escape from the stuffy, formal atmosphere that he always had to endure whenever he spoke to any royal elder. As he once again found himself alone, he resumed whistling, before stopping at Jai's bedroom. Where's J, he thought. Usually, whenever he came, she practically bounded downstairs to meet him. Must be wallowing in self-pity somewhere, he thought,heavily amused by the fact that she was finally getting the major drama she liked so much.
Nevermind...you'll have to flirt with your honewaali Maharaani now. He pushed the doors open and was about to make a grand entry by saying 'Hello Princess-' before stopping short as he saw the state of the room. It was as if Hurricane Katrina had ripped through one half of it, while the other half seemed to be in calm weather. As he calmly swept his eyes over the destruction, he instantly recognized signs of Jai's anger in it. Looks like someone threw a little tantrum with her Jiji.
His eyes suddenly fell upon Maanyata as she knelt over what remained of her possessions, gathering them in her arms as if they were her children. He dismissively gazed at her, wondering why she was getting emotional over such worthless things. When he had been a child, he had not thought even twice before reducing his room to tatters, and had not shed a single tear for any old, discarded toy. However, his eyes also happened to look into hers as she slowly turned her head around to see who had come. And though she remained motionless, her eyes silently seemed to plead: Help me,Uday.
He desperately wanted to derive some humor from the situation, but the obsessive-compulsive prince inside him was stronger. Unable to take the disorganized state of the room any longer, he began to silently pick up the torn and tattered belongings that were scattered around and return them to their original place in the heap of dust bunnies that had been her mattress. As for the first time in his life, his hands wandered over the marble floor, he couldn't help but think that it would have been better if the cockroaches she had unleashed a week ago would have come here now.
She watched him motionlessly, and the surprise in her eyes conveyed the message that his nerve cells had forgotten to give him-It's the servants' job Uday, not yours! He hastily withdrew his hands from the floor, wondering how the hell had he managed to touch ground level and not even realized that as a prince, he was not allowed to bend at even the slightest of angles, let alone kneel to pick up something.
He got up, dusting his hands. I think I should spray disinfectant on them now, he thought, praying to the stars that his parents would never discover the gaffe he had made just then.
'Tum?' she asked, still in her element, despite the rule he had just broken for her.
'Why?' he said, his familiar grin returning, 'Can't visit my fiancee?'
'Shut up,' she said snarkily, and he literally envisioned a pair of gleaming canines snapping at him. 'Don't play any games with me. I'm sure this was your idea.'
'Whaaa-at?' he said, narrowing his eyes. 'Oh c'mon princess,' he said, trying to keep his indignation at her ingratitude out of his voice, 'I don't even know what happened.'
'Liar,' she muttered. 'I'll see that Jai Nandini now...but for you, I'm going to reserve my special treatment.'
He looked at her in shock as she marched out with the dignity and pride that-much to his secret pride-only a princess could muster up. The Lion Queen's hurt, he thought endearingly, and we all know what she's going to do to avenge it.
He sighed. Poor Jai. After all, Manyata was his fiancee.
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