SS - Heartbreak Warfare (pt.5 p.8 Upt 02/27) - Page 6

*Holds hands up in the air in mercy* I am so sorry for the super-delay in updating. What can I say, except the truth -- every time I went to write, I got distracted. Okay, enough with the excuses. Let me tell you that this next part is kind of a filler, so don't jump out of your chair (as if😆). My khaali-dimaag has managed to come up with some ideas for the future track of this crazy concoction called "Heartbreak Warfare." As always, thank you, and please let me know how you managed to survive to the cheers!

Part 5

[UV]

Priceless. The nine-letter-word raised itself from the unseen corners of his mind the instant the words left his mouth. What was more entertaining than anything else, was the way her face contorted so quickly and flawlessly, and then simply froze. There was clearly no thought process attached to the movement. The lens of his vision had flashed several times already, cascading full attention to each detail of hers and safely folding it into memory. He knew the curve of his lips perturbed her, but how was he able to resist when such wealth of amusement was packaged and addressed in his name by the Almighty himself. Even the wandering gaze would be forced to pause upon the royal phenomena Devgarh had so appropriately titled Manyata.

He would be a liar in refusing her personality -- rich with confidence, importance, and respect. While one could question the validity of "confidence," currently being attached to her, there was no ounce of uncertainty regarding her value and respect (self and external). But then again, when any three of these was in imbalance, how could she keep herself in check with Moniya -- the one whom she claimed to be. Before he could further mull over her uniqueness, the sides of her right eyebrow began to scrunch together, forcing the middle to form an upside-down "v."

"Tu mujhse itni nafrat karta hai toh abhi tokh de na. Tere saath saari zindagi sadne se toh acha hai ke main ek baar mein hi marjaoon." (If you despise me to such length, then why not just shoot me here. It's better to die in this instant than suffering a slow, torturous death in a life spent with you.)

Her dark orbs had somehow stolen the fire grazing from the blueness above. Surely, I should be a pile of ashes by now, he thought with tinge of amazement. He could tell by the looseness in her jaw that she was looking for more words, but they were far from her reach. A smile of triumph curved inside of him at the thought of her speechlessness. Hum bhi rajwadey hain aakhir, lafzon kii kammi koh khamoshiyon se guftagu furma dein.

But as always, she was full of unexpected twists and turns.

"Marjaoongi, lekin tujh jaise halkat vede ke saath kahin nahin jaoongi... aur tumhaare uss chidiya ghar mein, bilkul bhi nahin" (I would rather die then go anywhere with a halkat, veda like you... and that too, to that zoo of a house of yours, never).

Her steamy eyes slashed his warm ones holding her captive. Yeh hui nah rajkumariyon waali baat, his silent encouragement of her bagawat (rebellion) was evident of the thrill she provided him. She was afte rall, the needle in the hay-stack... the one whom he had perhaps unknowingly, searched for the past sixteen years. And here she was, prize-packaged in the form of a boom-box, whose tunes his auditory senses could not yet quite pin-point, but also never resist. But that was what made her so alluring -- she was deceptively uncomplicated. What remains the largest mystery of his life, was to others, simply an uneducated, loud and rambunctious chawal wali ladki come rajkumari.

He could handle the vastness of the skies, but resistance was a virtue he willingly ignored when it came to her. Lifting a curious index finger, he traced the stray hairs hovering over the side of her face. Somehow, like her personality, the errant strands had escaped the rigid hold of her braided mane. Registering the dumbfounded expression casting a shadow over her face, he moved in closer.

He could feel the tension that grew in the air that circulated between them. But the changing hues of her iris only seemed to encourage his impishness.

"Humaare chidiya ghar mein ek kammi hai Princess... Jungle billi ki. Ab aap toh jaanti hain, jungle sher ke bina kitna soona-soona lagta hai... Aur sherni ki binna sher" (There is one lacking in my zoo Princess... that of a wild cat. And as you know, a jungle is just not a jungle without a lion... and a lion without his lioness).

A wayward current carried his words diligently to her ears, lingering in one spot a little longer than usual. They moulded silently into her chehra like a feather bidding adieu to it's owner. A feral urge to hold her face between his hands chased away the commotion erupting from the isolated corners of his emotions. But just as they threatened to boil over, he removed his finger and the rest of himself, allowing silence to do the talking, while he reacquainted with Yuvraj Udayveer Singh.

In one swift motion, his fingers reignited the deadened engine, bursting them into motion once more. As far as his eyes could stretch, a dense green edged the road ahead. She could see it too, he noticed from the ends of his vision.

"Aur waise bhi Princess, iss jungle mein hum dono ke ilava na jaan kitne aur bhooke jaanwar honge" (And besides Princess, I'm sure there are other hungry animals in this jungle right now).

Protest arose in the form of her slack mouth, but after a moment of silent contemplation, it stiffened, remaining thus for the rest of the ride.

***

[UV]

"Manyata, humara baazu pakadiye" (Manyata, hold my arm). Her eyes grew wide in response to his pitch. There was no doubt that the tone of his voice held no room for choices. His audacity however, did not surprise her. Rather, she felt compelled to ignore it. And that is exactly the impression she intended to put forth with crossed arms.

Beneath the surface of annoyance, she felt the curiosity scream within her. Unwillingly, her attention was again caught by the frenzy of unidentified bodies clamoring against one another. An intense round of flashes caught her in a moment of unawareness, and she felt her head spin while the earth beneath her feet dizzied. Automatically, her hands grasped for steadiness, finding them encircle firmness.

After a few seconds of jittery blindness, her vision refocused, allowing her to re-find the surroundings. Shaking her head gently, her attention re-visited the source of her spinning world.

The swarm of individuals reminded her of a hoard of bees, readying to search for pollen. It was a conglomerate of persons all vying for a single interest -- her. Shifting her gaze towards the velvety red upon which she stood, she took a moment to let the foreign sense of self-consciousness wave over her. On impulse, her anxiety was let loose on the firmness still encased within her hands. The scrunching of her fingers brought an onset of sudden awareness, and her eyes fled to the person next to her.

He was waving towards the blinding lights, the loud whispers, the buzzing gossip, the balloons of curiosity... yet she could sense the twitch in his jaw muscle, telling her the obvious -- his attention was on every detail of hers. The arm on which she found support was not guided by blindness, but deliberation. He could very well be a lens, capturing her behind the safety of a digital gadget. The self-consciousness recently fighting her ego, she realized, was not because of the numerous inquisitive eyes eating up what she was wearing, saying, not saying, doing, not doing... but, the ones dazzling the flashes. A lump filled at the base of her throat as she caught the drifting smirk adorning his lips. It greeted her momentarily, before re-addressing the mob.

The ends of her skin stiffened. Marjana na hove taan, she cursed him silently, but really, the target of her berating was someone else. Tu Moniya hai, she reminded herself with a re-kindling appeal. Closing her eyes briefly, she re-opened them, while simultaneously letting go of the arm that had held her steady. She noticed a minute pause in the atmosphere as she inhaled her next breath. Ironically, the noiselessness in the atmosphere gave off the notion of a breath withheld. She felt the blood course through her faster as her body became lighter at the notion of re-aquainting with bits of her real self.

While a part of her body relaxed, a burning sensation began to branch itself from the right side of her hip. Turning her head to assess the situation, she noticed the royal blue gem staring at her from the finger on which it was prisoner. Zooming in, she took in the rest of the hand and it's protective tone as it sat against the skin of her kameez. The electric blue of the tunic surged with an energy never-before experienced as she traced the hand to it's overtly oblivious owner.

Her beady eyes grew wide in oblivion.

"Princess, aap yeh toh nahin chahti hongi ke Dadisaab ke kaano taq aapke, aur uss majnu ke pyaar bharey kisse paunchey?" (Princess, I doubt you would like the news of your escapdes with dearest majnu to reach Dadisaab's ears)

Phew! Cheers,

dc