Originally posted by: lashy
OSR Samyukta Part 9 - Veer meets his match
Palace of Niphaud - The prayer room
As soon as Siya hears the sound of familiar footsteps approaching the comely private prayer room; she wipes her tears, leaps over the musical instruments scattered on the large silk carpet and runs towards the majestic entrance. She cuddles her father tightly; the warmth of whom makes her temporarily forget her recent torments "Mother said you would be home yesterday. What took you so long?"
The king speaks slowly as he senses the distress in her touch and voice "Oh Siya! I was unexpectedly held up with official matters at the border… no sooner than I stepped into the palace, I came to meet you…" he pauses to look at her "It's not even sunrise yet and you are already awake…is everything all right? Did the feast go as planned?"
She tries hiding her puffy eyes "Nothing has gone as planned…" she loosens herself from him sulkily "Why did you hide such an important matter from me?"
The concerned father quickly scans her friend's faces "What matter Siya? I would never hide anything important from you…"
Siya "Don't lie father! You didn't tell me about the proposal from Rajkumar Dharam …" She notices his increasingly confused expressions "Y…You didn't know anything too…we need to talk to mother about why she hasn't mentioned it to both of us yet!"
She takes a deep breath and walks towards the beautiful marble pedestal. She picks a flower from the sizable silver plates around the massive idol of Lord Ganesh "Mother is delighted that her friend's son, Rajkumar Dharam; has asked for my hand in marriage …" Siya goes on to update her dumbfounded father about all her bitter experiences with the princes of Aryanagar in the past couple of days. She ends her monologue with a spiteful oath "Father! Rajkumar Dharam insulted me…not once… not twice… but thrice…I will never accept his proposal! I don't want to be a mute trophy in his palace"
The shocked father walks to his daughter "I was not aware of your mother's friendship with the queen of Aryanagar! How impudent and arrogant of Rajkumar Dharam to have treated you like this!" emotionally affected by his daughter's troubles, his eyes start welling up "You deserve far better than Rajkumar Dharam…As they are our guests, we will treat them with respect till their stay... I don't want to upset Maharaj Aryavardhan. However, I will make sure no one would force you into this wedding, even if it means the difficult task of having to reason with your mother…this is my promise to you…"
In spite of having numerous matters to attend to, he spends some thoughtful time with his daughter in a bid to calm her down and re-assure her of his support for her. Eventually, after he exits the room, the pacified Siya casts a vengeful glance at the various musical instruments on the floor "Marrying Rajkumar Dharam is out of question father! However, I will ensure he tastes his own medicine, before he returns home…"
Palace of Niphaud - The guest bedrooms
With his eyes and ears shut tight, Veer tosses to his left and and tries to get back to sleep. After a while, he turns to his right and covers his head with his pillow. Fruitlessly repeating the same procedure a few times, he sits up, holds his head in his hand and sighs. Loud snores permeate through the walls from the room to his left while Dharam's voice echoes in the adjoining room on the right. He sleepily steps down from his large bed, walks through the muslin curtains into Dharam's room and sits on the floor, facing the sleeping prince.
Lost in his world of fantasy, Dharam smiles in his sleep "Did you realize that you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever come across?"
Veer yawns and nods his head "No"
Dharam "One glance and I have never been able to forget you… Never have I felt this way before…"
Veer frowns "Oh! …"
Dharam stretches out his hand from his pillow and touches Veer's hair "you made that lovely feast especially for me... if only had I known then..."
As Dharam starts stroking his hair, Veer stares at Dharam oddly and starts moving back "Dharam…wake up…wake up…now…"
Disturbed, Dharam sits up; wide awake taking a few moments to descend to reality, as he becomes aware of the change in surroundings "What are you doing here?"
Veer "What am I doing here? Bhalla is snoring loudly in the other room and here you are dreaming aloud. How am I supposed to sleep?" he then grins sheepishly, tends his hair and bats his eyelashes "however Dharam… now that you have complemented my beautiful eyes and lovely hair…I think I am going to start dreaming too loveddd the comedy in here...😉 Veer also is one hell lota guyy...😆
Dharam ruffles his hair, stuttering in an attempt to mask his embarrassment "Oh! I am sorry... you go sleep…now…w…we have to travel to Gadhwar overnight too..."
Veer persists "Tch tch Dharam what are you doing? I never expected this from you. You are really becoming mad…tell me honestly…did you really find that food lovely?"
Dharam takes Veer by his arm and leads him to his bed in his room "Stop it Veer… I am not mad…just go to sleep now..." he forcefully tucks the amused veer into his bed.
Suddenly, the comparatively silent morning is brought to an abrupt standstill by noises of discorded instruments accompanying harsh voices. Veer and Dharam stare aghast in response to the dreadful songs that manage to deafen even Bhalla's snores. Fearing an outburst from his brother, Dharam speaks up "you sleep Veer… I mean you try to… go back... to sleep... I will take care of this…don't worry..." Dharam quickly exits the room in order to investigate the cause of the cacophony; leaving behind an astonished Veer.
Palace of Niphaud - The prayer room
Walking through the corridor, he follows the source of the noise that leads him to the arched entrance of the prayer chambers. He casts peculiar glances at the two grim guards standing on both sides of the enormous wooden doors and then peeks into the room "Can I enter? …"
One of the guard replies "I apologize Rajkumar! Rajkumari Siya is concentrating on her prayers now… she cannot be disturbed…"
Dharam laughs "Concentrating in this noise... I mean with this voice…" he pauses "I…I love music too…can I participate in the Bhajan? I wouldn't dare to disturb them..."
The guard shakes his head "I am sorry Rajkumar…we have been asked not to allow anyone to enter… I apologize…we are only following our orders…"
Dharam crosses his hands and shifts on his feet in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the performance. In keeping with her devotional act, the princess strings the tanpura in her hand while seated cross-legged on the fluffy carpet, facing the large idol of Lord Ganesh. As she sways to her tuneless renditions, her musical entourage repeat her verses and play agonizing notes on their respective instruments. Dharam is blissfully unaware of how the sound of Siya's unmelodious voice becomes muffled by the mischievous smile on her lips. Lost in the morning glory of the vivacious young girl with cascading wet hair, he becomes oblivious to her lack of talent and gets absorbed into the perfection of her features. He leans on the door frame waiting for them to finish their concert, unaware of the baffled gestures of the guards standing next to him. Awww...Dharam..yeh torture to the ears bhi usse kisi nightingale ki voice lag rahi hai..Liked the way he is so smitten by Sia...Charming guy!!
Nanda opens her eyes by chance and becomes alarmed to find Rajkumar Dharam smiling at them. She tries to nudge Siya, who responds by continuing her act with renewed fervour. Dharam smiles to himself coyly as Siya's friends try harder to grab her attention and finally desert their act and stand up out of respect. Siya casually opens her eyes to find herself being watched by the pleasant visage of the handsome prince.
Suddenly Veer's roaring voice catches everyone's attention "Dharam! What is this? You were supposed to take care of t...t…this…"
Dharam replies defensively "They were praying Veer…how could I disturb them?"
Veer "Praying? Everyone…even the Lord himself would have come down personally to stop this torture" he pauses "apart from Bhalla... of course... who is still sleeping..."😆 😆 😆 I can picture Rajat doing this...He will be gr8 with these nice comic dialogues...wud be a scene to watch out for..😉
Siya scowls at Veer as he addresses her sarcastically "Rajkumari... yesterday, we unintentionally ruined your game of hide and seek in the garden. Don't you think this punishment is too harsh? It's barely sunrise yet and you are disturbing…" he notices Daksha playfully giggling at his anger and turns away, becoming conscious of himself.
Siya forces a sweet smile at Dharam "Your brother is insulting my pure devotion to the Lord….would you not tell him to stop?" for a while, Dharam stands torn between the two of them until Siya tries to sway him ultimately, with a few flirty winks. Dharam becomes astounded while Veer notices this and places his hand on his mouth shocked.
Leaving behind an uproar of mocks and sniggers, an abashed Dharam starts dragging Veer away "Lets go Veer! We have many important things to finish today…"
Mystified, Veer whispers to Dharam "Dharam…did she just…w...wink at you?"
As they continue down the corridor, Dharam tries diverting the conversation by reminding Veer of their plans for the day "Veer... get dressed to leave for the bazaar ... as per our discussions, I and Bhalla will join you as soon as we finish our work...."
Unable to recover from the incident, Veer carries on mocking his brother "Listen to me - she is a dangerous influence on you! There is still time to escape... from her clutches..." Well, Veer ahs to be a kabab mein haddi naa...
After the princes are out of sight, the group of girls start rejoicing in joy at their first victory and jeer at Dharam "watch out for more Rajkumar...this is just the start of your worries." Ignoring the racket around her, Siya walks towards the idol of her Lord, faced by a strange dilemma. She mentally thinks to herself about the conversation between the princes that she just overheard "What important plans and work could the Rajkumar have been talking about? Since when have princes been so interested in shopping at bazaars? I have a funny feeling about all of this... I have to find out more..."
She finally speaks out aloud "Evidently, they were discussing about plans to meet up at the bazaar today...they made me wait yesterday entire evening for nothing... now it would be their turn to do so." her friends wait for Siya to chart out her scheme in detail, after which; they resume their jubilations. She summons one of the guards waiting outside the prayer room and instructs him thoroughly about the specifics of his role as part of her forthcoming plans. Though initially in doubt; he obediently agrees to her commands and she presents him with her gold ring as a token of gift for his loyalty.
Once the guard bows and leaves the room to carry out her bidding, a saddened Daksha utters painfully "Why are you doing this Siya? Poor Rajkumar Veer...I...I mean Rajkumar Dharam too... waiting in the hot sun... and the crowded bazaar... he...I mean...they would not be used to it... Oh! His fair complexion...imagine if he gets scorched in the sun...."
Siya pats Daksha on the back angrily "Daksha! You are more worried about Rajkumar Veer's complexion than my life... your fair... golden prince treats me so insensitively ..." Siya later takes the end of Daksha's dupatta with an apologetic smile and starts fidgeting with it "I am so confused... Rajkumar Dharam seems like a humble person. Why did he offend my pride then? He doesn't seem particularly keen on meeting me or making conversation with me. On the contrary, all he does is stare speechlessly! I feel strange whenever he does that... I just need to find out what these princes are up to..."
Niphaud Bazaar – At the blacksmiths
Veer adjusts his painful headgear and fake moustache, while he lazily strolls towards the small shop at the far end of the bazaar. Being pushed and shoved by women with large baskets and scampering children in the narrow streets, he wipes his sweat off; hoping for Dharam and Bhalla to join him quickly and end his ordeal. Once at the shop, he calls out to the old blacksmith, who approaches him fervently.
The old man beams with pride as he professes about the skill and efficiency of his workers "Your order is ready as per your request yesterday…. I am sure your partners would be very impressed with the quality of our weapons...your deal would be a success" He then beckons the workers at the back. The veiled girl starts sorting Veer's order from the remaining stock after which; a strong man brings forward the bundle of weapons and places them on the wooden table. Confident of their goods, they wait for a response from their distracted customer and hope for the remaining payment to be made.
Veer briefly searches around the street for any signs of Dharam or Bhalla, as he is left with no option but to wait patiently for them to arrive at the blacksmiths. To keep up with their plans, Veer becomes preoccupied by thinking of how to while away the time. After taking a while to react, he astonishes the old man by sitting on the floor informally and starting a relaxed conversation. He then picks up each individual weapon from the table and technically inspects them in a leisurely fashion. The workers become weary of Veer's nagging persistence and grumpily get back to their work.
Eventually the old man asks him "Sir, would you please make the remaining payment?"
Veer peeps into the street momentarily and then replies "Oh! Is there anyway I could try these knives? They seem sharp, but they are very light…are they strong enough?" Blacksmith "Why are you so unsure of your purchase sir? Trust me you would not be able to find a better weapon anywhere else…"
Veer "I apologize for this. However, I do not purchase anything without trying it out"
The old man stares in disbelief at his stubborn customer and finally decides to lead him through the back of the shop. Veer follows him quietly around metallurgical tools and wooden pails, not minding the frustrated glares from the workers. They enter a small marshy patch of land behind the shop, with thorny shrubs and sparsely dotted with trees.
Aware of the assembly of a small audience behind him, he stylishly picks one of the weapons from his hand and pauses to choose a target. Holding the knife parallel to his eye, he takes aim at a large crevice in a tree at a considerable distance straight ahead. Briefly reflecting on his contests at the Gurukul, he grins and hurls the knife skillfully. The silver weapon whizzes through the air and hits the centre of the crevice. The children watching him encourage him with cheery claps and he humbly bows down to them. Fuelled by the thirst to display his skills further, he swings back and removes another knife to try and aim it at a similar spot.
Just as he is about hurl the next one, two rapid objects whizz past his ears and hit the centre of two smaller crevices on both sides of the knife already lodged on the tree. The startled Veer takes a few moments to recoup from the unexpected tough competition as stifled exclamations and admirations are heard from the few onlookers behind him.
He turns back with hidden fury, fuelled by the desire to find out more about his challenger "Which of you men is so proficient at this art? Please step forward. I would be delighted to meet you…"
He scans through the crowd in anticipation but everyone in the crowd looks at the other inquisitively. He once again surveys the faces of all the men for a reply. The only movement from the crowd is that of the veiled girl from the blacksmiths, bending over to pick her bundle of items from the floor. Flustered, he again addresses everyone. Loveddd Veer's ki girl ka entry...superbb entry...not the cleashay ones at all..this is a breath of fresh air!!!👏 👏 👏
The veiled girl walks towards him with a hand on her hip, lightly pulls back the dupatta from her forehead and lets go of the corner of the veil, seductively bitten in between her teeth all this while. As the veil waves away from her lips and profile, he notices her shrouded faade for the first time. Never having faced such a predicament with a girl in the past; he observes her large captivating kohl filled eyes and her handsomely tattooed chin that embellish the dusky complexion of her face endowed with sharp bewitching features. He marvels at how her scruffy dress and braided hair decked with chunky mismatched jewellery, contrast her meticulously enticing smile and proud posture.
Though taken aback by her engaging form, he finds it unable to accept the truth and stutters to ask the questions "Did you a…aim those knives?"
Reading his mind, she shakes her head, picks a weapon from Veer's hand and flings it nonchalantly towards the tree. Veer ducks from the missile that whooshes over his head and entrenches into the centre of the large crevice, nearly displacing Veer's knife.
His frustration and anger gradually changes to one of admiration. Hmmm... nice...The way his emotions are moving on from one to another...
She then firmly indicates with her eyes asking him to fetch the knives back. Not used to feeling intimidated, he takes a few moments to swallow his pride; before walking up to the tree. He casually tries to remove the knives, but the strong well-fastened blades don't budge. Alarmed, Veer again tugs on them with renewed might and they dislodge with pieces of tree bark falling at his feet. Left speechless by the impressive quality of the silver blades in his hand, he ponders on the recently unfolded incidents. He nurses his hurt ego and smiles humbly at the girl out of respect and regard for her. No sooner, he pays the old man the remaining amount after modestly expressing sincere gratitude.
As he steps out on the street with the heavy bundle on his shoulder and still no sign of his partners, he mutters angrily "Dharam… you make all the plans and then desert me to face situations alone…what a fool I had to make of myself, in front of those blacksmiths…"
Mentally trying to erase the strange experience and the girl's visage from his memory, he continues to drag the agonizingly heavy bundle "The man with the map and directions for Gadhwar must be waiting for us… all our plans are spoilt because you must be busy dreaming of Rajkumari Siya somewhere…just wait till I meet you…" 😆 😆 😆 Poor Dhara...gayaa kaam se..God save him from Veer!!
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