Hello lovely ladies! And gentlemen, if any. ;)
Time to welcome Prince Rahul! Ah, I know, I know, you're desperate for AR to meet but believe me guys, patience bears the sweetest fruits! When AR meet, it'll be MAGICAL! (Let's hope so... 😉) Meanwhile, enjoy the welcoming party of Prince Rahul, who knows, Ridzi might get lucky! Or maybe Armaan! 😉
Btw, for those who're interested, I've done two one-shots. One on Adi~Pinky, which many of you have read and one on MaanEet, which has gone up today. If you wish to have a look, here are the links:
True Love Starts Somewhere ~ Adi & Pinky
Playing It Even ;) ~ Maan & Geet
Chp.20 The Prodigal Prince
There standing at the door, with his hands widespread was a guy, tall and handsome, dressed in formals. CR was overjoyed to hear that voice. It belonged to none other than Prince Rahul Shishodiya. Unlike his brother, he had deep brown eyes, a pointed nose and jet black hair almost reaching to his shoulders. Everyone was shocked, RS couldn't believe his eyes.
Rahul gave CR his lop-sided trademark smile. "Hey mom, how are you?" he said and was about to enter when she stopped him and said with tears of happiness glistening in her eyes, "Patience son, just a minute."
She sent for Bhanumati and within minutes, she arrived with the tray of aarti followed by the servants, each carrying a tray of flower petals. She handed over the aarti tray to CR, and the servants lined up on either side. After the aarti, when prince Rahul ambled in, the servants showered the petals on him. He touched the feet of RS and CR and took their blessings.
"How are you son? It's so good to see you after such a long time," RS said taking him in a fatherly embrace.
"I'm fine pitaji," he replied. He looked around puzzled wondering what the party was for.
He was about to ask his mom about it when suddenly a voice filled the room. Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and Rahul was surprised to see that it was Ryan. His best friend and college buddy. They hadn't met for the past one year since he had returned from Switzerland.
"Hello people and welcome to the party. I'm well aware that each one of you here was quite eager to know the reason of this party, well so let me tell you, that, you are here to be a part of the grand welcoming of Prince Rahul Shishodiya! I am Ryan, your host for the evening, and you can look forward to having a memorable night. Now that the Prince has arrived, without wasting much time, let the Party begin! Here's presenting to you our first performance of the evening. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the Rajasthani gal, Supriya."
The crowd broke out in a thunderous applause as the music filled the grand hall and the performance began.
"Mom, how did you know about my arrival? I hadn't informed anyone about it," Rahul asked CR.
"Well, how can a mother not know what's going on in her son's mind?" she replied her eyes sparkling with interest.
"Oh mom!" he said and hugged his mother."Thank you so much, but how did you manage to get Ryan here? "Now now, enjoy the party and leave the questions for later on," she replied.
Rahul loved his mother's surprise and wondered how much his mother loved him that she was so well aware about the intricate things that made him happy or sad. He was enjoying the party but his eyes were scanning the crowd for someone. However, she was nowhere to be seen. He sighed wistfully.
"Hey bro, have you forgotten your li'l sissie?" He turned around to find himself staring at Anjali.
"Anjali!" They hugged each other and she asked for her gift.
"Hmm... Gift? I dunno if I have one for you," he said apparently lost in thought.
"Bhaiyya! I swear I won't ever talk to you," she warned.
"Uh, oh! Had I known that not bringing you a gift would cost me so much, then I would have definitely bought one." Rahul was enjoying teasing his sister. She was the youngest in the family and everyone's favorite, so everyone was usually at her beck and call.
"Rahul, what's the matter, why you harassing Anjy?" CR and RS stood behind him.
"Mom, bhaiya says that he hasn't bought me anything! That's not fair," Anjali was in no mood to give up, but Rahul was saved because she was called away by a friend of hers. All three of them laughed as she went away.
"Pitaji, Armaan bhaiyya is nowhere to be seen, where's he?" Rahul queried.
"He's gone to Delhi on some important business. He'd said that he would try to be back on time, but I wonder if he'll make it," said RS.
"Don't worry Rahul, enjoy the party," said CR. Rahul went and joined his friends. He was glad that all his best friends were around. He was having an enjoyable time.
Gauri was serving juice to all the guests, when Ridhima sneaked up near her. "Gauri," she hissed. Gauri saw her and immediately excused herself.
"What is it Ridhima?"
"I'm going to BR's room it's time for her medicine."
"Fine, but come back soon."
"What for?"
"Oh Ridhima, do I really have to tell you?"
"Well Gauri, let's stop this hunting game, If prince Armaan would've been here, we'd have spotted him ages ago. I mean, wouldn't he have been in the forefront to welcome his brother? I do not wish to waste any more time in this shindig for no reason. Accept it, we ain't that lucky today."
Gauri made a long face which made Ridhima smile. "Aw come on Gauri, you just heard what RS was saying, Prince Armaan has gone out for some important business and you wanted to see Prince Rahul too, right?" She nodded.
Gauri had overheard Bhanumati talking to CR about Kunwar Rahul's arrival and Gauri had talked Ridhima into joining her into the reception party along with the other servants so that both of them could get the chance to see Princes Armaan and Rahul. Ridhima had been quite happy at the prospect of seeing her Prince Charming, so she had sneaked in along with the other servants. They had managed to get a glimpse of Prince Rahul however Prince Armaan was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't lose heart we'll definitely get a chance to see him some other day. Now, cheer up and get back to work, I shall leave," Ridhima said and left.
Ridhima was walking through the corridors lost in thought. She had asked Gauri to cheer up, however, she herself was feeling dejected. She had built high hopes of seeing her prince charming but when she hadn't seen him she had felt unhappy, she still had a tiny ray of hope in her heart though. But that too had vanished when she heard RS. She went to BR's room, served her dinner, fed her, gave her the medicines and put her to sleep. However, BR was not feeling sleepy, Ridhima decided to stay back for a while and chat with her.
***
After about an hour she left BR's room. It was 10.30 p.m. and the party was in full swing. She decided to retire to her room as she was very tired. She tried to sleep, but in vain. Her thoughts wandered to her prince as she lay in bed. Where was he? How was he? When would she get to meet him? Would she ever get to meet him? With all the swirling thoughts in mind, she drifted off to sleep.
It was a pleasant morning. The cool morning air whipped her face. She walked through the garden admiring it's enchanting beauty. It was a beautiful garden with roses, orchids and lilies of various kinds in full bloom. The soft grass, wet from the morning dew, felt like velvet beneath her feet. The weather was pleasantly cool with a soft wind blowing. She was feeling very happy and joyous. Her path was covered from the fall of flowers from the tree above as though someone had laid them there especially for her. She halted under a tree and stood with her hands widespread and her head held high, enjoying the feel of the flowers falling on her skin. She was moving from one tree to other humming a tune. Suddenly, she tripped and was about to fall face down. She closed her eyes tight, bracing herself for the fall but it never came. She felt a strong hand curled around her stomach. Realization dawned on her and she blushed. She opened her eyes to see her protector, however she couldn't see him. The blowing wind had covered his face by her dupatta. She smiled inwardly. He slowly moved away the dupatta to reveal his face. Ridhima was shocked and stared dumbfounded at the sparkling blue eyes. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was the same guy whom she had saved in the forest.
Ridhima woke up with a jerk.
She looked around her; she was in her room, on her bed. It had been a dream. Phew! She sighed. She looked at the watch, it was 11.30 p.m. The music and chatter of the people from the party hall had faded. The palace seemed to be silent.
What a dream, she thought. But what was that guy doing in her dreams? She groaned. These days whenever she thought about the prince, this guy had always managed to sneak into her thoughts and make his presence felt. How could she think of someone else when she claimed to love the prince? But a voice in her head said that she could, because after all, the prince was committed to Princess Muskan, so there was no chance of Ridhima marrying him. She kept struggling between these thoughts not knowing which one to listen to. She sighed in confusion. She didn't know how to drive away these thoughts, so she decided to have a walk to BR's room and find out whether she was asleep.
Armaan arrived past midnight to find everyone asleep in the palace. He was very tired and every bone and muscle in his body was craving for the bed. His meeting had gone quite well and he had planned to be back in time for the party, wondering what could CR's surprise be, but unfortunately his flight had been delayed and so he couldn't make it in time. He went to his room, took off his coat and threw it onto the chair nearby and lay down in bed. How he wished, that someone could massage his aching neck and shoulders. His thoughts immediately drifted to the riverside beauty and a smile crossed his face, how she had cared for him in the forest when he had been attacked by that snake. He sighed. More than a week had passed and he had been unsuccessful in finding her. He was getting restless now and he hoped that he would find her before RS finalized his engagement date. He decided to go and meet his mother, though he knew that she must be sound asleep at this hour. But even the sight of his mother was enough to give peace and tranquility to his heart.
Ridhima found BR sleeping peacefully in her room. She smiled at herself and put a blanket over BR. She adjusted the temperature of the air-conditioner and left, closing the door behind her. Armaan was walking through the corridors when suddenly the sound of a door closing caught his attention. He looked to see a girl leaving his mother's room and walking towards the other end of the corridor. He blinked his eyes and saw again properly. This couldn't be possible. He was very tired and his mind was playing tricks with him. That girl couldn't be his riverside beauty! How could she be in the palace?! He had been thinking about her too much and that was the reason he was imagining her. He looked up, she had disappeared. This had to be an illusion. As he walked further, he saw her again. She bent to pick up something, he instinctively called out, "Excuse me!" She mustn't have heard, because she got up and disappeared again. He rushed to that spot but there was no one there. His mind was definitely playing pranks on him, he sighed. He went to BR's room sat there for a while looking at her as she slept peacefully and then after a while, he turned off the lights and went to his room to catch some sleep before dawn.
***
Shiv Shakti
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