ArHi FF: Mystical Melancholy chap-15 p.35 [10/10] - Page 5

And I'm glad she told that.. A very different plot! Really admired the way its framed!

The names of ancient kings as as difficult as the original names in histiry!!

And I've one question.. Since Adithya and Maya are like sons and daughter of sisters wouldn't they be bro and sis relation?? I'm not sure If I miss something here?? I read and re-read to understand.. But since Meera and Kirthika are sisters.. Wont they become "Perimma- Chithi" related?? I'm not sure though!

Please PM me next time dear!

thanx dear... for the wonderful comment... i'll pm you for sure...😃

CHAPTER 5 - THE GAME BEGINS

Arnav woke up to the hustle of the servants checking and preparing everything for their guests. To say that he was irritated, would be an understatement. Ofcourse, he was looking forward to meet his Maasi after years. The same could not be said for the person currently accompanying her. He decided to put everything to the fates and start the day. It would be better to say that from this day, his entire life would be game for the fate and he will never be able to gamble as the play had already been scripted.

On the other end of our story, all Khushi could do was send silent prayers to the Gods for saving her from crossing the ever feared Raakshas of Wairua. Indeed, her prayers were answered, but quite the other way around. It looked like even the Gods were having their part of fun on their children who were destined for each other. It was an irony that they wished to never face each other ever again.

Khushi was so far happy that she had not looked upon the ill-fated face of Arnav YET since she had set foot inside the castle. As soon as she had entered, she was engulfed in the warm embrace of her sweetest cousin Anjali. The meeting with Akash and Adithya to be precise had been awkward initially thwarted by her own teasing of cousin. Adithya was the best match for her sister, she noted and was happy for the first time with her mother's decision. A notion that was to be changed when she would hear her mother's other proposal. But as I said, NOT YET.

After the formalities and greetings done, with the permission from her Uncle, Khuhsi ventured into the castle to explore it. Her first mistake of the day.

The castle had been boring and dully the same like her home back at Awhero. The only thing that captured her were the palace gardens. She was roaming in it for quite some time when she entered the most beautiful part of the garden with perfectly tended plants and trees by a poolside. The sight by itself, oozed out a sense of peace and tranquility.

The tree by the center of the garden had her unwavered attention, particularly the flower on it. Khushi had never before seen a flower like that. It was prettiest thing and her first look at it made her want the flower for an important purpose only she knew of.

She tried reaching for it jumping again and again with no wail. Then hatching a plsn, she collected the rocks laying nearby and arranged them one above the other with her power of control. She climbed on top of the rocks and hoisted herself up with one hand concentrating on maintaining the rocks below and the other hand reaching for the flower. The tree seemed to have grown higher and she still couldn't reach it. She had never laid eyes on any Navarathna tree and hence was unaware of the exotic qualities of it. She tried and tried but the tree was unyielding as ever. But she was never the one for giving up. She tried once more stretching completely for the flower and lost her concentration on the rocks.

The rocks tumbled down and she slipped.

"Hai Devi Maiyyyaaa !!!", Khushi exclaimed closing her eyes and felt herself caught by a pair of hard but warm arms. Always used to falling in the unnaturally cold arms of her Bhai, these pair of warm arms felt unfamiliar yet perfectly comfortable for her.

Arnav had been rudely interrupted from his sword practice by the constant tingling of anklets and bangles that sounded like the perfect rhythm of flowing water. He came out of his chambers to locate the source of the sound. The sight that greeted him rooted him to the ground.

He lost his senses as he saw an ethereal beauty standing under his tree, over a pile of rocks with her back to him. She was reaching for something on the tree. His mesmerized mind couldn't comprehend the small flower on it. He knew she was gonna tumble down any second and that made him move forward right in time to catch her.

The minute he saw her face, he heard himself whisper, "Fool!"

She opened her terrified doe like eyes with a frown adorning her pretty little face. Suddenly the flashback rushing back in his mind made him drop her to the ground fearing this very elf's...ummm...girl's shrill cry from the past.

Khushi didn't expect him to drop her like that. She let out a howl of pain as her derriere crashed on the hard ground which now seemed a far better place than his arms.

She looked upto see the very face she wanted to avoid by all means. She wished she had not looked up.

He had become more handsome than she had ever imagined. Jaws that looked as though chiseled out of marble with that sensual yet always teasing mouth. The intense look in his molten bronze like eyes made her lower her eyes to his strong shoulders, to his arms finishing with firm fingers. The fingers that held the sword and arched the bows with perfection. The hands that had effortlessly caught her when she was falling. The same hands that had dropped her to the ground.

That made her snap out of her trance and she unceremoniously scrambled to her feet. Giving him a pointed look Khushi asked," tum ?!? and you dropped me down... how dare you ?"

He ever so casually uttered,"Haan...Mein... And THIS is what happens if you don't have someone like me , saving fools like you all the time."

She was about to retort when he asked her," May I know what you were trying to do by dancing around in MY garden on a pile of rocks looking like an utter fool that you actually are Khushi?"

Khushi was stumped and fumed at his way of addressing her. Either ways she held her ground and replied honestly," I never knew this was your garden. Else, I would never have stepped foot in here. Who knows what a maniac like you must have hidden in this place?"

Arnav lost his cool ," you still haven't answered my question Khushi. What were doing under my tree?"

"Im not answerable to you my lord!" coolly replied Khushi knowing that she had riled him up the wall.

"Well. Fine then. No one knows you are here with ME. In MY garden. So if something happens to you, no one will ever know about it, hai nah Khushi?" replied a nonchalant Arnav.

Khushi knew he was relentless and hence stuck up with the truth ,"I was trying to pluck that flower."

"Flower?" asked Arnav as he looked up in the direction she pointed and received the shocking surprise of his life.

The tree that had never flowered from the day he lost his mother, now stood bearing a small flower. He didn't understand the meaning of it and to be truthful, was scared of knowing it. And so he decided that he had nothing to do with the flower.

So like all times he naturally summoned the flower down, picked up her hands and placed it on her palms.

"How come you did it? I tried all this while to summon the flower and it never worked" murmured Khushi.

"Fools like you will never understand it" saying he walked away leaving Khushi raging behind.

Later that evening after spending time with his Maasi, he pondered about the new flower. He also noticed the bud waiting to bloom for next day. It made him restless. Those flowers always bloomed so that he could give them to his mother for showing his love. He thought he had no one to shower his love on after his mother's death and that made the tree stop flowering. So why was it again flowering all of a sudden? Inorder to find some mental peace, he went to his mother's chambers.

And he was shocked the second time on the same day.

Infront of his mother's smiling portrait that adorned the wall of the room, sat the same flower that he had placed in Khushi's hand that morning.

~~~ sam

Awww.. The tree started flowering.. I loved the astonished look on his face..!

I liked the part where u mentioned though soulmates they hate to see each other now! Very nicely phrased!

Thanks for the PM dear!