Safar- FINALLY UPDTD-pt 17-pg 51- - Page 20

Chapter 9

After an hour of riding, DharamVeer finally reached the palace gates of Aryanagar. The moment they started walking, they heard cries of joy.

Cry of oy: Arrey! Mere dono bete aa gaye vaapas! Jaldi! Pooja ki thaali le aayo.

Veer smiled at Dharam.

Dharam: Dekho, bua humare swaagat ki taiyari kar rahi hain.

Veer: Tumne suna nahi? Unhone kaha mere dono bete.

Dharam: Lekin voh aarti to meri hi pehle karengi, tum dekhna.

Veer remained silent, as they had just entered the palace, and Nivriti was standing there, smiling broadly.

Both Dharam and Veer touched Nivriti's feet.

Nivriti: Kush raho mere baccho.

Nivriti took the puja thaali from her maid and did Dharam's aarti first.

Nivriti turned to Veer, did his aarti, and then hugged both the princes.

Nivriti: Kaisa laga tumhe mela?

Dharam: Hume to bohot maza aaya.

Veer: Theekh tha. Itna khaas nahi tha.

Maharaj Aryavardhan walked towards them, and hugged his sons.

Aryavardhan: To, kaisa hai Sumeshwar?

Dharam: Voh bohot acche hai. Apni beti, Rajkumari Sandhya se bohot pyaar karte hai.

Aryavardhan smiled.

Aryavardhan: Hum jaante hai.

Veer: Lekin Rajkumari Sandhya-

Dharam: (Interrupting) Vo....vo to aur bhi acchi hai. Mujhe to bohot pasand hai. Ek dum Veer ke tarah hai. Aur pata hi? Unhone Veer ko talwaar-baazi ke mukable mein bhi haraya.

Nivriti: Accha?! Kya yeh sach hai Veer?

Veer yturned red.

Veer: Chaliye na bua, kuch khaate hain. Mujhe to bohot bhukh lagi hai.

Dharam: Bhookh lagi hai ya fir?..

Veer glared at Dharam.

Dharam: Haan, haan, chalo, mujhe bhi bohot bhukh lagi hai.

DharamVeer, Nivriti and Aryavardhan went to the dining hall and immediately started eating.

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It had been a while after lunch, and Veer was looking in the mirror to make sure he looked as respectable as he could. He had made up his mind to ask Aryavardhan about what had happened between Maharani Sushila and him, and if it was possible for Aryavardhan to ask for forgiveness. If not, then Veer would go to Nivriti.

Veer: (In his mind) Bua ke paas har samasya ka hal hota hai. Agar pitaji maafi nahi maangenge, to phir mujhe aur bua ko hi Dharam ke liye kuch karna hoga.

Veer looked into the mirror one last time and walked to Aryavardhan's door with as much confidence as he could muster.

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Dharam: (In his head)

Nahin, Rajkumari Sneha humari nahi ho sakti hain!

Lekin....hum Sneha se pyaar karte hain.

Phir bhi, voh humari nahi ho sakti hain!

Vo bhi humse pyaar karti hain.

Pitaji ke samman ke liye, hume unse dur rehna hoga.

Hum unse shaadi karna chahte hain, aur kisi Rajkumari se hum kabhi pyaar nahi kar payenge.

Lekin!

Magar!

Phir bhi!

Dharam kicked a table in frustration. The newly added pain in his leg didn't help to calm him down. Dharam sat down on his bed and tried to think clearly. After a while, he decided to go to Veer and talk to him. Then he remembered that Veer was talking about taking a ride on his horse, Toofan, after lunch. He had even asked Dharam, but Dharam had refused.

Dharam (To himself) Bua bhi kisi na kisi kaam mein vyast hongi. Varna voh humari madat zaroor karti. Ab hum...haan! Hum pitaji ke paas chale jaate hain. Voh hume kuch na kuch to bata hi denge. Shayad voh hume is dushmani ka raaz bhi bata de.

Cheering up tremendously, Dharam started walking towards Aryavardhan's room.

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Veer coughed once to clear his throat, and knocked on Aryavardhan's door impressively. He heard shuffling of feet from inside, and put on his serious face for the talk he was going to have with Aryavardhan.

The door opened, and Aryavardhan stood in front of Veer, looking surprised.

Aryavardhan: Veer?! Tum yahaan?! Bolo, kya kaam hai?

Veer: Pitaji, kya main andar aa sakta hoon?

Aryavardhan: Haan, haan, zaroor.

Veer stepped into the room and sat in a comfortable looking chair. Aryavardhan sat facing him. Suddenly, Veer felt nervous. He tried to say something, but nothing came out. Then, out of sheer desperation, he blurted out everything.

Veer: Maharani Sushila ko Aryavrath kyon nahi pasand hain? Kya aap unse maafi nahi mang sakte?

Aryavardhan's face turned into stone, and for several long moments, he didn't say anything. Finally, he spoke.

Aryavardhan: (Coldly) Tumhe kisne kaha ki-

Veer: (Interrupting) Rajkumari Sandhya ke saath uski bua ki beti, Rajkumari Sneha bhi mela dekhne aayi thi. Vahaan, Sneha ki maa use mele se lene aayi thi, kyunki unhe laga Sneha ke saath Aryanagar ke Rajkumar Dharam aur Veer bhi hain.

Aryavardhan: Oh. (Pauses) To phir tumhe yeh bhi pata hoga ki meri aur Maharani Sushila ki dushmani ki vajah ek raaz hai.

Veer: Lekin pitaji, yeh kaisa raaz, jo aap apne bete ko nahi bata sakte hain?

Aryavardhan: (Firmly) Ek esa raaz, jisko sun kar tumhare dil mein dukh hi dukh bhar jayega. Is raaz ke vajah se hum har roz apne aasoon pite hain.

Dharam was outside Aryavardhan's door. He hadn't knocked yet because he had heard voices inside, and was trying very hard not to eavesdrop. But it was becoming near to impossible. Soon, Dharam couldn't take it anymore, and he put his ear against the door.

Veer's voice: Lekin kyun pitaji?

Aryavardhan's voice: Veer, hum tumhe humare dukhbhari itihaas ki kahaaniya nahi sunana chahte hain.

Veer's voice: To phir aap maafi-

Aryavardhan's voice: (Angrily, interrupting) NAHIN! AISA SOCHNA BHI MAT! JO GALTI HUMNE KI HI NAHI USKI KYON MAAFI MAANGE?!

Veer's voice: (Bitterly) Theekh hai. Aap meri madat na karna chahe to na sahi, main bua se madat mang lunga.

Dharam heard Veer opening the foor, and ran for his life.

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All she could think about was whether Dharam would still love her or not. Would he chicken away because of her mother?

Sneha: (In her mind) Nahi, humare Dharam aise nahin hain. Hume pura bharosa he ki voh hume lene zaroor ayenge.

Sushila: Sneha, aap meri baat sun rahi hain ya nahi?

Sneha: Haan....haan maa, hum sun rahe hain.

Sushila: Humari baat yaad rakhiyega. Us Dharam aur Veer se saavdhan rahiyega. Voh dono bohot chaalak hain.

Sneha nodded and Sushila left in satisfaction.

After a while, Sneha's dad (Maharaj Harsha) walked in the room and sat down with his daughter.

Harsha: Jab se aap aayi hain, tab se aapka chehra utra lag raha hai. Kya baat hai? Sandhya ke saath ladayi ho gayi hai kya?

Sneha: Nahin pitaji.

Harsha: To phir kya hua he?

Sneha looked uncomfortable.

Sneha: Pitaji.....hume....p...py...pyaar ho gaya hai.

Harsha smiled. He knew his little girl would grow up one day or another, and today, she had!

Harsha: To isme udaas hone ki kya baat hai?

Sneha: Voh Rajkumar, jisse hum pyaar karte hain..voh Aryanagar ka Rajkumar Dharam hai.

Harsha remained silent for a while. Then, he spoke.

Harsha: Kya voh tumse pyaar karta hai?

Sneha: Haan.

Harsha: Bas! To udaas mat ho. Jab vaqt ayega, tab hum tumhaari maa ko sambhal lenge.

Sneha hugged her father, and blushing, started describing her Dharam to Harsha.

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Arjun: Arrey didi! Aap bahar nahi gayi?

Sandhya didn't look up.

Sandhya: Haan Arjun, aaj main bas chitr banayoongi.

Arjun: Aur meri chitr.

Sandhya kicked one of the many stools (with paintings on them) towards Arjun. Arjun picked up the painting.

Arjun: Hmmm...dikhta to accha hai.

Sandhya: Accha?! Mujhe to shetaan ki shakal lagti hai.

Arjun grinned.

Arjun: To kya mere paas bhi shetaan ki shakal hai?

Sandhya: (Seriously) Bilkul.

Arjun threw a pillow at Sandhya but missed, and the pillow landed on Sandhya's wet painting.

Sandhya: (Angrily) Arjun! Meri chitr kharaab kar di! Ruko. Aaj main tumhe nahi chodungi!

Sandhya grabbed the pillow and ran after Arjun.