A little later Jodha was back in her hojra. She'd pleaded with her mother to be allowed to stay with her but upon Ammijaan's insistence she had reluctantly made her way back into her old kaksh. The room only reminded her of one person, him. Her husband, Shahensha Jalaluddin Mohammad. No matter where she looked she saw images of him, glimpses of him, and memoirs of him. She loved him, there was no denying it, she was desperately in love with him and she longed for him. She had looked for him when she had arrived in agra but he was nowhere to be seen. It irritated her that he hadn't been there, she didn't know why but his absence aggravated her.
***
Jalal had intentionally not made his way to greet the Ameris to Agra. He didn't have any courage left to face her; he was tired of hearing refusal from her end. He had concluded the worst that she didn't love him, and never would. He, however, was madly in love with her and couldn't bear to face the rejection that she would pose when she saw him, thus he pledged to keep his distance from her.
It was late at night and he couldn't sleep, he set out to sit in his usual spot, angoori bhag. When he reached the royal gardens, however, he was shocked to see her sitting facing the moon, her hair open and dupatta carelessly flaring behind her. In his preoccupation his talwar pushed over a nearby vase, knocking it over. The noise alerted her and she spun around to see who it was, in that minute their eyes locked and both felt themselves melting.
"Shahensha, aap?" She whispered, breaking the reverie.
"Haan, hum tehelne aaye the, khair bohot raat ho shuki hain, Shabba Khair" He said dismissively, not meeting her eyes and walked away leaving a shocked Jodha in his wake.
"Yeh kya hua hain Shahensha ko? Inhone aisa kyun chala gaya? Humse theek tare baat bhi nahi kiya" Thought a fuming Jodha to herself. Anger and irritation surged through her veins, How dare he ignore her? Why was he avoiding her? Tears of anger pooled down her cheeks as she stared into the burning fire of the torch next to her.
***
Jalal felt uneasy after seeing her. He wanted to ignore her, to dismiss her memories from his mind but he couldn't, for his heart would no longer allow him. Restless and uneasy he walked back to the royal gardens to check upon her to find a sleeping Jodha, shivering on a bench. The lamps had long blown off, and the chilly night had stolen her warmth, despite that she looked so beautiful, so divine in slumber. An unknown smile made it's way on his lips and he gazed lovingly at his wife. Slowly he walked closer and picked her up, making sure not to disturb her deep slumber. It was amazing how she fit in his arms, almost as though they were shaped for her only. In her sleep she burrowed herself into his arms and he smiled and started to walk towards her hojra, carrying his begum. He took off his jhoota as he entered her hojra, keeping in mind that her Kanha was back. Swiftly he walked towards the bed, bent and placed her on it. He covered her with the duvet at her feet and was about to leave when something held him back. He saw a few hairs brushing against her forehead and he tenderly brushed them away with his hand and impulsively leaned in to press his lips to her forehead. After smiling at her with love he turned to leave when he felt her grasping his jamma in his fist, he leaned back in, smiling all the while, and slowly loosened her fingers from the material. After glancing one last loving look at her he turned and walked out of the hojra.
***
The next morning when Jodha opened her eyes she had no recollection of how she had gotten in her room. Worriedly she checked her clothing and sighed a sigh of relief when she found herself fully dressed. She rose to complete her morning pooja, feeling that moti must have helped her onto her bed. Much later Moti arrived with flowers for her pooja.
"Moti, Kya tum kal raat humme humari kaksh mein lekar aaiyi thi?" Asked a slightly worried Jodha.
"Nahi, hum kyun aaisa karenghe bhalla? Jab hum yaaha aaye tho aap soyi huyi thi, kambal uddake" Replied a confused moti.
"Kya! Toh phir humme choone, humme yaha tak utta kar lane ki kiski gustakhi thi?" Cried Jodha in anger.
"Ho sakta ki voh shahensha hi the" Said moti, trying to pacify her queen. Jodha's memory went back to way he'd behaved with her and she shook her head, there was no way he'd carry her until here after the way he'd ignored her.
"Nahi moti, voh shaks shahensha nahi the" Protested Jodha, worried of the fact that an unknown man had touched her last night. The thought of it produced tears to fall out of her eyes.
"Arre! Yeh kya? Aap ro rahi hai... Kam se kam shahensha se poochiye toh sahi" Consoled moti, wiping away her tears.
"Thik hai, hum abhi jayenge" Said Jodha getting up and leaving abruptly.
She reached the shahensha's hojra in no time at all and was greeted by his door guards.
"Aap shahensha se kehe dijiye ki humme unse fauran milne hain" She said to the guards. The solder nodded and went inside to convey the message ad was back soon.
"Gustakhi maaf begum sahiba lekin shenshah aapse abhi nahi milna chate, unonhe yeh kaha hain ki aapko andar na aane de" Said the guard in a low, apologetic tone. Jodha fumed and her blood boiled. How could he order to not let her in? She was his wife and had every right to meet her husband! She started to make her way in when the guard stopped her.
"Shahensha ne kaha he ki aapko andar na jaane de" He pleaded. Jodha fixed her fiery gaze on him and the guard stumbled at the intensity.
"Yeh Mughal Shenshah ki Begum ki aadesh hai, hummare raasta chodiyen" She said firmly, her voice ringing with authority. The guard feebly stood aside, admitting her inside.
She strode in, her dupatta trailing behind her like an angry tornado. Jalal was wearing his overcoat as she entered the hojra.
"Aap? Humne aapko andar aane ki liye manna kiya tha na?" He replied in a expressionless tone. She fumed at his statement.
"Ji haan, aap humme manna kiye the, lekin aap shyad bhool rahe hain ki hum aapki koyi daasi nahi balki aapki begum hain. Shastru ki saath, agni ki saamne humne aapse vivah kiya hain aur aap... aap toh humme andar tak aane nahi diya"
"Khair, yeh sab chodien aur humme batayien ki aap kya chati hain? Humme bohot dair ho raha hain" He cut through harshly. Tears pooled in her eyes at the way he spoke to her.
"Hum... hum bas ek javab chatein hain aapse. Kya aapne humme kal raat apni kaksh mein lekar gaye the?" She asked desperate to know. He looked up at her and seemed to contemplate her bfore his facy turned stony once again.
"Yeh baat hum aap ko batana zaroori nahi samjthe hain, ab humme jaane dijiye" He replied frostily and made to leave when she caught onto his hand, stopping him.
"Rukiye shahensha! Hum aapse vinithi kartein hain ki aap humme yeh bateiyen. Humare liye toh na hi sahi apni khuda ki vaaste toh bata dijiye humme. Yeh humara maan aur samaan ki baat hain"She pleaded, folding her hands. He looked towards her for a second and his eyes seemed to soften.
"Haan humne hi aapko aapki hojra tak lekar gaye the" He said not meeting her eyes. Jodha's eyes widendened in shock but the fear in her seemed to vanish instantly.
"Parantu Kyun?" She asked puzzled.
"Hum aapki koyi ghulam nahi hai jo aapki sab savalloan ka javab denge. Mat booliye ki hum Hindustaan ki shahensha hai, aur humme kisi ki savalat ki javaab nahi dena padta hain" He replied angrily and stormed out of the Hojra.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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