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JA FF : Warriors in Love
CHAPTER TWO - PART 1
The servants' rooms were at the lowest floor of the palace, and although Moti Bai suggested to take the soldier there, Hira refused and insisted to do so herself. Shahenshah Jalal...No, he wasn't the Shahenshah now, he was Muhammad the soldier, in the place which he had the ambition to reach when leaving Agra.
And that was enough for him, not only that, it rested him; from the heaviness of the crown and thinking of the problems of the throne. Even more than that, the princess he wanted to steal glances at in secret had cured him with her own hands & welcomed him in her palace, and was ready to hide him from her father Raja Bharmal's investigation just because he was lightly wounded.
Her kindness wasn't only people's talk, it was really there.
Soon enough, Hira reached Moti's room and opened the door. "Moti, bring some food for..."
Hira was trying to remember his name's correct pronunciation to not look ridiculous in front of him. When he figured that was the reason she stopped talking mid sentence, he felt like laughing, but instead gently reminded her. "My name is Muhammad, Rajkumari Sahiba."
Hira blushed at his reminder and she thought to herself : How does he know I forgot his name? Is he a magician?
"I know that, but there is something else I want to know. Who injured you? Was it on the battlefield?"
"I got injured on my way to Amer, I don't know who he is, but I left a mark on his hand with my sword."
Hira smiled at his reply. "That's smart of you."
That smile was so beautiful in Jalal's eyes to the point of him forgetting he was looking at the princess of a kingdom who had enmity with his own Kingdom and throne as the Mughal emperor . He forgot everything for a moment, the duration of an eye's blink.
Hira was surprised by the soldier's odd look and raised part of her Dupatta towards her face in shyness.
His response was that of shying away, as well, his eyes looking in the other side of the room.
Just then, Moti Bai entered the room carrying a thali of food which she placed on the table.
"Dhanyavaad ,Moti Bai." The Rajkumari couldn't help but laugh when he spoke. His accent was sweet & funny because he wasn't used to the Rajvanshi dialect.
"Hira, Rani Manvati Sahiba is waiting for you, we should go."
"Haan, we should go."
"Pranam Rajkumari Sahiba."
"Ji Pranam, you should rest now and make sure the bandage doesn't open. I'll bring you a salve later."
"Hira, you should put on a new Dupatta before your mum sees you. This one is all ripped up."
Before the Rajkumari walked too far away from Moti's room, she heard coming from there an odd .noise that made her worried. She remembered his body shaking between her hands and almost panicked again.
She ran back into the room without thinking and felt relief upon seeing that he was okay.
He had eaten only a little from the plate and was drinking avidly from the glass of water. When his eyes met the princess', he greeted her, surprised that she had come back so fast.
"Muhammad, what happened to you? I heard a weird sound coming from here." This time, he couldn't stop himself from laughing. "That was the sound of my throat getting burned from how much spice the food has."
Moti Bai, from her knowledge of her best friend, she thought she'd have a reaction of anger. But instead, the Rajkumari laughed. "You're in Amer now, soldier. Get used to that burn."
"As you order Rajkumari Sahiba."
She exited the room, leaving there a smiling soldier who was asking himself : Your kingdom's food burns my throat, but what about your kindness and beauty responsible for the burning of a fire I don't understand inside my chest?
Moti was in a state of complete surprise about the exchange that had happened in front of her.
"Hira, why are you so nice to a man you know nothing about?"
The princess replied in a whisper, as though she was ashamed of what she was confessing : "Who told you that I know nothing about him? Dadee always says that looking into a person's eyes lets you know a lot. And I saw and found out about wounds much deeper than his shoulder's. Enormous pain. But I also saw a strength bigger than any pain. And I will surely find out more."
In the meantime, on the terrace of the Amer palace, Rani Manvati Sahiba was anxiously remembering Shagoni Bai's ominous predictions : ...And strong enough to love someone she's supposed to hate.
Hira will marry a Mughal. Her innocent smile will turn into one full of secrets that will lead her away from you and transform her from an obedient child to a woman.
The Queen had gotten angry and accused the old woman of slander, to which Shagoni Bai replied while laughing : Why'd I slander about destiny? You will see that same Mughal's blood on her clothes.
Hira arrived, not knowing anything of what had been said about her during her absence.
Rani Manvati couldn't help but hug her daughter as soon as she saw her.
"Don't be late again." The Rajkumari obediently nodded.
"Why did you change your Dupatta? Wasn't it your favourite?"
Sukanya, who was sitting beside her Dadee, was afraid that the truth about what happened would be out now because Hira wasn't good at lying. Actually, she never lied.
"Haan, it is but it got wet so I changed it."
Sukanya got surprised by her sister saying anything but the truth for the first time and thought to herself : Hey Bhagwan, my sister is lying for that soldier's sake. I've got a gut feeling she will like him, and a girl rarely gets it wrong with a gut feeling.
Due to her hatred of Shagoni Bai's predictions, Rani Manvati refused to doubt her daughter's words or to check her clothes.
But the Queen mother, Raja Bharmal's mother, who had the wisdom and life experience worthy of a person her age, used her brain regarding the matter and it became clear to her after seeing a blood spot on her granddaughter's choli that Destiny would indeed make Hira Kunwari in the future a Mughal's wife.
The certainty was there, yet confusing questions remained : Where is that Mughal now? And why did his blood spill on Hira's clothes?
Regardless of the confusion in her mind, the Queen Mother preferred not to ask Hira anything, nor did she think to tell her son or daughter in law. She decided to wait for the certain answer that Destiny would give.
After a few hours, when the Rajkumari went back to her chambers with her sister Rajkumari Sukanya and Moti Bai, a conversation begun between them about the interesting events of the day.
"Someone should write this day into the World's history!"
"And why is that, Rajkumari Sahiba?"
To which naughty Sukanya replied while taking her bracelets off : "What happened to your ears, Moti Bai? Did you not hear how my sister lied to hide the soldier's story? The very first lie in her life!"
"Don't be silly, Sukanya. Lying is a degrading thin and not something great to be written in the world's history."
"If I wanted to hear about wisdom and morals, I'd have kept talking with Dadee and wouldn't be talking to you, my dear sister. By the way, what's that red spot on your choli?"
Hira had changed her clothes and the choli was now put inside her open closet.
Moti saw the smear and gasped. "Hira, isn't that blood?"
"And so what if it is?"
"Didn't you fear blood and find it disgusting?"
"The blood of innocent people is scary. The blood of traitors is disgusting. However, the blood of soldiers and warriors defending their country or themselves is an honour."
"Hey Bhagwan... Forget this day being written in history. It's you who will start writing poetry.
"Haan Haan I will surely write poetry...in your dreams, you're crazy!"
Hira had said that while grabbing the nearest pillow to fling it in her sister's face while laughing.
Hira didn't know, but that night, the sight of her laughing was had created the smile of a soldier.
TBC...
* * *
Hello there fellow AkDha'ians
Sorry for the delay, but here it finally is, chapter 2!
It will come in 2 parts to separate completely different atmospheres and events... 😉
Sorry for the delay, but here it finally is, chapter 2!
It will come in 2 parts to separate completely different atmospheres and events... 😉
Also, to be easier for me to write because just this part is about 200 words longer than the previous one.
Sukanya's lines and Dadee's reaction were my favourite to write.
Which part was your favourite to read?
Also, make sure to let me know what you think will happen in the next part, I want to implement some of you guys' ideas in writing.
To any fans on the JA forum who are Arabian like me , this story is also available to read in Arabic as I wanted to make it accessible for more AkDha fans, not just English speaking ones.
Just PM me if you'd like the link. 😊
Thank you all for reading!
Sukanya's lines and Dadee's reaction were my favourite to write.
Which part was your favourite to read?
Also, make sure to let me know what you think will happen in the next part, I want to implement some of you guys' ideas in writing.
To any fans on the JA forum who are Arabian like me , this story is also available to read in Arabic as I wanted to make it accessible for more AkDha fans, not just English speaking ones.
Just PM me if you'd like the link. 😊
Thank you all for reading!
Arjun
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