CHAPTER 2: He Conquers
Jalal was tensed. He wondered if Jodha would forgive him for doubting her as he walked to her chamber. He stopped at the door and took a deep breath to gather all the courage he had to talk to her. He was a ruthless warrior who had killed thousands in war but he was finding it difficult to face his own wife. Maybe that is what love could do to people. He stopped the guard from announcing his arrival and entered.
Jodha was sitting on the edge of her bed. She looked lost in her own world. "Jodha Begum. Jalal called out to get her attention. She turned her head to look at him and stood up. Her eyes held anger. Jalal felt that he deserved it. He was not going to back off. He was going to ask for her forgiveness and not leave her room until she forgave him. He had handled her anger earlier too and he will do the same now.
"Ab aap yahan kyun aaye hai Shehenshah? Ye dekhne ki aapke aaropon se kitne tootkar bikhar gaye hai hum? Ya phir hume ye batane ki aapko abhi bhi humpar vishwas nahi hai? Ki humne jo bhi kahan vo bhi aapka vishwas prapt karne ke liye humara kiya hua ek aur naatak tha. Boliye Shehenshah! Bataiye kyun aaye hai aap yahan ab. Aar kitna apmaan karna chahte hai aap humara? Aur kitna todenge humare hriday ko aap ki aapke hriday ko sukh pahunche? Kya chahte... ("Now why have you come here Shehenshah? To see how broken and shattered I am due to your accusations? Or to tell me that you still don't believe me? That whatever I said was another one of my charades to win your trust. Speak Shehenshah! Tell me why have you come here now. How much more do you wish to insult me? How much more do you wish to break my heart to provide relief to yours? What do you...) she couldn't speak further because of Jalal's hand that had clamped down on her mouth. With the other hand he held the back of her head. His hold was firm but gentle, such that he kept her mouth shut but did not hurt her in the process. He had already hurt her emotionally, he was not going to worsen the situation by inflicting pain to her body as well.
Jodha squirmed in his hold and tried to free herself but she could not compete with the strength of the man before her. He was too strong for her. Her efforts were as if a small cat was trying to push a lion. After sometime she got tired and gave up. "Jodha Begum humari aankhon mein dekhiye. ("Jodha Begum look into my eyes.) he said with a surprisingly calm and polite tone as if coaxing a child. She refused to look into his eyes, partly to show him that he couldn't control her and partly because she was afraid that all the questions that she had asked him would be answered with a 'yes' and she wasn't ready to hear that. So instead she stared at his broad chest which was at eye level with her. He towered over her and was half a foot taller than her. This was the first time that she had come so close to him. And for the first time she noticed how his broad chest and shoulders filled his jama for he had done away with his overcoat. For the first time she noticed how large and strong his biceps were and how the cloth of his jama stretched to accommodate the bulging muscles. His body appeared to be solid like rock and Jodha had a sudden urge to run her hands over him to check. Mentally shaking her head she chided herself. One moment she was angry at him and the next moment she was having urges of running her hands over his body.
Jalal saw that she did not listen to him. Her eyes were cast downwards as she blatantly refused to meet his eyes. Due to this fact he was unable to see her ogling him. He repeated himself and this time with a more authoritative tone. And this time Jodha did look up. Jodha found it a better option to look into his eyes and hear him than to ogle at his body which she had been doing. He had told her to leave the palace and now there was no use of admiring his physique. He was going to insult her some more and then was going to order her to leave the place she had stated calling her home. To leave the people who had now become her family and to leave him who was now not only a close friend but also the love of her life. The thought of leaving him, when she had just realised that she loved him, did not sit well with her. She would choose his anger over their separation anytime. She didn't want to leave him. She knew that he was surrounded by people who pretended to be his friends but were actually his enemies. She knew that he would need her when they hurt him. She knew that even she needed him to be her source of strength. She hoped that somehow he would believe her. She could just hope.
The moment their eyes met all other thoughts flew away. It was just them, in this moment, together. Jodha could see longing and love instead of the anger and hatred she had expected in his dark brown eyes. Jalal saw desperation and fear in her light brown ones. He thought the desperation was because she wanted him to believe her and the fear was of his anger. The cause of her desperation was correctly deduced but the fear was not of his anger but of losing him. Jalal slowly took step after step forward which made Jodha move backwards until at last her back hit the cold stone wall of her chamber. Her back less blouse failed to give any protection from the cold surface and Jodha shivered. Jalal moved closer to her thus, reducing the space between them to only a couple of inches. Jodha felt a bit warm as the heat emanating from his body wrapped itself around her like a cosy blanket.
Jalal wished that they could stay like this for the rest of their lives but he had to talk to her. "Jodha Begum, na hum yahan aapki bezatti karne aaye hai aur na aapke dil ko aur thes pahunchane. Hum aapse muafi mangana chahate hai. Muafi chahate hai ki humne aap par shak kiya. Muafi chahate hai ki humne aap par ilzaam lagaye. Muafi chahate hai ki humne bhai behen ke rishte ko napak kaha. Muafi chahate hai ki humne aapka dil dukhaya. Muafi chahate hai ki humne phirse aapke ek bhai ko giraftaar kar liya unke begunah hote hue bhi. Muafi chahate hai ki humari vajaha se aapke aankhon mein aansoo aaye. Muafi chahate hai hum apni har galti ke liye. Hume muafi kar dijiye Jodha Begum. ("Jodha Begum neither have I come here to insult you nor have I come to hurt your feelings. I have come to say sorry. I am sorry for doubting you. I am sorry because I accused you. I am sorry because I called the relation of siblings as illicit. I am sorry for hurting your feelings. I am sorry for again arresting one of your brothers without any fault of his. I am sorry that because of me there were tears in your eyes. I am sorry for all my mistakes. Please forgive me Jodha Begum.) He wished that the words he uttered from his heart would heal hers. Jalal slowly freed her mouth from the pressure of his palm to allow her to speak. His hand did not drop to his side but stayed mid-air to stop her if the need arose again.
"Shehenshah kahin na kahin galti humari bhi thi. Paristhitiyan kuch aisi thi ki aapke mann me sandeh ka uthna swabhavik tha. Hume aapko pehle hi sab kuch bata dena chahiye tha. Hum uske liye kshma mangate hai. ("Shehenshah somewhere I was at fault too. The situations were such that it was normal for you to have doubts. I should have told everything to you at the beginning itself. I am sorry for that.)
"Jodha Begum aapke paas hume sach na batana ki ek badi vajah thi isliye aapko maufi mangane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. Aur haalat kaise bhi ho hume aap par bharosa karna chahiye tha. ("Jodha Begum you had a valid reason for not telling me the truth so you don't have to ask for forgiveness. And whatever the situations, I should have trusted you.)
"Shehenshah jo ho chuka hum use badal nahi sakte. Hum isse ek bura swapn samajh kar chhod dena chahate hai. Humare madhya jo mann mutav tha vo ab sulajh chuka hai toh ab hume uske bare mein baat nahi karni chahiye. ("Shehenshah whatever has happened, we can't change that. I want to forget it as if it was just a bad dream. Whatever misunderstanding we had, it has been solved so now we should not talk about it.) When Jodha heard no reply from Jalal she raised an eyebrow. Jalal nodded in affirmative and Jodha gave him a smile. During the entire conversation their eyes were in a seemingly never-ending eye lock but due to her smile Jalal's eyes diverted to her lips. Jalal slowly brought his hand to her face and touched her lips with his thumb. Jodha shivered but not because of fear but excitement. "Aap muskurate hue bahut khoobsurat lagti hai Jodha Begum. ("You look very beautiful when you smile Jodha Begum.) Jalal looked into her eyes and back at her lips and leaned towards her. Jodha's breathing had become shallow and her heart raced inside her chest as he came closer. Just a mere centimetre away from her lips Jalal redirected his to her right cheek and placed a feather light kiss there. Jodha felt as if her heart would burst out of her chest.
Jalal heard a sharp intake of breath and knew that he affected her as much as she did him. He had been with a lot of women but even kissing Jodha's cheek gave him a feeling of happiness that he hadn't ever felt before. Even that chaste kiss felt very intimate with her. His heart was racing too. As he moved back Jodha turned her head towards him and their lips brushed. Jodha gasped with surprise as an electric current passed through her body with that contact. Jalal looked from her eyes to her lips and from her lips to her eyes as if asking permission to do what he intended to. Jodha lowered her eyes and smiled allowing him to proceed. As Jalal pressed his lips to hers, her hands pressed against his chest as she got used to this new feeling. Jalal cupped her face between his large palms as he drowned in her. Jodha's hands clutched his jama and pulled him towards herself. She wanted to be as close to him as possible. She had had enough of these distances. Now she wanted to relish his closeness and this intimacy.
Their hearts worked in sync as they relished in this new feeling. New for Jodha because she hadn't felt anything like this and new for Jalal because whatever he had felt wasn't anything like this. Jodha smiled into the kiss as she realised something
He came. He kissed. He conquered.
Edited by JodhaAkbarRox - 7 years ago
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