HBAS Chat corner - Page 64

Originally posted by: lashy

Wot eees theees? 😲

'What?' she exhaled, unaware that she'd been holding her breath for so long..

'Cannot agree?'

'Oh, fine!' Heera ultimately decided to act sensible and accept the invite.

She'd come, prepared to face an unwelcoming scene, morbid and cold, shrouded with omens of the night.

But what she stood facing, was a scene that somehow felt different.

And apart from her and her three guards, there seemed to be no one else around in this section of the dense dark ghostly woods - not even his men.

The place did not look as stark as it appeared the previous night when she'd stopped over.

At least 4, maybe even 5 lamps, had lit-up the interiors of the large tent - their light seeping through the tarpaulin to show the tall outline of a man standing with his back against its walls.

There was a fire lit outside too, on top of which, sat a small cauldron - its contents bubbling away noisily.

And adding to the effects of light, warmth and sounds of broiling broth - was the smell. A smell that couldn't really be classified as unpleasant.

'Please, wait here...' she nodded at her guards, ensuring the spot they stood at, was close enough to the tent for her to feel safe, and far enough, so they wouldn't be able to overhear the conversations. 'A few official issues to discuss about... and then...I'll return soon...'

Turning around, the young lady carried on, trying not to pay heed to the anxious beats that hastened with every step that took her closer to the entrance.

She cleared her throat, reminding herself that she had to refer to him as 'Khan Sahib' instead of 'Ustaad' since her guards were right behind 'Sala...'

'Salaam Harka Sahiba... please come in...' echoed his voice, inviting her in.

'Please take a seat...'

Akbar pointed to a low soft chair.

Gathering aside the heavy borders of her skirt, the young lady sat down, straightening her veil as she did so. She gently leaned against the soft armrest, angling her legs on the floor to one side, her long braids naturally swirling along her left shoulder.

With a soft sigh, she then crossed her palms upon her lap, ready to tackle whatever dirty ploys that were going to be thrown her way.

Mashallah! He'd been expecting to meet a disgruntled heiress, and here she was, flaunting the kind of elegance that would put a queen to shame. Were the expensive muslins and jewellery enhancing her beauty? Or was it her innate elegance beautifying those ornaments? Who knew? All he knew was that this was a welcome difference from the haggard young lady he'd met a day earlier! A difference so beautiful that he had to order his heart to stay still and his eyes to look away.

'Sahiba... would you like to see the Shehzaade's Farmaan... with all of the terms he's promised...' removing the scroll from a document holder, he placed it on a low table beside her 'you can go through it...'

Removing the lens from her pouch, she unfurled the scroll and browsed through it. Its contents were no different from what he'd said the day before. If anything, it only proved that he was in this for his own benefit. Yes, it had a clause protecting the Mansabdar's family - his twisted way of making up for all sins committed against her - and she wasn't interested.

'The message that I'd sent you yesterday noon...' she handed him back the scroll 'the terms were straightforward and clear... I was hoping that there would be no need for further discussion...'

'Perhaps it wasn't as clear, as you assumed it was, Sahiba' he raised a brow, quite sceptically 'Are you suggesting I stay back at Aidabad?'

'Well... you swore that you weren't interested in Parnagarh, so I don't see the issue... you can govern us from the comforts of your own home, can't you? It's what most other Mansabdars do... saves you the hassle of shifting too!'

'I said I'm not interested in its iron ores, but I AM interested in living there... suggesting that the Mansabdar of Parnagarh shouldn't settle down at Parnagarh - seems unreasonable, doesn't it?'

'Unreasonable?' she scoffed 'Unreasonable is what is happening to the place... and to its poor people! Miners are going to come tearing down some of her beauty... then your business will tear down some more... and finally, your soldiers...' the blame was coming fast, and furious 'till all of her peace and beauty has been trampled upon... till all of her innocence is lost... her air, water, soil and the very essence that was pure, will be left tainted!'

'So Sahiba...' quipped Akbar - well aware of WHOM she was referring to, when describing all that lost innocence 'you think 'I'm' the reason HER innocence is lost?'

The way he worded that quip - for a moment, the answer stayed stuck in her throat. 'Yes...'

'That's sad!' The young man nodded. 'Now let me get this right... you're imagining that I'm a greedy horse merchant... who's going to bring along thousands of slaves and loud men... settle down like intruders... eat into your farmers' profits... put up huge houses... trample upon your peaceful existence... thus, destroying the valleys?'

'Undoubtedly!'

'I'm not just any horse merchant, Sahiba...' he flicked his palm handsomely 'I deal with racing horses... are you aware of the kind of money I make?'

Heera didn't reply.

'Do you know for how long I've been in this trade?'

She still didn't reply.

'Do you know how many slaves, servants and cooks I keep?'

'Ustaad Sahib...' she finally decided to indulge him with a response 'You're forgetting an important fact... that I know NOTHING about you!'

'Sahiba... your imaginations are just that - imaginations... what you fear, will NOT happen! I promise!' his pitch dropped low, sounding all the more potent 'Just trust me!'

Just trust me...

'Trust you?' she smirked very bitterly.

'Well... it's true... unlike other businessmen, power and money don't entice me...'

His reply obviously fell on deaf ears - she was still smirking at him. So, Akbar tilted forward, with his elbows resting upon his knees. 'It IS true!'

His stare was knife-like, piercing right through her guarded barriers, till it finally wiped away part of that smirk from her lips.

As it is, without that intimidating display of shields, armour and helmet, he was looking less and less like the Ustaad.

Now, from close quarters, with those proud features clear as crystal, with his expressions flaunting that all-familiar confidence, he looked more and more like the Khan Sahib that she wanted to forget.

'Ustaad Sahib... you might claim that you're not doing this for power and money... but, I'm sure you'll understand, when I say I don't believe you...'

'You'll believe me!' Akbar slowly sat back up.

'There's something I have to attend to... please excuse my absence... this shouldn't take long...'

And then, without another word, he got up and left the young lady by herself, to step out of the tent.

Heera was briefly taken aback by his disappearance, till she realised that he'd slipped out to keep an eye on the contents of the cooking pot.

So, while he did whatever it is he had to do, she decided to bide her time by tinkering with the designs on her bangle, casting a casual glimpse at her surroundings every so often.

All of a sudden, the strong puff of smoke, forced her to peep up at the scene outside.

What happened? Had the food burnt?

'Oh...' her lips parted a little, soon after. The food hadn't burnt. He was 'smoking' the dish for flavour - a cooking method that Mughals, especially Persians, did to their food, to add aroma.

She noticed something else too. Something he was doing with his hands.

'So it IS a piece of wood...'

She sat still, her eyes narrowing - tactfully looking, and yet not looking.

In his left palm, a tiny flat piece of wood was being spun around like a top as he scraped at it with the blade, simultaneously blowing off its rough edges. He kept going at it for 15 -20 rounds, and with such knack that showed he must have done this hundreds of times before.

Then, he stopped. Slipping the knife back in, he dropped the polished piece of wood into the pot.

'A ladle!' Had he just crafted a ladle from raw wood?

As if that wasn't enough, he then picked up what resembled a few sheets of dried leaves and worked them within his fingers in such a way that by the end of it, they appeared sturdy enough to hold food on.

'A plate?'

Tuc! Tuc! Tuc!

He'd started pounding something between a couple of rocks, before sprinkling its dust into the pot - possibly a handful of spices picked up from a drawstring pouch?

She could smell the bouquet of scents it gave rise to 'familiar mix of flavours... kakasa would use them too...'

'And come to think of it...' her jaded glances returned to the bangles, since there was little else to do. 'Isn't it insensitive of him to call a lady over and keep her waiting, while he tended to his work?'

Couldn't he invite her another time, when he was not so busy 'cooking' and...

Out of the blue, a thought struck her - there was something odd about this entire scenario.

Now, she didn't know the man. She never would. But one thing she could guess from the few instances she'd met him was that he never did anything without selfish reason.

'Do you know the kind of money I make?'

'Do you know how many slaves, servants and cooks I keep?'

'Unlike other businessmen, power and money don't entice me... it IS true!'

'Oh!' her eyes widened. So THAT was what this was - a demonstration! Proof of his claims that he was a simple man - only, more effective than his words from earlier. In fact, far more effective than any length of explanation could ever be.

After all, which wealthy businessman would be so comfortable cooking for himself, crafting ladles from wood and dining off dried leaves - unless he was used to doing so regularly? She'd dismissed everything else as a lie, as a 'show'. But the logic behind this demonstration, couldn't be refuted.

He'd planned it perfectly, hadn't he?

'My apologies for the interruption...' having lidded the pot, Akbar stepped in, dusting his palms as he reclaimed the chair facing her 'and thank you for waiting, Sahiba...'

'Oh it's alright...' she gestured 'I see that it had to be done now!'

There was a telling mockery in her tone - showing that she understood his intentions, BUT wasn't impressed.

And the young man understood that she'd understood his intentions - BUT that she refused to be impressed.

'So... what else would it take... to prove that I have your and your people's best interests at heart, Sahiba?'

'Staying away forever!' came her curt answer, like rain upon his parade 'NOTHING you do could convince me that you have our best interests at heart...' her gaze momentarily slid towards the cooking pot outside 'and I don't need to come up with a fancy demonstration to prove it either!'

'Really?' he played along 'And what makes you say that?'

'Well...' her eyes shone with a vengeful glimmer 'after having confessed my fears... after having literally cried over your shoulder, reciting my jiji's last message... you would've suffered from a strong bout of conscience after you found the Farmaan!' She took a breather, 'You would've come seeking me with the one document that could've saved my lands and pride... not gone straight to your Huzoor and handed it over to him!'

He decided to give her the simple answer..

'Sahiba... I am loyal to my Huzoor... I had to hand him the Farmaan... it was my assignment... as a Rajput lady, I take it you understand the importance of loyalty!'

'Oh yes I understand how loyal you are to your Huzoor...' leaving behind the comfort of the armrest, she sat straight 'isn't that why you never let me succeed in my mission? Covered up my sister's death by never letting me seek justice for it? Never let most of my scrolls reach their destinations?'

'Most of your scrolls? Correction... I never let ANY of your scrolls reach their destinations!'

'What?'

'And while you accuse me of all this, you forget an important point' Akbar shook his head 'I didn't report your scrolls to my master either... if I had, you wouldn't be sitting here... talking to me today... I'm sure you realise how powerful the messages in them were... in fact' he folded his arms 'I have taken a humongous risk by burning them!'

'Oh Lord!' the young lady bit the insides of her fury-red lips. Yes, her scrolls were presently a lost cause. However, the very nonchalance with which he'd just admitted the truth, hit her with a fresh mix of shock, horror and dismay.

Dismay that he'd burnt all of her hard work. Horror that he'd confessed to another betrayal, so calmly. And shock too, that the Shehzaade's famously-loyal soldier 'Ustaad' would take such a great risk for her sake!

'A partially blind 16 year old who'd just lost her sister, poured her heart and soul into writing those messages...' she hurled him a dirty stare 'you expect her to feel grateful towards you for burning all of them?'

'Khalil's arm, for my sister's honour and life? And I'm supposed to take comfort in this sort of justice?'

She stood up. Suddenly, she couldn't stand being here anymore. 'Meeting with the Shehzaade, was going to be a last attempt from my side, to fight for my lands... but by stealing the Farmaan and snatching my father's title, you've taken away that right too! And with my messages burnt... I have nothing to fight with... nothing left to fight for...'

Akbar stood up, taller and prouder than her. 'Meeting the Huzoor... writing these scrolls... Sahiba, do you really think you would have emerged from any of these attempts, 'alive'?

'No! But it was a fight for justice, Ustaad Sahib... a fight for my sister... for my people... risking my life was part of this fight... every good soldier goes into a fight, expecting to kill, or to be killed!' she decided to throw his sentence back at him 'As a soldier, I take it you must understand the risks one takes when fighting a war!'

Complicated answer was that he wanted both - as Ustaad, his sense of loyalty wouldn't let anyone raise a voice against his Huzoor. At the same time, as Khan Sahib, he couldn't afford to lose her at any cost.

Truth be told, he'd already fought half her battles for her - by saving as much of Parnagarh as he could. He would avenge her sister's death befittingly too - if only she had a little faith in him.

However, explaining all that would take long. For now, he chose to give her a simple answer instead. 'You are right... it seems I can't help being loyal to my Huzoor...'

[Journey continues]

Originally posted by: Sandhya.A

Severe threat!😳

Originally posted by: Sandhya.A

Severe threat!😳

Originally posted by: Kalgi22

🤣 🤣 🤣

Rose 🤗

Thought of seeking divine intervention to smoothen the way to the update!😳 😉

But being the true patni that I am, how can I forsake my Sahib, Lavanya?😳

Originally posted by: lashy

Apparently, that volunteer seems to have a few underhanded reasons for having volunteered in the first place! 😆

Oh, not to worry, Sandy Begum . I am still game for tying the rakhi!😉

Believe me, it is Anna as in older brother only( in the mortal world , at least).😳

Originally posted by: lashy

🤣 Are you getting new ideas for TIP, Sandyma?

Various shades of Rosejaan

Oh, am I going to get an evil twin?😲 😆