Chapter - 2 "WHAT!" Prachi stared in amazement at her sister, wondering if the shock of finding herself on the point of marriage had rendered her insane. "Tum chahti ho ki mainâŚ
main Saharan ke Prince se shaadi karun?!"
"Iss mein itna chaukne ki kya baat hai, Prachi?" Ayesha asked impatiently. She did
not appreciate the way her sister was looking at her. She was gazing at her as if debating whether to check her forehead for a temperature, laughing outright on her face or just bolting out of the room before she said anything more outrageous. "Dekh, mujhe ye shaadi nahi karni. Tujhe iss shaadi se koi problem nahi hogi kyunki tu hamesha se janti thi ki teri shaadi kaisi hogi."
She paused, wondering if she would have to continue or if she had brought her sister to the point of considering it. Atleast now Prachi seemed to have given up her idea of running out of the roomâŚ
"You have lost it, haven't you?" Prachi asked quietly, her face devoid of amusement now that she saw her sister was
actually serious.
Ayesha sighed resignedly in her mind. Now she would have to play on her sympathy after all. Gray eyes met with chocolate brown ones and then slid away again. Why did Prachi always manage to discomfit her like this with just a gaze? She made her feel so small every time she put her into trouble with their father and all without saying a
single word!
"MereâŚ" she began, walking over to the large glass window to look at the view of the countryside. " Mere kuch sapne hain⌠main apni life se kuch aur chahti hoonâŚ"
"IâŚI knowâŚ"
Encouraged by her sister's response, she continued. "Mere sapne mein I'm a QueenâŚQueen of the most powerful kingdom that no enemy would dare to breach. With a husband who loves me and would lay down his life for meâŚKya main galat hoon ye sochne mein, Prachi? Kya main galat hoon zindagi se kuch aur chahne ke liye? Kuch sapne dekhne ke liye? Khush rehne ke liye?"
She was surprised to find moisture gathering in her eyes when she had thought she would have to fake it. She felt her sister's hand on her shoulder and nearly smiled in triumph. But she caught herself in time and allowed herself to be turned to face Prachi. She clasped her hands in hers and raised pleading eyes to hers, trying hard not to get unnerved by the lack of expression on her face.
"Prachi, remember your promise?" she asked, deliberately softening her tone. "Remember that night when you had held me in your arms? The night when Papa had told me about my birth?"
Prachi's eyes widened. Her hands went limp in hers and she averred her face from hers.
Something suspiciously like guilt was streaking through her but she shook it off. For her sister, her word was her life. She would never go back on what she had said however much it inconvenienced her. And using it against her in a situation that would bind her for life to a person her elder sister had been supposed to marry spoke volumes about her feelings for Prachi and she had finally realized it now if she hadn't realized it before.
"I promisedâŚ" Prachi spoke hoarsely, the unshed tears clogging her throat and making speech difficult. "To take all your pains for myselfâŚto leave you only happinessâŚ"
Wrenching her hands from Ayesha's, Prachi walked slowly towards the door, stopping in front of it. "Chahe koi tumhare saath ho na ho, main hamesha tumhara saath dungi. Aaj seâŚab seâŚhamesha ke liye" she choked on the ancient words she had spoken that night almost 15 years ago. She opened the door and whispered, "AyeshaâŚmain tumhara saath dungi kayamath se kayamath tak." And she left.
Ayesha muttered an expletive she had picked up from the serfs and banged her hand against the dressing table, glaring at her reflection in the mirror. "Main Prachi se nafrat karti hoon! Nafrat! PhirâŚphir mujhe kyun bura lag raha hai?" she asked, bewildered, to an empty room. She gave herself a mental shake and turned her attention to the problem which had just been solved. "Prachi will not resistâŚshe will marry the Prince of Saharan." And she laughed with joy, forgetting her confusion over her reaction to her sister's tears which she had never shed except for that nightâŚ15 years ago.
______________________________________________________
"Aap wahi karenge jo aapse kaha jayega, Neev!" boomed the annoyed voice of the King of Saharan. "Aap ko Princess Ayesha se shaadi karni hogi."
Neev bit back a sharp retort that would only help in angering his father more and said calmly, " Main kisi aisi ladki se shaadi nahi kar sakta joâŚillegitimate ho. YehâŚuh, humare rajya ke against hai."
Milind tried hard to keep his face impassive as Neev delivered that line. His brother just did not know how to lie. He had never been one to hold anyone's circumstances of birth against them. Last year itself, he had been so besotted with a 17 year old girl that he had been prepared to marry her though she was illegitimate
and a daughter of a farmer!
Trying to keep his amused face reverted from his father and his brother, he crossed his arms and leaned nonchalantly on the wall adjacent to the place where his father and brother sat arguing.
"Rajya ki bhalai sochne ke liye abhi hum zinda hain, Neev," the elderly King spoke in a clipped tone. "And how is it that I'm getting to know about your aversion to illegitimacy now, one year after your affair with that chit Anahita?"
Neev stared in blank shock, while Milind almost choked on the wine he had been drinking. "AapâŚaapko kaise pata?" both brothers asked at the same time.
The King smiled. "Its customary for a father to be aware of what his sons are up to behind his backâŚespecially if that father happens to be a King too."
Getting back to the matter at hand, he glared at his younger son and spoke in a tone which did not encourage arguments, "King Inder Shah was a close friend of mine and I'm eager to renew this friendship which had become strained due to my conservative notions. Now however, after Niharika is no moreâŚ"
The haunted look came back to his face, and Neev winced at having been the cause for it indirectly. Milind put down his wineglass and put an arm around his father.
Neev got up and was about to say something when his brother's warning look made him close his mouth again. He left the room, taking wide angry strides. Anything to get himself away from this scheme to get him married.
_______________________________________________________
hope u liked it, will update soon đ
Edited by gurl.enchanted - 17 years ago
Book Talk
Shiv Shakti
