Rishbala SS: Upakhyana..Last part Pg12 - Page 7

Vishishthapur was set ablaze by the Narendrapur army. The murder of their king had to be avenged by them. It was a riot everywhere. People were being driven out of their homes and their possessions were being set on fire. The agonized people did not know who to ask for refuge, as anarchy set all over the kingdom.

Abhimanas entered the secret passageway to the dungeon at the farthest end of the palace. As he entered the dark and dingy cellar the prisoner inside woke up from his slumber. "My kind regards to you king Narasimha," said Abhimanas with clear contempt in his voice. "You traitor, I had always trusted you and your father as my confidant. But you serpent, you bit me for all the favours you got from me," loathed the king. "Tsk tsk tsk, king Narasimha, don't try to annoy me with your incessant gibbering. You should be grateful to me that I have still kept you alive. Now I will give you another chance of living rest of your life with honour and luxury. Declare me the king of this land. And as there is no legitimate successor for Narendrapur, I will automatically take its reins in my hand," said Abhimanas with a glint of confidence in his eyes. "Nobody will consider you as their king, you fool. Everybody knows you are a murderer and a traitor!!" shouted Narasimha. "Again you old man, again you are trying my patience. And for your kind information, no one knows that it was me and my men who killed that stupid king Vikramaditya and his friends. Everyone thinks it is the act of the vengeful Rohilas, led by none other than your favourite Rishabh. Hahaha!! And now, the Narendrapur soldiers will comb each and every Rohila in this kingdom and give them a dog's death. So now you know how efficient I am in eliminating my enemies and keeping myself clear of all accusations. I will give you another chance to think over and take decision. I will be back in few days. So make up your mind fast!" warned Abhimanas. "Where is Madhurya, my daughter, what have you done to her you beast?" shouted the panicked king. "I do not know. She must have fled somewhere. But do not worry, I will search her out and have her in my own way," replied Abhimanas with a lustful tone and left the cellar.

It had been more than ten days since Rishabh had left Madhurya with Daima. For the first few days Madhurya was in a daze, unable to accept the harsh consequences of her life. Gradually she conceded the reality and shrunk herself in. The presence of the old lady was her only solace. She would sit with her and listen to her stories, try her hand in cooking and the household chores, which she had never before thought of doing. Somehow she never thought of running away as she felt herself safe in under the thatched roof of the hut. May be this was the payback for all her conceited arrogance she had assumed as a princess all these years.

Daima had retired to her bed after dinner. Madhurya was sitting by the window and looking at the raindrops falling incessantly through the foliage cover of the towering trees. Suddenly she heard a trotting sound coming towards their hut. She felt alarmed and grabbed the knife lying by the oven, and waited behind the door. The horse stopped in front of the hut and sound of unsteady footsteps drew closer. "Daima, open the door Daima. It's me Rishabh," huffed Rishabh. Madhurya waited for a moment and slowly opened the door. She was shocked to see Rishabh standing there with blood oozing out from his stomach and his face grimacing with pain. He could not hold on to himself and bent forward when Madhurya steadied him and pulled him inside. Madhurya laid him down on the bed and rushed to the sleeping old lady. "Daima wake up, Rishabh is here, all wounded. He needs medication," shouted Madhurya. Rishabh was losing his consciousness as he had lost much blood already. Daima cleaned his wound and covered it with some herbal medicine and cloth. "Are you ok Rishabh, can you hear me?" asked Madhurya but got no reply. She did not know why she was so hurt to see Rishabh in so much pain. Was he not the same man whose ploy had killed her father and Ishaani, and deprived her of all her happiness? But somehow she had not been able to sever all her ties with this man. May be because he was the only one she knew of from her past life.

For two days Rishabh lay there without any consciousness. His wound had started healing up, but the pain must have been excruciating; he would scream as he hurt himself while moving in his sleep. Was he going to die too? All such grievous thoughts clouded Madhurya's mind while seeing Rishabh writhing in pain. "Daima, will he recover?" "Oh yes, he is a strong boy, he will surely recover. Give him this medicine when he wakes up. He will be relieved of his pain," said the old lady and handed her some roots.

Two more days passed, and Rishabh was feeling much better. He sat on the bed and Madhurya came to him with haldi-doodh (milk with turmeric). As he finished drinking, Madhurya taak the glass from him and turned back without any words. "Maharaj is alive, princess," said Rishabh. Madhurya was speechless; she could not express the joy she felt that moment. "My men got information that he has been captivated somewhere in the palace. And trust me, the Rohilas had nothing to do with this. I had just started looking around the secret cells and dungeons of the palace when some masked men attacked us and killed my men who were with me. My fate was with me and I escaped. Daima and you have helped me regain my strength. Now I will go back and rescue the king from the vicious clutches," said Rishabh. "I don't know whether I should believe you or not, but I will definitely look forward to see my father alive," replied Madhurya with a chocked voice.

Daima was leaving for a day as she had to go to the village to bring foodstuffs. She gave the pain-relieving medicine to Rishabh and asked him to take ample rest before he planned to leave the next morning. Rishabh felt a little drowsy after taking the medicine. He was finding it difficult to conceive any coherent thoughts. Madhurya had gone for bath in the nearby pond. As she came back to the hut she saw Rishabh standing by the door. He could still capture her imagination with his dimpled smile, his sculpted torso, and his intense gaze. No Madhurya, don't get beguiled by his looks. She avoided his gaze and entered the hut. Rishabh caught her hand and stopped her. Madhurya looked at him with wonderment. "Is it true that I was always a passing fancy for you Madhurya? You never loved me, not even for a moment?" "Even if I had, it makes no sense now," replied Madhurya and tried to move away. "Yes it does, definitely it does. Why did you save me? You could have left me to die." "I am a human being Rishabh, anyone else would have done the same thing on humanitarian ground." Rishabh left her hand free and came closer. He cupped her face with his palms. Droplets of water dripped from her curls onto his hand. "You will always be my princess, my love, my life. If I go and never come back, you will know that till my last breath I have thought about you and loved you," whispered Rishabh while holding his gaze with Madhurya. A tear drop rolled down the cheek of Madhurya which was stopped by his lips. Madhurya did not resist, she was tired of this conflict within herself about her love for Rishabh. For once she was ready to surrender herself to the only man whom she had loved boundlessly.

The moment they touched and felt each other, it was like a spell which they could not overcome. Every inch of Madhurya's body screamed for his touch and craved for his lips. Rishabh slowly undressed her and held her like a baby in his hands. Madhurya was so small and delicate compared to his broad frame that he had to put his own body weight on his hands so that she was not crushed under him. Madhurya touched his bandaged wound lightly and doubted whether this would hurt him, but Rishabh assured her with his eyes that everything was fine. The medicine was doing wonders in keeping away the pain and bringing the two hearts together. Rishabh kissed her all over and nudged her with his nose as she arched with pleasure and dug her nails on his bare back. He touched her naval with his finger and looked up to her eyes to seek permission for marking her with his love. Madhurya moaned with pleasure and consented with her eyes. Rishabh slowly entered her and kissed away her tears as she felt the bitter-sweet pain. As their bodies entwined and moved with the carnal rhythm, a divine sense of togetherness filled the air around them.

Madhurya slept like a baby as Rishabh held her in his embrace. Her bosom moved slowly with her soft breathing. Rishabh's eyes clouded with moisture as he contemplated the future which had no certainty. But yet again, he promised for both of them that he would bring back all happiness to his beloved princess and love her till his last breath.