FF: Desert Rose (Chapter 7, Pg 35) 11/07 - Page 4

Nice start., Continue soon and PM me😛

Originally posted by: Arieltabi

Awesome start dear.
Today I just read ur another work. That was really passionate. Loved it. U r a very good writer dear. U write those passion that feeling really very beautifully.
pls continue soon. And I m 18+ So no problem in reading 😉 😆

Aww, thanks so much for those lovely words. Great to know you read the first one and decided to follow this too 😃 Ah, that 18 plus warning is to ensure I am not breaking IF COC. I used to read a lot of wild stuff way before I was 18, so I don't really expect anyone to adhere to this mandate 😛

Originally posted by: --Janvie--

I was a big fan of your last FF.😳So Happy to see you back here.😃 ❤️ 😳 🤗
This one has an Awesome Start...👏 👏 ⭐️ ⭐️Totally loved the prologue.❤️ 😳 ❤️
Pls continue soon and PM me too.😳 😳

P.S.:- Umm,I'll be 18 this year,But I love to read your work and the passion you create between Akdha so I'm deffo reading.😳

Originally posted by: varshaakulkarni

very intoxicating storyline ... absolutely wonderful plz continue ... i loved it 😊

Thanks so very much, Varsha 😃

Hey, people! Thanks so much for your motivating words. They totally make me wanna work harder. As for the 18 + requirement for reading my work - it's due to IF COC and for my own piece of mind while corrupting young (supposedly) minds. So, read at your own risk, like I said 😛

Also, none of you have suggested a title for this FF, so I am just putting out a thought for the title - When It Rains. Lemme know your views on this one or suggest your own, please 😊

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CHAPTER - ONE

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

- Nelson Mandela

A MONTH EARLIER

The sound of horses' hooves disturbed the peace of the forest. Birds flew from their nests as a huge crash resounded in the clearing, adding their cacophony to the mayhem. Uniformed youth in light blue flew past the smaller animals on spirited black steeds, making a couple of rabbits bump into each other in their haste to get out of the way.

A flash of red in the distance. Then gone.

"There! By the east of the creek!" hollered one of the men, reining in his horse to shout directions to the ones lagging behind. "Hurry up, you indolent twits!"

The coats of the horses gleamed with sweat as they were pushed to their limits by their riders. They rode along the bank of the stream, the sound of the gently flowing water drowned out by the din of their pursuit. They were catching up with their adversary. And they were catching up fast.

"Whoa, there!"

The horse neighed in protest as its rider yanked hard on its reins, jerking it to a sudden stop. A chorus of neighs and shouts followed as the rest of the men mimicked the actions of their comrade.

"Unbelievable!"

"She tricked us!"

"He will have our hide for this."

And there, billowing in the wind, was a red chiffon odhni tied to a sturdy tree. The edges with delicate gold threads glinted in the morning light, mocking the purpose of the entire chase. The faces of the youth looked shocked, then enraged.. and finally - fearful.

"Spread out, spread out! She couldn't have gone far! Cast about the entire forest, if you have to! We must not return without the Princess."

The sound of running feet, and laboured breaths.

A woman ran through the forest, clutching a stitch in her side. She was like a vision from a fairytale - long black hair waving in the breeze, a beautiful red lehenga interspersed with gold that caught the sunlight, a hand clutching the folds of the skirt of her attire, giving a glimpse of slim calves and delicate feet.

'A little bit further', she coaxed her rapidly tiring body. 'Just a little bit further.' Panting painfully, she pushed branches out of her way, praying for safe passage through the part of the forest riddled with predators. Becoming a welcome meal for a wild beast was not the purpose her life was meant to fulfill. Atleast, she hoped it wasn't.

'No forbidding thoughts, Jodha. Your existence is fraught with enough turmoil without your own mind getting in a fright or two,' she told herself sternly. 'You threw your enemies behind. But they won't remain there much longer. And if you are caught..'

That sobering thought brought in another burst of speed, even as her lungs felt close to bursting and her feet hurt with the numerous pricks and scratches they had endured in her wild hunt. Where was she? She knew she was far from Amer, in the land of Mughals. But she could not isolate the exact location of this godforsaken wilderness.

'Should have thought of that before jumping out of your carriage,' her disgruntled inner voice reminded her, peeved with her lack of plan or direction.

'A right little ray of sunshine, aren't you?' she thought back snarkily, before realizing the senselessness of sarcasm with herself.' I am becoming deranged. I can't go on much longer. I can't.. get caught.'

She kept repeating the thought as a talisman against the looming exhaustion that would soon surpass her motivation. Where was she going? What could she even hope to find in a forest that would keep her safe? She didn't even know how get out of this place! What if she was going in circles and her pursuers caught up to her easily?

'I will.. kill them,' her mind was struggling to form thoughts now. 'Or.. myself.'

She clutched her side tighter as the stitch became too unbearable to ignore. Suddenly, a black horse jumped through the brush and rode directly at her. Too drained to respond immediately, she swerved to the right to avoid a collision or possible trampling at the last minute. A brute hand caught the ends of her hair, yanking her back painfully. They both fell to the ground, with the horse galloping a few feet away and stopping.

"Hari, I found her!" a male voice shouted in triumph. Another barely audible male voice responded a distance away. He shifted to move off her, keeping a hard grip on her hair as he stood up. Her legs trembled with their effort to remain upright. She had twisted her ankle in the violent fall. It would be too painful, not to mention foolish, to attempt to break hold and run. Futile tears threatened to glaze her eyes over. She blinked them back furiously. Now was not the time to act like a weeping damsel!

"I found you, eh, little Princess?" the man crowed, pulling on her hair harder to make a point. She glared daggers at him. He looked to be barely out of his teens, dressed in the light blue of a soldier of Amer. He had brown eyes and black hair cut close. An unpleasant sneer lit up his face as he took in her dishevelled form. "How many coins will your Bapu sa give me, do you think?"

"He will have your head on a platter for treating me like a common wench, you arrogant ass!" she snapped, trying to draw herself to her full height as a royal Princess, sweat and blood not withstanding. "Let go before I personally supervise your hanging!"

The sound of hooves. Another rider approached them, shooting the one holding her an envious look. He was similar in colouring to her tormentor, though a little taller with shoulder length hair tied behind with a band. "You found her, Shyam. What good fortune did the Gods bestow on you today?" He dismounted, patting the horse's flank to send it ahead.

"Not amply enough, Hari, since Her Highness threatens me with a hanging," Shyam chortled, releasing her hair and pushing her back roughly. She tumbled to the ground, her right ankle refusing to support her weight. Her cry of pain went ignored by both men. Hari sniggered dutifully, casting an appraising gaze over her. She sat up, refusing to cower in front of such debauched men. She shivered at the lust steering to life in his eyes. They all knew her father would not care. She was a commodity for him, an asset. However, she had to be an untouched asset for her to retain her value in the market.

She just wasn't sure these men knew that.

"She sure is a desert rose, isn't she?" Hari spoke to no one in particular, his gaze resting on the swells above her low cut blouse. She had left her odhni tied to the tree to hoodwink her pursuers. Not that she would have been better off carrying it with her. It would have made the entire posse catch up with her, instead of just two men chancing upon her person.

Her hand slipped closer to the skirt of her lehenga. Her dagger was strapped to her thigh to prevent attackers from taking it away from her. She was highly skilled at swords and daggers. But she could have hardly lugged around a sword before fleeing without causing suspicion. Daggers were smaller, but lethal in her hands. Yet, how could she pull up her skirt and pull it out in front of these men?

She stood up shakily, casting a furtive gaze from one man to the another. Both had identical expressions of desire on their boyish faces.

Modesty or rape?

"Oh, a tiger!" she cried, suddenly, pointing at the bushes behind them.

None. Wits.

They turned. A moment later, Hari fell to the ground with a dagger thrown straight at his chest. Before Shyam could do more than look in horror at his comrade, she hugged him.

Gunfire.

His surprise at the sudden embrace turned into horror again. He started sliding down. She stepped back, holding a smoking gun, taken from his belt. As blood spurted out of his stomach, she dug her nails in his neck painfully - an imitation of his act of pulling her hair.

Looking straight into his wide terror filled eyes, she whispered softly, "Sorry.. I meant a tigress."

To be continued..

awesome please do continue soon 👏

Originally posted by: binmad

awesome please do continue soon 👏

Thank you so much 😊

Vow it's getting interesting... You are amazing writer... loved it so much... can't wait for long... Please update soon and if possible pm... Thanks so much

Awesome...cannot wait for our Jallu to come to checkmate her

ahaha jodha's awesome just so u know i turned 18 in february i can read this lol can't wait for the other parts