ONE CHANCE GIVEN 2.8
CID Episode 65 - 2 August
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai - 02 August 2025 EDT
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DISCLAIMER:
THIS IS MY OWN WORK OF FICTION. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ANY OTHER PERSON'S WORK ON THIS OR ANY OTHER FORUM IS PURELY UNINTENTIONAL AND I BEG MY PARDON FOR IT.
Part 2- Page 3
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/105483336
Part 3
Banner Credits by Tahniat
At Night
In Jalal's Chambers
"Shehenshah ka Iqbal Buland Ho! Gustaakhi Muaaf, Shehenshah. Jodha Begum is here and requests to meet you."
Still hooked onto the object that had his unwavering attention, the Emperor declined sternly "I am busy now" - so much so that the guard himself was caught off guard.
Outside Jalal's Chambers
"Theek Hai. Then, convey my message to the Shehenshah. Tell him, I came here to thank him." Jodha told the guard when he informed her that the Shehenshah had refused to see her " Unhe hamara aabhaar prakat karna tha. Tell him that I am grateful to him."
Sometime Later...
Midnight
In Jalal's Chambers
Standing near the window, Jalal found himself staring at the bright moon shining in its pale abode. Sleep continued to evade him. To say he was confused, would be an understatement.
"Shehenshah, Jodha Begum ne paigam bheja hai. She said she had wanted to convey her gratitude to you. Jodha Begum ne apna Shukriya adaa ki Huzur ko."
Jalal was nonplussed by those words. Why had she THANKED him? It was all his fault. He had been expecting her all day long but she continued to avoid him till NIGHT. Whenever he heard the guard enter, he had been expecting, rather hoping, that he would announce Jodha Begum's arrival. But every time, he was let down.
Once it was Atga Saheb, who had come to inform him about the riots in some villages by peasants , then it was Ruqaiya who claimed she had been missing him... But who was she fooling? He knew she was here to express her elation on Jodha Begum's defeat and humiliation... Humiliation?
Jalal wasn't really sure now. Hadn't he saved his Theeki Mirchi from humiliation...Or so he thought? He recollected the happenings earlier in the day. Benazir had come in begging for mercy. He wouldn't even have seen her but for the choice of words in her message to him...
" Mohtarma Benazir begs to be admitted. She says it is something regarding Jodha Begum and her own bandhi."
Flashback
The Same Morning Before Sunrise
In Jalal's Chambers
What does Jodha Begum have to do with Benazir's bandhi?
Curiosity took the better of him and he let her in. Only after hearing her out, did Jalal realize the gravity of the situation. Jodha Begum punishing a bandhi for a petty offence of breaking a vase was not only unimaginable but also unpardonable. By his people. What message would they get? This news would spread like wildfire.
Jodha Begum has ordered that a maid be whipped for some silly fancy of hers' over a vase. His people revere her, respect her, and love her like no other. Her efforts to keep the people happy were not hidden from anyone. Urging him to mingle with them in disguise, bringing their problems to the fore, paying the pilgrimage tax on their behalf what not!
Though as his Begum, she had every right to punish a mere slave, such a grave punishment for a petty reason, does NOT befit a queen of her status, he reflected.
My attitude towards her is vindictive these days. Yet I will not let this faux pas of hers, malign her. Her jealousy is affecting her sense of justice and fair play. I understand this. People will not. They support whoever appears to be good. But one slip, and you are slandered. Moreover, she herself will feel miserable later when her good sense feels it an auspicious time to return.
I publicly insulted her in court. I asked her to leave the court. But, Ramtanu Pandey's concert and Benazir's sensational appearance spared her much disgrace and unwanted attention her way.I will still take my revenge. Albeit, in MY way. And never by letting her down in front of the public.
And Jodha Begum too, to what extent has she let her anger dictate terms to her???? He quizzed. The concerned Jalal, however, failed to find the eerie similarity between Jodha's actions and his own in the past couple of days. How far had he handled the matter 'maturely' as he himself called it? He too, had behaved as childishly as possible. Anyhow, the seemingly mature Shehenshah did not waste another second.
His dilemma now cleared, Jalal hurried to stop the punishment as a worried husband had finally overpowered the egoistic Emperor. Thankfully!
In The Square In The Harem
He did it. Jalal finally achieved his aim. As he loosened his hold on the whip, let out a sigh. A sigh of relief, satisfaction, pleasure, happiness AND vindictiveness too...
He knew this would egg on gossip mongers. And that was WHAT he actually wanted! He had hit two birds with one stone. One, Jodha Begum will not lose her respectable image in his peoples' eyes. Second, in the palace, however, she would be the topic of hot gossip.
In the Harem, other Begums would see this as an insult to Jodha Begum as he had listened to a mere courtesan over Jodha Begum.And the so-called jealous wife that his dear Begum was being these days, she wouldn't infer the inner motive and would be further provoked. Poor Benazir he thought.
Now I will wait for Jodha Begum to come and vent her anger on me, the pleased Emperor smirked to himself.
Present
Midnight
In Jalal's chambers
As he recollected the events of the day, Jalal was again, haunted by those words... gratitude? He cursed himself for losing his temper. He had been waiting the entire day. Others had come and gone but not her. At night when she had finally decided to honour him with her enticing company, anger had taken over a beneficial lady called Patience and...
If only he had granted leave to her!
Flashback
At Night
In Jalal's Chambers
Jalal was angry now. He wanted to meet Jodha Begum and, she... SHE NEVER EVEN TURNED UP! He finally resigned to the side of his bed, facing away from the entrance, with HER payal in hand. This payal of hers had found a place in the drawer of his bedside table for quite a while now. He began moving his fingers over it playfully like he did whenever he was upset and the cause was, its owner. Not too surprising, was it?
It was then that the guard announced her arrival and he lost it. He actually, literally, LOST IT. She lost no opportunity to put him down and insult him and this was the last straw. He refused. He refused to meet the one, whose failure to meet him, had in fact led to this anger.
Immediately, he consoled himself that as usual she would barge in. His ears were expecting the sound of her payal any moment now.
Firstly, it was quite a while now that he had seen Jodha Begum. He had been eagerly waiting for her, so that he could revel in her anger and jealousy, he convinced himself. But the truth was, he just wanted to see her. Revel in her beauty when she was jealous and angry, and NOT in her anger, in fact. Her doe-like hazel eyes that always managed to calm his fury and wrath. Every time. Every SINGLE time.
Her petite figure that literally forced him to take her into his arms. Her unblemished skin that diverted his attention from her words. Her words! How he managed to listen to her voice, her words out of her lips, was something only HE knew! When all he wanted was to feel those lips on his own... But, no. Jodha Begum came at NIGHT when the incident had happened early morning! How dare she?
Fury and displeasure had led the Emperor astray and in a fit of rage, he had not met her because he was angry with her for coming so late. He had refused expecting her to come in like always but when he was greeted with a salaam rather than the much- awaited pranam, he was thrown off his feet.
Present
Midnight
In Jalal's Chambers
Jodha, being Jodha, as always, had gone out of her way to convey such a ridiculous message to get her back on him for his refusal. What a woman! She had purposely not met him and conveyed a message instead. He remembered all those times when this fiery Begum of his would defy his orders and barge in to tell him what she had wanted to. Never had she ever returned without doing what she had set out to. Then why now?
Had she finally admitted defeat? No. She hasn't. If she had, she would have gone without leaving any message. She is Jodha Begum. She will not admit defeat whatever the consequences may be.
He was exasperated now. Why had she THANKED him? It is next to impossible that she had known all along that he had done it for her. Then why?
He was irritated. And frustrated! Why she had to further INFURIATE him with her meaningless yet meaningful messages, was beyond his comprehension. Firstly, he hadn't met for a while now. When she came, he refused. She, too, unlike herself, left with an incomprehensible message.
He had been spending enough sleepless nights already... after THAT night... Never before had he been insulted SO MUCH ever in his life. When he had almost given himself to her, she had...
Yes, this invincible ruler found himself distressed yet again. Defeated. Lost. Failed. He couldn't help thinking over the whole thing ALL OVER AGAIN. How much ever he tried, he could not forget it. He found himself unable to get over it and get over HER... He tried diverting his mind to other things that require more attention like the growing revolt in Kabul, the peasants' issue regarding the tax rate etc. But to no avail.
His mind went back to that fateful night for the THOUSANDTH time now...
Flashback
A Week Ago...
In Jalal's Chambers
"I am impressed with your judgement in the Tasneem issue. I am proud of you. You handled the entire crisis with intelligence and patience...
... I know as a wife and Begum I have certain duties to fulfil. I have faltered in many places and you have always forgiven me. I am grateful to you and will be forever indebted to you for the time and space you gave me. But not anymore. I have finally realized that I have started liking you... Hume aapse prem ho gaya hai, Shehenshah... I finally admit that I do have feelings for you. Hum chaahte hain ki aap humare kaksh me aakar, humaare saath thoda samay bitaayen. I would be honoured if you accept this request of mine tomorrow evening itself...
...
Aapki KHAS Begum,
Jodha."
The embarrassed Jalal listened patiently as Badi Ammi read the letter sent by Jodha. The Emperor was pleasantly surprised, though not at all displeased. He tried to maintain a calm composure anyway. After all, how much ever attached he was with his Badi Ammi, he did NOT want to discuss his love-life with her. So he adopted the best course then and remained silent albeit with a sweet smile as the visibly elated Maham Anga congratulated and blessed him.
The Next Day Morning
In the Royal Gardens
Jalal found Jodha Begum talking excitedly to a bandhi about the upcoming concert that evening. He was quite happy to see her in fact. He still hadn't gotten over the embarassment of his Badi Ammi reading such an amorous letter.
Agreed, she had found it awkward to convey it personally but he had to make Badi Ammi read it, which was worse than she coming directly to him.
Had he got the slightest inkling about its contents, he would have gone to Jodha Begum straightaway snatching it from Ammi's hands... Yet, Badi Ammi being Badi Ammi, did not make an issue out of it for which he was grateful.
Ye Jodha Begum bhi na... For every petty thing, she would come running but for this... She chooses to send a letter instead, he groaned silently.
After the usual greetings, he wanted HER to come forward and broach THE topic but she wasn't really comfortable, he guessed. Instead they ended up talking about music and surprisingly enough HE had managed to surprise HER with his knowledge and 'Udaharans' as she praised. Her final words of parting impressed him anyway.
"Seemayen to aaj ratri ko tutengi, Shehenshah."
"I am very excited for tonight."
She had precisely used those words to describe her barely concealed pleasure. Any lingering doubts in Jalal's mind regarding the letter vanished with that statement.
Finally, she hints about tonight, he thought.
Present
Midnight
Jalal's chambers
The king himself never knew how much he had been drinking while remembering those moments. Drinking to forget them, Drinking so that somehow he could undo all that happened AFTER, Drinking to get over her, Drinking to NOT hate her as much as he did now, Drinking to get over the INSULT, Drinking to get some sleep which he so badly was in need of... which he somehow did though, thanks to the immense official work and fatigue and the wine...
The empty glass fell from the sleeping King's clasp onto the floor. Only if all the unpleasant memories that he was so steadfastly holding onto, would free themselves from his clasp to give him what he wanted most now... Peace.
Part 4 - Page 8
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum_posts.aspTID=3998964&PID=108373585&#p108373585
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Note:
This particular update has quite a few Flashbacks. I have tried my best to make myself clear to you and conveyed what I wanted to convey in every way I thought right. If I have faltered somewhere, I apologise. If you have ANY clarifications, please do not hesitate to ask.
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