Sorry for being late. So here you go with the 4th chapter. Enjoy.Chapter 4Leela placed the kundan neckpiece and the maangtika on the dressing table. She turned towards Aakriti and spoke, "Aakriti, yeh lijiye, aapke aajke pehne ke liye aabhushan. Woh humein shama kijiyega Aakriti parantu humein iske saath mel khane waala kamarbandh nahi mila toh hum..." Leela stopped in midway when she found the princess busy in her own work, paying no hid to her words.
"Aakriti...Aakriti! Aap sunn bhi rahi hai hum aapse kya keh rahein hai? Aur...aur yeh aap kya kar rahi hai? Aap inn saadharan se vastron ko lekar kya karne waali hai?" She asked in a surprised as well as suspicious tone.
"Uff Leela, aap kitne prashn poochti hai? Aapko dikhayi nahin de raha, hum ek mahatvapoorna cheez dhoond rahein hai!" Aakriti said searching for something in an old box of jewelries.
"Par aap kya dhoond rahi hai woh toh bataiye. Hum aapki sahayta kar dete hai." Leela advanced towards her, offering to help the princess but she was too busy to reply.
Leela's eyes widened with the sudden realisation. "Humein aisa kyun lagta hai ki hum jaante hai aap kya karne waali hai?"
Aakriti closed the box dejectedly and sat on the bed. Then she looked at Leela and flashed a big smile. Leela knew very well what Aakriti was planning to do.
"Wah leela, aap toh bohot samajhdaar hai!"
Aakriti stood in front of the mirror and started removing her Royal jewelries. The princess continued, "Humne socha hai ki aaj hum Ujjain Mahahaat jayenge. Ujjain ka sabse prasiddha haat jo har 2 varsh mein sirf 1 baar hi hota hai." Aakriti said.
"Haan toh thik hai. Hum abhi jaake apki paalki taiyaar karwatein hai aur sainikon ko bhi bata dete hai. Aur haan Kunwar sa ko bhi." Saying this Leela proceeded to go out of the room when Aakriti quickly stopped her.
"Arrey, nahin nahin Leela! Aisa mat kijiye. Aap kisi ko bhi nahin bataengi ki hum haat mein jaa rahein hai, na dada bhai ko aur na hi maa ko. Iss mahal mein kisi ko bhi iss baarein pata nahin chalna chahiye ki hum haat jaa rahein hai. Aur...aur hum palki mein nahin jayenge...kyunki hum wahan Ujjain ki Rajkumari Akriti Chauhaan bankar nahin jaana chate, balki iss rajya mein rehna waali ek sadharan bala(girl) bann kar jaana chahti hoon."
"Kya? Aap yeh kya bol rahi hai Aakriti? Iss haat mein aap jayengi ek saadharan naagrik ke vesh mein? Parantu...parantu kyun? Aap jaanti hai na ki iss prasiddha haat mein kitni kolahal aur halchal rehti hai. Aapko nahin hai na aadat aise jaane ki? Yadi aapko kuch ho gaya toh? Tab kya karenge? Aur..aur yadi Maharani sa ya Hukum ko pata chal gaya toh? Aur...Kunwar sa...unhein pata chal gaya toh vehtoh..." Leela almost panicked, speaking ver fast.
"Leela, Leela. Shaant. Aap itna ghabra kyun rahi hai? Hum hai na, kuch nahin hoga. Aur yeh pehli baar toh nahin hai ki hum aise jaa rahein hai nagar ...aapko yaad nahin pichli baar jab hum mele mein gaye the aur kis tarha kisi ko bina pata chalein hum laut bhi aaye the...toh?" Aakriti made Leela understand.
"Aur waise bhi, hum pehli baar jab gaye the mele mein, samanya vastron mein toh humein bohot achha laga tha. Ek Rajkumari ke vesh mein toh hum sada hi jaate hai, humara matlab tha, hum sadaiv sabhi se Rajkumari Aakriti ho kar hi toh milte hai. Parantu tab humari praja humein bohot hi unche darje mein dharti hai. Sach kahein toh humein bohot achha lagta hai, aise, Ujjain ki ek saadharan ladki ki tarha humarein rahjya mein jaane mein. Woh ek alag hi anubhuti hai! Isse hum apni rajya ki aur humari praja ki vaastavik sthiti se bhi avgat hote hai...unke rehensan, roz ki jeevika ke baarein mein jaan paate hai."
"Hum toh jaayenge hi. Aur hum jaante hai yadi humne Maa ko ya Dada bhai ko bataya toh ve chintit ho jaayenge aur...aur humein nahin jaane denge."
"Tanik bhi chinta nahin hai na aapko swayam ki?" Leela, defeated, handed Aakriti some silver, light jewelries for her to wear. The Ujjain princess grinned as she rushed off to change and get ready for the trip down Ujaain Maha-haat.
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In the haat"Wah Leela!!! Itne dino baad, mahal se bahar kadam rakhne ka toh anand hi kuch aur hai! Thak chuke the hum, unn bhari gehno aur lehenge ko sambhalte sambhalte, sabhi ko 'Khamba Gani Rajkumari Sa' keh kar humein pranam karte hue dekhte." Aakriti gave sigh of relieve, strolling in the city market area. The Maha-haat was only 5 more steps ahead. Leela looked at her friend's face and she felt happy to see the sudden glow on Aakriti's face which had appeared from nowhere.
"Humein bohot achha lag raha hai. Dekho toh humari praja kitni khush hai. Sab kaise vyasta hai, yeh-woh kharidne mein. Maano ek anad ki leher si chayi hui ho. Bohot achha lagta hai inn sabko itna khush dekh kar!" Aakriti exclaimed with contentedness.
"Aakriti woh dekhiye.Uss taraf hai haat." Leela said pointing towards the haat.
They reached the haat. The atmosphere there was full of excitement. Many traders had come with various goods to sell them. Some with beautiful decorative stuffs like mirrors, flower vase, jewelry boxes and paintings, some with trinkets, silever and copper jewelries and several other kinds of payals from different kingdoms. There were stalls of bangles too. The colourful glass bangles glittered in the bright sunshine. Traders from other kindoms of Rajputana were in the haat too-with exclusive swords, daggers, etc. Splendid horses were being sold. People were all busy bargaining and buying.
Aakriti went around the haat, asking prices of different articles which helped her to get a brief idea of the cost of day to day stuffs. Being a princess, she had no relation with the 'price-of-something'. The princess even went to one of the shops, asking the price of a sword, totally shocking the keeper. He didn't expect any girl to ask him for a sword. But Aakriti only giggled at his reaction and went ahead. Leela was busy scanning the crowd to see if any Ujjain soldier on gaurd was to be seen.
The princess' eye was caught by a small stall selling birds and rabbits. Within a second she was standing before the cages, with an amusing smile on her face.
"Leela, yeh khargosh kitna pyaara hai na? Itna pyaara khargosh humne pehle kabhi nahin dekha!Dekho kitna mulayam hai!"Aakriti exclaimed, caressing the rabbit's soft fur, ever so softly, as if it were a china doll.
"Sirf 5 mudrayein(coins)." The seller said.
Quick;y, Aakriti handed him 5 gold coins and bought the rabbit.
"Arrey! Humara matlab tha 5 chaandi ke mudraye, swarn mudraye nahin!" the seller exclaimed. He was totally surprised to see an ordinary girl pay him 5 GOLD coins for only a mere rabbit.
"Oh, par humarein paas toh sirf swarna mudrayein hi hai! Koi baat nahin, aap yehi rakh lijiye. Dhanyawwad."
Aakriti and Leela left the place with the rabbit nibbling the princess' finger softly. The man on the other hand could only stare at the retrating figure of the two ladies.
"Aakriti, humein lagta hai ab humein waapas mahal laut jaana chahiye. Ab toh aapne poora SHAR bhi ghoom liya hai." Leela emphasised on the word 'shahar' to make hr realize that roaming all most the whole capital was not their plan only to have Aakriti frowning at her statement.
"Aapko pata hai na Aakriti, vishesh roop se ISS Maha-haat mein kai sipahi tainaat kiye jaate hai. Yadi unn mein se kisi ne bhi humein dekh liye toh ve tatkal hi aapko pehchaan jaayenge. Aur...aur phir kunwar sa aur hukum ko bhi khabar ho jayegi ki aap bina kisi suraksha aur palki ke haat mein aaye..." Leele again expressed her fears of getting caught.
"Leela. Fir se nahin. Aap itni chinta kyun karti hai? Thik hai. Ab humein bhi lagta hai ki hum dono ko wapas mahal laut jaana chahiye. Hum bhi nahin chahte ki dada bhai ko pata chalein iss barein mein. Ve akaaran hi humareliye chintit ho jayenge."
The two ladies were talking when Aakriti heard loud noises of footsteps-footsteps of a horse, running wildly. She could feel the sound coming closer to the area. It was quite evident that the sound was not that of a normal horse coming in some decent speed, it was literally running...in a high speed...towards the haat...which was crowded! This surely was NOT good.
"Leela! Aapne suna.? Yeh toh kisi ashwa ke..." Aakriti didn't complete her sentence but quickly turned to her left and she was greeted by a horrifying site.
Just as she had guessed, a big, white horse was coming in full speed with the rider struggling to balance himself on the seemingly untamed creature and trying his best to control it but the horse seemed unaffected the man's arepeated attempts. The bazaar was crowded, all the people were running to save themselves from the horse's hooves. And in this chaos, a little girl had fell down, unable to get up. She was merely 3 or 4 years old.
The man on the horse shouted "Hat jaiye sabhi, hat jaiye humare marg se. A..arrey...Ch...Chetak! Rukiye! Ruk jaiye! Ruk jaiye humne kaha! Chetak!"
Another man riding another horse followed him shouting "Arrey...arrey ruk jaiye! Aap itna tez kyun jaa rahein hai Mitra? Ruk jaiye! Ruk jaiye mitra! Dheere kijiye apni gati. Kisi...kisi ko bhi chot lag sakti hai."
But the rider was too busy struggling to calm the horse and keep his balance. But the horse was in no mood to stop.
"Woh...Woh bachhi! Woh ashwa uss bachhi ki taraf hi aa raha hai...Agar ve wahan se nahin bhagi toh ve...nahin..." Aakriti said in a horror-stricken voice. If the horse hits the girl...No something was needed to be done.
Leela too saw the horse speeding towards the girl. She heard the rider and his friend shouting "Arre hat jao saamne se..." Leela turned to Aakriti for saying something but where was Aakriti? She was no more there, standing beside her.
"Aa...Aakriti...!" Leela quickly turned her face to the left just to find Aakriti running towards the child.
The horse neared the girl and everyone witnessing the scene was sure thaat the child was to face the wrath of the raging horse but nothing of that sort happened. With a swift movement, the princess picked up the child in her arms and dived on the other side. Everyone had their eyes shut, ready to hear the duo's scream anytime but no, there was nothing.
There stood the brave heart, Aakriti Chauhaan, comforting the chil who was weeping in fright. The lady and the child, both were safe. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The whole haat cheered for the unknown, braveheart. On the other hand, Leela stood there frozen at her spot. The thought of Aakriti only inches apart from death made her numb. The loud voices of two individuals brought her back to reality. Quickly, Leela rushed to the princess' side.
"Agar humein aur ek shan bhi deri ho jaati toh app ko pata hai kya hota? Aaj yeh bachhi nahin bach paati! Agar isse kuch ho jaata toh?" Aakriti angrily accused the rider, who, by now had removed the black cloth by which covered his fair, chiseled cheeks.
"Humein shama kar dijiye. Humara aisa koi bhi udeshya nahin tha. Woh humara..." the man said in a little guilt filled tone.
"Achha yeh aapka udeshya nahin tha? Toh kya udeshya tha aapka? Aur do chaar logo ki hatya karne ka?" Aakriti didn't let him complete.
"Dekhiye, aisa kuch bhi nahin hai. Humara ashwa niyantran kho baitha tha aur hum unpe sanyam(control) nahin rakh paa rahein the. Bass issi karan vashatah..." He tried to clarify.
"Aap apne ashwa par sanyam nahin rakh paa rahein the? Yadi aap apne ashwa ko niyantran mein hi nahin rakh paate toh karte kyun hai ashwa ki sawaari?" The argument had started heating up.
"Aisi koi baat nahin hai. Humein bhi aashcharya hua aaj Chetak ke iss vichitra aacharan ka.."
"Toh iss mein humari kya bhool hai? Iss bachhi aur in baaki logo ki kya bhool hai? Aapko ashwa mein aana hi nahin chahiye tha! Apne pairon ka prayog kar, chal kar bhi aa sakte the! Yadi aapke karan is bazaar mein kisi ko bhi chot lag jaati toh? Tab kya karte aap?"
"Hum maang toh rahein hai shama. Humari aisi koi mansha nahin thi. Humne yeh jaan boojh ke nahin kiya." The girl was now testing his patience.
"Shama maangne ka kya laabh hai? Aainda se jab ghore par sawari kijiyega toh ghudsawaari sikh lijiyega pehle." Aakriti scowled at the charming youth again. Leela tried to calm her friend. But the princess had a good amount of anger packed up within her.
The man on the other side thought 'Yeh ladki humein, Pratap Singh ko keh rahi hai ghudsawaari sikhne ke liye?'
"E ladki, tum jaanti nahin ho ki tum kis ke saath baat kar rahi ho!" Chakrapani stepped forward raising his voice a lttle but Pratap raised his hand to stop him midway.
"Humein jaanne mein koi ruchi bhi nahin haiQ Aur hum aap se nahin aapke mitra se baat kar rahein hai." Aakriti said and turned towards Pratap who was quite vexed by now. "Aur aap mahashay, aapke karan humaara khargosh bhi bhaag gaya."
The Prince was having a hard time keeping his patience. Listening to what Aakriti said, he took out a small pouch of gold coins and held it forward to Aakriti. "Yeh lijiye, kharid lijiyega aapko jitney bhi khargosh kharidne ho." Pratap said.
Aakriti thought 'Ek saadharan sa vyakti humein, Aakriti Chauhan ko, khargosh kharidne ka paise de rahein hai?'
"Saadharan naagrik hai toh iska arth yeh nahin hai ki hum aap jaise kisi se koi cheez kharidne ke paise le. Humara bhi koi maan-samman hai. Aur..." Before Aakriti could speak any further Leela whispered in her ear "Aakriti, wapas chaliye. Chod dijiye inn logo ko. Woh dekhiye, woh sainik issi taraf aa rahein hai. Yadi unhone humein dekh liya toh hum samasya mein aa jayenge. Chaliye yahan se Aakriti."
Leela dragged Aakrti out of the place while the princess said yelled out her last sentence to the stranger. "Yadi punah aapki humarein saath sakshaat hui toh hum..." But she couldn't complete.
"Chaliye Aakriti, ab bass bohot ho gaya."
Pratap had an irritated look on his face, as he watched the retreating figure of the two girls vanishing between the crowd. He mounted his horse back to his khema. Chakrapani closely followed.
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In Pratap's khema"Humne toh pehle hi kaha tha Baujiraj! Kya aavashyakta thi saadharan vesh mein jaane ki haat mein? Par aapne toh humari ek na suni!"
"Chakrapani, humein nahin pata tha ki humein koi aisi ladki mil jaayegi haat mein. Yadi hum rajaon ke vesh mein jaate toh humein pehchaan liya jaata aur fir Ujjain naresh humein apne mahal le jaate. Aap jaante hain na Chakrpani ki humein Chittod kal hi phonchna hai? Isliye humne socha ki yahi sabse saral upaye hai..."
"Haan aapne sahi kaha Baujiraj."
"Ujjain ke Maha-haat ke shastra yadi itne prasidhha naa hote toh hum jaate hi nahin waha. Aur vishesh roop se woh anuthe khanjar jo waha milte hai."
"Hmm. Par ve ladki...saadharan nahin thi. Jiss sahas ke saath unhone uss bachhi ko bachaya...Aur aapne suna woh jaate samay kya keh rahi thi ki..."
"Chakrapani Mishra. Humein aur koi baat nahin karni iss vishay mein." Pratap said coldly.
"Ji...ji haan baujiraj. Hum chalte hai." Chakrapani knew that it was time for him to leave Pratap alone. Chakrapani left.
'Soch bhi kaise unhone ki hum dobaara milenge...' Pratap murmured.
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In Ujjain palace"Aakriti aapko uss tarha uss ashwa ke saamne nahin..."
"Toh hum kya karte Leela? Sab kuch bass yunhi dekhte rehte? Uss bachhi ko kuch ho jata toh?"
"Aur yadi aapko kuch ho jaata toh? Yadi aapko chot lag jaati toh?''
"Humein kcuh nahin hua na Leela? Dekho hum bilku thik hai. Humein toh khushi hai ki uss bachhi ko kuch nahin hua."
"Humein toh samajh nahin aata Leela, yadi nahin aata ashwa ko niyantran mein rakhna toh kyun karte hai ashwo ki sawaari? Waha koi aur bhi ghayal ho sakta tha!"
"Baat toh aapne sahi kahi. Aur uske karan aapka khargosh bhi bhaag gaya."
"Hmm. Achha chodiye inn sab baaton ko. Kya labh iss par charcha karne ka. Waise bhi, humari punha unse bhet thodi na hogi?" Aakriti smiled and went to change into her Princess attire.
Both the Royals thought they would never meet again. But fate had some other plans.
And finished! Ignore the typing mistakes. Didn't revise. Do drop your valuable comments and hit the LIKE buttonEmbarrassed.
P.S. Okay, i don't think i would be able to update every 4 days.*FOR ME ,FAISAL KHAN AND ROSHNI WALIA WOULD ALWAYS BE THE PRATAP AND AJABDE(AAKRITI IN THIS ONE) OF MY STORIES. HOWEVER, READERS ARE FREE TO IMAGINE THEIR RESPECTIVE FAVORITE ACTOR AND ACTRESS AS PRAJA*
Edited by AsYa_Celana - 10 years ago
Bigg Boss 19
