Untold Secrets!!! ~Thread 2~ Chap 20 UPTD PG 126 27th Jan!!! - Page 65

Jalal having taken the turban from jodha he observed, "Maharana, this exchange of turbans only means expressing out our fraternal affection for each other and I shall be gratified in doing so".

At this moment Gopal Singh uttered no word but only his action spoke what he wanted to convey and that he did whilst putting off his own turban on jalal's head and in exchange put his turban on his own head thereby having a mutual hug.

This spectacular view rarely would anyone liked to give amiss and the entire rajputs voices reverberated in the air with their shouting's, "Cheers to the Maharana Gopal Singh".

Gopal Singh instantly breaking his hug turned towards his men and in a loud voice roared, "Cheers to the future Emperor Jalaluddin".

On hearing this, the five thousand rajput men hailed, "Cheers to the future Emperor Jalaluddin".

All the while Gopal Singh engrossed in welcoming jalal dint pay heed to the lady standing next to him. A moment later his focus was back on that lady as he failed to notice such a beautiful looking princess and was amazed to see her.

With a dumbfound look he exclaimed, "Shehzaade, may I know who is she?"

None had any knowledge about jalal's marriage. With love filled eyes and soft smile adoring his face, he fondly held her arms and said, "She is the only lady whom I love with all my heart she is princess jodha".

Maharana stunned as he stood for a moment whilst he looked agape at her with puzzled expressions and said, "Princess jodha, but..."

The slight hesitation in Gopal's voice made jalal perturbed and he asked, "But what Maharana?"

Gopal Singh reluctantly said, "I had no idea about her as I do not have any carriage or palanquin sort of for her to go in".

"I know how to ride, Maharanaji" jodha returned with a courteous smile.

Gopal Singh was not only captivated by her charming beauty but also looked very much impressed with her manner in which she had spoken to him. In wonderment he said, "No, doubt..."

"In that case I do not foresee anything that would make us delay here for any more time, let us all leave" interrupted jalal.

"Certainly, yes let us leave" said Maharana.

Gopal Singh ordered a few of his horses to be brought fully caparisoned.

Jalal turned back and shouted "Guru Charan" but to his dismay he was nowhere to be seen.

Jodha reacted, "Oh! Guru dada he isn't here".

An intense search of guru was carried out in all possible directions but then he couldn't b traced since his sudden disappearance did create a stir in everyone's mind present there.

Jodha said anxiously, "There could be every bit of possibility that he might have gone in search of Badri".

Jalal now narrated everything related to guru charan to Gopal Singh who had been observing them with confused expressions.

The rajputs had tumbled heaven and earth in every possible way to hunt these people but their efforts proved futile. There was no gain in loitering any longer.

Jodha assured, "There is no need to be concerned about guru dada, as he might have been out only for the things that relate to us, so let us leave without wasting anymore time".

Jodha's words brought a relief on everyone's face as they moved along to head for Ratangarh.

Maharana Gopal Singh had no such intentions of threatening Ahmed, but it was a fact known to all that the rajput states of Ajabgarh and Bilwara who were truly the right and left hand respectively of the Mughal Court had now openly pledged to serve the Shehzaade Jalal.

The emperor had been very well aware of the fact that his son, Nazim was a Shehzaada worthy of nothing. But Nazim being the eldest son, the throne would ultimately go on to become his after his father's demise. This reason had compelled the emperor to declare Nazim as the successor after him.

At the same time, the emperor was well disposed off towards the hard core truth that Nazim couldn't sit on the throne unless he had a strong backing from the rajputs and so he had requested the rajput rulers to support Nazim.

The Maharajas of Ajabgarh and Bilwara loyally agreed to side with Nazim but Amar Singh of Ratangarh couldn't be convinced. But one fact which only a fewest of the lot knew and that was the emperor within his heart always loved his son jalal, whom he considered the fittest and the only worthy successor for the throne who would continue this legacy of the glorious Mughal Empire.

Within the valley Maharaja Jagannath and Kunwar Raj Singh had pitched their tents with their own army. Gopal Singh along with Shehzaada Jalal and Jodha arrived there to join them.

Both the Maharajas of Ajabgarh and Ratangarh held jalal in deep embrace. Shehzaada Nazim was no more, but that dint hamper their promise since out of their own will they were ready to extend their full support to Shehzaada Jalal if necessary.

As for Maqsood Mirza, then they were not at all seemed to be pleased with him who had all the grand plans of placing his son in law Shehzaada Nadir on the throne.

For all the valid reasons or so, they had extended their warm welcome with due respect for the Shehzaade Jalal. Meanwhile, jalal too had vowed not to raise his voice directly or indirectly against his father as long as he would b alive as this might lead to terrible blood bath which he had no impulse to do so and at the time when his father emperor was at the brink of his old age.

Jalal and jodha both sought haven of refuge in the rajput camp that had been confined within the isolated valley, the path which led further into the native of Rajputana.

Amidst the growing uneasiness that continued to cause uproar in his mind, jalal found solace within the rajput camp that vanquished all his fears and angst leaving him at extreme peace and tranquility.

Maharaja Jagannath in a grave voice said, "I request you Kunwarsa Jalal that you must come to the Palace with dignity and honor befitting your position and so does your begum sahiba... as it involves serious politics and any negligence towards it might lead to grave repercussions".

Jalal earnestly said, "Rajasa, I have got the gist of what your words are trying to hint at, I have no qualms in accepting your suggestions as I shall go by whatever you say".

...

Thence, holding high esteem for the Maharaja's words, jalal changed his ordinary looking attire into his original one that befitted his position and the standards to maintain the etiquettes of the royalty, whilst jodha too donned into a new garb that was perfectly fitting in for the status she was complied too.

She had been dressed in a royal begum's attire whilst bedecked with the royal jewelries, everything worked so charmingly wonders on the slender figure of hers and it highlighted the flawless complexion she had.

Meanwhile, once she was ready, she was taken to the camp that had been lavishly embellished whilst the maids and other servants were sent to bring in her conveyance that she was comfortable to go in.

Although jodha was never accustomed to the entirely new look of hers since, she had never been used to wearing such heavy finery, nevertheless, she felt immensely awkward from within.

She let out a heavy sigh and said to herself, "I would rather prefer to lead a life of a poor man's wife than to have an enriched life of a begum. A peasant's life has got all the happiness and peace which I would get than this royal life but I shall have to get adjusted to such life what if one day I am deprived of meeting my Lord even for a day?"

Her mind started to ponder on many unwanted questions that had already been success in creating havoc within her. She shrugged off the brimming palpability while she waited anxiously for jalal.

At first she refused to get dressed into this royal outfit but giving into jalal's demands she accepted to wear them albeit unwillingly, when jalal said, "It is for the sake of our own selves as well as to keep up with the ethics and mannerisms, we ought to be dressed which our status demands".

Jodha dint bother to query further as she preferred to obey to what he said even if she had no such interests in wearing this outfit. She felt her heart twitched at the mere pain of being separated from her grandpa dearest and guru charan along with shailaja with whom she was associated since her infancy.

A sense of pain and despair spiraled through her, but the eternal companionship of jalal had compensated this pain to some extent. She thought to herself, "Is this the happiness adhered to the prestigious status of the emperor's begum? I do not yearn for this, as my soul longs for the happiness and solitude that I had been living for all my life in that secluded place of Surajgarh".

After Dinner...

Once the dinner had been done both Gopal Singh and jalal were seated in the camp to chatter on the light hearted talks as well as some serious issues to deal with.. Meanwhile, out of curiosity which he could no longer hold it back jalal asked, "Maharana if you do not mind could you just enlighten me so as to how you were quick enough to know my whereabouts and reach at the perfect timing, when I was disguised in a commoner's garb".

Gopal Singh's face lit up with a warm smile that did create a few of those wrinkles beneath his eyes and a bit groves in those cheeks as he said, "I think this letter shall answer all your queries".

Jalal asked in surprise, "Whose letter is this?"

"I do not know Shehzaade, you might know Badri".

"Oh! Yes, I do, I do know his name".

This Badri gave this letter to me. He had informed me about you coming in the disguise of an ordinary man and would reach here latest by the evening, I am sure that Mirza might have got the news somehow and so he had sent Ahmed to arrest you. He had further advised me that a prompt advancement along with my large army from my side would do the needful thing in averting your capture and so I had started with the immediate information".

jalal replied him with another question of his own, "How can you trust him so much so that he wasn't telling a lie but the truth?"

Maharana instantly replied to his question, "He had shown me the ring of yours that bore your name on it and he further added on to say that it was sent by your well wishers".

On hearing about the ring jalal recalled those lovely moments where he as a token of love had slipped this ring into jodha's finger which is when Asma who happened to witness this scenario, took it away from jodha and had said that, "This ring is dangerous it could lead to our exposure if caught by someone and would ultimately lead to our captivity".

Jalal now had realized the reason behind Asma's act and was moved by her presence of mind due to which he was saved from being taken as captive otherwise, by now he would have been a prisoner in Delhi.

Jalal continued to say, "I want to tell you more about this Badri, I am grateful to my well wishers due to their utmost efforts I had safely landed in this place. This Badri is one of the trusted confidant of my well wishers and I am really grateful to him as because of his timely information I was saved otherwise I would have been by now taken as captive to Delhi".

"He left after giving us the information not before handing over a letter with a request made to hand it over to you".

Gopal Singh called upon the guard to summon the chief officer to his place. The order was instantly followed where the chief officer entered the tent by paying due respect who was been told to get the letter safely for which he was entrusted to.

He returned in little moment with the same letter which he was told to procure. Gopal Singh placed the letter in the hands of jalal with due respect and formality.

Jalal by now looked dull as blood drained from his face, it assumed to be pale with anxiety. With avid eagerness in him, he opened the letter that grabbed his eyeballs.

"Dear Shehzaade, I would want you to read this letter when you are in private all alone as I would want all the contents to remain secret. I request you to keep the past about my daughter jodha to be concealed and it should be a closed book to the world. Our very own existence had been tarnished from this universe and so veil of uncertainty dwells upon us. If asked about her tell that she belongs to a Persian family by all means you shall give her the Islamic background as by no means she should be known to be my daughter.

Whatever I have said it only means that she should be known as your begum having Musalman family background rest I leave it upon you".

Jalal quickly tucked the letter within the folds of his dress with utmost care so as not to lose this letter, his expressions pensive as he gazed on the floor.

Maharana Gopal Singh stared at him with mystified stare and asked, "May I know what this letter says? And who has sent this letter?"

Jalal was roused from his reverie by the voice of Gopal Singh and in haste he replied, "Oh! Yes, how can I keep anything secret from you? This letter was sent by one of my well wishers who had saved me from the conspiracy hatched by Mirza".

"May I know who they are?"

Jalal was reluctant to divulge into anything as of now but then he couldn't hide anything from him and so he said in a scruple, "Pardon me Maharana, I cannot reveal anything more about them as I have my own commitments towards them".

"A Hindu or a Musalman?" came an abrupt question from Gopal Singh.

"If I say both then?" Jalal humbly replied, "Just as in case with Omar Khan you can probably say that?"

Maharana gleefully said, "Maqsood Mirza will be very keenly awaiting for to capture them, I mean the people who were your saviors and with this regard, it is our duty to safeguard them".

Jalal's mouth twisted with an ironic smile as he added, "Well, I shall go on to say that it's a known fact the Mirza Chachajaan is a person with extraordinary intellect, but by now he too must have realized that there is someone who could outwit his smartness, there is no need to worry Maharana as Mirza Chachajaan wont do any harm since, they have by far left this place and gone into a distant town as their sole motive was to help us to reach your place and as this motive has been accomplished, they left".

Gopal Singh queried, "This means there is no reason for us to be concerned about them?"

"No not at all".

After a momentary interlude, Gopal asked, "Shehzaade, if you do no object to what I say then as a close friend I shall want to ask you something, may I ask?"

"Oh! Dear please do not embarrass me with this sort of formality as it makes me feel otherwise".

"It is really disgraceful to ask about someone's wife as it is against the morality to do so but then since this is related to the future emperor's wife who shall also be the future empress of Hindustan so I would like to know something about her parental background".

Jalal smiled at him reassuringly whilst placing his hand on his shoulder, he said, "My dearest friend, I can have no secret concealed from you, you can be most certain that the lady whom I have espoused comes from a respectable family".

Maharana rejoined, "I can never doubt on your choice Shehzaade, such a noble, such a graceful and beautified persona she is, with etiquettes and code of conduct of knowhow could only belong to a dignified family, but I am only curious so as to know from which country she belongs too".

Jalal wasn't certain so as to what to tell him but then he dint want to lie to him as he was never accustomed to utter a lie and as his face grew pale and dull. His expressions assumed the marks of worry and concern.

Hesitatingly he said, "My revered father in law is a dignified native of Persia and had been to the Mughal Court to secure a postion for himself. He always concealed me in various places at times just to save me from the emerging dangers that lurked over me from my Mirza Chachajaan. I immensely love my beautiful wife jodha and so I married her without having waited for the permission from my father".

They sat in silence as each was engrossed in their own thoughts. After a brief pause, Maharana asked, "The time when I arrived I could hear the emperor's name being hailed by a thousand voices but then to my disbelief I could find none other than you alone, how was that possible?"

Jalal simply smiled and answered, "Maharana, he is an amazing ventriloquist and an interesting man who can sing in thousand voices".

"Where is he now?"

"I had been searching him but couldn't find him anywhere; I am quiet eager to know about him. I feel he will probably meet us at Palampur".

Maharana since a long time had been observing him as he could sense from his uncertainty prevailing in his eyes as always the eyes speaks a lot when one cannot express it through the words, jalal was hiding something from him as he wasn't clearly unveiling the things which Maharana should have known at least Gopal Singh felt that.

Gopal Singh preferred not to embarrass jalal by asking him the questions which he wasn't able to divulge into and so he got up and prepared to embark on the journey further to Palampur. Jalal too got up as both formally greeted and left where jodha had been waiting for him in their tent.

Shehzaada Jalal and his lovely begum jodha now had been the guest of Maharana Gopal Singh and Gopal Singh who always led a lavish and luxurious life, would do every bit of effort to give a warm reception to his guest worthy of their status.

Jodha had been given all the comfort that the begum of an emperor would live in. A number of maids were in waiting for her who at the drop of hat were eager to obey her commands by all means as they felt it to be honored to do so.

Two of her maids with gold embedded fans were fanning her whilst a few others were keen to wipe out the beads of sweat that formed on her brow. She had been bedecked with all the grandeur from tip to toe with lavish jewelries and heavy finery which she utterly disliked.

Jodha wasn't happy at all, as the otherwise vivacious girl had now looked lifeless and bland.

k frnds i knw dis chap is a filler one nothing much happened😆bt next chap would b interesting pakka...😉now waiting...😛