OSR Samyukta Pt 12 Dharam..Veer..Siya..
The start of an eternal friendship…
Recap – As the boys climb the compound wall to proceed to Gadhwar to investigate, Siya notices them. At Gadhwar, a shocked Dharam and Veer find out that Agni and Jaivardhan were teaming up with the rival kingdom to overthrow the current regime.
Links to previous episodes - below
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At the rear of the Palace of Niphaud – Outside the compound wall
The subdued princes enter the empty outskirts of the capital in the primitive hours of the chilly morning; still battling with the incidents of the recent night from inundating them. Huddled in shawls, they smile at each other, in frail attempts to mask the fear in their racy hearts. Arriving at the rocky periphery around the gigantic palace compound wall, Bhalla brings the horses to a slow halt. Wasting no time, Dharam jumps off their cart to loosen the tired horses, while Veer quickly packs up all their belongings. With faint smiles, they proceed towards the compound wall to secretly get back into the palace, apprehending that the end of their small mission only meant the beginning of greater hurdles that lay ahead.
As veer is about to secure the rope ladder on the compound wall, a familiar voice startles them.
"Why not enter through the main gates…like everyone else generally does…"
Taken aback, they turn around to find the fatigued yet determined princess and her anxious friend standing there all alone at the inopportune moment. Worried by Siya's worn-out face and her untended form; devoid of her usual finesse and splendid adornments, Dharam asks her slowly "Rajkumari Siya…w…what are you doing here…now…at this hour…all alone…"
She pauses and repeats the same question cynically "What are you doing here…Rajkumar…"
Trying to avoid confrontations, Veer mumbles incoherent replies as he hastily races to secure the ladder. His hurried actions to evade explanations, ironically causes the secure rope ladder to unfasten and drop to the ground. Restraining her fluttering veil with one hand; Siya immediately darts forward to grab the ladder with the other, angering Veer who is unable to reach for it.
Marking his indifference to her, Siya mutters furiously "Rajkumar Veer! Obviously, you have to hurry now… to complete whatever your political motives are…" suppressing her tears, she turns to Dharam unhappily "You used my parent's hospitality…my mother's trust…you used Niphaud...you used an innocent girl's feelings…why be so selfish?"
Confused by her accusations, Dharam defends himself "What are you trying to imply? Rajkumari Siya… I think there has been a major misunderstanding here…"
Agonized, Siya interrupts him "If I am only a pawn for gaining control of Nipahud, then why the drama of a leisure trip to meet me…to talk to me…was all this your plan?"
Veer becomes irked by her incriminating statements and abruptly stops the seemingly stubborn girl "Rajkumari! Assume whatever you want to… you will never understand us …please just give us the rope ladder and we will leave you in peace…"
Pained by their unconcern on top of what she thinks to be heinous actions against Niphaud, she challenges them "How impudent of you! Anyway...Just remember that I would never allow anything untoward to happen to Niphaud or my family… at least as far as I am alive!"
Further to Veers's persistent stares; she carelessly throws the rope ladder back at them, which by chance strikes Dharam on his temple severely. Owing to the unforeseen hostile strike; Dharam flinches and holds his painful eyes, while Siya gasps aloud, alarmed by the result of her actions.
Filled with sympathy for his hurt sibling, Veer holds Dharam's shoulder defensively and shouts out enraged "Stop it Rajkumari Siya! Enough! How dare you hurt my brother? He has treated you with so much respect all through. We have been so patient with you all through our stay… your food…tantrums…music…meddling…insults…now you are blaming us of political moves... cheating... what not..." Dharam puts his hand up, signalling Veer to stop.
Becoming a frightful shade paler in response to Veer's outburst, Siya chokes on her tears "I saw the weapons… the scrolls… the disguises… visits to the blacksmiths….w…what about all the lies…" on seeing their speechless faces, she insists "If you don't tell me, I will have to let father know anyway, as all this seems to be a very ominous situation…"
The three boys look at each other and sigh disapprovingly, debating for a short while if they should let her know about their personal issues. Finally, Dharam unwillingly starts explaining the tense situations between Gadhwar and Aryanagar; and the reason for their planned visit to Niphaud. As Bhalla concludes their hurried justifications by convincing her that the weapons and scrolls were only props for their disguises, expressions of shock slowly begin to mask the loath on her face.
Moved by the misery in her pretty eyes; Dharam starts apologizing to her, not minding the increasing impatience on his partner's faces "I am sorry we used the selfish pretext of a trip to Niphaud to investigate… but that was only because some people from our very own palace are involved in this scandal too…" he pauses "However, we never wanted to misuse the life or feelings of anyone to do this…you have misunderstood us…this trip was never to meet you...in fact, the day I met you at the garden was the first very first time, I ever saw you!"
Gradually numbed by both the crude reality and the chilly winds fiercely battling her tresses, Siya feebly denies with her ashen lips "Please...don't lie!!!! Didn't you speak to your mother about me? Your mother even sent my mother a message with the proposal…"
The already flustered Dharam despairs "My Lord! What proposal? How could I have spoken to my mother…if I…I...had never even heard of you, Rajkumari Siya?"
Nanda endeavours to prove her lost cause by refuting them "I heard our Maharani reading the message from queen Vaidehi and it stated everything about...about you asking for Siya's hand!"
Frustrated, Veer puts his head in hands in fear of losing his sanity and utters "Oh! Another person to add to this confusion...Queen Vaidehi...may I ask who she is...If you are referring to Dharam's mother, her name is Maharani Swathi, the queen of Aryanagar!"
Not wanting to face the shame of her blunders or her wrecked image in front of the young men; Siya hopes the earth would swallow her, as she drops paralyzed onto the flat rock. Nanda starts weeping apologetically, not knowing how to rectify the irrevocable mistake caused by her. Siya begs her repentant friend to leave her alone, crouches to cover her face and sobs uncontrollably. As the three boys comprehend the misconceptions that the princess and her friends were having during their short stay at Niphaud, they begin to feel very sorry for her. Unable to leave her behind all alone in such a grief-striken state; they look at each other in despair, patiently waiting for her to reconcile herself.
After many agonizing moments, Siya takes a deep breath and opens her eyes to find them still standing there. The princess looks away and mumbles nervously "I have embarrassed myself enough …troubled you enough…I am sorry for everything….Rajkumar, you should leave now."
Concerned by her trembling stature, Dharam removes his shawl and hands it over to Nanda, to wrap around the dainty girl.
Suddenly taken aback to find herself in the warm comfort of Dharam's shawl, Siya looks at him blankly and speaks up "Rajkumar Dharam...I know you must find my behaviour puzzling…" she wipes her tears softly and continues "every girl fantasizes about her first meeting with her prince charming…the first conversations...the first moments...everything has been shattered for me..."
Realizing her torment, Dharam conceals his feelings for her; and assures her positively "Rajkumari…trust me, nothing has changed… you will meet your prince and you will still have many beautiful moments with him… I am certain of this....don't worry…"
Amazed by how the gallant Dharam suppressed his obvious feelings for the princess in order to console her; the proud Veer stares at Dharam briefly. To lighten the situation, Veer then slowly sits next to Siya to try and amuse her "I think it is better you go home now. Imagine what will happen if your mother finds out that you are missing!" as Siya becomes stunned by his suggestion, he whispers softly to her "Yes…yes...I know you are ashamed of what you did…we know you had problems…you see we had our problems too!" aware that she was watching him curiously, Veer acts as though he was pondering to himself and then addresses Siya with a deep frown "Rajkumari Siya... now...you have understood us...we understand you…you trusted us...we trust you..." The chirpy prince then looks up at the calmer Dharam with a sad expression and asks him "Does that mean we can't fight with her anymore?"
Dharam joins Veer in his sweet act with a dramatic conclusion "Oh! I don't think we can Veer! You see…we have to unfortunately call ourselves her friends now…"
Never having encountered such a tremendously touching effort to cheer her up, Siya closes her mouth like a surprised child. Unable to suppress her laughter anymore, she giggles through her tears in absolute disbelief at their act; mentally treasuring the beautiful moments. Having managed to finally make her smile, Veer silently winks at his relieved brother.
After a short while, Siya eventually musters her courage to ask Veer "The people plotting against you…are they part of your family…your relatives…do you think you will be going to w…war?"
Veer nods his head and mumbles in a low tone "Yes they are our very own cousin and uncle…"
She suddenly astounds him by exclaiming aloud "Oh my! I have to show you something now!"
The relieved expressions on the boys' faces again disappear, as they begin to fear the worst.
Niphaud – Enroute Siya's surprise…
Reluctantly following the girls on the rocky trail, the princes deliberately avoid Bhalla's glares; aware that he was annoyed at them for having yielded to her obstinate whims. Removing two obstructing twigs, Siya reacts to their rebellious groans by assuring them "I may have done many silly things in the past, but trust me...this is surely not one of them!"
Veer rubs his sleepy eyes and sighs "Don't you say that every time you do something?"
Dharam laughs at Veer's comments and makes a final attempt to ask her "Could we not come back for this later Rajkumari Siya?"
Hiding her exhaustion, the charming girl firmly refuses "No! Trust me…you have to see this...we are almost there now...hurry up...don't you have to get back to Aryanagar soon?"
Dharam replies with a false smile "Oh! Yes…yes…yes…you see...I never realized that…."
Lacking any further strength to argue with Siya; they follow her, silently lamenting all through.
Eventually tired of their lethargic moans, she swings around. In the struggle to hurry them towards her destination; she tries to pull Dharam by his hand, imagining him to be one of her friends. Rapidly realizing what she was about to do; she retracts her hand, as she notices Dharam smiling in quiet bliss at her innocent actions. The embarrassed girl turns away from Dharam's magnetic daze only to find Veer enjoying their silent interactions.
A welcome relief for Siya comes in the form of Nanda's excited voice, calling out to the group. Siya composes herself quickly and claps her hands "Please close your eyes...we are there now..." Facing her next set of silly instructions; Bhalla and Veer again moan loudly, while the fatigued Dharam advices them wisely "It will probably be faster, if you just listen to her…"
The vanquished boys shut their eyes and trample through the last stretch of the rocky trail, until they become surprised to hear the soothing sounds of trickling water. Gradually emerging through the thick woods, they open their eyes to watch a breathtaking vision below. Astonished, they observe a vast panoramic lush view surrounded on three sides by green woods and a steep cliff on the fourth. The rays of the sun rising from the cliff form beautiful patterns on the moss laden grey boulders of a beautiful temple ruin in the centre. Birds hovering around lovely floral creepers peck at two sparkling springs bubbling from the ground.
Forgetting their anxiety, the boys slowly start feeling gratified towards the princess, as she guides them through the delightful serene sight "These are the famous springs of Niphaud. I have always seen this place at sunset…but sunrise seems even more beautiful!"
Grasping the beautiful view, they slowly descend towards the water sources. Further to Siya's request to touch the water, Dharam and Veer curiously bend over to feel one of the springs and pull back their hands from the icy stream. She giggles and then asks them to touch the spring very next to it. They smirk at her childishness and then touch the water next to it, expecting it to be chilly. However; finding the geyser to be a hot spring, they become amazed by the marvel of nature. Joined by Bhalla, the thrilled boys start warming their hands with the hot water, relishing the occasional breeze spraying the tepid water on their faces.
Siya gently takes a leather pouch from the excited boys and adds "Long ago, Niphaud was under invasion. The Goddess of this temple danced on the Earth and the frightened invaders retreated. Since then... her blessings...these springs have been flowing here."
Wiping his hands, Dharam enquires "Oh! You mean there was an earthquake here?"
Siya denies innocently "No Rajkumar! The Goddess danced on the earth…"
The boys grin at her naivety, while she continues "This water helped our ancestors fight their enemies. I hope it helps you fight yours too...I didn't know if you would be able to come to Niphaud again…so I wanted to bring you here…"
Perceiving why she was so adamant about bringing them there, Bhalla and Veer smile appreciatively at her lovable nature; while Dharam becomes overwhelmed with feelings of tenderness for her affection. The group spend a few enjoyable moments at the beautiful spot till the concerned Nanda suggests that they should restart their journey towards the palace to avoid any major chaos.
Noticing Dharam's silence at Nanda's suggestions, Veer smiles at Siya "You didn't know if we would come back to Niphaud again? Something tells me we will be visiting more often than you think!"
Resuming their ascending journey the rough terrain, Siya and Nanda follow the agile boys with great effort. As Siya tries to keep up with them, her shawl suddenly slips off and she bends down to catch it. Shocked by the feel of a strong warm grip around her cold bare arm, she looks up in alarm to find the anxious face of Dharam. Not used to being touched or held in this way before, she stares at him in horror till she notices Dharam pointing towards a sharp protruding stone near her feet.
He warns the petrified girl "Be careful! You are very negligent…here, let me help you!"
Not minding her shocked expressions, the protective prince gives her his hand to help her climb the tall rock and signals with his eyes to take it. Reminded of their first meeting in the garden when he had offered her his hand, she pauses and looks at him sceptically. Eventually, she gives him her petite hand and he hauls her onto firm ground. As the prince proceeds to help Nanda, Siya eyes him in wonder and feels her bare arm softly. She becomes crimson hued and re-wraps the shawl around herself modestly, still recovering from the feeling of his strong touch.
Palace of Niphaud – Entrance
The glorious morning sees a long train of soldiers and a glowing retinue of maids surround the noble monarchs of Niphaud at the entrance of the palace. The ardent crowd patiently wait amidst all the meticulous arrangements, to bid the princes a courteous farewell to Aryanagar. Daksha's saddened face stands out from the pleasant throng as she whines to Nanda "You are very mean… you could have at least told me you were going to the springs with Rajkumar Veer…I was not even informed…"
Nands nods her head and sighs "Oh Lord Daksha! First I have to face Siya for my mistakes. Then I received a harsh scolding from my mother for not coming home! Now you…how was I to know…" she pauses, as she notices Daksha staring at the palace.
Following gala fanfare, the radiant boys majestically descend the palace steps towards their royal steeds. The queen greets them politely, thanking them for the visit; and awaits a reaction from the king. Still under the impression that his daughter was mistreated by them; the king gives them a curt bid, puzzling them. Unmindful of his strange greeting; the boys exchange formal smiles with him, before proceeding towards the palace gates. Conscious of Siya's absence, Dharam peeps back hoping to catch a last glimpse of her unsuccessfully. Restless about Siya's whereabouts; he takes a few moments, before he notices Veer walking behind him in terror. Dharam looks up and detects Daksha and Nanda rapidly approaching them with a parcel in their hand. Not minding the curious onlookers; the plump coy girl hands the parcel to Dharam, who smiles at her softly. He then pulls the nervous Veer from behind him and forces him to receive it from her.
Blushing at the embarrassed prince, Daksha confesses to Veer "I realized that you liked sweets… you repeatedly asked for it that night… so I asked my mother to prepare some for you" Veer becomes confused by her statements, as she sadly dazes into his eyes "Please do write to me regularly Rajkumar..."
Smiling affirmatively, Veer grabs the parcel from her and then swiftly drags the reluctant Dharam away from the palace.
Relieved at having left Daksha behind; Veer smiles at Dharam, only to find him scanning through the dispersing crowd behind them, in search of the missing face. Finding no sign of her anywhere; the dispirited Dharam gives up and climbs his horse silently until his attention becomes distracted by Veer's loud coughs "Dharam...can't you even search properly…" he coughs "she is watching from her window..." he coughs "upstairs…look…now"
Elated; Dharam immediately turns around and looks at the distant bedroom window to find Siya's beautiful profile, peeking curiously. As the pretty shadow hurriedly disappears from the window, the prince beams overjoyed and blushes to himself sweetly.
Never having seen Dharam so happy, both Bhalla and Veer laugh heartily and advise him "Dharam… she is adorable no doubt... but…she is childish…she can't sing... can't cook... instead of her taking care of you, it will be the other way around. We are warning you, well ahead!"
Dharam smiles in reply "That's exactly why I like her… she is so imperfectly perfect..."
He happily kicks his horse and the three lively boys ride away, camouflaged into the dust raised by the hoofs of their horses; towards the direction of their kingdom.
Enroute Aryanagar – Village of Sawai
Unheeding their lengthy travel so far; the young princes trot on their horses in the dusty village, earnestly discussing about their immediate plan of action for Aryanagar. No sooner than the exhausted Bhalla spots a water-well and a bread stall; he interrupts their serious conversation demanding for a break, and dismounts his horse to stretch out casually. The brothers look at the relaxed actions of their friend and slap their foreheads wearily. Forced to get off their horses, they accompany Bhalla to join the small queue at the well.
Waiting for the queue to minimise, Dharam observes the familiar surroundings of the village and contemplates "this place looks so deserted at night…" he whispers to Veer "I wonder if Dhruv's orphanage is close by…I would like to visit it soon…to see if it is for real…"
Veer reflects on their past meeting with Dhruv at Sawai and smiles approvingly "Yes…I genuinely appreciate his courage and tenacity. What a noble deed for the Shramik…"
He pauses as water droplets repeatedly splash on his hair and annoyed, bends over to notify the person ahead to be more cautious. However, the fazed Veer stops when he sees the girl's face.
With closed eyes; the girl bewitchingly enjoys the refreshing droplets of water, as she slowly wipes them off her face. Frowning at her worryingly familiar face; Veer stares at how the avidly splattered streams of water, trickled down her sharp enthralling features. After musing for a while, his eyes widen when he recognizes her to be the girl he met at the blacksmiths.
Gradually opening her eyes to tie her hair into a knot, she notices Veer's expressions as he takes a few slow steps back. The perplexed girl asks him "Do I know you?"
Discomforted by her presence, Veer shakes his head and then turns away to avoid her glances.
Seeing Veer lost in a strange trance, Dharam bends forward and stretches his right hand out.
She looks at Dharam's hand and corrects him "Please hold out both your hands… it is not a good sign to drink water off one hand." Dharam shrugs and follows her instructions obediently.
As he sips the water, she requests Dharam "I have to travel back to the capital. Baba and Tasha are not here yet. I am all alone and new to this place. Would you please help me?"
Trying to be gallant, Bhalla blurts out "We are going there too… you can join us…"
Joyous, the girl places the pot down and steps down from the platform gratefully "Thank you so much…my belongings are in my cart there…I will join you in no time!"
While Bhalla proceeds towards the food stall; Dharam and Veer look at each other, wishing Bhalla had not prematurely committed to this favour that would slow their journey even further. Walking back towards their horses, Veer faces the food stall in an attempt to hurry their slow friend up. By chance, he notices that the girl walking towards her cart nonchalantly steals a piece of bread from the vendor. Veer stops aghast, unable to believe his eyes.
Ciao till next Saturday 😳
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