9.
"Fitte munh!"
He heard the familiar voice which made him stop and look around. The corridor seemed empty at the first glance. But he saw a shadow behind the velvet curtain. Curious as to what had happened now, he walked towards it and pushed it aside.
She was standing there, dressed up in a beautiful traditional lehenga and choli. In her hand, there was a round thali with many flowers placed in it. Her open hair were shielding her face as she looked down at her feet with a completely annoyed expression.
"Aisi cheezen logo banate hi kyun hain jo ek jaga tikti nahin!" She mumbled to herself angrily, oblivious to his presence. He just leaned by the pillar and folded his arms, watching her intently as she struggled with her heavy lehenga and the thali in her hand.
"Need any help Princess?"
She looked up in shock. She definitely wasn't expecting anyone, least of all him, to catch her in a situation like that. But that shock turned into a helpless frown.
He looked down as she put forward her foot but he couldn't immediately recognize what was the problem with it. It seemed fined. He raised his eyebrows questioningly but she answered his unasked query.
"Sandal ki patti khul gayi hai. Chala nahin jaraha!" She said helplessly and sharply pushed back the silky strands of her hair which were kissing her face.
"Pa-? Oh, you mean strap." He smiled and walked towards her. She just rolled her eyes.
"Haan, wohi! Strap!"
Uday chuckled as he sat on his knee in front of her. She blinked as he held her foot.
"Ye kya kar rahe ho?!" She struggled to free her foot from his grip but he held on tightly.
"As usual, apki help. Don't move, main abhi bandh deta hun." He didn't look up to see the smile that spread on her face.
"Acha? Yuvraj Udayveer Singh ko ye bhi ata hai!"
"Karna parta hai Princess. Waise, humein aisi cheezen bandhne se zyada unhen kholne ka experience hai." He looked up to her and winked. The strap was now closed so he got up, just in time to see her cheeks redden as she turned around to leave.
"Not so fast!" He held her free hand and gently, pulled her closer. Like always, she struggled to free herself from his grip and like always, he held on.
"Are you blushing?" He whispered softly in her ear. Even when her back was turned towards him, he could feel the radiating heat from her cheeks. For a moment they stood there just like that. Then, she hit his chest with her elbow. As a result, he let go of her hand and she quickly took few steps away from him and into the safety zone.
"Har baar ye chichori harkatein karna zaroori hai!?" She was breathing heavily and he was just enjoying her flushed face.
"Kya karein, hum khud ko rok hi nahin pate." He sighed playfully in a helpless manner, pleased that it increased her anger towards him.
"Bhar mein jao!" She stomped her feet and stormed away.
"Promise you're gonna be there?" He called out after her. She just turned her face towards him and stuck out her tongue at him before literally running away from the spot.
Uday laughed at this and kept looking at the spot where she had turned and disappeared. Then slowly, he put a hand on his chest where is pounding heart seemed to be racing. If only she knew what her careless actions did to him...
10.
She was sitting at the table with all kinds of fruits placed in front of here. Right now, she was peeling off an orange. Despite being told many times that she will be served peeled fruits if she asked, Manyata insisted on peeling her own fruits before putting them in her mouth.
"Aap phir se ye fruits khud cheel rahi hain?" Uday came out of nowhere and sat beside her, shaking his head. She just smiled at him and put another piece of orange in her mouth.
"Manyata ap samajhti kyun nahin, ye apka kaam nahin hai." He continued telling her but her whole concentration was on the orange.
"Aap rajkumari hain aur ye kaam apko suit nahin karte." Her indifference remained the same but he was persistent.
"Apko maza ata hai ais tarah dosro ko pareshan karke?" At his question, she looked at him and shook her head. He sighed thinking that she finally understood what he had been saying. But at the next moment, she started peeling another orange.
"Apko hamari koi baat samajh kyun nahin ati?! Ye itne sare nokar apke liye hi hain. Apki seva ke liye, apka khayal rakhne ke liye. Aur aap hain ke hamesha apni hi mann manni karti rehti hain. Hum ne apse kitni dafa kaha hai ke-"
But before anyone could hear what he always told her, she put a piece of orange in his mouth. This action of her caught him by surprise and he just looked at her as she smiled and put a finger on her mouth. He smiled and ate the orange. She sat there eating the orange and he sat there watching her do so.
"Ek aur." He said out as she was going to put another piece in her mouth. She looked at him with raised eyebrows and rolled her eyes before feeding him another piece.
Komal had come to the dining hall for some business but seeing Manyata feeding Uday oranges, she stopped abruptly at the door in pure shock. Manyata was feeding one piece after taking for herself. And Uday was letting her do so with a smile plastered on his face. He seemed to be enjoying her childish attention.
Komal just stood there and shook her head at this scene.
"Since when did Uday start liking oranges?"