Kill me...no I'm serious! The update is whole 5 DAYS LATE!!! So much for updating over the weekends Anyway, hope this chapter would make up to your wait. I am really happy to know that everyone is happy with my very different take on the story. Trust me, there's a lot to come! But won't kill you more with my very stupid ramblings and will just move on to...
Chapter 4
Uday was humming an old song while he waited outside the room. He had been Princess J's bodyguard for three weeks now. In fact, today was his 3rd week anniversary and J had wanted to celebrate it by going out to shop. The mere thought of such a childish suggestion made Uday smile.
His initial perception about the palace life and specially the royals had been wrong. He thought that J was a spoilt brat who wanted everything that she liked, like himself. His initial impression about Maharaj Brijraj had been that he was a pure royal who had immense pride in his status and title and everything and everyone who was not royal was, in simple words, pure garbage. Vijay had seemed like a laid back and relaxed man who easily made friends and Unnati had so quickly become his "Choti" because of those harmless lovely vibes that seemed to surround her.
But everything in reality had been so different. J had hints of being a spoilt brat but actually she was just a young, friendly sort of person who obviously had a serious crush on him. Although Uday hadn't given her any kinds of hints that he was interest in him but she always tried to act old in front of him, just to please him. Only her efforts always ended up making him laugh. He felt protective of her not only because it was his job but because she still had a lot to learn. In many senses.
Maharaj Brijraj who from far away seemed like a ruthless royal was actually just a very protective father. True, he was a royal and like every royal he didn't get comfortable with every other ordinary person. But the father in him so easily over-shadowed his cold, royal self. He was a man who loved his family beyond anything in the world. 3 weeks in the palace had been more than enough for Uday to know this.
Vijay, son of Dr.Shiv, was everything that his appearance didn't tell. The man was a genius and the head of the security of the palace. Every piece of technology that was installed in the palace was thanks to him. He was a person who didn't compromise when it came to his job. Being the son of closest and the most trust-worthy advisor of the queen played little part in the position that he held in the palace. He was like a son of the palace with both the princesses calling and treating him like a real brother. Unnati was his partner, not in crime but in his job. She had started as his apprentice and had quickly become an unofficial part of the family because of her harmless and loving nature. Also because she was of the same age as the elder princess, she also enjoyed the position of being her best friend.
The elder princess...his reason of restlessness. After the fateful target hitting incident and the conversation that followed, he had tried his best to avoid her and not give her anything which she could use against him and kick him out of his job. He had started to really like this job and there was no way he was going to lose it because of a bratty princess.
"Which reminds me, what is taking her so long?" Uday got up from the chair and walked towards the door which lead to the princesses' room. He knocked it and opened it when he got the permission to do so.
J was sitting on the stool in front of the large dressing table and her sister was standing at her back, with a hair brush held between her teeth and her hands tying a rubber band around J's hair. Uday stood there and started comparing the two sisters like he always did whenever they were together.
J was dressed up in a light green dress with some flower patters which fit beautifully around her slender figure. Her hair were now tied in some fancy braid by her sister. Her small feet were enclosed in a matching pair of heels. Like always, she looked admirably beautiful.
Whereas her elder sister, Manyata, was wearing a simple full sleeved shalwar suit of sunshine yellow colour. Her hair were loosely tied in a braid. Her face was completely void of any hint of make-up unlike her sister. If J was looking admirably beautiful, Manyata was looking plainly simple.
"Silly girl..." Uday mentally rolled his eyes at the elder princess and smiled at J.
"Are you ready?" He asked in his most charming polite tone. Manyata glanced at him sideways and moved away from J.
"Hum tayar hain!" She said to Uday and then added to Manyata while admiring her reflection in the mirror, "Wow Jiji! Sirf aap hi aisa kar sakti hain!" Her tone was filled with pure affection for her sister.
"Anything for my gurya!" Manyata smiled at J. "Tum log kab tak wapas ajaoge?"
"Hmmm...pehle shopping, phir lunch, uske baad kuch friends ke saath thori si drive...shaam tak ajaenge." J counted on her fingers and answered after glancing at the clock which was showing that it was 1.15 PM.
"Acha. Maine jo cheezen kaheen hain, wo yaad se le ana." Manyata reminded J as she started to walk outside of the room. Uday, who had taken a few steps ahead of J outside the room heard J sigh.
"Jiji, kabhi aap bhi ais mahal se nikal liya karen. Khud ko qaid hi karke rakh diya hai apne..." There was clear frustration in her voice. Uday waited to hear Manyata's reply but none came.
"Acha ok, don't make that face. I'll buy your stuff." J said quickly and came out.
"Sorry, you had to wait for me. Let's go." J smiled at Uday who half-heartedly returned it. This thing bothered him sometimes that Manyata never went out of the palace. Sure, she wandered around the palace and she was often found from different corners of it but he had never seen her go outside the boundary of the palace walls. As far as he knew, every single resident of the palace went out. For social events, family gatherings or for personal pleasure; everyone enjoyed a pretty much normal life. Everyone, except Manyata.
"Why the hell am I thinking about her? Uski marzi usse jo karna hai kare! Zaroor apne aap ko koi bohat bari cheez samajhti hogi wo Rajkumari." He mentally scolded himself as he sat in the front seat of the car.
_______________
Unlike J's prediction, they did not return by evening. The sun was already set and the moon had begun to peep from behind the clothes when the car entered the premises of the palace.
"I'm dead! It's so late!" J whispered worriedly as she got out of the car and let the servants take out the bags from the car.
"Well, my job is till here. You have to deal with your family." Uday said frankly but J continued to look worried.
"Relax J. Everything is going to be alright. They are your family, they won't say anything." Uday said soothingly and he was pleased to see that J relaxed.
"Hmmm...see you tomorrow." J waved at him before quickly walking inside, leaving Uday alone. He sighed tiredly as soon as J disappeared from his sight. He had gotten used to J's frequent day-outs and honestly, they didn't bother him. But something was off today. He felt very tired and not at all in the mood of driving himself back to his apartment. All of a sudden, he was just wanted to lay down and sleep for a while.
"Per kahan?" He thought as he mentally ruled out all the comfortable places of the palace. He wanted to go somewhere where no one would disturb him or ask him bothersome questions. A secret place where no one would find him.
"The back garden!" The name of the place flashed in his mind and he start walked towards it. The back garden was mostly empty, not even the servants went there. He had seen the entrance of the place while taking a casual stroll around the palace.
It looked like a place completely cut off from the palace. The colour of the entrance gate had faded away and some wild bushes grew around it. It looked so ugly in comparison to the rest of the beautiful things in the palace.
Uday stood in front of the gate and was glad to find that it was unlocked. He looked around him to see if anyone was there. When he was satisfied that no one was there, he opened the gate and walked in.
A few steps in the mysterious garden, he knew that this place was really different from the rest of the palace. There was something in the air which was so light and refreshing even when the sun was down. A little breeze seemed to blow only inside this garden. There was a soothing smell in the air. Although the garden gave a look of a neglected place, it gave certain vibes of peace and comfort. Like the neglect had made the place turn into some other world...
A little further away in the garden, there were few trees bathing in the moonlight. Uday looked up in the sky; today's moon was definitely not a full moon but the light of the moon was so strong that it seemed like it was a full moon night. Confused, Uday walked forward. The further he walked in the garden, the greener the grass got. The more melodious the breeze got, the stronger the light got, flowers seemed to appear out of nowhere. The previous impression of a neglected garden instantly disappeared. He seemed to be in a heavenly place.
Just as he was admiring this strange incident that was happening with him, he noticed someone else's presence there. Near a tree, someone was standing looking upward in the sky. Because the person was standing under the shadow of the tree, Uday couldn't immediately recognize who the person was but it seemed familiar to him. He carefully took a few steps towards the person. When he was just few feet away, the person turned around leaving Uday in shock.
His eyes seemed to be playing tricks. It couldn't be Manyata. But it looked just like her...and nothing like her. Where was the plain looking girl that he had gotten so used to watching everyday? She stood in front of him like an angel...her pale skin seemed to be glowing in the dark. Her open hair were flying gently with the wind.
There was shock on her face. Her eyes...there was something in them. They seemed to be shining...and he seemed to be drowning in them. Those honey coloured orbs of her glowing face seemed to be calling him, making him lose his senses...
"Princess..."
A shocked whisper uttered from his mouth but before he could say or do anything else, darkness seemed to wrap around him. His eyes began to close and they wouldn't open no matter how much he tried to. He was suffocating, drowning; the air seemed to be sucked out from his surrounding. He was falling...and before falling he only heard one word...
"No..."
Comments are always appreciated! Hit "Like" to be PMed about the next update!
Love, Maisooma!
Edited by -Mais- - 13 years ago
Cricket
