FF :Time and Again Book 1 completed - Page 44

Originally posted by: Abhiya_Gunner

When r u updating Shreya😵

Very soon😃maybe in a day or two😳

Originally posted by: Super Kool

great update...kudos...

thanks for the pm...

Thanks for reading😳

Originally posted by: Akshi0019

gr8 update dr... i lovef dis ff...

cont soon

Thanks so much Akshi!😳

Chapter 7

Pandher,1858:

They stared at each other in the pouring rain and the darkness punctuated by flashes of lightning . Pia stared at the now-dark figure : was it really Abhay?

Apparently, it was, as the lightning flashed obligingly.

She drew in a breath, conscious of the fact that he had seen her, and was now walking towards her.

"Maithali, is that you?"

Pia's throat was jammed. She supposed she should clear his misconceptions, but somehow her voice refused to cooperate.

He came closer to her; she supposed he could see her face now. She could see a sliver of his own face, his nose nearly touching hers.

"What's that you're wearing?"

His hand came up to take off the veil away from her face.

That action of his seemed to clear her senses. She twisted away at once, shielding her identity from him. If he didn't know it was her, so much the better.

"Maithali?"repeated Abhay, quite plainly confused.

She let out a squeak.

"No."

"What?" he said, now sounding bewildered : he seemed to have been sure that it was Maithali.

"I'm not- not Maithali," she managed to gasp out at last.

There was a pause.

"I am …sorry," he said at last. "There are not…many young ladies in the palace. Princess Maithali has only arrived from overseas…a fortnight ago."

"I only joined today," she managed to say at last. Why, she thought, was Abhay acting almost as though he was…habituated in that time. What on earth was going on here?For God's sake, is Misha here too? She thought.

"Pardon my mistake, madam," he said in a polite voice. "Allow me to escort you back to the palace. This weather is not suitable for young maidens."

Lightly taking her arm, he guided her back to the palace doors. He stopped in the entrance, and it was then that Pia saw him properly, in the light of the torches.

Abhay didn't look like Abhay at all.

For one, he was wearing something white, for the second his face seemed tender….soft. Almost….as though he'd suddenly developed normal human feelings.

He's a lookalike, just as I am of Maithali, thought Pia. He isn't Abhay…at least, not the one I know. Sudden relief filled her, her intestines seemed to be normally functioning again.

The Abhay-lookalike gave a short bow. "I hope you have a pleasant night, madam," he said courteously. Then he turned and exited the doors, closing them behind him.

Her feeling more ruffled than ever, Pia ran up the staircases to her room, and unsuccessfully attempted to sleep.

How was it possible for two people to be so alike and so different?

He looked exactly like Abhay, but the way he treated her- with almost deferential courtesy. There was none of the arrogance, none of the superior-ness about him. He seemed so nice. If only he had been from her own time, she thought wistfully.

And there was another thing. He seemed not only to know Maithali, but to know her well. Strange, since Maithali had said that she didn't have many friends. Unless…he was one of them?

She felt a strange twisting in her stomach wondering about him.

Morning dawned, bright and sunny. Pia dressed, replied in the affirmative to Maithali's enquiries over whether she had had a good night's sleep. She breakfasted with Maithali in a room that was more of a hall. And then, both of them made for the palace gardens. Maithali seemed in a very good mood : she kept up a steady flow of conversation all the time, asking Piya about her opinion on her dress, her favourite colour. Their interests sometimes turned out to be similar, when Maithali told Pia that she loved a book entitled "Pride and Prejudice" written by someone known as A Lady, who Pia knew was Jane Austen, but neglected to mention to mention it to Maithali for fear of arousing suspicions. They both spent a happy hour discussing about Elizabeth and Darcy.

Noon arrived, and Pia once again was treated to a lunch that seemed too much for her. At this rate, I'll look like a balloon when I get back, thought Pia.

"I promised I'd make you meet my friends, didn't I?" said Maithali, when they had finished.

"Come on!"

Maithali skipped down the staircase , seeming happier than she had all day. She misses them, thought Pia with a pang, feeling a sudden upsurge of warmth for Maithali.

Maithali slowed down once they'd reached the doors. She seemed to be looking out for something-or someone? But Pia didn't have much time to ponder this, as Maithali, instead of making for the left fork they usually took when going to the gardens, took off at a brisk pace in an entirely different direction.

With some confusion, Pia realized they were moving towards the stables.

"Here we are," said Maithali at last, stopping in front of the stables.

Pia looked at her in confusion, but Maithali called out : "I'm not coming in with all that stink, so you two can come out!"

So Maithali's friends weren't all that noble, thought Pia, and then stopped thinking as her eyes locked with those eyes that had held her captive the previous night. The Abhay-looklike was standing in front of her.

"Greetings, Abhayedra," said Maithali, smiling. "I'm sorry I haven't been to see you all day. This pretty lady here is my new friend Piyali.Piyali- this is one of my oldest friends, Abhayendra."

Abhayendra's eyes narrowed as he looked at her, then his face cleared. Had he recognized her from the previous night? She could not tell.

Seeing him face to face however, was even more strange than in the semi-darkness of the torchlights. Abhayendra looked an exact carbon copy of Abhay, minus the smirk that seemed permanently plastered on Abhay's face. He seemed- almost shy, thought Pia.

"Who's this veiled stranger?" said another voice, and Pia broke away from her reverie.

Another young man was standing in the doorway of the stables, leaning on it. There was a casual confidence in his manner.

"Siddharth." Said Maithali, smiling. "This is Piyali, my friend. Piyali- Siddharth. He's Abhayendra's elder brother."

"You mean, Abhayendra is my younger brother," said Siddharth, grinning. "Greetings, Miss Veiled Piyali."

Maithali frowned. "Don't be mean, now, Siddharth," she chided softly. "Piyali had an accident a year ago, which has disfigured her face rather badly. You will understand, therefore, why she prefers to- "

"I am very sorry to hear it , Piyali," said Abhayendra in a gentle voice.

"It's – all right," managed Pia.

"Come from overseas too, have you?" asked Siddharth, eyeing her critically.

"Yes, she has," answered Maithali for her. And then :

"Piyali, do you ride?"

"N-no," stammered Pia. "I- "

"Oh," said Maithali sighing. "I was hoping you did, I'm going to go for my evening ride….Abhayendra, will you get out my-?"

But Abhayendra had already gone inside the stables, and presently Pia saw him leading out a lovely mare which was pure white.

Maithali got up on it at once, with no help."Abhayendra, you come too," she said in a pleading voice. "Siddharth, will you talk to Piyali till I return? Please?"

However, thought Pia, there didn't seem any hesitation in her voice. It was almost as if

Maithali knew Siddharth would stay with her.

"Go ahead," she heard Siddharth say by way of a farewell. She watched as Abhayendra brought out his own horse, and rode away, keeping a little behind Maithali.

Pia watched till they disappeared, then turned to look at Siddharth.

"So…holding a torch for my younger brother, are you?" he asked, smirking.

"What?No-no!" said Pia, feeling flustered. "No- he- just looks like someone I used to know. It's not- I mean- "

"It's all right, Piyali," said Siddharth, now smiling much more gently.

He went inside, and came out leading a black horse. It had a white star-shaped mark near it's forehead.

"Would you like to try riding?"

Pia backed away, looking at the huge animal in fear.

"Come now, Pia, it won't hurt you," said Siddharth coaxingly. "Besides, I was scared of horses too, once."

Pia stared at it.

"It'll be yours if you can learn to ride," promised Siddharth. "I'm sure the king won't mind….besides, Krish here is one of my favourites. He's the most cool-tempered too, you know?"

Pia felt her apprehension grow.

"Come on," said Siddharth, getting up on the saddle, and offering his hand to her. Pia took it, , and he pulled her up with surprising strength.

He made the horse move in a slow trot, and Pia held on to the saddle for dear life. Finally, she felt herself relax, and told Siddharth so. He seemed extremely pleased.

"You're going to make a fine horsewoman someday, Piyali," he said, helping her down.

"Come again with Maithali tomorrow, won't you?"

Dusk was falling , and the sun setting between the mountains, casting a red glow over the plains.

"You ought to go inside, " said Sid at last. "I'll take you in,don't worry about them, they'll be arriving any minute now."

But , Pia noticed, as they walked along the now-familiar path back to the palace, Siddharth was the one who kept turning back, as though hoping against hope Maithali or Abhayendra would call out to him. As the reached the palace doors, Siddharth said : "Would you need me to escort you to your room, or would you prefer solitude?"

Struck by his kindness, Pia replied, "No, I can go by myself, thank you."

And as she walked up the staircases, Pia's thoughts wandered to Maithali, and Abhayendra, and where they were right then. And she found herself feeling something very much like pity for Siddharth, who would probably be sitting alone in the darkness that was now enveloping the city.

Unknown to her, Siddharth was experiencing similar feelings of pity for the shy, lonely girl who had been deprived of probably the only person she had felt comfortable with- Maithali.

^I think I should let you guys know that since my summer vacs are ending on 25th, I don't know when I am going to update next. Please bear with me.

Shreya I loved it yaar 😃 It was written very well 👏 Infact I felt as if I was in 18th century and not the present 👏 Loved the way u have portrayed Siddhart here n am waiting to know more abt his n Pia's bonding 😳 Am sure it'll be beautiful 😊 Dont worry abt not being regular yaar. Update when u get the time n studies always come first 😊 When u feel like taking a break write the update 😊

Originally posted by: bookworm-ALS--

apters

Thanks Tora. As for what Sid is, I guess I'll be saying that in a few chapters😳
Maithali's plan...Only Sid can tell you right now😉
I'll write about Abhayendra in the next update.
When do you think Abhay will find out about Pia?😆
So are you still voting for Piya as Reina?😉