Chapter 5 (part #2)
THEM
The clearing was covered with fallen leaves and Khushi spread out a blanket under the shade of the oaks. Then she sat down with her legs to one side and tidied her dress delicately with her hands. Arnav had been watching her, bemused and when she was done, she finally looked up expectantly at him.
"All done, you highness?" he mocked with a smirk, making her blush.
He sat down on the blanket careful not to step on it and opened up the bag with the food items. It was a humble meal, consisting of bread, cheese and peaches. Khushi devoured her sandwich within minutes, starving from the tedious and exhausting walk. Once the last of the sandwich disappeared, she looked up to locate the water bottle and found Arnav eating a peach. She watched as his teeth sunk into the tender flesh and the amber juice of the peach trickled down his chin. She reached for his chin and wiped the juice with her thumb, making Arnav stare at her. Their eyes locked together and as if electrified, her hand stayed on his cheek. Arnav grabbed her wrist but captured by her gaze he too became still.
Khushi felt a sliver of uneasiness up her spine and found her heart beat thumping inside her chest. His eyes were the darkest brown and burned with a passion and wildness that she couldn't resist. She wetted her lips and swallowed the lump in her throat. Arnav saw her lips quiver as she licked them and felt a tug inside, knocking him out of his breath as if he had been running at top speed for a mile. His pulse quickened and he knew he had to break the contact before he got carried away. Her proximity was making him helplessly desire her when he knew so well that the result of such an indiscretion was only pain and heart ache for her. He let his eyes linger on her face a little longer, taking in her pure, innocent face and her gentle brown eyes. Then, he pushed her wrist away.
"Stay away from me!" he said, plainly.
"I was just…"
"I know. But next time, don't bother." He said and wiping his chin on his sleeve, threw away the rest of the peach. Hurt and oddly disturbed by the incident, Khushi said nothing and reached for the water bottle to relieve her parched throat. She realized what an idiot she was being, throwing herself at him. Feeling ashamed, she decided, as she drank water, not to let such a thing happen again during the entire journey.
Arnav packed his bag and Khushi folded the blanket neatly into a small bundle and placed it in her rucksack. It was hard to ascertain the time but she guessed it must be about three.
"There is a river stream about six miles away and we should reach it before sun down or it will be very difficult to cross it in the dark. What I'm trying to say is, we should hurry up and walk as fast as we can. Can you manage?"
"Yes" she nodded, solemnly, though her wounded foot was now starting to hurt.
As if reading her mind, Arnav asked," How's your foot?"
"It's fine. I'll manage. I have my stick." She said, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Ok then. But let me know, if you can't walk anymore. We'll camp wherever you get tired. Okay?" He said, genuinely concerned. She nodded. "Let's move."
HIM
Arnav was trying to focus all his attention on walking but he still couldn't push Khushi out of his thoughts. There was no denying the fact that he wanted her, to touch and to hold, to kiss and everything more. He had been fighting the urge so long, it was exhausting him. It was becoming painful not to give in. His mind was crying out for a chance to hold her again and to never her go. At least not until he had had a fill of her. But would the hunger for her stop there? Would the craving, gnawing need for her subside once he had made love to her? He didn't know and was afraid to find out.
"Have you ever been to the Western Kingdom before?" he asked, to distract himself.
"No. I don't know much about it either except that Prince Shyam rules over the Kingdom. He had told me about the place when I had met him last, though. It is much colder there since the Kingdom is flanked by snow-covered mountains in the North. Farming is mostly terrace and there isn't much grain so they import their wheat from warmer areas and export tea and coffee. Since it rains often, their tea and coffee is exceptional."
"You seem to know a lot about trade," he remarked, thinking she really didn't need much pushing to talk but also admired how she knew so much.
"And about administration and taxes too. I told you I read a lot."
"It shows. You'll make a good ruler someday."
"Th…thanks." She replied, self-consciously. "I've never thought…"
"Stop" he said, all of a sudden. "You hear that?"
HER
Khushi fell silent and focused on any stray sounds. She recognized a faint gurgling immediately. "Yes. I think we are close to the stream."
"Exactly." He quickened his pace and Khushi worked hard to keep up. The rucksack seemed heavier now and her legs were exhausted. The foot was quite sore and she was hoping the walk would end soon. With a renewed hope that rest was near she followed Arnav.
Through the trees, they soon reached the river stream but when she looked at it, Khushi's heart sank. The stream was a swift flowing deep waterway, which could not be crossed on foot. The water was so fast that with the heavy sacks on their backs, one faulty stepping could lead to being washed away for good. Dejected, she sighed and turned to face Arnav.
"So, how do you propose we cross this?" she asked, peeved.
Arnav looked over her shoulder and closed his eyes with relief. She turned to see what he had found to make him relax and her mouth fell open. Ten feet away, a tall tree trunk had fallen right across the stream to the other bank. What scared her out of her wits was the fact that the trunk was only wide enough for one person to cross at a time and it had branches and twigs jutting out all over which would tear her dress to shreds if she tried to cross, not to mention the heavy sacks that would be extremely hard to balance without firm footing.
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
Veer Hanuman
Cricket
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