Warmth. That's what she felt. Parvati pulled the warmth closer to herself, snuggling it with the strength she was beginning to regain. Her eyes were still closed, but she was conscious once again. Parvati remembered being in the cold cellar of the jallad, soaked through her clothes in icy water. Now, there was suddenly an unknown warmth surrounding her. Where was it coming from?
With much effort, she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to try to focus on the light. Parvati looked around and realized she was lying on the ground, still chained up. That was when she saw it. The metal bin of fire placed in front of her. Where did this come from, she asked herself. As she laid on the ground, pondering, she realized that she didn't remember any events from last night. The last thing she recalled was that she laid down on the ground and held herself to keep warm. Then...nothing.
Parvati blinked her eyes a few more times before slowly trying to sit up. She felt something slide down from her body and shuttered as a sudden gust of cold air hit her. She looked down and was surprised to find a large blanket on her. She ran her fingers against the fluffy fabric now piled on her lap. This was the origin of the warmth, this and the fire. But where did they come from? She looked back at the flames, which were slowly dying down, and caught a glimpse of something that made her eyes widen in shock.
There, sleeping on the concrete stairs, was the jallad. Parvati looked away as memories came flashing in her mind. The fire. The blanket. It was all him. She looked down at herself again as she remembered him saying something about her clothes. It was then she saw that she wasn't wearing her clothes, but instead she was in his clothes. An oversized black kurta and his pants. She remembered him telling her to put them on so she would stay warm and get out of her drenched clothes. She looked back up at her sleeping captor in disbelief.
He had been so cruel to her these last few days, and last night he had suddenly changed. Why? As an answer, Parvati's mind flashed a memory of her calling out for him. Did he really help her because she called out to him?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a grunting sound coming from the jallad as he adjusted himself in his sleep. She watched as his eyes slowly opened and looked around. That was when their eyes met. Parvati didn't know what to say to him after realizing he had cared for her. But what she wondered more was whether he was going to be nice or if he was going to continue being torturous towards her. Was she not suppose to wake up to find evidence of-.
Once again, her thoughts came to a crashing halt as the jallad strode towards her. Parvati braced herself for his cruelty, knowing that it was bound to come. However, it didn't. Instead, he knelt down and touched her forehead. His molten brown eyes contemplating as his brows furrowed. Parvati was dazed as the final memory of last night came to her. He had spoke tenderly to her. You'll be fine. Get some rest. He had said that to her. She opened her mouth to speak, but found that her voice retreated within her. Now, she was sitting, trying to speak, as the jallad checked to see how she was feeling. When their eyes met, Parvati was surprised to see his anger and fire momentarily at bay.
"Your temperature is back to normal," he said as he quickly retracted his hand.
"I had a temperature?" she asked.
He ignored her question, "You still look pale, but you're conscious now."
She continued to stare at him in disbelief, "You...you took...care of me?"
He didn't answer her question again. Instead, he got up and walked up the stairs, leaving Parvati to stare at the flames in front of her. For a moment, she wondered whether or not she was hallucinating. Where did this sudden change of heart come from? Oh, right. His job. If she dies before the designated time, then he could lose his job. He had been taking care of her, and now that she was better he was going to return to his normal self. His jallad self. She was still feeling weak though. Parvati wrapped the blanket around herself, enjoying the last few minutes of calm before the storm arrived yet again.
He came back down a while later, freshly showered and changed. He was wearing a thin, black sweater with light blue jeans. The fitting of his shirt extenuated his toned, muscular body. His hair was freshly combed and swept to one side. His mustache still had a small curl at the ends, and his beard looked freshly trimmed. In his hand was a silver plate, which Parvati knew was food. He walked up to her and stood before her, not bothering to kneel down this time. She looked up at him questioningly.
"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked him. "It feels like only a night."
The jallad gave a small, almost unnoticeable nod, then said, "Eat."
And he's back, she thought.
Parvati shook her head, "I don't want to eat."
"Look," he growled lowly, "You're sick. Your body needs food to regain its strength. Now, eat."
"No."
Rudra had been patient with his prisoner. After he stunned himself with his tender behavior last night, he was making sure to remain in control. Her words had gotten to him, and he had a moment of weakness for this woman. For now, he had to keep her alive because of Tejawat. And as much as he didn't want to care for her, Rudra had no other option. So now, he was in front of her, with a plate filled with food yet again, and she was refusing to eat...yet again. He was trying to be patient, but there was only so much patience he could have for a prisoner who was purposely trying to get under his skin. It irked him that Parvati wasn't eating, not because he had to keep her alive, but because of this pang in his chest that he felt when he thought about her condition worsening if she didn't eat.
What Rudra did next stunned Parvati into silence once again. He took a deep breath and sat down on the ground in front of her. He placed the plate down in front between them. From a glance, he saw that she didn't move away, but continued to watch him inquisitively. He took one more deep breath before tearing off a piece of the hot aloo paratha and ate it. Rudra looked back at her as he chewed the piece in his mouth and swallowed it.
"Now you know that I didn't poison your food," Rudra stated matter-of-factly.
It was as if she didn't hear a thing he had said. She continued to switch her gaze from him to the aloo paratha on the plate. What she was thinking about, Rudra wasn't sure, but he knew that she was wondering one thing: why was he being nice to her?. A few minutes passed by and Parvati hadn't eaten. He huffed angrily and looked at the plate before him. He grabbed the plate and was about to get up when he felt her small hand grab his wrist, halting him in his tracks. It felt as if he had been electrocuted. Rudra shot his gaze at her, and saw her looking back at him with upmost tenderness in her eyes. She slowly nodded and extended her other hand, signaling him to give her the plate. Without breaking eye contact, he slowly handed it to her. Parvati took the plate, let go of his wrist, and carefully began eating.
In a haste, Rudra shot up from the ground like he was on fire. He turned on his heels and made his way back up the steps without uttering another syllable. As he locked up the cellar door, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the caller ID: Tejawat.
Rudra answered, "Yes, thakur-sa...I'm on my way."
He hung up and went into the bathroom, where Parvati's clothes were laying. He grabbed it and stuffed it in a black duffle bag. Without further delay, he made his way out of his home and drove on his motorcycle to Tejawat Haveli. His mind was instantly replaying the scenes of this morning. Why had he been so nice to her? What, in God's name, had possessed him to care for her? It was completely out of character for him, and he knew it all too well. The fact that he needed to keep her alive for Tejawat hadn't even crossed his mind. All that he cared about was that Parvati was back to normal. When he saw her conscious, Rudra felt that pricking in his chest, which had been bothering him all night long, finally disappear. That pricking feeling was now replaced by a deep burning sensation on his wrist, the same wrist that Parvati had held.
Rudra walked into the Tejawat Haveli and found the thakur sitting calmly on a throne-like chair. Two henchmen stood behind the seat, while one henchman was in front of them, beating some man that Rudra couldn't see that well. As he approached, Tejawat noticed his presence and ordered the man to stop the beating.
He looked up at Rudra and smiled, "And now you are here. Perfect."
Rudra came up to him and handed him the black duffle bag. He then looked over at the beaten man trying to stand up. It was Varun. He observed the man from head-to-toe, recalling that this was the man that Parvati was suppose to marry. Varun looked like a scrawny, weak fellow. Rudra wondered what Parvati saw in him, but then shook the thought out of his head. Why did he care what she thought? He turned his attention back to Tejawat, who was examining the contents in the bag.
"These are-," he began.
"Her clothes," Rudra replied.
Rudra pulled out his phone and nonchalantly began messing with it, leaving thakur-sa to handle Varun. Tejawat smirked as he tossed the bag at Varun's feet. Varun slowly picked it up and opened it. His eyes practically popped out of his head as he pulled out Parvati's ghaghra choli. They were torn and dirty. If these were her clothes, then does that mean she's dead, he thought. Varun looked at Tejawat, almost questioningly.
Rudra answered for thakur-sa, "She's alive...for now."
"How long she remains alive depends on when you return my money," Tejawat added.
Varun was silent for a minute. Rudra glanced up from his phone and watched as he shoved the clothes back in the bag and tossed it to the side roughly. Tejawat raised his eyebrow in confusion. Varun looked back up at thakur-sa with a look of determination.
"I want to make a deal with you thakur-sa," Varun stated. "Parvati is beautiful. Very beautiful, as you know well. She can be worth a hefty price...if you know what I mean. Clearly worth 80 lakh, if not more. You can have the money I've already given you. You can have her too thakur-sa. You can have her and do what you want with her. I ask for my life in return."
Tejawat laughed, "You honestly think I would forget what you've done for a woman? I instilled one value in all my men: women and love will destroy even the strongest man. And what did you do? You went and fell in love. Now you want to sell her off? I don't think so. You will pay your debt. You will not use that woman as currency. If you do not do as you're told, I won't hesitate to have Rudra kill you and her both. This is my first and last warning: Never try to negotiate with me again. Understood?"
Varun trembled as he heard the henchmen crack their knuckles, preparing to fight if he refused to acknowledge what the thakur had said. He nodded in agreement, bowed, and walked out. Tejawat stood up and stretched like a cat. He walked up to Rudra and patted his shoulder.
"Well done," Tejawat said. "Do I want to know how you got her clothes?"
Rudra thought. If he told thakur-sa how he obtained the clothes, Tejawat would question him, and that was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't tell him that he was caring for the prisoner, and that he gave her his clothes to wear. He couldn't tell him about her sudden condition that bothered him, although he didn't know why. If Rudra denied telling him, then maybe Tejawat would think he used his special set of skills' to remove the clothing from her.
He looked at thakur-sa and shook his head, "No, you don't want to know."
Tejawat smirked and nodded, "You can go."
Rudra didn't need to be told twice. He nodded and made his way out of the haveli. He stopped shortly before getting on his motorcycle, however. He quickly looked around to make sure he was alone. When he was sure he was, he pulled out his phone and opened a file. Unbeknownst to anyone, Rudra had recorded what Varun had said. He made sure to record him trying to sell Parvati. He saved the recording to his phone and got on his bike to head back home before it started raining, which was clearly bound to happen by the dark clouds rolling through the skies.
When Rudra reached, he immediately went down to the cellar to check on Parvati. He found that the fire had dimmed out, so he turned on the lights. She was still sitting on the ground, wrapped in the blanket. Her eyes met his as he reached the final step on the staircase. She didn't seem angry, or even frightened for that matter. She just sat there, watching as he moved closer to her. Rudra knelt down before her, but didn't touch her.
"Do you still have a temperature?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Then give me the blanket."
She shook her head again, "It's cold."
Parvati watched the jallad look at her as she answered honestly. Her fever had gone down and she was starting to feel better, but the cellar was still cold. She figured he would command her to give the blanket back, but she hadn't gotten all her warmth back, and she just wanted it for a little bit longer. She waited for him to pull it off of her, letting her freeze half to death. But surprisingly, he didn't. Instead, he got up and disappeared behind the stairs and came back with some old rags. He placed them in the bin and wet them with what seemed like oil. He threw a match in and the rags instantly caught fire. Parvati was speechless. Something was seriously wrong with her captor. First he took care of her while she was sick, and now he relit the fire for her so she would stay warm.
But then, something was wrong with her too. In her unwell state, she had called out for the jallad. He came close to her, and she didn't scoot away like she originally had done. She didn't fight back with him after she had gotten sick. Even now that she was better, she didn't feel like fighting with him, mainly because she was unsure of what was happening to him. She wasn't sure what reaction she would get out of him. Even now, as he stood in front of her, Parvati wasn't sure what was going to happen. But one thing was for sure, that anger and hatred in his eyes was clouded by something she couldn't quite figure out.
Her eyes glimmered with uncertainty as the jallad pulled his phone out of his pocket. He pushed a few buttons and then a recording started playing. Parvati's eyes grew wide as Varun's familiar voice played back for her to hear. Each word of his cut like a knife through her. Varun tried to sell her? He didn't care about her? He was willing to let her die...just so he could live?
"Is...is that...Varun?" she asked.
"Now you know that I was right about him all along," Rudra responded.
Parvati's world came crashing down. She had trusted Varun, and she was in this mess because of him. She was this man's prisoner. Varun didn't even care if she lived or died, all he cared about was his life. And to think that she was going to marry this man! Now, the truth was out in front of her, and she didn't know what to say or do. It was in this moment that Parvati knew Varun wasn't going to save her. She was going to rot in this cellar until her captor decided to grace her with death. Her trust had been broken and her faith in others had been shaken. Parvati looked away from the jallad and covered her mouth, muffling the sounds of her sobs. The tears came flooding down her cheeks.
Rudra stopped the recording. He watched as Parvati went from shock to an emotional breakdown. He knew that to prove that he was right he was going to have to record Varun, revealing his true nature. Initially, Rudra was willing to do whatever it took to break Parvati. Now here she was before him...broken. He had proved to her that he was right, that Varun was a bad guy. He proved that her fiance was responsible for her state and that he wasn't going to come and save her. He should be proud that he proved himself to be right. However, seeing Parvati in tears in front of him did nothing. It only brought the pricking feeling back in his chest. Rudra turned his back to her. He should be feeling victorious...why, then, was he feeling so small?
**********
Wow, crazy right? What did you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it?
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Surprise for next chapter: Chandangarh rain and another chapter just on Parud?!
You will want to stick around for this one, trust me!
Thanks for reading!
Cricket
Anupamaa
