Acceptance😳
Urmila runs as fast as she could...she has to get away from HIM! She couldn't bear to look at him lest she would find the emotion she feared the most in his eyes...pity.
Mithila is a hilly country with dense woods surrounding it giving off the impression of a small hamlet. Even though the woods are thick, she knows every nook and corner as she too is a daughter of this very land. Urmila remembers frequenting these woods quite often to be alone from the hustle and bustle of the rajbhavan. There's a small patch of clearing within the woods that she would often come to visit ever since she was a child, sometimes to lick her wounds in private mostly after a fight with Mandavi since it used to be her who ended up getting reprimanded sometimes even without any fault of hers. If she had ever complained about the uneven treatment, she was reminded over and over again about her cousins being away from their respective parents and hence shouldn't be taken to task...and sometimes just to be all by herself. As she grew up she started appreciating the serenity and quiet that nature brings along with itself more. But today...she is here for entirely a different reason.
She hates that her heart feels so heavy! She despises being so powerless against his charms!! Why did Sumitranandan reject her? Why isn't she enough? Where did she go wrong? Has she offended him by any chance? So many questions are plaguing her mind that she might explode! But the real question is where did she get the idea that her feelings were reciprocated? What an utter fool she has been!
Deep inside the woods not too far away
With every passing minute, a chill was setting at the pit of his stomach ...It's been over an hour and he still couldn't find her! It is as if she has vanished into the damn thin air! Suddenly his attention was drawn toward a piece of cloth being stuck in one of the bushes...as Lakhshman pulls the cloth out, it takes him a nano second to recognize the offending piece of the cloth ...it is Urmila's!! He was sure of it. The cloth must have gotten torn from her angavastra while she madly dashed into the woods! Reckless girl! It's just then he found patches of blood on the soft green moss and some on the boulders strewn all over...did she hurt herself? Had she fallen down? Lakshman felt like his heart was constricting with worry. Mila! Where are you? Lakshman thought wildly. Please God just take me to her. Where could she have gone!
The gods seem to take pity on him and as if to answer his prayers, he finds her soon enough in that tiny clearing crouching and scribbling something unintelligible on the ground facing away. Lakshman has never felt such a profound sense of relief spreading through him. The feeling was so strong that it knocked the air right out of him. Not even when they vanquished the mighty Taraka and her son Subahu. No this feeling was entirely alien to him. Yet it did not scare him at all...like the first time around. Is this what they call being in love? All he wanted the moment he found her was to take her in his arms and never let go!
As he slowly approached her, Lakshman found her drooped shoulders still shaking mildly. Suddenly he heard a shaky voice addressing him, "How did you find me here?" she pauses and then after taking a deep breath she continues in a colder tone without turning to face him, "You should leave Dasharathanandan. I am not a fragile glass doll who would need a minder. I can take care of myself. " Okay so she is hurt both physically and emotionally and that's on me too ...but what am I to do? I can't let my courage fail me...not now, not ever...I will fight for us...I will try until by last breath to salvage the situation. I love her too much to back down.
"How did you know it was me?" Lakshman tries to side track...all he is greeted with was silence...not that he was expecting an answer but somewhere down he misses the fiesty girl who was more than just a princess, "And haven't you been taught that talking to anyone facing away is improper? It is bad manners Mila!" If he thought that offence was the best mechanism to rise any reaction out of her then he was surely right.
"Don't call me that! You have no RIGHT!" With her eyes blazing,she whips around to meet him.
"What is it that you want? Why can't you leave me alone? Are you happy now seeing me like this? Aren't you repulsed enough? Then why don't you just leave?"
" I must look wretched..." She murmurs more to herself . She isn't yet ready to face him, so she keeps staring at her feet chewing her lower lip.
Yes, she is a sight to behold. Her once kohl-ed eyes are now all ruined and her beautiful face is marred with black streaks of tear stains...must be the result of crying for over an hour...yet to Lakshman never did she appear more real, more accessible, more dear!
"Okay, to answer your very first question, I would have eventually found you Mila! Even if I had to travel to the end of this earth and back. Or did you think it was that easy to get rid of me?" Lakshman spoke with such tenderness that Urmila wanted to curl herself into a ball and die.
"You should seriously stop calling me that, Rajkumar. It is improper to do so since I am nobody to you!" She winces as she felt a sharp pain surging through her as soon as tries to leave... Damn, why am I such a klutz , can't I even run properly without hurting myself ? I am seriously not fit to be a princess, Mandavi didi was so right...
"Are you hurt? Did you fall down?" he enquires worriedly. "No I am fine...nothing to concern yourself with.." Lakshman decides to let the matter go for the time being with a sigh.
"In any case I am truly sorry for my outburst earlier...we weren't taught how to handle rejection at school...which is so wrong if you think about it." She let out a harsh laugh... "But none of this is your fault. There isn't any hard and fast rule that you should reciprocate just because I...Don't worry I'll be fine...give me a few minutes and I'll be as good as new! And I won't let my emotions cloud my duties..if that's what's bothering you." She smiles a blinding one which for the first time doesn't reach her eyes.
"But I don't want that...Mila don't you see? I would never be able to live with myself if you won't forgive me."
"I do..." She sounded so tired and sad...Lakshman wished he could just kiss that sad face away!
"But why are you hell bent on addressing me by that name is beyond me...what have I ever done to you that you are so adamant in disgracing me...O Prince of Ayodhya?" she says in a calm almost resigned voice...that holds none of the usual bite or sarcasm... Lakshman was slowly getting worried as the plan isn't working as per his wish! He has to act quickly if he wants to salvage the situation. He slowly walked up to her and took her by her shoulders, "Why would I care for the opinion of the rest of the world regarding how I want to address my future wife ...if she would still have me that is?" He smiled lovingly at her hoping that she would finally get him. But that would have been too easy and Urmila is anything but that. She has a stubborn streak in her and she isn't someone who would back down without putting up a fight.
"You amaze me Rajkumar...how can you call me your future wife...when it was you who had rejected me in the first place?" There was so much venom in her voice that it could literally kill off a herd of elephants had they been injected with thus. But somewhere deep down Lakshman is really happy that he could bring that fiery side of hers out.
"You don't get it Mila...do you? I am a torn man Mila...I have nothing to offer you except my heart. I don't want you to compromise your position by marrying me!!" Lakshman almost shouts out in exasperation.
"What do you mean?" Urmila's voice holds none of the earlier vehemence. She sounds soft...almost reverent. Lakshman took a deep breath and continues... "My mother is commoner who got married into royalty...don't get me wrong I love and respect her wholeheartedly but the truth is marrying me would compromise your position and on top of that you will never get to become the queen."
"I have never cared for such things...I don't want to be some queen...I wanted to be with you." Cries Urmila... "You say you love me...but sadly not enough to trust me." He took her face in his hands, gazing at her as if she's a precious yet brittle gem, that shouldn't be touched let alone be held... and shakes his head slowly...
"No...I do...you have to believe me when I say this...I do but I don't trust myself with you. I'am scared that I would end up hurting you too much Urmila... and then you would resent me forever." At that very moment to Urmila., he looks so broken and lost...so she does the first thing that comes to her mind...she flings herself to him...hugging him right there in the midst of nowhere throwing propriety and caution out of the window. She keeps on chanting, "Then let me fight for us...let me believe in both of us for you. And... don't call me Urmila ever again!" Lakshman is so stunned with the sudden change in the scenario that it takes him a couple of minutes to catch up. But when he does...he hugs her right back...after all he is a young man in love!!
"But isn't that what your name is?" quips Lakshman as he holds her to him... "It is to the world...but to you I am your Mila...now and forever." She answers right back tightening her grip, without moving an inch.
Time stands still for these two young lovebirds standing in a dense forest lost in each other. It could have been five minutes or even five hours but it didn't seem to bother them a single bit.
"So...it wouldn't be a leap of faith now to assume that I have been forgiven . Would it?" spoke Lakshman breaking the trance they were in.
"Work in progress...you are still under probation." She looks up at him and winks!!! He looks pleasantly shocked at her visibly playful attitude. "Don't tempt me woman...you are walking on a tight rope...! I will get back at you for this in four days time!!" He growls as their faces are inches apart. His eyes were burning with so much desire and love that Urmila shivers at the intensity.
"I am glad we're alone here" she murmurs... "Not nearly as much as I am, my brothers would have never let me live in peace had they been here!!!"...
"Speaking of my brothers...there's something you should know before we get married..Mila" All of sudden, the entire ambience gets a little somber as Lakshan untangles himself from Urmila...He has to clear the airs between them. Yes, he loves her to bits...she is his soulmate and more. Urmila is the only woman he has ever wanted for himself. But is that enough? Because he isn't going to lie...he will talk to her about his brother being his first priority and that he would always choose his relationship with his brother Ram over anything and everything. He knows people call him names...they think that he is subservient...but never did he once care about such trivial matters until now...it would break him if his Mila rejects him... "Mila..."
"Stop. I know. I did hear your entire conversation remember!" Urmila cuts him off with her right hand covering his lips before he could bring two words out. "But..." Trails off Lakshman.. "Let me finish...I know how much you worship Jijashree..and as the daughter of Rajrishi Janak and Rani Sunaina, I Urmila princess of Mithila promise you that I would never ever come in between you two brothers, neither shall I exercise any rights over you..." The regal aura with which she utters those words made Lakshman rediscover Urmila...the princess of Mithila...in that very moment Lakshman witnesses the woman who has the noble blood of Rajrishi Janak and Rani Sunaina coursing through her veins. She is no ordinary lady!!!
"O princess of Mithila! I Dasharathanandan Lakshman hereby solemnly promise that I shall forever remain loyal to you and and only to you and that I would continue to love you with all my body and soul for as long as we shall both live and even after that." Lakshman speaks with so much reverence that Urmila found herself weeping with joy. Lakshman could never see his Mila crying whatever be the reason. He gathers her up in his arms almost cradling her like a child and sits down on one of the huge rocks whispering sweet nothings just to calm her down. He in turn rests his head in the crook of Urmila's neck and suddenly he feels that he has been handed over the greatest joy possible on earth. Who knew love could be this fulfilling !!!!!
"I thought eavesdropping is unethical" laughs Lakshman after sometime without bringing his head up as a result sending shivers down his Mila's veins.
"Then you shouldn't have been having your conversation out in the open where anybody could have walked on you at any moment! Discretion is the word my lord " retorts Urmila.
"You do have an answer for everything don't you?" Lakshman quirks one of his eyebrows with a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"And I know you love me for that", grins Urmila hugging him back. Lakshman smiles at his future wife when his eyes light up in mischief.
" .. ... Wow! Our promises sounded so much like wedding wows...does that mean we could..." Lakshman pulls Urmila towards himself and whispers in her ear almost touching hers with his lips.
"NO!!!!! Only in your dreams!!!!" squeals Urmila as she tries to wiggle out of his clutches...!!!
Lakshman only laughs louder and envelops her into another tight embrace. "Watch it woman what you wish for...my dreams do come true..!!!! And by the way you are beautiful just the way you are Mila!!"
After a while...
"Now would you mind showing me your wounded arm?? And tell me how did you manage to get hurt?"
Wow...i can't believe I gave two updates on one day...i used to be so lazy!!!!! lakshmila ka jadu I guess. Finally the update is done...thanks for waiting patiently...I am sorry for being a little late...Wow...I can hardly feel my fingers. Do comment...and I want to thank each one of you for being so warm and welcoming...I am really touched.
Thank you once again.
Love
Riya
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Bindi
