The wind outside the Haveli howled ominously as the rain continued to pound.
Parvati paced restlessly.
It was past midnight and Sunehri was fast asleep. But the emotions that filled her made it impossible to stay still. The confrontation over the dinner table had been one of epic proportions like a day at the Kurukshetra.
Parvati continued her agitated pacing thinking over how the normally jittery Mythili hadn't crumbled under Maamisa's wrath. Parvati had amazed herself for confronting Maamisa bigotry. But the Jallad's actions were what confused her the most. He had stepped in to absorb the slap that Maamisa gave her. Why had the Jallad done that? Wasn't she a mere witness whom he had starved, threatened & tortured for days? What was one more slap for him?
Remembering the slap, reminded her of the cut from the ring and the blood on his face. It was because of her!! He had seen it coming and held her arm to stop her from jumping in the midst of the Saas-Bahu drama. But she hadn't listened had she? Her conscience wouldn't let her sleep until she tended to him.
Parvati walked quietly through the Haveli to reach the monster's den. She saw him sprawled on the bed sleeping peacefully. The bravado that had gotten her this far abruptly deserted her. Should she apply the haldi or just leave? Her heart won as she slowly crept near him praying he wouldn't hear her pounding heartbeats. She stood for a minute looking down at him as he slept- he looked younger, less Jallad-like as the breeze ruffled his hair. Gently, with butterfly touches she applied a glob of haldi to his wound.
The next instant she could feel herself flying through the air, her wrists caught in a vice like grip to be pinned down beneath him on the bed. For what seemed an eternity, outside there was only the pounding of the rain and the howling of the wind while inside there was the pounding of two hearts and the sound of harsh breaths. Terrified she opened her eyes to find herself drowning in a molten pool of chocolate & amber. His eyes held depths of emotion from arrogance to anger to pain to hurt to something she couldn't quite put a name to. Or maybe she didn't want to, at this point.
Cursing herself for coming to his room, she squirmed and wriggled under him. Rudra tightened his grip on her wrist while pinning her down more firmly with his weight & growled out a sharp "STOP IT!!" Her reaction was instantaneous- a stillness crept over her as her pupils dialed and her beautiful eyes became enormous. Her only movement was her heaving chest as she forcefully dragged air into her lungs.
Rudra read the panic in her dilated pupils and quickly rolled off her in one fluid movement, dragging her to stand before him.
Grinding his jaw he ranted at her "Are you crazy? What are you doing in my bedroom at this time of the night? Do you never think before you act Woman?"
Parvati had her eyes on the floor. She was shaking while trying to breathe and was nowhere close to being able to answer him.
Frustrated, Rudra roughly pulled her chin up making her look at him "look at my eyes when I am talking to you!!"
His customary roughness brought back some of her spirit as she answered him "I felt sorry that you got hurt because of me, I wanted to apply some haldi, that's all. Moreover it's not like I haven't spent a night in this room before" she added with indignation.
Rudra's eye caught hers as he mused to himself with a tiny smirk "Does she even know what her words mean?"
Parvati could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks as she realized she had unwittingly said something she didn't mean. To hide her confusion she angrily added "I wanted to thank you & I thought I owed you this, but I see I am mistaken" and quickly walked to the door.
His incredibly husky voice reached her before she reached the door - "Is that all you owe me...Parvati?
Shaken at the gentle plea in his voice she stood rooted to the ground as he walked over.
Knowing he waited for her to hold his eyes, she looked up him with bated breath & a question in her eyes.
"Maamisa's slap, don't you owe me for that?" he asked while searching for something in her eyes.
"Maa Trishula" thought Parvati. She knew his strength, she had seen him getting knifed, shot and taking down five grown men at the same time. He wanted to slap her? Bolenath help her!!
Quietly she nodded her head and closed her eyes tight while bracing her cheek for the pain.
For a minute he didn't understand what she was doing and then it dawned on him. She was expecting him to slap her!! He closed his eyes in pain. Had he frightened her that much ? Is that what she thought of him ?
Rudra opened his eyes to ask her in in voice that she had never heard before
"Do you really think I would slap you Parvati?"
She looked him dazed, confused not sure what to think or feel while his eyes continued to hold her gaze. Rudra held out his hand as he enigmatically said
"One day you will truly understand what you owe me and what to thank me for Parvati. For now come, let me take you to your room. Thank you for the Haldi "
Later that night as she lay in bed tossing and turning, the images in her mind and in her dreams were colored not by a Jallad but by Rudra Dev.
