Everyone gathered at the execution place. Vihaan sat on his seat, and Rihit stood beside him watching over the crowd. People seemed very interested in seeing their offenders die. Aradhya and Nandini too stood along Vihaan on a raised stage.
Aagneya, Chaya and Tamasvini were all brought to the podium where three nooses hung from a raised bar. All the three had their faces strung with fear.
Vihaan nodded to the executor. The three were made to stand on a wooden desk and the nooses were put around their necks. Their faces were covered with black clothes to avoid the alarming sight of their faces while they get strangled.
Vihaan glanced at Aradhya and found her breathing erratic. Her fingers shivered. They twitched at her side. Her brows were concerned too.
"Aradhya... it's your call." Vihaan suggested, "They are your offenders"
Aradhya shot him a panicked gaze, "They are your offenders as much as they are mine. You are the king. You do what you are supposed to do."
"Are you sure?" Vihaan asked straight out of concern.
They were Aradhya's family. Yes, they were abusive to her, were unkind to her but still, they meant something to her. They rose her up to be who she was. They provided for her for nineteen years. Even if she didn't care about Chaya or Tamasvini, Aagneya...she held a soft spot for him.
Aradhya, with a shivering breath, nodded to Vihaan. Vihaan sighed and gestured once again. Grunts and screams filled the aura.
Aradhya closed her eyes. She turned away from the scene. Her lungs started to give out. Tears welled up in her eyes but she knew that deep down she shouldn't regret this. Her throat started closing up. Aradhya hid her face behind her hands.
She felt two pairs of gentle arms wrap around her. Nandini and Chavi embraced Aradhya giving her even the smallest hint of comfort they could. Vihaan and Rihit watched over her going through a rough patch.
Aradhya closed her ears, getting trauma pulled up on her by the grunts of the people who struggled for breath. As the sounds subsided and everyone else cheered a tear or two left Aradhya's eyes.
The execution was done.
. . . .
It had been a few days after the incident. Aradhya had let go of all the pain in her head. She was back to normal. She found herself wearing royal clothes again. It was unusual, to say the least. It was already unfamiliar to her.
The well-done attires, beautiful silks, gem-studded jewellery, and opulent ornaments all felt very foreign to her. She had been away for seventeen years so it was meant to happen. She initially refused all the favours but later gave in as Acharya Chitrabhanu, Nandini and even Darsh insisted.
She still was the same. Jet black hair, murky brown eyes, beautiful features and beautiful form but a mark of her struggles, a scar rested at her gut. She was proud of it. It reminded her that she was stronger than anyone she had met. It told her that no issue was bigger than her strength.
The door was pushed open and Aradhya looked back. It was Vihaan. He looked at her and was surprised. Not that he didn't want to see her like that but because he didn't expect it.
He walked in slowly taking in the old Aradhya he knew. Just by her face. He knew he couldn't have the old personality of Aradhya back. Looking at her in royal clothing again lightened his guilt.
"Why are you here?" Aradhya asked.
"Uh...Gaurang wanted to ask you something. About the outcasts." Vihaan awkwardly replied.
"Then why are you here? Shouldn't he be here?"
"Well, he asked me to get you for him. He wanted you to go there."
"I will get going then. See you around."
Aradhya walked past Vihaan but was immediately pulled back by her arm to face Vihaan. Aradhya let out a sigh.
"You do that again and I will not hesitate to fight you. Let go." Aradhya warned. Vihaan's grip was not even that powerful on her arm. It was gentle but still firm.
"Sorry...for everything."
"Do not start again. We have been over this. You have said sorry enough times. We've had this conversation plenty of times."
"Right...I won't do this again. But I just say it because it gives me a sense of comfort. I want your forgiveness. I want you to just trust me the way you did before."
Vihaan stepped forward and took her hand. He slid a ring on her finger. Aradhya looked confused. She was taken aback.
"Maybe you don't value this relationship now. Maybe this was just suffering to you. Truthfully so." Vihaan pulled out a chain from a pocket in his waistband. "You have all the more reason to hate me. But just know that I genuinely am sorry."
Vihaan strung it around Aradhya's neck. Aradhya looked him in the eyes, while he was just inches apart from her. The eyes still held the same emotion from around seventeen years ago.
"At the end of the day, no matter what you say, we are married. You are my wife. I don't know what I have to do to deserve your trust again but I will try my best." Vihaan pulled back and took a step back. He never left Aradhya's gaze.
"I will try my best because I am your husband. And I love you."
. . . .
Gaurang noticed Aradhya being in turmoil. While noting down the developments of the outcasts and calculating the accounts, Gaurang nudged Aradhya.
"What's on your mind? You seem distracted."
Aradhya came out of her trance. She peeked at Gaurang again and sighed.
"It's just Vihaan...and everything else..."
"What did he do?"
"You see this?" Aradhya held her hand out showing the ring. Gaurang stopped for a second and held her hand taking a look at the ring.
"Is this not the one you sold to help the outcasts?" He said.
"And this?" Aradhya held out the necklace at her neck.
"That was sold too. So you are saying that Vihaan and you are unofficially remarried."
"That is the thing. I don't know. Should I forgive him? He says all these very touching words to me and I don't know how to respond to what he says."
"What touching words?"
"Words like, he will try his best to earn my trust back and I am his wife and other things. It's frustrating."
Gaurang smiled at her. He leaned back on the wall and faced Aradhya.
"I think you should forgive him. He has done a lot too, you know. He was ready to give up on the kingdom he built. He was ready to die to save you. It all comes down to you, nonetheless. If he still makes you speechless after so many years. If he still makes your heart go haywire, then do you not think he is worthy of your forgiveness?"
"It's..." Aradhya drew in a deep breath, "what if he breaks me again."
"Everyone deserves a second chance. And that holds strong if it is a person you love."
. . . .
Aradhya stood before a painting in a hallway of the palace. Sadhana looked so pure in the portrait. She looked peaceful and fierce at the same time.
"It would've been easier if you were here, Sadhana. It would be easier to talk to you than to others. And sorry too. You died on my behalf. You aren't here anymore because of me."
"That's not true..." Darsh walked up to Aradhya with a soft smile on his face.
"You aren't at fault here, Ma. You would not have known something like such would happen. It all goes with time and place. Wrong place at the wrong time. Everything goes downhill."
Aradhya cupped Darsh's face, "You...maybe Nandini did raise you well. You are like your mother."
"I am like Sadhana Ma when I am calm. I tend to become like you when I am in combat mode."
"Who taught you?"
"Senapati Rihit, Father and Acharya. They all followed your tactics."
Aradhya smiled and ruffled Darsh's hair. She shot her glance back to Sadhana's painting and let out a small sniffle.
"Uh...hate to break the moment, but I am leaving sister." Abhik crept in. He smiled at both of them and stood with his hands clasped in front of him.
"You could have stayed a few more days here. Why are you leaving?" Aradhya queried?
"Well, Shiladhika does not have a king now. I might have to return and take the spot."
Darsh and Abhik hugged each other for a brief moment.
"See you soon, Rajkumar Abhik," Darsh spoke.
"I hope so too. I bid you farewell and good luck. Bye to you too sister and Chavi." Abhik waved at Chavi who was standing behind Aradhya. She nodded at him.
Abhik grinned and left the place.
. . . .
Aradhya stood at a high tower of the palace looking over the sunset. A very soft shade of crimson took over the sky and on the other side, a darker blue night sky had started to show.
She wondered about everything. Her whole life. What had it been?
Nineteen years in Shiladhika. Aagneya, Chaya, Tamasvini, Vikram, Bhairavi, Aadrika and Abhik. Abuse, mistreatment and yet a very powerful mindset. A loving very strong mentality. Abuse never killed her. Mistreatment didn't kill her. And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
A year and a half in Ashokdahr. Vihaan, Rihit, Sadhana, Nandini, Rajmata, Acharya and Darsh. Mistreatment, names and a brief moment of love. This time mistreatment won literally. Accused of murder, disrespected by people. But still, to her, the brief moment of love won. After all, it was new.
Seventeen years in the woods. Chavi, Gaurang and just herself with a whole herd of outcasts. Attacks, goals and family. Lost her child, but didn't flinch. Stood her ground, and lead the people. Leadership and authority never got the best of her. Just a rescued child from below a tree, a family where everyone entrusted her to know things and lead them.
As she went through a play of her life, the sun drowned at the horizon. A sheet of the night had started spreading. It was not a full moon. She wondered...why was it that the moon was never full when she looked up. Why she was never what she was the most beautiful in.
Then she realised..."Just because you aren't full, aren't perfect does not, in any way mean that you are not beautiful. At the end of the day...what makes you beautiful is how real you are."
She smiled at the broken moon. Smiled at how she and the moon had a lot in common. No matter how much her life was broken it was still a beautiful one. And she didn't know what the future held for her.
She turned at the faint sounds of footsteps and found Vihaan standing there. He kept his distance. He valued her space.
"It's late. I was wondering where you were. It's cold too. And I don't want you to catch a cold, you know what I mean?" He went over his words.
Aradhya let out a breath and walked up to him. She gave him a soft smile, a bittersweet one. She held his hands, wove her fingers in his and clasped them with care.
"Let's go." She said. Vihaan smiled widely at her before walking with her. Aradhya shot one last glance at Vihaan before looking ahead and walking off. Though she kept her mind looking forward to the future, her mind lingered on a moment. A moment of her life.
"The brief moment of love."
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Well, there you have it, people. That marks the end of "Aradhya."
This has been a great journey. I would like to heartfully thank everyone who extended their support to me.
Let me know how to feel about the finale of the book. What do you generally think about the book?
And I will be putting up a part or two on the aesthetics of Aradhya and Vihaan. Of Shiladhika and Ashokdhar. I thought of putting this at the end because I wanted my writing to speak. It should enable the reader to explore their own worlds.
And lastly thank you again to all who have and have not been commenting or voting. It all means a lot to me.
With love.
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