"Remember, Aagneya, you promised your firstborn to our kingdom ages ago. A King should know to value his promises." Chitrabhanu thundered in the assembly as Aagneya refused to go any further with the thought of Aradhya marrying Vihaan, though he knew the promise he had made when he and Panchasheel were inseparable.
Amar and the king of Dharini kingdom waited for the spark to lash out at Ashokdhar so they would have a reason to have a feud between the two kingdoms. And Aradhya being talked about being wed to Vihaan was quite the reason after she was to marry Amar. They stood in the corner of the room pretending to be angered by the scene but celebrated within as their plan unfolded the way they wanted to.
"I won't live up to that promise, an--" Aagneya declared but was cut short as another voice came in a lot more certain and morale than his.
"That won't be necessary. Should have thought of that before trading me off at birth." Aradhya said as she walked up beside her father and stood with her chin up. "I, daughter of Aagneya, with my agreement, am here to accept the proposal of marriage from Maharaj Vihaan."
"This is humiliation!" Amar's voice broke out of the crowd his gaze, infuriated and his tone, cold. He caught the eyes of Vihaan and found him concerned. He walked up to the centre of the court and stood still.
"If you wanted to humiliate us in front of all these people, Maharaj Aagneya, then why did you invite us here? Rajkumari Aradhya was to be wed to me and now everything's changed." Amar looked at Vihaan and sound his brows tangled.
"And you, Maharaj Vihaan, I thought we were allies and I spoke to you about the day I'd be here and you decided to ruin everything. I swear revenge on both of your kingdoms. I swear." Amar screeched and walked out of the court with his father and his family following close behind.
Aradhya feared the worst and was about to speak up when the thought of revenge glued her mouth shut. She smirked inside as Guru Chitrabhanu nodded and walked out of the council.
"Soon, Vihaan. Soon, I will get revenge on you. I will."
.  .  .  .
Vihaan stood in the chambers, Sadhana lay on the bed resting in the palace of Shiladhika. Wondering about what Acharya said. It was funny how Aagneya had promised his firstborn to Panchasheel. It was bizarre to him that the most inseparable kings of the time broke up just because of greed. Because of hate. He eyes Sadhana as she lay on the bed.
Sadhana and Nandini had arrived in Shiladhika just a free hours after Vikram's funeral. The latter had also paid their respects.
Vihaan stood wondering about the events of the day Aradhya found out that she would be marrying him.
Aradhya stormed into the room, her anklets thundering and her eyes, moistened. She looked like a mess. Ruffled hair and dark circles under her eyes. Fatigue was evident in her figure and yet her steps were filled with morale. She stood only a couple of feet away from him. Scared or insecure. Or maybe disgust.
"What makes you think, you have the right to force me into marrying you?" Aradhya said in a low voice. Cracking voice. She took another step closer to him.
Vihaan sensed her fatigue and her words too. He sensed the fact that she hadn't slept that night. He could tell her sorrow through her tear-stained face.
"Tell me!" Aradhya exclaimed, "why are you doing this? Isn't what you've done enough?" Isn't it enough that you've killed off my only hope in this palace?"
Vihaan kept quiet. He was furious too. Aradhya didn't know why he accepted to marry her. All she knew and saw was that he was a murderer. He was a criminal to her. But Vihaan knew what he had done. How he had to tell the news to Sadhana and how openly Sadhana agreed to him.
"Look, I don't want any quarrel with you. I don't want any part in your careless outburst. I've won over your kingdom and what I do with it is my wish. Even if it is marrying a mere princess."
Vihaan felt a sharp blow across his jaw as he finished his sentence. His fury was up in the roof. He was already fuming with anger and yet it always happened that his anger turned into something he couldn't express.
He caught her brown eyes again and was yet again melted down.
"You're the worst. How much lower can you stoop?" Aradhya trembled.
Out of the blue, Rihit pulled Vihaan aside. Probably as a defence.
"I swear to God, Maharaj Vihaan. I won't ever marry you." Said Aradhya and turned around to leave. That somehow made Vihaan angry. He was always used to people agreeing with him no matter what. The denial by Aradhya was the most uncanny thing to him.
"You agree or not, you will have the henna of my name on your hand," Vihaan called out as Rihit shot his head at him trying to shut him up. Vihaan saw Aradhya's figure stop. Though he couldn't look at her face he felt her fear. A slow smirk curved on his face. Then she hurried away.
Vihaan wondered. The woman who burned her hand after he said that she will have his name on her hand and when asked why she did so, "Henna barely shows on burnt hands.", agree so easily for the wedding in the court the next day.
Rihit joined Vihaan by the window. "So, you're going to marry her."
"Yes. Why?"
"Just because. Just asking."
"I feel like you're trying to imply something. W-"
"I saw what happened last night."
"What? Her burning her hands?"
"Yeah, that was brave"
"It was stupid is what it was. Who burns their hand just to feel better about having their enemy's bane on their hand?"
"No, it was brave of you. I saw you drag her to the medic. I saw you sneaking into her room with the extra medication."
Vihaan side-eyed Rihit.
"Why were you watching me?"
Rihit looked away trying to hide his laughter. Vihaan still looked at him with questioning eyes.
"I told him to." Sadhana's voice came out as she turned a little in her bed, "I need to know what kind of person she was. I told Rihit to watch her but it seems you were tailing her the entire day yesterday."
"I wasn't. I was just walking around the palace when I saw her walking to the kitchen and burn her hand." Vihaan argued.
"Don't worry Vihaan. I like her. Maybe she'll be a good friend of mine. Maybe she'll prove to be a good person." Sadhana sat upright as Rihit smirked at her. Rihit and Sadhana seemed almost like they had a plan.
.  .  .  .
"You seem disturbed," Nandini asked Rihit as he stood by a palace terrace.
"Yeah... it is just the thought of Rajkumar Vikram," Rihit uttered.
"He was a good person, I presume."
"I don't know how good of a person he was but he was a very powerful warrior. Neither I nor Vihaan were able to get him to back down. Vihaan even found it difficult to parry his attack."
"I think he was a great heir considering the fact that the whole kingdom lamented so sorrily for his death."
"Yeah. I regret it. His death."
Nandini laid her head on Rihit's shoulder and flung her arm on the other.
"It'll become alright, Rihit. Everything will be fine."
"I hope so."
.  .  .  .
Aradhya lay by the idol of Krishna. Her only remaining support of the palace since Bhairavi was nowhere to be seen from the day the crusade struck.
She lay by her god's feet trembling and shaking, her whimpers turning into sobs and her sobs turning into wails. She had her hands under her head and yet it didn't hurt. The burn from yesterday was nothing compared to how strong her soul was burning. She felt disgusted. She hated every second of which Vihaan had touched her even though it was for her good. Though it was hateful she almost sensed the care in them and it was really what made her more hateful towards him.
"Have you lost your mind? Why would you burn your hand?"Â Vihaan dragged her hands away
"Let go of me," Aradhya said in a demanding tone. Vihaan pulled her closer resisting her escape from his grip.
"Stop acting like a child. Why did you do that?" Vihaan's breath fanned her face
"Henna barely shows on burnt hands. No matter now, if I have your name on my hands or not." Aradhya uttered looking up into his eyes. Something felt comforting about the way he looked at her but she knew too that he disliked her.
Aradhya sobbed. Her breath caught up as bile rose in her throat. Her eyes were emotionless after tearing up for three days. After being so broken. And yet her eyes still teared up. She still sobbed.
She wanted Vikram by her side. She wanted her brother by her side. She wanted him to cradle her head in her arms like he always did after she got mistreated by Maharani Chaya. She wanted him to kiss her head and tell her that everything would be alright. She wanted him to crack her up with his terrible jokes and while she so desperately wanted them, all that just remained her wish. One that, from now on would never be fulfilled.
"You will be marrying, Maharaj Vihaan."
She reminisced the way her father spoke. She reminisced the way she was struck when she first came to know about the marriage.
"Now, that too is gone. I only ever expected to marry the person who understood me. The person who would treat me better. Someone like Amar. And now..." Aradhya spoke to the idol of Krishna which still looked so divine even in the spreading darkness of night.
Aradhya heard a knock on her door.
"Well, that was respectable. Your king didn't ask yesterday before coming in with the medicine."
Rihit slowly came into Aradhya's room and left the door open. Closed doors would cause a lot of speculation. What was the Senapati of Ashokdhar doing in the room of the woman his king was to marry with closed doors?
"I thought you would be mad at me. You know me being your enemy and all." Rihit spoke softly taking in the sight of Aradhya's room. Unmade bed, books lying around carelessly, unlit lamps and the garland over Krishna which though withering, gave out a sweet tinge to the room.
"Why would I be mad at you?" Aradhya sniffled unwilling to act strong.
"So you aren't mad at me?"
"No. The only person I absolutely hate now is your king."
"But you are marrying him, with your own will."
"Yes. That doesn't mean I like him. It means he may use me as leverage while I use this marriage as leverage."
"What do you mean?"
"Please...why would I tell my strategy to my enemy's friend?"
Rihit again went into his Senapati mood. His only job was to lay his life down for his king. To protect the king at all costs. He scampered out of the room sensing trouble.
That left Aradhya wondering. She had said that as a joke. She thought she was helpless. She thought she had to marry her foe. But it seemed now. She can also use him the way he used her to gain power over her kingdom. She could have an upper hand on him. On Vihaan.
On that thought, an elaborate scheme played in her head while she remembered it completely and fell asleep there, by Krishna.
.  .  .  .
Vihaan and Acharya Chitrabhanu talked in the chambers. About the events of the day. About the scene that happened at court.
"Why would she agree with us so easily, Acharya?"
"Revenge, Vihaan. She was the only one so very affected by Vikram's death. She is out for revenge."
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