Chapter 5

Virendra Singh took a sip of the freshly brewed coffee, he then reached for the newspaper lying on the table on a tray. His eyes strayed to the empty seat on his left and pursed his lips tightly. Casually he glanced at Veer Singh, amused at the old noble who was fidgeting restlessly with the chanting beads.

"Is something bothering you Veer Singh?", he finally asked after watching him for some more time. The question caught Veer Singh off guard and he turned sharply to look at the king.

"No sire. I was just going over the schedule for today . . . in my mind", came the quick reply in hopes that he had managed to convince the king. Meanwhile Veer Singh's fingers moved at a rapid speed on the beads desperately hoping against all odds that the king would not inquire after the princess.

Virendra Singh let out a sigh and put the paper back on the table. He looked at the butler standing nearby and signaled him to come forward.

"Have you sent breakfast for the princess?" he inquired. The butler did not wait even a moment to deliver the response.

"Yes my lord. I myself have taken the breakfast to the princess".

"Good, good" the king replied "make sure that from now on only her favourite food is cooked", he then looked over to Veer Singh. "Make sure of that ".

The butler bowed while Veer Singh was busy calculating how much time would it take for him to run up the stairs and finish the food. The butler would soon go to fetch the empty plates he mused and if the food is left untouched he is sure to inquire after it. Why? He might even inform the king. It was such a sacrilege to taste a royal's food but what other option did that pesky girl leave him with.

"Are you sure you are just thinking about the schedule? You look like you are in another world. I have never seen you so . . . so . . . edgy". Virendra Singh looked at the latter through slit eyes.

"No my lord . . . I mean yes my lord . . . that I mean I am thinking about the schedule my lord. I just think maybe I am not feeling too well to accompany your highness outside. If my lord would kindly excuse me today". Veer Singh beseeched and bowed low.

The king regarded the man and drained his cup of coffee.

"Oh! Well, I am thinking of cancelling all the programs for today" he said signaling the butler to pour him another cup. "I would like to speak to Nandini. I know she is angry and upset. I want to do my best to convince her". Veer Singh's heart dropped down to his feet and he was pretty sure he saw it running toward the exit.

An irate Virendra Singh was not a pleasing sight.

"No!" he almost shouted but quickly remembered his place. "Forgive me my lord but I only meant to say that the princess should be left alone for now. She needs time and it would be best if your highness speaks to her tomorrow?", Veer Singh said bowing so low that he almost touched the ground.

Virendra Singh was beyond puzzled but before he could reply the cell phone rang. After speaking for some time he cut the call and looked at the old man who was still in the same position.

"Rise Veer Singh. You sure are behaving quite different today. Well, I think I will talk to her tomorrow. I have to leave for Udavpore immediately, there is an urgent Mahasabha meeting and I have to meet the minister too".

Veer Singh sighed in relief bowing again thanking his stars for the godly favour. He mentally decided to go to the nearest temple as soon as he had the time. He had to as the gods had saved his neck. Although Virendra Singh was a docile and understanding person, he detested being lied to.

'Princess Nandini should be thankful that I am a very accommodating person. I will let her know it as soon as she arrives', he firmly resolved.

The king glanced at his watch and straightened his sleeves.

"You don't need to accompany me today Veer Singh. Take good rest, I feel that you are being overworked", he noted with a distant look. "Make sure you instruct the maids to take good care of her", he ordered sternly.

"Yes my lord, it has already been arranged", Veer Singh supplied eagerly. Virendra Singh nodded in approval and turned to leave. When he reached the main door he turned back once more, "Dismiss the guards outside her room. I don't want her to feel imprisoned".

"As you wish your highness", Veer Singh said  waved a hand a hand at something.

The SUV glided to a stop in front of them. The kings personal secretary for outside the palace duties hovered nearby. A guard came forward and opened the passenger seat and held it for the king. Veer Singh stood respectfully behind as the latter proceeded to get in the car. He paused for a second and looked at Veer Singh "Please take good care of her", saying so he got in and left leaving behind a helpless man.

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Roopa replayed the conversation with the prince in her mind yet again. She smiled, then frowned and then smiled again. She couldn't understand what to take of the . . . err talk, if she could call that. He seemed pleased that she had related apt information or did he? Wasn't there a shine in his eyes for the tiniest of seconds? This was getting more harder than she thought. But the icing on the cake was the glimpse of heaven she witnessed. He looked like a god and she wondered what it would be like in his arms.

Nandini walked up the steps to the entrance lost in thought. The last time she had come here, was the day her life changed. She had left these very steps crying, heartbroken and promising herself never to return. Yet here she was in the very same place wanting to rewrite what fate had in store for her.

'It was good that the prince wasn't in', she thought to herself. Though she had become more stronger she somehow felt she was not ready to face the devil as yet.

When she reached the top of the stairs to the main door of the palace she steadied herself taking a deep breath. She looked at her attire with satisfaction. This was exactly what she had in mind. She wanted to show the maharaj how erratic and irresponsible she was. Surely, a sane man wouldn't want such a woman to be the future yuvrajkumari or the maharani now, would he? She knocked on the door and waited with bated breath. An elderly man opened the door and stared at her distastefully regarding her from head to toe. She hid her smile and looked innocently at the man.

"I am here to see Maharaj Chandra Raj Singh. Will you be so kind as to take me to him?" she said as sweetly as she could.

The man's eyebrows knitted together probably in amusement as the words of the young girl sank into his head. He harrumphed which reminded Nandini of Veer Singh. '

Oh god!' she exclaimed. 'Every royal palace must have a character like him', she grinned.

"You must be mistaken", the man replied with his head held high barring the entrance with his body. "This entrance is only for the royals, members of the royal family and other dignitaries. You can take the back entrance. That is the one for the----------servants".

Nandini gritted her teeth, if only the old coot knew who she was, he wouldn't have dared stop her let alone speak to her this way. But then, she couldn't blame him either. It was her decision to show up dressed as a servant. What did she expect? Red carpet reception.

Furthermore, she considered if taking the back door would be more beneficial. She could enter undetected no one would question her and she could easily sneak into the king's chambers. No that is not proper, she countered herself. She needed to make an impact she thought deciding to go with the original plan.

"I have come to see the king and I will not leave till I meet him. I am not going to enter through any other doors other than this one. Now, be a good man and take whosoever permission you need to take and lead me to the maharaj".

Nandini saw the colour rising up in the man's face from a pinkish tint to a dark red and finally to a motley purple. His whole frame was shaking like a withered leaf. It was with fascination she witnessed his bushy mustache quivering along with his bulky frame.

"You . . .you insolent woman!" he roared. "How dare you speak in such fashion to me, the chief in charge of the palace. You will apologize this instant and you will leave immediately afterwards", he shouted furiously.

Nandini rolled her eyes and stood her ground not at all perturbed by the display. She flipped her thick hair and stood with hands crossed  about to reply when a soft feminine voice came from behind the man.

"What is going on?". Roopa Sharma walked briskly to see what the commotion was about. She was half irritated as she was disturbed from her wonderful day dream. In her dreamworld she was almost going to kiss the prince . . . almost.

Nandini leaned sideways to see who the new character was.

"What is going on here Keshav ji?", she asked irritably. Keshav ji, or Keshav Satara felt more emboldened by the appearance of another staff member although he disliked the idea of a woman as a palace manager and started ranting about how the peace of the palace was disturbed by a mere commoner who refused to use the back door that was meant for the likes of her.

Roopa shifted her attention to the young woman in front of her. It took her just a few seconds to deduce that the young woman was no threat to her. Sure, she was absolutely gorgeous beyond words, but she was also sure that the prince would not spare her even a second glance as she was a mere servant. But what was she doing here?

"Yes, how can I help you?". Roopa asked slowly as if she felt that the young woman had difficulty comprehending her words.

"I have come to meet Maharaj Chandra Raj Singh", Nandini said equally slowly.

The desired effect was lost on Roopa as she was convinced that Nandini was mentally retarded. Who in their right sense would come marching to the palace and demand to meet the king.

"I guess you are from the village and you are here to ask for help or complain about some petty things. But today is not the day. The Maharaj is currently not available to speak to his subjects. If you can tell me your issue I will relate it to his highness and I will get back to you", Roopa said finally indicating that she did not expect for the conversation to continue. She had to get back to her unfinished dream.

Patience was not Nandini's forte and right now the little patience that she had was waning quickly. She took a step forward and looked straight into Roopa's eyes.

"Listen very carefully because I will not repeat myself. I am here to meet the king and I will not leave this place without meeting him. I have undertaken a long journey and I am tired, hungry and angry. I will tell you what you will do; you will go back in and tell the Maharaj that Nandini is here to meet him. If he refuses to meet me I will return this instant but I am pretty confident that he will not".

Roopa was astonished at the brazen behaviour and she wanted to say something rude in reply but no words came out of her mouth. She was beyond shocked and something in the woman's expression told her to do as she said.

"Wait here", she said in a small voice and went back inside. She reached her office and stood in the middle of the room shaking with anger breathing rapidly. In the five months that she had been in the palace no one behaved or spoke to her in such a fashion. She wanted to go back, drag the insolent woman by her hair and dump her outside the palace gates. But her upbringing and her position wouldn't let her do it. Then all of a sudden she realized what she could do. Yes that is exactly what she should so. There was only one who could teach her a lesson and that person luckily was in residence. She immediately picked the intercom praying internally that he would not get angry with her. On the third ring the intercom was answered.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked disinterestedly. Roopa gulped once and continued

"Sir, there is a woman standing outside who is insisting to meet the maharaj. She said her name is Nandini", then fearing repercussion she continued quickly. "I told her that it was impossible to meet his highness but she is just not taking no for an answer sir, and she behaved quite rudely with me too", she added thinking that her saviour would find it quite insulting.

The prince listened to her tirade and smiled inwardly. The moment that he was waiting for had finally come he thought satisfied. The dark clouds in his head just got more sinister.

"I will meet her. You go and bring her to me but, make sure that you don't tell her that it is I whom she is meeting, understand", he spoke neutrally. Roopa was elated at the response. Firstly, he didn't bite her head off, secondly he must have decided to punish the commoner for treating his staff with disrespect. He would show the trash her rightful place and never again after this day will she even show up anywhere near the palace.

"Yes sir", she replied almost jumping with glee.

"And . . .", the yuvraj started to say and Roopa listened attentively to his next command. "Make sure that you treat her with utmost respect", with that sentence the line went dead.

Roopa was confused. 'Treat her with respect? Why?' After wondering for a few seconds, the only sensible thing that came to her mind was that he has misheard what she had told him. She replaced the receiver and went to relate the missive.

Meanwhile, Keshav ji and Nandini were having a staring match and unfortunately both were winning. In other circumstances he wouldn't have even dared to look at her way let alone her face. Nandini was impressed by the elderly man's fierce loyalty toward the family. It was the same as Veer Singh's loyalty toward her family and she knew of many nobles who held the same view. It was a matter of solace for the old generation but, the present generation like hers, couldn't adjust and appreciate the age old customs that they brought with them. It would be stifling to live in such an atmosphere with the Keshavs' and Veer Singhs' breathing down her back. But Nandini felt a strange familiarity with the man. It was like she knew him but how and where.

The sound of the click clack of heels could be heard and with it appeared Roopa Sharma. By the look on the former's face, Nandini could make out that she was miffed.

"Keshav ji, please let the woman come inside", she spoke to the old noble who looked surprised but said nothing.

"Nandini . . . it's Nandini not woman", she supplied.

Roopa looked at Nandini cagily, her dislike for the woman increasing with every passing second.

"Please come this way miss".

Roopa moved from the entrance allowing Nandini to enter. Nandini smiled sweetly and lifted her voluminous lehenga pausing dramatically on the threshold. As she lifted her right leg the bells from the distant temple rang in succession. The mild breeze all of a sudden turned to a heavy draft toppling a silver tray of rose petals from the nearby stand. The fragrant red and pink flowers fell on the ground and lay like a carpet on which the princess stepped on and entered the palace. Roopa Sharma barked orders to the maid who was nearby to clean up the mess beckoning Nandini to follow her. They reached the flight of stairs leading to the first floor and Roopa started climbing the stairs without uttering a word, expecting Nandini to follow. While climbing the stairs Nandini looked at Keshav Satara and the man was standing at the same place staring at her with a strange expression.

Keshav Satara was no fool and the gray hair on his head was a testament to that. Although at first he was deceived by the young woman's attire, as time passed he was convinced that the woman was no ordinary one. She was high born and the staring match was a sure test. The palace staff, the servants and even some of the nobles, cowered at his stare. But she had held his gaze with equal ferocity. She reminded him of a young girl who had frequented the palace when the Maharani was still alive. He wasn't sure if it was the same girl. If she was, why was she dressed like a servant. There were lot of questions swarming his mind, but foremost he wondered if she knew about the condition of the king. If no then who was she going to meet? To confirm his thoughts he went to the office and picked up the intercom.

Abhimanyu flexed his fingers waiting for the knock on the door. He had doubts on whether the fool had followed his orders. For her sake he hoped she had, if not then she had it coming her way. The intercom rang and he cursed thinking it to be her asking yet another query.

"What is so difficult to follow?" he barked into the phone.

"Kumar sa", came the familiar voice of Keshav and Abhimanyu sat up straight in his chair.

"Keshav baba, is everything alright? Is papa . . .", he asked his voice genuine with concern.

"Everything is fine kumar sa. Forgive my impudence but the young woman who has come to meet the maharaj is she . . . is she", Keshav stuttered unable to complete his sentence.

"Yes. It is her and she is coming to meet me not father. I don't want anyone to know about father's condition as yet". The words although spoken calmly was a command which Keshav recognized immediately.

"Of course kumar sa I just wanted to know if I made any mistake. If I may kumar sa she is just the same as I remember". Keshav said with moist eyes and hung up taking the prince's leave. Abhimanyu leaned on the leather chair and balled his fists.

"I really hope not Keshav baba. If she is still the same then we need to change her wont we. It will be my absolute pleasure", he said out loud.

Roopa and Nandini reached the top of the long flight of stairs and took a left turn. While Keshav was wondering about Nandini, she was doing the same about him. Finally, she realized who the old man was. He was a formidable figure in the palace and she vaguely remembered the staring matches she had with him as a child and later as a teenager.

Nandini let out a laugh at the memory. The sound of laughter made Roopa halt in her steps and she turned to look at Nandini curiously. At that moment she confirmed the insanity of the so called Nandini. No wonder the prince told her to treat the woman with respect. Roopa made sure she was at a good distance away from her. Luckily a guard was posted near the yuvraj's chambers and she felt secured. But where was the other guard? If there was any problem from the insane woman she would fly into the yuvraj's arms she consoled herself.

They reached the large oak door designed intricately and Roopa knocked once. The other guard opened the door halting Roopa as she tried to enter.

"Please wait, only madam is allowed inside. Miss Sharma you may please leave. This is by orders", he said looking directly at her with a knowing nod. Roopa understood and turned to leave but before that her curiosity got the better of her.

"Who are you?", she asked Nandini waiting for a response.

"I will tell you before I leave promise", Nandini winked and entered the room. The guard who was holding the door for her stepped outside and closed the door after him.

"God save her", he said in a low voice as took his position at the other side of the door.

Roopa left the place with a growing trepidation inside her. With one last look at the closed door she turned and walked toward the stairs.

Nandini was surprised at the guard's behaviour. He had not announced her arrival and it seemed quite strange. She looked around the large room the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She shivered involuntarily but blamed it on the air conditioning that was in full blast. The room was well furnished and everything save for the carpet was black. The carpet was coffee coloured with the coat of arms of the Vilaspore royal family which consisted of the kshatriya warrior in full armory with a drawn sword in one hand in the center with a horse and lion on either side embossed on it. She looked straight ahead and saw that a man was sitting in the chair, the maharaj she deduced. He was turned away facing the windows. She realized that her showing up all of a sudden was not acceptable. But she had to let say her part and she cleared her throat in preparation of what she wanted to say.

"Your highness, I am really sorry to come here unannounced  in this fashion but I had no other way. I request your eminence to please listen to me, to give me a chance to explain my side". After her short speech the chair turned and the smile that had started to form on her face stopped midway. Her heart started beating faster and harder that she thought it might pop out of her chest at any moment. She closed her eyes tightly hoping that it was a nightmare. She would wake up now at any moment in Uday's car. She opened her eyes but nothing changed. Then he spoke and his voice sounded like thunder to her ears

""Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly;

"'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.

The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,

And I have many pretty things to show when you are there."

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*Yuvrajkumari - crown princess

Mahasabha - a group of royals