21 â¨ðª One Final Attempt.
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Palace of Rana
Princess Anya of Rana was the most beautiful and virtuous princess in the land of Rana; fortunately, or unfortunately, loyalty was also one of the virtues she possessed.
The people of the country might have forgotten about Prince Nayan of Nanda, the brave and noble heir of the neighboring kingdom, but not her.
They had met at a festival when they were unaware and jovial They exchanged vows of respect and loyalty and promised to marry. She had given her word as the princess of Rana to a great nation.
But fate had other plans for them. The war broke out between Nanda and Virata, the powerful kingdom that coveted Nanda's rich lands and resources. Prince Nayan led his army to defend his homeland, but he was killed by the cunning and ruthless Prince Ivaan of Virata, who stood right before her own country now.
When Prince Nayan fell to the ground, mortally wounded, Ivaan must have gloated over his dying body; she could not forget about this.
She had heard that Nayan's last words were from Anya. He died with her name on his lips. She never knew how much he had loved her; his life was robbed of him, an innocent being.
The news of Nayan's death reached Rana, and Princess Anya was devastated. She mourned for the lost life and cursed Ivaan for his treachery. She wished she could end this somehow, without more people dying, but she knew this was not the reality she lived, her duty to her father and her kingdom; this was all real, and there was a loss any way they chose; this was a failing game.
Anya wiped away the tears as she remembered the promise she had made to Nayan's mother, the Queen of Nanda, who had treated her like a daughter. She had vowed to become the bride of Nanda, the wife of the prince, and the queen of Nanda. She had sworn to uphold Nayan's legacy and honor his memory. She would not break that promise, even if it meant living a life of sorrow and loneliness.
But her troubles were not over yet. Prince Ivaan, having conquered Nanda, turned his greedy eyes to Rana. He wanted to expand his empire and claim the princess of Rana as his trophy. She couldn't even bear to think of any of her sisters being in this position; she would protect them at any cost.
Ivaan and his advisors had marched his army to the borders of Rana and sent a messenger to King Rana, Anya's father. He gave him an ultimatum: either surrender his kingdom or his daughter to him or face a war that would destroy them both.
King Ameya Rana was a wise and just ruler, but he was also old and frail. He knew he could not match Ivaan's strength and numbers, and he feared for his people's lives. He also loved his daughters dearly and wanted them to be happy. King Ameya's advisors and ministers seemed to side with Varun and Ivaan, and the safety of Rana was considered.
Anya had expected Arjun to be angry or resentful, but he was shocked and resentful by his reaction. She looked at him with sadness and confusion.
"Father, how can you think about this? How can you give any of my sisters away to the man who killed my Nayan, who destroyed our happiness, and who wants to enslave our kingdom? How can we forget our alliance with Nanda, who fought and died for us? How can you ask a woman to marry a demon?"
King Rana was even more sorrowful, clutching his chest, his pain rising; he was mute. He felt a sting of remorse and regret; his advisors were asking him to choose between his kids.
She gazed at Varun and Ivaan, who had schemed this; he had triumphed once again, and he once again vanquished her.
But she had to make one final attempt before the sacrifice was sealed. Before that -
"Prince Ivaan, and advisor Varun I acknowledge your proposition.............. But a marriage between Ivaan and any of the princesses of Rana cannot happen. As King Rana's elder unmarried daughter, I have given my word to Nayan, his mother, and mainly to the Kingdom of Nanda, and I will not break it in this life, I gave my word to be the future queen of Nanda.
I will be the bride of Nanda, and I will respect a promise given to a dead man. I will uphold Nayan's legacy, and honor his memory. I will not betray him, or myself.
...
This is my final decision, and I will not break this promise."
"Concerning my other two sisters, here in Rana, we uphold the voice of the girl as the paramount rule, they have the right to select their partners, and alas, my sisters are not here; they have departed on their own volition, left Rana, liberating them from this land, the duties, and obligations, and we will never coerce women in this country to return to a place or marriage," Anya said with her eyes low.
She glanced at Varun. This was her gambit in this game of chess, and she had pinned him. This was to protect his sisters.
Nimit stepped forward and stood before Anya, "We are deeply sorry for the fate of war, Princess Anya we are warriors every day every fight every minute we enter the battlefield knowing fully well that this could be our last war, This is the cycle of life of a warrior, We accept the death of Prince was unfortunate an accident. I would also like to tell you to please reconsider your decision, Princess anya you do not have to live the life of a widow and take up this pain, we wont be able to bare this thought. But also know you choosing to opt out of alliance means only one thing that is war,and i begins with the your brothers life decision."
Nimit the army general stepped forward and stood before Anya, his eyes pleading and his voice sincere. "We are deeply sorry for the fate of war, Princess Anya. We are warriors every day, every fight, every minute, we enter the battlefield knowing fully well that this could be our last war. This is the cycle of life for a warrior. We accept that the death of Prince was unfortunate, an accident. He was a brave and noble man, and we mourn his loss. I would also like to tell you to please reconsider your decision, Princess Anya. You do not have to live the life of loneliness and take up this pain, this burden. We won't be able to bear this thought. You deserve happiness, you deserve love. But also know, that choosing to opt out of alliance means only one thing, that is war. And it begins with your brother's life at stake. He is the heir to the throne of Rana. Do you really want to risk his life, and the lives of your people, for a vow that cannot be fulfilled?"
Arjun, who had been silent spoke up, his voice loud and defiant. "You dare to speak of love and peace now, you cowards? You who killed Nayan, who seek to destroy our kingdom? You have no right to ask for anything from us, let alone our sister's hand. You are nothing but, traitors. Do you think you can intimidate us with your threats of war? Bring it on; we are not afraid of you. We will fight you to the death, and we will protect our people. You are not worthy of our sister, or our alliance. You are not even worthy of our contempt. You are the lowest of the low, and you will pay for your crimes." Arjun glared at Ivaan, Nimit, and Varun, challenging them to respond.
Nimit, who had been calm and respectful, was finding this to be hard he had fought many wars in his life but dealing with emotions and alliance was turning out to be hard for him they were unaware of the bring threats out there Queen Madhavi, Zain their tactics they didn't seem to pay heed to he future of their kingdom suddenly lost his patience and snapped. He lunged at Arjun, grabbing him by the collar and pushing him to the ground.
He placed the handle of his sword on Arjun's back, making him drop to his knees. He leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "You have no idea what you're talking about, you fool. You have no idea what we've been through, what we've sacrificed, we won't stop at anything. You have no idea what war really means, what it does to people, what it costs. You better watch your mouth, or you'll regret it." Nimit released Arjun, who fell to the floor, gasping for air.
"Ar-ar-Arjun... you are still... he-re, alive!!!"Indu exclaimed in utter distress and a small sigh of relief at the sight before her, stunning everyone in the courtroom especially Anya, whose eyes widened. She had sent Indu away in the chariot; how did she come back to the courtroom again?
----
Cliffhanger
Ariana [Indu] What are you doing here?
lol
I accept everyone's recommendation of . This is a long chapter and thank you for commenting your thoughts it means a lot Every time someone has left a comment saying how they enjoyed reading the story it's the most heartwarming thing for me kindly keep telling me your thoughts.
Both our geniuses Anya and Varun are going head to head.
Kindly drop a ð©· if you liked the chapter.
ahhh the draft version got posted instead of the final draft. I'm uploading again.