Chapter 6

To say that the earth moved from under her feet would have been an understatement. Her heartbeat worked up to a crescendo on seeing him once again, but in her head warning bells started ringing. A strange shiver worked its way up from her feet all the way to her head. She took a step back and yet another and finally turned to walk toward the door in a frantic bid to escape. Abhimanyu watched the myriad emotions fleeting across her face. For a moment he thought he detected joy.

Joy?

He must be mistaken. She could never feel joy, she could never have anything in her being other than deceit and selfishness, he told himself.

Watching her trace her steps back to the door he smirked.

"That door is going to open only when I want to", Abhimanyu said casually sitting back in the leather chair. When Nandini frowned he held up a small instrument in his hand. "I control everything around here", he shrugged.

Nandini crossed her hands around her body in a frantic bid to hold herself from crumbling before him, "What do you want?", she asked with clenched teeth.

Abhimanyu laughed while twisting to and fro in the chair, "What do I want? Isn't that the wrong question you have asked me, princess? You should probably ask me 'What is your wish master?'. Isn't that the reason you are here, dressed in . . . that', he waved a finger up and down at her costume in amusement. When she didn't reply he continued placing an index finger on his lips and tapping lightly, "Does your father know that you are here?" her gaze dropped to the floor and stuck there. "I guess not", he answered at her gesture.

Nandini bit her tongue not wanting to launch into a war of words with the prince. She had come for a reason and nothing else mattered.

"You are mistaken hukum", Nandini said formally unfolding her hands and bringing them demurely in front of her. "I am here to see the maharaj , as I wish to speak to him and I would be deeply grateful if you could please lead me to him".

Abhimanyu raised his eyebrows at the formal way she addressed him. However, he didn't correct her. Formality was welcome in such an atmosphere, he noted. He couldn't bear to hear his name from her wicked mouth.

If he thought that he would find her very sight repulsive then he was wrong. He couldn't understand why a part of him was leering at her. Even though she was dressed in that cheap fare, she was incredibly beautiful. Her glossy hair, peach complexion with the hint of rose on her cheeks and her curvy figure was doing something strange to his system.

No! he shouldn't, he couldn't. 'She is the reason your mother is dead', he told himself. He slapped his hand on the desk with such incredulous force that Nandini jumped and let out a squeak. He automatically turned on the prince mode;

"Father is unavailable right now. Whatever you want to speak you can do so with me", his words like icy shards. Nandini flinched at his tone and she began twisting the end of her pallu frantically.

"Fine", she said quickly regaining her composure, "I am here to tell you and your father that I cannot and will not marry you. I don't intend to be a thing to be acquired. I am an independent woman with choices and that doesn't include you. I ask you to release me from the arrangement". Abhimanyu looked at Nandini for a few moments and then he got up from his chair and slowly walked over to the front of the desk. He leaned on the desk stretching his legs in front of him and his arms on his either side. Nandini gulped at the sight in front of her.

Magnificent! her heart told her. He was truly magnificent. He was no longer the lanky lad that she knew once upon a time. Even then he was extremely good looking. This was a man in front of her. The way he was watching her, and calculating whatever it was in his mind, made her wonder. How many times had she wanted him to look at her exclusively. How many times did she wish that she would somehow catch his eye. How many times had she wanted to be held in his strong arms and be kissed senselessly. Nandini bit her left cheek with force at the errant thought and shook her head lightly to get rid of it.

After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence Abhimanyu spoke.

"Let me see if I got this correctly. You want me to release you from the arrangement that our fathers made to bind us both in matrimony?"

"Yes", she nodded. Abhimanyu cocked his head to one side, "Now why should I do that?"

Nandini knit her brows at his response racking her brains for the right answer, "I can't agree to the . . . to the . . . union. I want to marry for love, not like this", she said searching for the right word while trying not to antagonize the prince.

Abhimanyu threw back his head and laughed. Nandini stood fuming at his behavior, unable to comprehend what she had said that was so funny. When his laughter died down he looked directly into her eyes his face regaining the cold mask

"Love, princess? Do you even know what that means?", he pushed himself from the desk and sauntered toward her. Nandini's hands became clammy with sweat and she wiped it on either side of her skirt. He stopped a mere feet away from her and shoved his hands into the pocket of his jeans. The action made the hard muscles of his arm flex and his white shirt pulled apart further providing her with a hint of his drool worthy muscled chest. Nandini forced herself to look elsewhere and even pinched herself for good measure. To make matters worse the smell of his aftershave slowly tickled its way into her nostrils and played with her senses. Nandini bit her lower lip as hard as she could hoping that the taste of blood would bring her senses to normalcy.

"This union between two royal families is bound to happen but, understand this clearly that we will have no bond, no union and . . . " he made quotation signs in the air "no love between us", Abhimanyu spoke slowly making sure she understood the dynamics of their relationship. "This", he said moving a hand back and forth between them "is a result of nothing but a frivolous gesture between two friends. What you need to understand princess is that I don't believe in it anymore than you do. I would rather be unwed for centuries than tie myself to you".

As Abhimanyu's words registered in Nandini's head, she felt a flicker of hope. If he didn't want it then surely he can do something to let her go. Simultaneously, something uncomfortable rocked her heart and she couldn't understand what it meant.

"Then release me", she spoke quickly getting her hopes up. Abhimanyu regarded her calmly while his heart filled with hatred for the woman in front of him.

He held up a hand and continued, "But, I am a stickler for traditions. I will obey my father's wishes whatever it might be and however it might hurt me. He wants his age old friendship to be cemented further and that is what will happen, unless he decides otherwise. You will get a title princess and all that comes with being attached to me but, you will never ever have a place here", he placed his hand over his heart.

It was weird Nandini thought to herself, at the twisting feeling in her heart. Right from the time she landed in Jaypore her body was reacting of its own accord.

"Why are you doing this Abhi?", the words that fell from her mouth were more of a question to herself to which she knew the answer and she stood with her head bowed in resignation. When he heard his name out of her mouth his anger plummeted to the ceiling. His eyes went black with fury and the monster in his head roared.

"Don't you dare take my name from your filthy mouth", he spoke in a dangerously low tone. Nandini's head snapped up at the timbre of his tone. She involuntarily took a step back. "You disgust me", he shook his head and walked backwards to the wall on the right side of him, on which hung a large portrait of a beautiful woman. Nandini followed his every move unable to fathom the pure hatred that reflected in his eyes. "You remember her don't you?", he questioned without looking at her. Nandini stepped to the side to see what he was talking about and saw the picture on the wall. Images rushed to her mind, numerous but blurred. Then came the voices, the sounds of laughter, a girl calling out 'Padmini maa' ... Nandini closed her ears with her hands trying to shut out the voices like she had been doing for five years.

'I am sorry but her highness is no more',

A woman shouting in rage ' You are no son of mine'

The same woman speaking warmly to her 'I am sorry Nandini, I will always protect you',

A boy's voice 'Maa please I am innocent'.

'Padmini maa' she spoke all of a sudden letting her hands fall down slowly.

Abhimanyu turned to face her, "So you do remember".

"I don't remember anything associated with her death. Why can't I?", Nandini spoke in a confused and defeated tone.

Abhimanyu let out a bark of laugh, "What else can be expected from you? You were always self-centered". The words rolled off her as she continued to be in a daze.

"How did she die?", Nandini asked looking intently at the portrait, hoping she could remember something, anything.

Abhimanyu looked at her in surprise and irritation "Are you kidding me? You are asking me how she died? Well let me refresh your memory princess. You killed her"

******************************************************

Keshav Satara hummed the tune to an old Rajput song while overseeing the maids preparing the auspicious thal to welcome the princess. The arrival of the young royal brought back golden memories from the time when the queen was still alive. She was the late queen's favourite. The princess had come back with an omen he mused. If not then why would the bells of the temple that was closed for five years, toll all of a sudden. Why had nature welcomed her entry into the palace by showering rose petals? He ran his eyes over the silver plate: vermilion, flowers, diya, sweets yes, it was perfect. He couldn't let her leave without giving her a welcome. It was the protocol and he was one who followed tradition no matter what.

While preparations were going on at one end of the palace, Roopa Sharma was burning a hole in the floor of the office room at the other end. She hadn't stopped pacing right from the moment she had got back from the first floor. There was something about Nandini that she couldn't put a finger to. The prince had asked her to treat Nandini with utmost respect. But why? What was so special about her? These questions hounded her and she tried to get suitable answers from herself. Finally giving up she sat with a huff on the sofa and massaged her head in resignation. She wondered if she was beginning to turn obsessive about the prince but quickly brushed it away.

****************************************************************

All through her life Nandini never felt tongue tied. She always knew what to say and when to say. She never felt bad before she spoke nor did she after. But at this particular moment she felt speechless. What could she say to the accusation? She tried to remember what had transpired that day but try as she might she just couldn't bring back the memories. It was as if the whole lot was locked away in some part of her head and the key to it was missing.

Abhimanyu watched her closely trying to figure out what exactly was going in her mind. It came as a surprise to him that she didn't remember the most important part of her life and his too. The day that changed everything.

"I am sorry hukum ", she said painfully stealing a glance at the portrait, "I can't remember anything about her death".

Abhimanyu hissed and stormed to the window, "I refuse to believe it. I know one thing for sure that you ran away to the U.S. because of the guilt, isn't it?". He hit his hand forcefully on the window pane and Nandini winced as it cracked . "I once thought of you as a pure hearted girl, but you destroyed me. You destroyed everything that I held dear; my mother, my friends and my heart. You made me who I am today and I will hate you forever for that".

Nandini took a step forward at the accusation, "I went to the U.S. to study. I didn't go to escape . . ."

Abimanyu turned sharply and it was then that she saw his fist covered with blood. Nandini gasped loudly and rushed forward, "You are hurt and bleeding hukum . . .". Abhimanyu raised a hand stopping her in her track. "Don't come anywhere near me if you value your life even a little bit. This hurt is nothing to what you have caused". He pulled out a clean white handkerchief from his pocket and tied it haphazardly around his right hand. For a moment Nandini believed she saw vulnerability but it disappeared as soon as it had appeared. The cold mask was back again as he ran his fingers lazily through his thick hair. Wisps of hair fell back on his forehead and she felt the strange impulse to brush it off. He had taken his seat on the chair yet again and spoke in a condescending way,

"Now coming to the matter at hand. If you think I will let you go easily then you are terribly mistaken. If you hadn't come here today I would have come to Jaypore myself to discuss the terms of your surrender".

Nandini knitted her brows at his statement, "Surrender?", she questioned. Abhimanyu brought his hands to rest on the desk and leaned forward. "I am in no need of a wife as of now, but I am in need of a personal assistant".

"I don't understand what that has to do with me", Nandini said understand perfectly what he meant.

The prince looked at her patronizingly, "You don't appear foolish, well looks can be deceptive isn't it?. However, I will name out the terms myself disregarding the fact that it is a complete waste of my time. Firstly, you will shift your residence to Mumbai within a week. Secondly, . . ." he held up his hand stopping whatever she was about to say. "Secondly, from the day you land in Mumbai you will act as my personal assistant fulfilling my every wish and command and thirdly, you will never ever tell anyone that you are a princess and you will call me nothing but hukum".

Princess Nandini's patience was threadbare. The one thing that everyone steered clear of was when she got angry. That particular emotion was something that Nandini wasn't able to master. There were two extremes of Nandini's anger: the fiery one and the artic one. The fiery one was predictable and the outcome was known but the arctic anger, the cold anger was even more dangerous. That was what she felt at present. She could feel the cold seeping in her veins as her eyes burned with ire. She balled her fists to stop them from shaking and finally spewed out the words

"Are you in a good mental state? You must have forgotten Yuvraj that I am a princess from a royal family and not some simpering idiot". Her voice raised an octave as she walked toward the desk and placed her palms on it. The coldness of the glass surface was nothing to her. She stared straight into his eyes, "I will leave for the U.S. in a week. You will annul this thing and I will call you nothing and never again, is that understood". A single muscle twitched in Abhimanyu's face. If she thought that she could have an upper hand over him she was mistaken. He stood up all of a sudden and before she could realize he caught her hand and pulled her so hard that she was a mere inch away from his incredibly handsome face.

Abhimanyu stared into her eyes goading her. The strength of his fierce gaze was nothing like what Nandini encountered and she felt her anger ebb away. Of course, she had seen him many times when she was young but that was all from a respectable distance not up close like this! She gulped as her mind went blank. She felt his breath on her face. The smell of coffee and aftershave sent her brain into hysterics. 'Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! Nandini', she screamed inside. To make matters worse her eyes strayed to his lips and her lips parted of its own accord. Abhimanyu smirked pleased with the effect he had on her.

"I don't like women raising their voices princess or not, especially the ones who have no right to live. The agreement is the one thing that's keeping you alive princess", he said in a sinister tone, "If it wasn't so, then I would have hunted you two years back and I would have personally enjoyed seeing your worthless life leave your body", he pushed her back with such force that she stumbled and fell on the ground. Satisfied, he ambled slowly to where she was and stood towering on top of her.

"You want to go back to the U.S.? You think that lily livered fool is going to save you?". Seeing Nandini's confusion he continued. "I know all about your life in the U.S." he drawled. "I also know about that guy from your class who is nuts about you. I know he is rich but you should know that I am beyond all that", he spread his hands wide dramatically. "No one can rescue you princess. You will stay in that tower imprisoned for all eternity and no knight in shining armour is going to come for you. Because whatever it is for, you are my property".