Veer's POV

Present Day

"....That pretty much sums it up." 

"Wait. So, you're telling me that you've not only met Yash, you've also befriended him?" She asked me with widened eyes. Seriously, she was so adorable.

"Um, yes?"

"Well, wow. I never expected something like that." She averted her gaze and got lost in her thoughts. She's probably thinking about what I just described.

My long story about meeting Yash had diverted her attention. But it didn't work so well for me. I was still stuck in that moment. The moment when our lips collided and we shared a passionate kiss. To be honest, I never expected her to return the kiss. Our first kiss just kind of happened but this time, I was so sure that she would reject me. Imagine my surprise when she didn't. It gave me a little hope that maybe she wants me as much as I want her. Maybe, I have ignited a small fire in her heart.

Our kiss was literally one of the best things that happened to me. I was elated after our first kiss but now? I was overjoyed. The kisses were way better than any of my imaginations. Her lips were so soft and the way her body fitted against mine.... It was like she was made for me. Gosh, I was definitely going crazy. All this thinking about kissing was making me want to kiss her again. Control yourself, Veer. You've to rein in your desires.

"Veer?" 

That snapped me out of my thoughts. "Hmm?" 

"The rain's stopped, shall we head back?"

"Yeah, sure."

We left the cave and headed towards the association. Also, we barely talked on our way back.

When we finally reached the association, we saw that the twins were standing at the entrance.

Devansh was the first one to talk. "I don't even want to ask what the two of you were doing out there alone but we need some answers. Since you're both drenched, we will leave the interrogation for another day."

"Both of us were worried, you know? You didn't show up for the session and you were nowhere to be found. When we heard that brother Veer was also missing, our worries lessened. But next time, please inform someone that you're going out. We know you want to do all the lovey-dovey things as you are a new couple but please think about your safety as well." Devika said with concern in her voice.

"It won't happen again. I am sorry." Laxita said.

"We both are." I added.

"So, you're not denying that you were being all lovey-dovey in the woods?" Devansh smirked.

"Um, w-we were um..." Laxita stuttered and a pink blush crept over her cheeks. And me? I failed to hold back my smile.

"That's enough. We don't want to hear the details. Go and get changed or else you'll catch a cold." Devika said with a finality.

After that, both of us went to our respective rooms to get changed. I turned on my communication artifact to talk to Raghav.

As soon as it connected, I heard Raghav's voice. "Where were you? I have been trying to reach out to you for so long."

"Sorry. I was busy with some personal things."

"The first thing which you're going to do after coming back is to brief me about your 'personal things' with which you've been very busy lately. Seriously Veer? You are hiding things from me." None of my friends knew about my decision to marry Laxita. In fact, no one knew about it back at Somapura. If they knew, they would hound me about it for days and right now, I was not ready for that.

"I know. I know. I have a surprise for you Raghav. For all of you. Just wait for a little bit."

"Fine, that surprise better be good. Anyways, have you decided on when you're coming back?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. I will be coming back to Som Nagari in the next few days. I just have to inform Bhargav ji about it."

"Really? That's great. I will keep everything ready. Gosh! This is so exciting! Exposing the real enemies of Somapura and kicking their butts? Now that's what we're talking about."

"Alright, hold back your excitement and prepare yourself because I am coming back soon enough...."

Laxita's POV

During dinner, I wasn't able to make eye contact with him. Every time I saw him, I remembered about our kiss in the woods. I could still feel his lips over mine and I kept on replaying our kiss over and over again. Was Devansh right? Was I really turning into a pervert?

My chain of thoughts was interrupted by my uncle's voice. "Veer, you said that you wanted to talk about something during dinner. What is it?"

"Yes. Bhargav ji, I am planning to head back to Som Nagari." He was what?! 

"When are you leaving?"

"In the next few days."

"Hmmm. Alright."

"Thank you for all your help. I wouldn't have been able to do anything if not for you. I know that I pestered you a lot but you still chose to assist me so, thank you, really."

My aunt gave him a slap on the back and said, "There's no need to thank us son. We did what was necessary. We wish for your success. Go on and crush them all." Alright, what was happening? What were they talking about?

"Veer, I was thinking, why don't you take Devansh and Devika along with you. If by any chance the things go south then they'll be there to back up your claims." Uncle added.

"That's a good idea. It seems that the twins are coming along with me then." The way their faces lit up clearly indicated that the twins were very happy about going along with him. But what about me? I would be so lonely if the three of them left. This matter seems to be something very serious so I can't just whine like a child and say that I don't want them to go.

"Laxu?" My aunt called out to me.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you go along with them?"

"Can I?" I failed to contain my eagerness.

She laughed. "Of course, why not? You haven't left the association for a very long time. I think it's time that you venture outside Soma Sangha's walls. But remember, we are still not disclosing your real identity."

Without wasting a moment I said, "I will go." 

"Excellent. All of you should start packing. Have I mentioned that it is a good chance for Veer to introduce Laxu to the king? Since, you know, she's his future wife."

My excitement dissipated and I choked on air. I had completely forgotten that I will have to meet Veer's family - my in-laws.

"Are you alright dear?"

"Yes aunt. Something got stuck in my throat." 

"It's settled then, all four of us will leave for Somapura in 2 days." Veer declared. I, on the other hand was breaking out into cold sweat. I hoped for everything to go well.

That night, I stood in front of my cabinet to decide which clothes I would be taking with me. Come on, I was going to meet my in-laws, I had to make a good first impression. The anxiety was chewing me out from inside. What if I messed up? What if they don't like me? What will I do then?

I needed advice so, I called the only person who knew about my predicament.

"You're overthinking this. Everything will be fine." Devika said, taking a seat on my bed.

"But what if the voices in my brain are right? What if the king thinks that I don't deserve to stand by his son's side?"

"Stop. It won't do us any good if you keep panicking. And please stop pacing the room, would you? You're making my head spin."

"Sorry."

"The king is not the kind of person who would punish you for marrying his son. On the contrary, he would be happy that Veer is finally getting hitched."

"Maybe, you're right. Maybe, I am overreacting. But I can't help it, I'm nervous."

"It's completely normal. You're meeting them for the first time. But don't overthink this and please don't freak out. You tend to make more mistakes when you're freaked out."

"Fine." I sighed.

"So, how's it going? Your relationship, I mean. You know, for someone who was so hesitant about accepting his proposal, you seem to be enjoying yourself quite a lot. What happened?"

I gave her a shy smile. "Veer happened. He's just so caring and attentive. He makes me laugh all the time and his presence gives me so much comfort. And those smiles, gosh, I can't even begin to describe how his smiles make me feel."

Devika listened with a smile plastered on her face. "Um-hmm. Told you that he would be perfect for you."

He was. He literally was. That's why I didn't want to mess this up. I wanted to show his family that I was worthy of standing by his side as his wife.

After contemplating for two whole days, I finally finished my packing. This might've been one of the toughest tasks I had done in quite some time.

The day of our departure arrived sooner than I had expected. I had been informed that we were going to go to Som Nagari through a magical portal. I had never travelled through a portal before nor had I seen one. It is said that one can cover long distances within a matter of moments if they travel through them. I was kind of excited to use them.

Right now, we were heading towards the room of portals. By we, I mean the twins and me. Veer was supposed to meet us in the room itself.

The room of portals - sounds mystical and magical. I had never been there, mostly because there was no need and also, I didn't travel any long distances while I was being here.

As soon as we neared the room, my eyes caught a glimpse of Veer. He was standing there with his sword strapped on his back, looking handsome as always. When he saw us, he gave us a small smile. But that smile didn't reach his eyes. He looked tensed. Something was wrong.

I went up ahead and stood by his side. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine." I continued staring at him. "Alright, everything's not fine. Whatever am I going to do today is very serious and I am worried that thing's won't go according to the plan." Nobody cued me on what we were going to do today. It was top-secret and only a handful of people knew. Although, I had no clue about it, I didn't push him for answers. I knew that he would tell me when the time was right.

"Nothing would go wrong. You spent weeks planning this. Everything will be alright."

"Thank you. I appreciate you cheering me up." I smiled and he gave me one of his answering smiles. "By the way, nice necklace." I was wearing my mother's amethyst necklace today.

"It was my mother's. I wore this when I first entered the association so, I figured why not wear it when I am leaving the association? Having this with me makes me feel like my mother's protecting me." 

"It's so beautiful."

"I know, right?"

"Children, we're good to go." Uncle came to us and announced. None of us was carrying the luggage as it had been transported to our our destination along with our horses. I came to know that Veer's people were present on the other side of the portal.

All of us trailed behind my uncle and went inside the room of portals. And what I saw there was mind-blowing to say the least. The entire room was filled with magical portals of different sizes and intensities but their other side was not visible. They appeared like bottomless pits.

After walking for a while, we stopped in front of a portal. My aunt was already present over there. "Take care," she said while hugging each one of us.

Magical Portal

My uncle also came forward and said, "Safe travels children."

Then he shouted, "They're ready Ravish! Open the portal!"

A person, who I was assuming was Ravish pulled a lever and the inside of the portal started glowing."

Veer was the first one to enter, followed by the twins and I was the last one to go. I stepped inside it and within the blink of an eye, I was transported to an unknown location. I looked behind to see that I had stepped on the other side of the portal.

Veer was standing in front of me, conversing with two women. They might be the people who were waiting on the other side of the portal. I looked around and found that we were in what appeared to be an abandoned hut.

Devansh slung an arm across my shoulders and said, "Let's go, sister." He led us outside the hut. It was early morning and the sun was upon us. I spotted that our horses were tied to a nearby tree and our luggage was already loaded on a wagon.

As I couldn't contain my curiosity, I asked, "Who were those two?"

"Oh those? They are the commanders of the Somapura army. The middle-aged woman is Samriddhi and the younger woman is Shalini." He replied.

Female army commanders? Wow! Something like that was impossible in Kshatra Gadh.

Veer emerged from the hut after a while. Did he change his clothes? Because - Oh. My. Gosh. If he was handsome before then right now, he was devastating. He had his armour on and he looked like an army general in the true sense. I suspected that it was the formal attire for the army general of Somapura.

While I was busy gawking at him, I didn't notice that the twins had already left my side.

Veer came up to me and said with a smirk, "Are you checking me out?"

"Yes-No. I mean, no. What are you talking about?" I chuckled nervously.

"Sure. Whatever you say." His smirk hitched higher.

"Stop teasing me." I gave him a mock glare which only made him laugh. The female commanders were watching our interaction with keen interest. Start with an embarrassment. Good going, Laxita.

Veer placed his hand on the lower of my back and led me to our horses.

"Um, can I ask where we are? I can't see the Somapura palace anywhere. We seem to be in the middle of a forest or something." I questioned.

To which Veer replied, "We are on the outskirts of Som Nagari. We will travel on horseback until we reach the palace."

Oh, so this was a secret location. It was where they hid the portal entrance. It was a deserted area and I couldn't see anyone even at far away distances. "Wait. Are we leaving the portal entrance unguarded?"

"Don't worry. Nobody passes through here. In the residents' eyes, this place is haunted by evil spirits. But in reality, it's not. It's just a rumour we have spread to keep people away from this place."

"Smart."

"Thank you. Now, let's go."

All of us climbed up on our horses and started out journey. As Veer had said, we reached the entrance of Som Nagari in record time.

Veer was the one who was leading our group. He was flanked by his two commanders and the rest of us were following him. I was the one who was right behind him and Devansh and Devika were on my left and right respectively.

When the guards saw Veer, they immediately recognized him and opened the gates.

"Welcome back, general." One of the guards said.

"It's good to be back." Veer replied.

The first thing which I saw at the city's entrance was the flag. Somapura's flag was henna green in colour with a golden lion sigil. It looked majestic and terrifying at the same time. It was as if it was sending a warning - don't mess with us.

Somapura's Flag

It made me reminiscent about my own kingdom's flag. Kshatra Gadh's flag was creamy white in colour with a red bull sigil.

Kshatra Gadh's Flag

When we entered the gates, the sight I saw before me left me awestruck. To say that the kingdom was massive and beautiful was an understatement. It was big, splendid, stunning, spacious, clean....give me another word. I knew that it was bigger than my own kingdom but I didn't realize that it was this big.

Huge architectures and mansions surrounded us. The area was lined with shops, vendors and merchants. The market was vibrant, cheerful and buzzing with energy. I could sense that the people here were happy under the current king's rule.

Then it hit me, Veer was the army general of this powerful kingdom. He was no ordinary guy.

"Senapati Veer laut aaye hai!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

("Army general Veer has returned!")

It was as if his voice was the catalyst for something really big. Soon, the gazes of the entire market turned towards us and the whole area erupted in cheers. The voices were so loud that it felt as if the ground shook.

Everyone was chanting Veer's name as far as my eyes went. Veer was smiling and waving his hand to the crowd and the crowd was going insane.

"Sister, welcome to Somapura." Devansh jolted me out of my thoughts. "The people here love brother Veer. He may not be the prince of the kingdom but he rules the hearts of the people."

Today, I witnessed a new side of him. Something, I never realized until now. Veer's at the highest position after the royal family. He's a force to be reckoned with. He's Veerendra - the army general of Somapura.

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Hello Cutipies🎀

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The next chapter is the one with the big revelation so, stay tuned!