Veer's POV

"So, there were dark mages inside my palace?" The king asked.

After that chaos ensued in the court meeting, everyone was instructed to leave the palace. The gates of the palace were closed for the day for any outsiders. Shalini and Samriddhi were tasked with scouring the army for any more traitors/dark mages.

The rest of us had assembled in the king and queen's room. By us, I mean, the royal family, the twins and Laxita, Raghav, Chitra and me. Currently, the king had his back turned on us and was looking out the window.

"That appears to be the case, your majesty." Raghav replied.

"Hmmm. This fight with the dark mages is turning dangerous day by day. They have infiltrated the palace, who knows what they'll do tomorrow. I want everyone to be on high alert. If you find any suspicious activity, report it to me immediately."

"Yes, your majesty."

"There's probably nothing we can do about what already happened but we have to be careful so that no such thing happens in the future." He turned around and continued, "Keeping that matter aside, there's something I would like to discuss with general Veerendra." Uh-oh, he was mad at me. And not just mad, he was furious. The king never uses my full name, never ever. He calls me by my full name only when he's extremely mad. Let's just say, he has called me Veerendra only about 5 times in my entire life. Yes, I've counted it.

"What is it, your majesty?" I came forward to stand in front of him. I couldn't meet his eyes so, I just gazed the floor.

"I am disappointed in you Veer. So much happened in your life and didn't even think that it was important to tell me?" Anger I could handle, disappointment was way worse.

"I'm sorry."

"Do you have any idea about how worried I was? You were gone, without a trace. No message, nothing. How do you think I felt about that? And then, all those allegations about you being a traitor? I had no clue about what was going on. Bhimasura could've killed you, you could've died that night, all the while being branded as a traitor. And there would have been nothing I could do to prevent that. Do you understand what that means? How many times have I told you to not make decisions alone? You never listen to me!" He shouted at me in anger.

"He's right, you know." The queen agreed. "Your habit of jumping head-first into danger might've really gotten you killed this time. If anything had happened to you, how do you suppose we were to show our faces to Surekha?" She sighed. "The day your father died, I promised your mother that I would do everything in my power to protect you. If you keep putting yourself in danger, how am I supposed to do that?"

"I'm really sorry, your highness." I lifted my gaze to look at her. "I thought that I could handle it alone. I had no idea that Bhimasura was colluding with dark mages. I was fine when he went after me but when he jeopardized the security of our kingdom, I knew I had to do something."

To this, the king replied, "You were lucky, Veer. If this girl hadn't been in the forest that night, we would've been having a different conversation right now. By the way child, thank you for saving my son." Laxita smiled at his gratitude.

"Yeah, she saved me two times." I held up two fingers to show them. The king just glared at me. Alright, too early for jokes, I presume.

"I apologize for my behaviour, your majesty. I acted recklessly and I am deeply regretting my actions. It won't happen again, I promise."

"You better see through that promise until the end." The king sighed. I guess I was forgiven now.

"So, now that everything's been sorted, can I interrupt and address the elephant in the room." Nitya butted in between, nothing new over there. "Veer's getting married? How come none of you are focusing on that?" With all that went down, everyone completely forgot about the news Bhimasura casually dropped, including me.

"This was the surprise you wanted to give us?" Raghav asked.

"Yes." I took Laxita's hand in mine and said, "I have found someone I wish to marry." Everyone gaped in astonishment when they saw our joined hands.

Nitya was the first one to laugh. "Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that Veer is thinking of getting married. Veer, who shot down every proposal with the speed of light? That Veer?" She looked at me and when I didn't laugh, she sobered. "Are you serious?!"

I gave her an irritated look and asked, "What part of this arrangement do you think is a joke?" 

Raghav and Chitra didn't ask me anything. They just stared at me with stupid grins plastered on their faces.

"You're not blackmailing her into marrying you, are you?" Chitra asked. And I spoke too soon.

"Seriously? What kind of a person do you think I am?" I was annoyed at this point.

"Let's ask the mystery woman ourselves." Raghav said. "My fair lady, please do tell us as to why in your right mind are you willing to marry this buffoon?" And that's how, I officially wanted to murder my best friends. Laxita just chuckled nervously at their ridiculous questions.

"Stop it, all of you. You're making her nervous." The queen came to our rescue. "Just ignore them, they love to tease Veer. What's your name dear?" She gently held Laxita's chin and smiled at her.

"It's Laxita, your highness."

"You're beautiful, just like your name." Laxita just gave her a shy smile in return. "Devansh, you said that she was your sister. May I know what's your relationship with her?"

"She's the daughter of the deceased twin sister of our mother. She came to the association a few years after her parents' death." Devansh replied. 

"Oh dear. Is that right?" Laxita responded with a nod. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through something like that." The queen hugged her.

"Your majesty, introducing her as brother Veer's bride wasn't the only reason as to why we brought her here. We've come bearing a message from our father." Devika said.

"Bhargav has a message for me you say?" The king asked.

"Yes. Our sister Laxita is not any ordinary mage. She's an arch mage." Her statement caused a ripple in the jolly environment of the room. Everybody looked visibly shocked by the revelation.

"You mean to say that she's the arch mage? The one and only? Someone who has appeared after almost 300 years?" Chitra asked, mirroring the sentiments of everyone in the room.

"Yes, commander. The appearance of an arch mage is very important, especially at this point of time when our enemies have started showing their real powers. We have unlocked quite a bunch of our lost powers and knowledge because of her."

"That's...an excellent news Devika!" Nitya left her spot and came to stand in front of us. "She's an arch mage? Very impressive. I give you my blessings for your marriage. Laxita please kick Veer's butt if he bothers you even a teensy bit."

"Nitya, mind the language." Her mother warned.

"Sorry." She didn't sound apologetic at all.

"As everything has been discussed, I want you all to leave our room." With that command, everyone started trickling out of their room. "Laxita, I want you to stay here. I wish to have a little chat with you." That does not sound good. What did they have to tell her in my absence?

"Veer, you can release the deathly grip you have on her hand. We are not going to eat her alive. We just want to talk with her a little bit." The queen assured me. "Leave, now."

"Yes, your highness." With that, I reluctantly left the room.

Laxita's POV

Right now, I was alone in the room with the king and queen. To say that I was a nervous-wreck is the understatement of the century.

"You can relax, my dear," the queen said. "Come, have a seat beside me."

The queen held my hand and took me to the nearest couch where both of us sat. The king kept standing near the window, examining me. The queen on the other hand, was gazing at me with a soft smile. I take it that the queen likes me. Why? I haven't even done anything to win her favour...

"I can see that the wheels in your head are spinning. Don't be so nervous, we just wanted to talk to you. For the very first time, Veer has expressed his desire to marry someone. We're just curious about the woman who stole the army general Veerendra's heart." I didn't steal his heart but I wasn't correcting her.

"The queen and I respect Veer's wishes. I trust that boy and I know that he would've decided to marry you after much deliberation. Also, you're Shobha's niece, that rules out all the suspicions. We would like to welcome you to our family." For the first time since I've been here, I saw the king smile. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"We didn't even know that Shobha had a twin sister." The queen said. Even I wasn't aware of my mother's twin when she was alive.

"My mother wasn't staying at the association because my father was a non-mage. My father was actually a resident of Somapura. They lived here before I was born but they were forced to leave because of the dark mages..."

"Why? What happened?" The queen asked.

I described my mother's letter to them. How she fought a dark mage and why she had to relocate to Kshatra Gadh. I also told them about how my parents left this world. It wasn't an easy story to tell and I didn't even realize that I started crying by the time I finished my story. It had been a really long time since they were gone but telling that from my own mouth still hurts.

"You poor thing. You went through so much at such a young age." The queen hugged me again and I wept in her arms.

After a while, my tears subsided and I gained my composure. "Sorry, I just started crying all of a sudden."

"No, it's completely alright. We understand." The queen was so sweet and understanding.

"Thank you."

"There's something I have been meaning to say to you Laxita," the king interrupted. "If you really are an arch mage, then your role is pivotal in the battle against dark mages. I can't even begin to describe how relieved I am at that fact. When you'll be on our side in the battle, we would be able to even the odds a little."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Well, that wasn't the only reason as to why I asked you to stay here. I have a request for you."

"And that is?"

"It's about Veer. You know, I am always worried about him. He's a kind boy and he keeps everyone's well-being in mind. But the thing is, he cares too much about others, often forgetting about himself in between. Will you please take care of my son from now onwards?" One thing was clear, the king may yell at Veer all he wants but he also cares about him a lot. I understood his concerns, Veer was an extremely kind and caring person by nature.

"Ofcourse, your majesty. You don't have to request me to do that. It's one of my duties to take care of him."

"With that, I am both assured and relieved." The king came towards us and took a seat on the adjacent couch. "So, tell me about your life at the association. How is it being the arch mage and all..."

I smiled and with that, we chatted for a good long while.

Veer's POV

What's taking her so long? She should have left the room by now. What was happening inside? The curiosity was killing me.

"Calm down, Veer. I am sure she's fine. She's having a little chat with the king and queen, not heading for a battle." Raghav tried to offer a little comfort but it failed to quell by anxiety.

After we left the king's room, Raghav, Chitra and I headed towards the army quarters to check how Shalini and Samriddhi were handling things. Since, I wasn't being of much help as I was chewing their heads off in my anxiety, Chitra shooed me away. He told me that he would take care of things and I should go somewhere to calm myself. Raghav accompanied me inside the palace because he thought that I might need someone to listen to my rants.

"I know. But what if they are pestering her because of me? What if they're bombarding her with questions? What if the king is angry that I sprang up the news of my marriage all of a sudden?"

"Would you relax? Your frying my brain along with yours." Raghav said, already annoyed by my constant questions.

"Sorry."

"Listen, I am going back out there to check if the other commanders need my help. You stay here. Go to your room and take a little nap or do whatever you can to calm down."

"Fine."

With that, Raghav left, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I know I was being annoying but I couldn't help it. I made my way to the king's room to see if the doors have been opened or not.

They weren't, which meant that she was still inside. What were they talking about? I wanted to listen in to their conversation.

When the door didn't open for quite sometime, I decided to go to my room and stay put.

So, I turned around to head towards my room. On my way, I saw that the guards were dragging away Bhimasura. He was tied in huge chains and his head was hung low.

When the guards saw me, they kneeled on one knee to greet me.

"At ease," I told the guards. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up." I threw Bhimasura's words back at him.

His face snapped up and he looked at me with disgust. "You. Everything went wrong because of you. You have a nasty habit of not dying when you're supposed to. And because of that, I am chained in these shackles like some animal. You filthy pest." He spat his venomous words at me. There was a time when those words wounded me but now, I simply didn't care. He was a piece of scum - as simple as that.

"Where are you taking him?" I asked one of the guards who accompanied him.

"The king has ordered us to bring him to his room. He wants to talk to him."

"I see. What about that servant? What happened to her?"

"She has been detained along with the soldiers who were on duty that day."

"Good. You may proceed." I stepped aside and continued on my way. My feet stopped dead in the tracks when I heard Bhimasura's maniacal laugh. Ugh, does this man ever quit?

"You vermin. Did you really think that you can stop me by confining me in a cell? I will fly away from the prison and none of you would be able to do anything."

"Shut your mouth!" One of the guards yelled at him.

I lifted one of my arms and gestured the guard to stop. "I think you're thinking about your impending rescue. I hate to be the bearer of the unfortunate news but those 'friends' of yours already flew away from the palace, leaving you behind. To be honest, I was aware that you hated me but I never thought that you would stoop so low as to collude with dark mages." I was fuming with anger at his betrayal. He jeopardized the security of each and every resident of Somapura because of his selfish goals.

"Shut the fuck up. What do you know about me? You had everything since the day you were born. I, on the other hand had to kiss the butts of all the officials and the king to raise my ranks. I tolerated everything because I only had one goal - rise to the highest position of the army general. Only for it to be snatched by you as soon as you grew up. Your mother warmed the bed of the king one night and the king was ready to give you everything. You dirty-blooded bastard child-"

"I wouldn't complete that sentence if I were you." I heard a voice from behind me. It felt familiar. I turned around to look who it was. I was surprised when I saw Laxita standing there. Both of us were so busy jabbing at each other that we failed to notice her footsteps.

"Such love! Look Veer she has come to defend you." Bhimasura snickered.

Laxita's steps quickened and before I knew it, a tight slap landed on Bhimasura's cheek. Did she just slap him? Wow, this was very entertaining. "That's for insulting Veer. Next time, think twice before saying something. Listen old man, before you even think of laying a finger on my Veer, you've to go through me first. You hear me?" Did she say my Veer? MY VEER?! I was going insane.

She, on the other hand, was seething with anger. In all the time I've known her, I've never seen her this angry. Before Bhimasura could even recover from her slap, she kicked him in the stomach. "That's for betraying your kingdom." He groaned in pain and kneeled because of the impact. I could enjoy this all day. "Take him away." She ordered the guards. I nodded to give them permission.

After that, she held my hand and took me away. I couldn't even see the final look on Bhimasura's face but I didn't mind because she was with me. Right now, she was holding my hand to lead us somewhere. Her face was red with anger and I couldn't help but smile. I was so used to protecting and defending others that I never really thought about someone defending me. It was a nice feeling.

We walked for a while and then, she abruptly stopped in between. She whirled around to look at me. "For how long has this been going on?"

"Hmmm, what?" I was in a daze and didn't hear her properly.

"These insults and verbal abuses...for how long have you been enduring them?" Her honey brown eyes blazed in the palace torchlights.

"Ever since I stepped into the palace?" I gave her one of my playful smiles, trying to lighten the mood.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Does anyone know about this? The king, queen, anyone?"

"Raghav and Chitra know about this a little but they don't know everything. Except them, nobody knows."

"Now I know what the king was worried about." She muttered under her breath.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing." She grumbled.

"Hey, I am fine now. I am used to it so his words don't hurt me."

"That's the thing Veer, you shouldn't be used to such behaviour. You should've said something, anything." Seeing her so concerned about me was melting my heart. Today, I fell for her a little bit more.

"Next time someone bothers me, I will let you know. Then, you can beat the crap out of them." I joked.

"Yeah, I should do that. I am the strongest person in the sub-continent right now. So, if someone messes with you, just tell me. I'll teach them a lesson and protect you." She was serious about protecting me. I really wanted to kiss her right now.

I laughed and said, "I will."

Her anger finally subsided and she gave me a soft smile. She really doesn't know how incredible she is.

"So, the king told me that the city of Som Nagari looks even more beautiful at night. Would you like to give me a tour?"

"I thought you would never ask." I will never deny to spend some more time with her.

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Hey Lovelies💖

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