Laxita's POV

Present Day

"I was a mess after he was gone. I locked myself in my room for days and stopped eating altogether. For me, it felt as if the world was ending. It was the most difficult phase of my life."

"What happened after that?" I asked carefully.

"Veer happened. Honestly, I was such a terrible mother to him during that period. I was so grief-stricken that I forgot about my own child. Aarya stepped up to take care of him. I will always be grateful to her for that." She smiled wryly.

"As time went on, I realized my mistake. I still remember the night when I held him in my arms all night, feeling lost and helpless." Her eyes grew misty as if she was recalling that night.

"You were not a terrible mother, you were grieving. Everyone processes their grief differently....I have never told this to anyone but the day I came to know that my parents were no more, I wanted to unalive myself. Like you said, I felt as if the world was ending. If Vanya hadn't been there that day then I would've..." My voice trailed off. When I looked at her again, I saw that there were tears in her eyes. I didn't even realize that I was crying as well.

"The important thing is that we both chose to live - we survived. And look at us now - I mean, I am an Arch Mage and you're the loving mother Veer needed you to be."

"Yeah, I definitely pulled through." She said while wiping her tears. "I am sorry that I got so emotional. It's just that this is such a big day in Veer's life and Bhadra's not here to witness it. I think- I am just missing him a lot more today." A sad smile broke on her face.

"People often ask me - Do you resent him for leaving you so soon? To which, I reply - No, I don't. Because he gave me a lifetime of happiness in the short time we spent together."

My heart ached for Veer's family. They lost too much too soon. I wiped my tears to divert my attention from that realization.

"So," I started. "I noticed that you have fresh flowers in your cottage. Is that because of him?"

"They remind me of him. Makes me feel that he's still here with us." She said with a smile and it was no longer a sad one.

Losing a family member is never easy. Trust me, I know.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How did you know my mother? Even the king and queen weren't aware of her existence. You knew that I was Subhadra's daughter..."

"How can I forget about the couple who lived next door?"

"You were neighbours?" That was astonishing.

"Yashwant and Subhadra helped me a lot during my tough times. Yashwant was the one who gave me the idea to start teaching. He saw me with a little girl one day and thought that it was a good option for me."

"Something like that happened? It sounds...unreal." I was pleasantly surprised by this discovery. Our parents knew each other? It's a small world indeed.

"You were born in front of my eyes. I even remember the time when you used to play in my lap."

"So, this isn't the first time that we've met?" This keeps on getting intresting.

"No, apparently. Your parents moved away after Shobha's marriage. They had to, your lives were at stake. After they left, I also made my way to this gurukul. I couldn't continue being a soldier so I changed my job. And I've been here since then..."

"This was something that I wasn't even expecting. I don't know how to react." I came to know about a new aspect of my parents' life and I wanted to safely tuck it away in my mind.

"When I came to know about what happened to them, my heart shattered. I immediately thought of you, I wondered how you were enduring everything...."

I smiled despite the emotions clogging up my throat.

She continued, "Imagine my surprise when I came to know that the very same girl was to marry my Veer."

"You probably did not see that one coming." I met her gaze and smiled.

"I didn't. But I am pleased nonetheless." She smiled back.

A loud knock interrupted our moment. "Mother, do you wish to ask everything today itself?" It was Veer. Now, even his impatience seemed adorable to me.

"That's it. I am coming inside." Veer pushed open the door and came in.

When he saw our expressions, his face contorted with confusion. "What were you ladies talking about?"

"Nothing you need to know," his mother replied.

"Oh, come on. You can't do that to me." He threw a fit like a child.

"Yes, I can."

I was watching this interaction with keen interest. Despite what went down, I was so glad that Veer grew up to be such a kind and selfless man. My heart swelled with an emotion I couldn't place.

"Lunch is ready everyone." Devansh announced from somewhere outside the cottage. The three of us left together for lunch after hearing his call.

The rest of the day was peaceful. I spent most of the time talking to young girls and women working over here.

"So, you are getting married to brother Veer?" A little girl asked. It was evening and all of us sitting under the shade of a tree, chatting and laughing. It was perfect weather with a gentle breeze blowing everywhere.

"Yes." Since, we've got everyone's approval, the only thing that's left now was the actual ceremony. It still felt surreal that I would be a married woman soon.

"Will you come to visit us after your marriage?" Another girl asked.

"Of course. I mean, why not? I made so many new friends today, it's my duty to visit you all. And besides, what if I get stuck somewhere? I will be needing your advice." Everyone giggled at my response.

"What is everyone doing?" Veer came up behind me and asked.

I craned my neck to look at him. His expression was soft and he looked quite relaxed around here. "We were just talking about various things."

"Hmmm. Care to share?" He wiggled his brows.

"Um, no. This is between us girls. No boys allowed. Right girls?" They agreed in unison and a satisfied grin spread across my face.

Veer sighed dramatically and clutched his heart, pretending to be hurt. "You girls were with her for one day and you already forgot about me? Where is your allegiance?" This elicited a few laughs from the girls.

"Laxita," he started and sat down beside me. "There's somewhere I would like to take you. Would you come with me?"

It was no-brainer. "Sure. Where are we going?"

"It's a secret. Be ready, I'll be back in a few." With that, he got up and left.

After a while, I saw him approaching us. The reins of our horses were in his hands and he was leading them in our general direction. I got up from my spot and took a leave from the kids.

He handed Megh's rein to me and said, "We'll need them today as we're going a bit far."

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"No."

He hoped on his horse and urged me to do the same. "Giddy up!" He exclaimed and left on a gust of wind. I wasn't the type to fall behind so I raced behind him.

"Are you still not going to tell me?" I shouted as I wanted him to hear me over the loud trotting of our horses.

"I will if you catch up to me." He shouted back.

"Come on, Megh. Let's show him how it's done." Megh snorted in response as if to agree with my statement.

The trees, the bushes, the streams all passed by in a flurry. We delved deeper into the woods but instead of being scary, the forest started looking mystical.

As the last rays of sunlight slipped away, the sky transformed from a warm golden hue to a cool, dark blue, signaling the arrival of night.

Veer halted at a point and said, "We will walk from here."

He hopped off his horse's back and I did the same. And then, he took my hand in his and led the way. Holding hands felt like second nature now. Like, if we're together then we had to hold hands. I didn't even realize when I got so used to this.

"Close your eyes, I'll tell you when to open them."

"Alright." This was making me even more curious. I closed my eyes and tightened my hold on his hand.

"You closed your eyes when I told you to. What if I left you in this forest and ran away all by myself?"

I chuckled. "There's no way that you're doing that."

"But what if I did?"

"Then, I will hunt you down till the ends of the world. Did you forget who I am?"

"I'm so glad that you're not my enemy."

We continued our hypothetical discussion for a while. Closing my eyes and listening to his voice was much more soothing than I originally thought.

Suddenly, Veer interrupted me and said, "We're here, Laxita."

I slowly opened my eyes and what I saw there took my breath away.

Fireflies. Thousands of them, lighting the forest trail. They danced in the night as if choreographed by every joyous memory and dream. It was majestic, it was magnificent, it was....magical. I was officially at a loss of words.

"This is so beautiful, Veer." I was in awe. I had never seen these many fireflies at once.

"Do you like it?"

"Like? I love it!" I squealed. "I feel like ever since I met you, I've only been to beautiful places."

He gently squeezed my hands and smiled, his gaze all soft and endearing. It felt as if the time had stopped. It was just the two of us in this whole wide world.

"This is my secret spot. I accidentally discovered it one day while aimlessly wandering the forests. It has been my safe haven since then. Whenever I feel down or upset, I come here and this place naturally heals what's broken. You are the first person I've shown this place to."

I didn't know what to feel. He brought me here, in his secret place. He trusted me to this extent. My heart swelled, ready to burst out of my chest at any time.

"I brought you here to tell you something."

"Hmm?" I was too dazed to say anything.

"We're going to be married soon. I just want to say that I will always be there for you. We will have our ups and downs and there will be times when there'll be disagreements between us. What matters is that we resolve them. Because at the end of the day, it's just you and me, two ordinary people trying to live happily for a long, long time." I just nodded because I didn't want to disrupt the flow.

"I'll always try my best to keep you happy. But if there are any mistakes on my end, kindly forgive me." The laugh that escaped my lips was all watery. I was crying for the second time today.

"I love you." He said softly and bent down  to place a chaste kiss on my cheek. I was feeling all warm and tingly and gooey on the inside and this man was the reason for it. This beautiful, beautiful man.

I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck to hug him. He buried his head in the crook of my neck to hold me closer.

There were thousands of things that I imagined when I thought about getting married. The fact that Veer was fulfilling almost each and every one of them was making me beyond happy.

He pulled away from the hug and wiped my tears. "I promise that from today onwards, you'll only cry because of joy." More tears welled up in my eyes.

I buried my face in his chest and said, "You need to stop or else I'll cry here all night and then you would've to drag me away from here."

He wrapped his hands around me and rested his chin on my head. "Well, spending the entire night in your arms doesn't seem like a bad idea."

I chuckled. "I said, stop."

I don't know for how long we stood there in comfortable silence.

It was kind of a chilly night. So, we sat down, engulfed in each other's embrace.

I didn't even realize when this man became such an important part of my life. His smiles, soft gazes and warm touches brought me to life.

That night, I left knowing only one thing - I wanted to stay in his arms forever.

Hello Cuties💞

I wrote a bit of a short chapter after a good long while. But I wanted it to be that way - short and filled with emotions and feelings.

The wedding preparations are underway! Which means our beloved leads are going to get married soon🤭

Stay tuned! Don't forget to vote and comment to motivate your author😁