"Sometimes unexpected gifts give you more happiness which is worth more than expected gifts and surprise."
~ Subhadra

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Subhadra POV

I smiled at his tactics of gifting me. I removed the bangles and the chain he had gifted me and began putting them  all together in a small cloth bag.

All of a sudden, a hand shot forward and held my shoulders roughly. I was startled by this and looked behind to find my dasi standing behind me. I let a sigh of relief and glared at her. She gave me a twinkle and began  laughing.

"What are you doing here ?" I asked her in an irritated tone. She shrugged and pointed towards the market and her basket.

"I came to buy some eatables" she said and I nodded. 

"I have a task for you now " I said as I pulled her away from the area so that Arya could not see both of us. I gave her the bag and she looked into the bag curiously.

"Woah ! Princess ! Is this how are you are spending time in the city ? Buying outfits and jewels !" she said laughing.
I covered her mouth lest she would  have attracted the attention of the whole market towards us.

"Be quiet will you ? This is a very important and special parcel. Take this to the palace and leave it in my room" I said as she narrowed her eyes and gave me a teasing smile.

"Whom is it from Princess ?" she asked as my colour changed.

"Umm...that's not required now ! You just carry out my orders and I will tell you everything soon" I said walking  away.

"Okay Princess !" she shouted and I signalled her to keep quiet. She hit her head with her hand and I shook my head in disappointment.

"Do you really want everyone to know that I am their own Princess of Dwarka ! We are on a mini-exile my dear" I said and she nodded. I signalled her to leave which she did with a small frown.

"Okay Subhadra ! Now you have an important person to handle ! Don't give any hint" I whispered to myself and took a deep breath. I turned to bump into someone and staggered back. I was about to fall when a pair of strong hands supported me by my hands.

"Arya ! You here ?" I asked.

"What are you doing here ?" he asked as he stole a glance at the me and the  surrounding in a protective manner.

"Well, what ? why I am here ! Wait why am I here ?" I asked myself and he gave me a confused expression. I realised what all I had said and  immediately tried to make it up.

"Well, I was coming to our house again when I saw a small cat here and I was stroking her hair" I said not knowing how to continue.

"Oh then what happened ?" he asked taking one step forward making me nervous.

"Then what ? I let her go !" I said turning away to make sure that my confused expressions weren't visible.

"I see no reason for you to get so late that too for handling a kitten !" he said as he tapped my shoulders. I knew that I was going to get caught soon if I continued with the same story. I turned behind to face him with a small smile.

"Actually, after that a beggar came up to me asking for alms and I got delayed further" I said as his eyes moved to my hands. He gave a small frown and looked at me again. I could now understand that he was looking for his gift.

"Oh okay. I mean why would you take so much time to get water. I was a little worried" he said trying to connect to his question regarding the gift.

"Oh yes. You know something, Brata Krishna and Brata Balram gave me a lot of gifts. They made a plan to gift me and it was amazingly executed !" I said in an excited tone. He smiled and nodded.

"What did you get from them ?" he asked me.

"They gifted me with a pink lehenga and some ornaments for it. It was a perfect set !" I squealed and he gave me a broad smile.

"But I can't see it now ! Where is it ?" he asked smiling to which I smiled.

"My brothers will be proud of me as I have given their gifts to the beggar who was asking for alms !" I said trying to control my laughter and Arya's expressions changed.

"What ? Seriously ?" he asked in an angry and upset tone.

"It's my duty as their Princess" I said calmly and he shook his head. He turned and started walking away with me running behind him.

"Arey what happened Arya ? Why are you feeling so bad ?" I asked faking innocence. He did not respond and went into the house shutting the door. I stood outside the house and laughed my heart out. Trying to maintain a stern outlook, I opened the door slowly.

"Arya ! Where are you and what happened ? Why are you angry with me ? What wrong did I do ?" I asked looking at the house which was really dark.

"Arya ?" I whispered softly as I suddenly felt someone shut the door from behind. I couldn't spot anything in that dark room and began trembling. In no time, I felt a hand cover my mouth and pull me back by my waist.

I tried to get rid of the hold but it was too tight. I began hitting the person on his shoulder. To my disappointment, he did not move at all. He just let me down after sometime and removed his hands from my mouth. I turned behind to see the person as he opened the windows.

As the light fell on his face, I saw Arya smiling at me. I looked around to find the house beautifully decorated for my birthday.

I smiled at him as he his touched his ears with his hands. I giggled and walked up to him asking why he behaved in that manner. "I wanted to scare you a bit" he said laughing and I shook my head.

"I am not asking about this ! I am talking about why you walked away that time" I said and he was visibly shocked.

"I mean I felt bad for your brothers. Like they put in a lot of hardwork to gift you and...." he said as he began  scratching his head bot knowing what to say.

"My brothers will understand " I said and he nodded his head helplessly.  I looked around the house and a portrait of mine distracted me. "You made it ?" I asked looking at him and he nodded with a smile.

"Wow ! Time for some review and analysis" I said giggling as I walked towards the picture. I caressed it and my eyes teared up in happiness.

"This is so beautiful Arya" I said and I could sense him walking towards me. I felt a little too awkward and turned to look at the portrait again.

"Everything is fine. It's just that I messed up with the hair part" he said chuckling as my gaze moved to look at the hair of the portrait.

"That's fine, this is more than enough for me !" I said smiling as he hummed. 

"Would you return the favour?" he whispered, disturbing my flow of thoughts. I looked at him with widened eyes, my facial expressions no longer under my control.

"What happened ? Did I ask you something that's unacceptable?" he asked and I shook my head with a confused mind.

"I guess I need to reward myself !" he said as he engulfed me in his hug with a small chuckle. 

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