Hi everyone!

Please enjoy this bonus chapter! It's just for fun and has not much to do with the main plot, but since this story has been filled with a lot of seriousness, I thought it would be fun to have a Bonus Chapter that's just a little silly. I hope this chapter helps put a smile on your face in these stressful times!

Don't forget to vote and comment to let me know what you think!

Enjoy!!!

Love, Luckycharms

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 When Aaryan and Aathu returned, I smiled, especially when Aaryan blinked slowly, to let me know that everything was going to be alright. I felt relief, and looked forward to Aaryan telling me about how our son made him proud later tonight.

Aathavan walked right up to me, smiling warmly. "Can we eat?"

"When all your uncle's arrive, my sweet," I said, pushing his hair out of his face and also noting that within a couple years, I was certain he was going to be taller than me. "Aayu Chithappa is here though," I said, turning to face my husband. "He said he came early because he thought he'd have to convince me of a few things."

Aaryan smiled as Aayu walked out of the kitchen to join us. He had clearly been sneaking some of the food, which made me whack him, though he put an arm around me. "It seems that my sister-in-law doesn't need any of my advice anymore... she's making reasonable decisions herself."

"And I wasn't making reasonable decisions before?"

Aayu chuckled before looking at my son. "Are you ready? You'll be leaving at dawn."

"Dawn?" I scoffed, looking at Aaryan. "You never mentioned that! He'll need to get plenty of sleep-"

"Amma, it's fine," Aathu chuckled. "I'll be fine."

His words didn't stop the knot from forming in my stomach, but I sighed and nodded.

As my maid friends helped set the table, I looked around for my other two children. "Maya, Aaru... come stay in the main room please, where I can see you." Especially Maya... I needed to know that she was not already a mess after I had just given her a bath and put her into a new skirt and blouse.

Aaru came running down the stairs, looking as pristine as I left him. He rushed past me, getting excited at the sight of Anbu, who was walking in through the door right at that moment. "Hello, Aaruvinth," Anbu said, kneeling down and letting the eight year old jump into his arms.

I smiled at Anbu.

"Am I late?" He asked, lifting Aaru up.

"Not at all," I said, walking over to him. "I heard you agreed to go meet Lord Krishanth's daughter?"

He blushed a little. "Yes... do you think that's a good idea?"

Anbu always came to me when he needed advice and it always made me happy. It made me happy that he thought of me as a big sister and I loved to help him. "Of course," I said. "You two will get a chance to get to know each other. And there's no question about it... she'll like you. But at least you'll have an opportunity to see what you think."

He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I've never... interacted much... with girls."

That made me laugh. "Just be yourself," I said, taking his hand. "There's absolutely nothing to not like about you. And don't you dare try to act tough or hard to get or anything of the sort. Don't try to be like any of your rowdy brothers."

He chuckled, looking over at his older brothers, who had already taken out the wine.

"The fact that you're so sweet is one of your best traits," I said. "You have nothing to fear."

He smiled at me. "Thank you."

I got on my toes and kissed his cheek, making him blush more. "Now go have a seat and help me control those brothers of yours."

He laughed. "Got it."

I pinched Aaru's cheek, making him giggle, before letting Anbu walk off with him.

At that moment, Maya walked in from the garden, dragging a large stick behind her. "Mayalahi!" I hissed. "What on earth are you doing?"

The girl's hair was tied into pretty braids done by me, half up, half down, she was wearing one of the loveliest outfits I could find and I had only just washed her, and here she was with dirty feet and a huge stick. "I need it for my sword."

"Sword for what?" I asked. "We're eating dinner, not going into battle."

"There isn't much of a difference between the two in our family," I heard Aayu joke from the table.

I gave him a look before turning back to my daughter. "Put it away. Now."

"But when Muthu comes I have to fight him!" She whined.

"Muthu's mother will be here too. Do you really want to hit him with a stick while his mother is there?"

"Saumi Mami thinks it's funny," she countered.

I frowned. "Well, I don't," I said, firmly. "Put the sword- I mean stick- back in the garden, I will not say it again, young lady."

My daughter pouted but turned, making her way back to the garden.

I let out a frustrated breath before turning around, only to see Aaryan frowning deeply as his daughter walked off. "What is it?" I asked. "What's your problem now?"

He opened his mouth to respond but right then, I saw Saumiya and Lakshmanan walk in. As always, Saumiya walked right up to me and gave me a tight hug, even though we saw each other rather frequently. "I heard they're sending your son away too," she sighed.

I pulled away and looked at her. "No. Muthu as well?"

Saumiya looked over at her husband, who rolled his eyes. At that moment though, Muthu walked in, his six year old brother following closely behind him. "Mami," Muthu smiled warmly at me. Muthu, twelve now, was growing up to be very different from his mother and father, both of whom were loud and boisterous and silly. Muthu, on the other hand, was quiet and sweet. Plus, being raised surrounded by military men made him very disciplined, patient and fit.

He was growing up to be tall and handsome too, taking after his father, for the most part, though he had his mother's smile.

I took his face in my hands. "You and Aathavan look after each other, okay?" Though Saumiya must have been as worried as I was, I had to say, knowing that Muthu would be with Aathavan filled me with some relief.

He chuckled. "Of course... if I can't protect him now, how can I protect him when he is Maharajah?"

I smiled happily. "You two must eat a lot today, so you aren't too hungry on the journey tomorrow, alright?"

He nodded. "It's a good thing your cooking is delicious."

I chuckled, and was going to guide him to the table, but was surprised once more by Aaryan's weighty stare... not at me, but at Muthu.

Muthu seemed to notice the stare, because I felt him stiffen. He bowed his head. "Hello, Mama."

Aaryan took a sip of the drink in his glass but kept his eyes on Muthu. "That's Maharajah to you, boy."

Lakshmanan snorted as Anbu and Aayu rolled their eyes and I realized that there must have been some inside joke I was missing.

Muthu seemed to be missing the joke too, because he hesitated and I squeezed his shoulder. "Ignore him," I said. "He's having a day."

He chuckled nervously, but as I led him to the table, we were stopped once more when Maya pounced, seemingly out of nowhere, onto poor Muthu's back. The boy stumbled, but balanced himself before he could fall. "Maya!" I scoffed, not failing to notice Aaryan stand up. "You need to stop doing that, Maya! You could hurt someone."

"It's okay, Mami," Muthu said, "I'm used to it."

"Used to it?" Aaryan asked.

Maya giggled, hugging him tightly. "Amma said I can't fight you today, so I thought I would scare you instead!"

Muthu laughed, trying to help her down, though she refused to let go.

I had to grab the girl and pull her off him to help him out. After prying her off of him, I set her down and gave her a look that made her settle down a little. However, as Muthu took his seat next to Aathavan, Maya chased after him, grabbing the seat on the other side of him.

I sighed as Muthu gave her a smile, seeming to be more patient with her than even I was. So I looked at Maha, waving my hand. "I suppose we can all start eating then."

Maha immediately began to bring all the food out as I asked Saumiya and Lakshmanan to take a seat while their six year old, Michu, took his place next to Aaru before they started telling each other stories of monsters and magic and whatever kids their age talked about.

When Lady Suhanya came out of the kitchen, the brother's smiled at her, not realizing that she too was here. "Thank you again for your help," I said to her.

She smiled. "Not a problem, love."

"Have a seat, please."

Lady Suhanya took her seat at the head of the table, where she usually sat when we had dinner together, and I took my seat next to Aaryan, who was still eyeing his daughter, who was blabbering away to Muthu and Aathavan. "Are you sure Akshay isn't coming?" I asked, using my hand to turn his face to look at me.

"He seemed uninterested," he said, looking back at Maya.

"What is your problem?" I asked Aaryan. "Are little girls not allowed to fool around with little boys now? She's a child, let her have fun." It was strange, usually it was him telling me that.

"That's not a little boy," Aaryan said to me. "Within a few more years, he'll be a full fledged warrior. That's a man."

"Do you have a problem with my son, Aaryan?" Saumiya, who was sitting across from me, asked.

I saw Lakshmanan sigh, though he had a humored smile on his lips.

Aaryan looked at his best friend. "What?"

"Lakshmanan told me you got all overprotective," she tilted her head. "Something wrong with my boy?"

"Oh," Lady Suhanya started. "Has Aaryan found out about the love birds?"

It was only then that I realized what was going on.

I looked over at my daughter and Muthu, and then reflected on Aaryan's silly behaviour.

Oh.

Aaryan scoffed as he looked at Lady Suhanya, "you knew about this?"

Lady Suhanya smiled, looking amused.

"Aaryan, they're kids," I said. "It's just puppy-love."

"Lov-" he nearly choked on the word. "So you did know?"

I hesitated. "Yes... but I never took it seriously."

He looked at me with disbelief, like I had betrayed him.

The look made me chuckle before I turned around to make sure the kids were loud enough in their own conversation to not hear ours. When I looked back at Aaryan, I shrugged. "She likes him a little, so what? All of us girls have had a little thing for the older boy before."

Saumiya looked at me. "Wait, she likes him?"

When I looked at her I nodded. "I never thought much of-"

I cut myself off when Saumiya started grinning.

"No," Aaryan shook his head, taking another gulp of his wine before pouring himself another. "No. You all are being ridiculous."

Saumiya's head snapped towards him. "You didn't answer my question. Is there something wrong with my boy?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Aaryan asked.

"Answer it, you bastard."

Aaryan's eyes widened and I saw Aayu press his face into his hands. "Fine. Do you not find it strange that your twelve year old son is infatuated with a nine year old?"

Saumiya narrowed her eyes. "That's a three year age gap, fool. You make it sound like he's ancient."

"She's a child," he argued back.

"And she's the wild one who's been coming onto my son."

"Wild?"

"Yes, wild," she responded. "You saw it with your own eyes."

"Do not call my daughter wild," Aaryan snapped back.

Saumiya let out an exasperated laugh. "So you can call my son old and I can't call your son wild?"

Lakshmanan reached out to touch her arm. "Saumiya-"

"Don't touch me," she hissed, smacking his arm away. "The nerve of this man." She stood, looking at Aaryan. "Let's take this outside."

Now Aaryan snorted as I looked at the unsurprised Aayu and the worried Anbu. "What are you going to do?" Aaryan asked. "Fight me?"

"I don't want your cruel words to hit the ears of my precious son... though I just might hit you."

"Sit down, you fool," Aaryan said, though we now had the attention of all the kids.

Saumiya surprised everyone then, reaching over the table and grabbing my husband by the ear. Aaryan, who had not expected that, gawked before wincing as she twisted, making him stand too.

I stared in shock before looking over at Lady Suhanya, who was quietly eating in peace, as if none of this surprised her. Then I realized Aayu was doing the same.

It seemed that this was not entirely an unusual scene... which shocked me more.

"If it makes you feel better," Aayu said to me before putting a handful of rice in his mouth. He continued to speak with his mouth still full. "This used to happen a lot... though the last time something like this happened, they were, like, thirteen or fourteen."

"That does not make me feel better."

"This is why they didn't get married," Anbu added, silently.

"Let go of me, you psychotic wench!" My husband, the King of Chandraba, shouted in front of all of our children.

I closed my eyes as the two fools continued to shout at each other, most of the children laughing, though Aathavan and Muthu looked on worriedly.

"Say it to me now, you ass," Saumiya said with a threatening voice. "Say it to my face. Tell me that my son isn't good enough for your daughter."

I looked over at Muthu and saw the poor boy begin to blush, realizing know what this argument was about. Then I looked pleadingly at Lakshmanan, who shook his head and raised his hands up. That was enough for me to know that if he interfered, he would be getting the same treatment from his wife when they got home.

"Do you want me to let my daughter marry a man raised by a woman as crazy as you?" He finally got her to let go of his ear, though she proceeded to grab him by the collar of his kurta.

"The wine is giving you some guts today, isn't it? She asked. "Are you asking to die, Aaryan?"

Right then, I was surprised by Akshay walking in. I saw him pause, look at Saumiya and his brother, shake his head and then turn to leave.

I scoffed, looking at Anbu, "go! Your brother, go get Akshay!!"

Anbu hesitated, before looking up and seeing his brother walk away whilst still shaking his head. He then got up and ran after him, grabbing his arm and dragging him back. I could hear Akshay saying: "this is exactly why we do not do dinner parties."

At that moment I had decided that this had gone on long enough, so I got up, but just as I was about to scream at the two as I would scream at my children, there was a loud bang on the table, causing all the dishes and bowls and utensils to clatter. It got our attention, making us all turn and look at Maya in surprise.

She was standing on the table, her fists on her hips. "Stop fighting!" The little girl ordered.

Saumiya let go of Aaryan and Aaryan readjusted his kurta, glaring at his best friend.

"Good!" Maya said. "Because I have an announcement!"

I sighed. "Maya get off the table-"

"I'm going to marry Muthu!"

My brows shot up as high as the could on my forehead as everyone in the room fell silent. The maids looked at each other in surprise and tried to hold back their giggles, especially at the sight of Aaryan, who was dumbfounded.

And then, of course, there was Muthu, who would have turned into a tomato if he could.

There was silence for some time, until I smiled. "Alright," I said, as Akshay took his seat, looking more than ever like he did not want to be here. "Thank you for your announcement, love... please, take a seat," I said to Maya.

She jumped off the table and back onto her chair before sitting down and smiling proudly at the young man she had just claimed as her own.

He smiled back at her, awkwardly, before looking nervously at the adults. Aathavan gave the boy a pat on the knee before teasingly whispering "brother-in-law" to him.

"Now that that's all done," I looked at Aaryan who, still dumbstruck, sat back in his seat, and Saumiya, who looked extremely pleased, silently clapped her hands together. "I spent a very long time cooking this meal for all of you, with the help of Lady Suhanya, of course, so please... let's enjoy."

When I sat back down, I found myself sighing as Saumiya looked at the man whose life she had just, only moments ago, threatened. "So, my dear in-law," she grinned. "Pour me some wine, will you?"

Aaryan frowned deeply. "Shut up," he said, though he did proceed to pour her some wine.

Aayu then raised his glass up. "To battles and dinner parties."

Lady Suhanya raised hers as well. "And to Maya and Muthu's wedding, apparently."

I blinked, and then poured myself some wine too.

I was going to need it.