I felt unbelievably relieved when I had been allowed to switch into a soft, simple sari and remove all the jewelry. Feeling light on my feet again, I suddenly felt a little uplifted in spirit. Maybe that also had to do with the kindness of Aaryan's father.

However, I now had so many questions, but it seemed it was too late for me to ask them. After changing, I was left alone in the bedroom to sleep.

Of all the things that had happened to me over the last few days... this experience was the most odd. In my entire life, I had never once been alone when I slept. My family home was small, and growing up around me were all my brothers and sisters, sleeping in the same room as me. When all of my siblings were married, I always had all my nieces and nephews, and sometimes even my sisters-in-laws would join me.

Now... here, in an unfamiliar place with no one I really knew at all, I was alone.

I wasn't scared, really.

Just... emotional.

And lonely.

I tried to sleep and for hours I just tossed and turned, my mind filled with so many loud thoughts in the middle of the silent night. Finally, I gave up, getting up and putting on my slippers.

I had decided to go find Aaryan.

Surely he was still awake. It wasn't that late and he was a Prince. Surely he was busy and therefore would be awake. When I found him, I would ask him if I could keep him company, at least until he was tired. Maybe by that point, I would be too tired to let my thoughts get in the way of my sleep.

I was hesitant as I stepped out of the room, not knowing where to go, and immediately startled by the sight of two burly guards standing on both sides of my door. I also couldn't deny that the sight of these men filled me with a little bit of fear.

However. they bowed immediately. "My Lady," one said.

"Is there something you need?" The other asked.

I hesitated. "I–I was hoping... you could show me to Ar– the Prince's room."

"The crown prince?" On guard asked, surprised.

I nodded. "I wish to speak to him."

The two guards looked at each other before looking back at me. The first guard then nodded. "This way," he said. "I will take you."

I smiled, bowing my head. "Thank you!"

The walk to the Prince's room was not very long, but it was long enough for me to notice how much light there was in this region. Back in my village, when it was night time, the land was darkened to a near black, only lit when the moon was clear. Here, however, there were lights everywhere, lightening up the nights to look oddly bright, yet calm, nonetheless.

When we got to Aryan's room, we were greeted by two more guards. The guard who had escorted me walked right up to them, whispering something to them which made them look at me in surprise. I smiled at them and waited for them to let me in.

They were hesitant, as if wondering if they should let me in, or even maybe whether they should knock on his door or not. "It's fine," I said. "I can just let myself in."

The men didn't seemed to like that idea, but I was getting anxious and stepped past them towards his door. When I opened it, I walked in and shut it before they could say anything to me.

Though I had genuinely hoped that he would be awake, to my surprise, the room was relatively dark and at the very end of the room was a large bed and on the bed was person.

Aaryan was sleeping.

I wondered if I should just leave, but then I decided that I was already here so might as well wake him up. I knew he wouldn't get mad at me, so I walked over to his bed. "Aaryan?" I called.

No response.

When I reached his bed, I was was surprised by the unusual sight of a rather vulnerable looking Aaryan. As a man with a consistent glare on his face, and always looking so clean and collected, it was rather surprising to see him looking so calm, and disheveled. He was shirtless, lying on his stomach with his hands crossed under his pillow, his usually neatly combed back hair was a mess and he looked rather exhausted.

I crouched down on the floor next to him. "Aaryan?" I called again, this time a little more loudly.

He shifted in his bed before his eyes opened slowly.

At first it seemed like he didn't notice that I was there, but he blinked a couple times and then lifted his head up in confusion. "Seetha?" His voice sounded rather deep and drunk with sleep and I finally felt bad for waking him up. "What..."

"I couldn't sleep, so I came here," I said to him.

He turned around onto his side, holding himself up with his arm and squinting. "How did you find your way?"

"The man in front of my door brought me."

He hesitated. "Why can't you sleep?"

I shrugged. "Because I'm not used to sleeping alone," I said. "It's strange... and different."

"So what, you came here to sleep with me?" He gave me a humoured smile as I rolled my eyes. "No," I said. "I wanted you to keep me company until I was tired."

"So you woke me up?"

I shrugged again.

Aaryan chuckled before reaching out and wrapping his arm around my waist. I gasped as he pulled me forward into his arms. He then turned around, me still in his arms until I was lying next to him on his bed and he had his arm over me. "Aaryan!" I hissed. "What if people see?"

He had his eyes closed, his lips against my head. "No one is as brave as you to simply walk into my room," he said, his voice still sounding tired.

I laid there, staring at the ceiling, unable to deny that the warmth of him next to me was much more comfortable than being in that large room, on that large bed all alone. His breathing was soft and calming and he smelled of both flowers and sweat... a surprisingly pleasant combination.

After another moment of hesitation, I turned around to face him, putting an arm around him and pressing my forehead against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat, and almost instantly I began to feel sleep overwhelming me.

"How did you find your first day here?" He asked, quietly.

"Busy," I responded with my eyes closed. "I have to begin preparing a dance? What is it for?"

"It's nothing to worry about," he said. "Before a man marries into the family, he officially joins the Rudraraja Clan by succeeded in a battle–"

"And a woman has to dance to join the family?" I asked, frowning. That sounded silly.

"It's not just any dance," Aaryan said. "It's a sacred fire dance. Women dance holding lit flames. Men show their strength to other men. Women show their strength to the gods."

"How does dancing show my strength to the gods," I asked, lifting my head up to look at him.

He was smiling, seemingly amused by my questions. "It's a dance that shows control and stamina. Singing pleases the gods and dancing is to show your physical strengths. But the real challenge is to keep the flames lit for the entire performance. There is a lot of spinning and movement in the dance, but people believe that the gods assist the girls they like."

"What happens if the flame goes out?"

"Nothing," Aaryan said. "Like my father said, it's all fun and games. But if you do keep all of them lit, you look quite special."

"Hmm."

"I think it's more challenging than what the men have to go through."

I laughed.

"No," he started. "Really. Fighting a battle with hundreds of men helping you is much easier than keeping a flame lit while dancing in a way that is bound to blow it out."

I laughed some more, giving him a look of skepticism before dropping my head onto the bed. "So I must do it?"

"Well... no," he said. "My mother actually refused to participate when she was engaged to my father. But again, it's tradition, but all fun and games. You have nothing to fear."

I didn't not want to do it. I mean, I didn't want to seem like I didn't care for his family traditions. His mother may have gotten away with it, but if I remembered correctly, she came from an extremely wealthy family. She had nothing to prove.

I however, do.

"And Lady Suhanya will teach you everything. She's been teaching the dance to girls for years now."

I was silent for a moment before I spoke again. "I was a little frightened of Lady Suhanya at first... but she is very kind."

"She is," Aaryan conformed. "My father and her are quite good friends. I don't think there's anyone in the court he trusts more than her."

"Does her family live here too?"

"Her parents have both passed on and her siblings all moved out once they were married. She however never married, and has no children."

"That must be lonely."

"I suppose," Aaryan said. "But she's always busy, and she treats my brothers and I like her children so we keep her entertained."

I chuckled.

"I still have to introduce you to a few others," he said. "Maybe tomorrow."

I nodded, closing my eyes again. "Your mother doesn't like me, does she?" I asked.

Aaryan's chuckle was deep. "If it makes you feel better, she doesn't really like me either."

"That's not true," I said. "How could a mother not like her child?"

"The royal family is different. She is my mother, but only by blood. She did not raise me and so we do not have the kind of bond that most children have with their mothers."

I looked up at him.

"When a baby is born they are almost immediately taken away from the mothers and raised by others," he said. "In our case it was Lady Suhanya. But this is normal."

I frowned. "That will not happen with our children," I said. "I will raise every one of them myself."

Aaryan looked at me with a small smile. "How many were you thinking?"

I felt my cheeks flush as I realized where I had accidentally directed this conversation. But with an embarrassed smile, I looked up, thinking. "Four."

"Only four?" He sounded disappointed.

"Four is a good number," I argued. "One every two years or so... that will give us enough time."

"And you expect me to control myself and wait two years at a time?"

He was joking, but my blood began to boil in embarrassment. "There are other ways," I said. "So my friends say..."

Aaryan laughed rather loudly, surprising me. "Other ways?" He took my hand in his, knotting his fingers with mine.

"I mean like herbs," I said, immediately, "or protection–"

He laughed again. "You have such conversations with your friends?"

I shrugged. "All my friends are married... they like to talk about things."

"What do they say?" He surprised me by pressing his lips against my neck.

I couldn't breath. "It's a secret."

"I am to be your husband. You should not keep secrets from me," he moved his lips down to my collar bone, and I began to laugh, feeling ticklish.

"Stop it," I said, pushing his face away. "I came here to sleep."

His smile was wide and humoured, but then he leaned forward and kissed my lips. His kiss was soft and slow and my heart was racing uncontrollably.

He kissed me like that for most of the night, his hands exploring my body as he did. I too found that my fingers were exploring, tracing over his many scars and feeling his muscles move under his skin. I felt a strange urge to want to memorize everything about him... all his scars and movements and curves and edges.

And now I was so excited.

I simply couldn't wait to be married to this man.

Not because he was a prince or for anything of that sort... but simply because I couldn't wait to spend more nights like this with him.

---

I was awoken early the next morning by the sound of Aaryan moving about in his room, getting ready. When I lifted myself up, my hair was a mess and I smelled of sweat, plus I was unbelievably tired.

We were up for most of the night... doing nothing too indecent... and when I looked out the window I saw the sun was only just rising. We must have only been asleep for only a few hours.

When Aaryan saw that I was awake, he looked at me apologetically. He had cleaned himself up, looking fresh and unbelievably handsome, but I felt bad when I saw the bags under his eyes and the exhaustion on his face. I didn't realize he would need to wake up so early. "Did I wake you?" he asked as he walked over to me while sliding his sword into his sheath.

I shook my head. "It's okay," I said, sleepily. "It's so early."

"I have to be present at the morning prayers," he said, "you sleep. I'll let Lady Suhanya know you're here and she'll come wake you in a few hours."

I was relieved that I would get another few hours, but I still felt bad for keeping him up.

He leaned forward and kissed me. "I will see you later in the day."

I nodded, smiling at him with my eyes, heavy with sleep, closed.

With that, he left.

---

The next time I was awoken was by Lady Suhanya. She was shaking me, because I had fallen into such a deep sleep that apparently her calls were left unheard.

When my eyes opened, Lady Suhanya pulled me up. "Child, you must know better than to spend the night in a man's room?" Was the first thing she said to me.

It took me a few moments to actually wake up and understand her. "I..."

"Up, come," she pulled me onto my feet. "You must not ever leave your room undressed."

"Undressed?" I asked. I was completely dressed in a simple sari that was finer than any sari I had ever owned, even though I was meant to sleep in it.

"This sari is for the night. It is too light to be walking around in, especially in front of other men," she said, shocking me.

So, what? By that logic, I would have been running around naked back at home.

"And to come to the prince's room... child, if there is anything that the court likes more than riches is the opportunity to gossip. Do you know what people are saying?"

What people are saying?

It was still bright and early in the morning, how could anyone even know I was in Aaryans room? do they not have anything better to do?

Though I understood Lady Suhanya's concerns, as sleeping alone in a room with a man who was not your husband was considered indecent, I was a little frustrated.

Aaryan and I were getting married. Why did it matter. Besides, we didn't do the things that everyone was so concerned about.

There was then a knock on the door.

"Come in, come in," Lady Suhanya said, pushing me forward towards another door, she opened it to reveal a washroom within Aaryans room. "You cannot leave this room like this. We will have to get you ready in here."

A few girls entered the room, holding trays that had a sari and jewels and oils and flowers and much more on them.

For the next little while, Lady Suhanya helped me bathe and clean myself up before covering my body with oils that smelled glorious, all the while lecturing me on what she thought I did wrong. She helped me into a heavy but beautiful green and gold sari before putting the jewelry on me. After loosely braiding my hair, she pinned fresh jasmines into it and I imagined I smelled like a beautiful garden thanks to all of the intermingling scents.

When she was done, she hurriedly walked me out of Aaryans room. As I expected, thanks to her long lecture, there were quite a few people with their eyes on me as we exited the room.

It bothered me deeply to think that they all thought I had done something horrible, when all it was were some innocent kisses.

But I tried not to worry about them. Aaryan and I were going to get married.

That was all that mattered.

As Lady Suhanya has promised the day before, she took me to a jeweler, who proceeded to pierce the left side of my nose. It was painful and I cried a little, but when I looked at the mirror afterwards, I rather liked the way it looked. The gold ring that she fitted on to it was pretty and I felt that it made my face look much more feminine.

It was only after that that she took me to have breakfast.

I imagined breakfast to be served to me in a large hall with many people. Maybe all the girls in Aaryans family, none of whom I had met yet, eating together and having a happy morning.

However, when Lady Suhanya led me into a very lovely, but small room, and a single, large banana leaf was placed on the floor in front of a cushion, I hesitated.

"Have a seat child," she said. "The maids will serve you."

"What about you all?"

"Everyone else has eaten already."

I don't know why, but my heart sank a little.

So I sat down on the cushion, waited for all the maids to serve me with glorious looking breads and sweets... and then I ate alone, while everyone waited patiently.

There was never a time in my life that I had eaten alone. Not until today.