I assumed she would not be entirely appreciative of all the gifts but it was fine. I could not blame her though, as she was not used to it. In a normal situation, a future bride would be brought hundreds of gifts, mostly for herself.

I knew Seetha would not want any of that, so instead, I chose to bring the gifts for her village. It seemed logical, seeing that the village only recently had to deal with the rebels. Besides, I wanted everyone to rejoice at this arrangement.

As Seetha continued to gawk, I turned around, waving at the procession, who then proceeded to disperse and pass around to goods. There were looks of shock and then cheers as rice, silks and other goods were shared with all the men, women and children. As they did that, a few of them came over to the family, passing around toys and other gifts to the children and adults.

One of the servants came over to me, handing me a box. After taking the box from him, I turned around with a smile. "Nithi," I called.

The little girl, who was mesmerized by the sight of what was going on, was taken aback by my call. "Y-yes?"

"Come here," I said. When she reached me, I knelt down in front of her and opened the box. "This is for you." I pulled a small, wooden sword out from the box and handed it to her.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"I had this wooden sword made specifically for you," I said. I remembered when I first met Nithi and she told me she wanted to be a warrior one day. She also impressed me with her bravery on the day of the battle, leading me to Seetha. She had easily become my favourite of Seetha's nieces and nephews.

However, she was still a child, and I didn't know if she would always feel the same way, but I hoped that I could, at the very least, help this brave little girl have some fun and frighten the boys. Little boys often needed to be put in their place, and Nithi seemed like the kind of girl to do that.

"You can use this to practice if you still want to be a warrior one day," I told her. "And maybe one day you can be your aunt Seetha's chief bodyguard."

Nithi looked ecstatic. "Thank you, thank you!" She took the sword from me and began waving it around.

"How about I send someone to teach you?" I asked her.

She nodded eagerly. "Please!"

I messed her hair as I stood up. "Be sure not to scare your mother or upset your father."

The little girl chuckled but nodded.

"Are you sure-" Seetha started.

"Don't worry, it's wooden," I said. "It will do no more damage than what a stick would."

She let out a short laugh before smiling at me.

---

Seetha's mother had a talent. The food she made was truly delicious. After eating a well prepared meal, we went on to discuss the important things. "My father has invited your whole family to the palace," I said to Seetha's father. "He hopes to meet you all and perform the engagement rituals in Aathikara."

Her father nodded respectfully. "Of course," her father said. "However, I wanted to ask if you could give us some more time."

My eyebrows rose. Time for what?

Her father seemed to sense my confusion. "We cannot just leave the farm behind with no one here. I have sent a request to a relative to look after the farm for the time being, however it would take some time for him to arrive."

"I see," I nodded. That was reasonable.

"Of course, I would not want to keep you and your father waiting," he turned to his daughter. "If you are fine with it, you can head out before us with the Prince. I'm sure you will be expected to learn a few things about palace life so maybe not having the distraction of the family for a little while would be good for you."

Seetha was frowning just a little before she looked at me.

"I am fine with that as well," I said.

"If you really want," her father continued, "you can take your mother with you-"

"It's fine," Seetha smiled at her father. "Amma should come with you. You will need her here while you are here."

I did prefer the idea of Seetha coming alone first as it would give us some time to be together alone for some time. "You have nothing to fear," I said. "I will take care of her while we wait for your arrival."

"Will you be leaving tonight?" Her mother asked.

"Ideally, yes," I said. "The trip here took double the time due to the fact that we were bringing with us so many people."

Her mother nodded.

"I will leave a few carriage and men behind to bring you to the palace, but please, take your time. I want to make sure your time to the palace is filled with comfort and no worries."

Her father smiled at me. "You have nothing to worry about. We will be comfortable with no worries so long as our daughter is happy."

---

The day was filled with festivities, drifting into nightfall as well. Usually, the village was silent by the time the sun set, but today there was music and dancing and shows. It seemed as if the villagers were still finding it hard to believe that I was here to take Seetha as my future bride. Nevertheless, it was the most lively that the village had been in all the time I had been here, and that filled me with some joy.

It was well past midnight when I thanked the villagers for their hospitality and as I left, the adviser who joined me on my trip let them know that I would be leaving before sunrise, but urged them to continue with the celebrations.

When I returned to the farm with Seetha and her family, a carriage had already been prepared for her, ready to depart.

The things that Seetha chose to bring with her did not fill more than a small bag. It baffled me, though I should not have been surprised. Furthermore, though I had promised her that I would never keep her away from her home, she still seemed quite emotional with the thought of leaving her family behind.

Her mother and father assured her that they would be joining her soon, and her sister's, who I had only met today, promised her that she would get used to being away. He sister's words did not seem entirely comforting to her. It was Mayu, the eldest of Seetha's sister-in-laws, and Nithi's mother, who seemed to be the closest to Seetha. Even closer than her sisters.

I did not hear what she said to Seetha, but her words seemed to calm her, and when they exchanged a hug, Seetha was smiling again.

Bhumi was the one who would be pulling Seetha's open carriage, which had been filled with comfortable pillows for the long trip. Though Bhumi was not meant to pull carriages, he did not complain.

And after I helped Seetha up into her seat, I climbed up onto Bhumi and nodded my head at the warriors, who began their march back to Aathikara.

Following closely behind them, the carriage began to roll forward behind Bhumi and I, and Seetha sat up on her knees, holding the edge of the carriage with one hand while waving with the other. "See you soon!" She shouted. "Come quickly!"

Her large family waved back, while children, including Nithi, ran after the carriage. "Bye Athay!" They all shouted at different times.

Seetha laughed and kept waving until the children had grown tired and stopped running, standing at the edge of the dirt road and waving at her.

Within moments, we were off and Seetha was days away from an entirely new world.

---

HELLO EVERYONE!

That is a wrap for PART ONE! I hope you enjoyed it so far! I will have Part Two up within the next week! I hope you're looking forward to it because there will definitely be more drama now that Seetha is making her way to the palace ;)

While you wait for Part Two, please be sure to let me know what you think and vote for the previous chapters! As always, I'd LOVE to read your thoughts!

Thank you!!!!!!

Love, Luckycharms! <3