THE YEAR 1652

Trisha POV

After meeting the King, I returned home. My heart was beating wildly, not because I had to meet Yuvraj Abhinandan but because I had to convince him to return home.

As I contemplated our upcoming meeting, I couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt. Would he even remember me? He had visited my father countless times yet never tried to speak to me, only offering a friendly smile.

I did not know what kind of potential King saw in me that he believed I could convince him of. Maybe it was because I was a woman, and he thought that he would be understanding towards a woman.

Whatever it was, I had to do this for the King.

Not for any wealth or anything else, but for him only. The way he removed his Pagdi in front of me made me feel a father's pain. I could feel what he was going through. I had seen my father worry for me often, too, and I knew it was difficult for him.

And, the kind of anger Yuvraj Abhinandan had, it was even more difficult.

The much I understood him in a year was that he was not the man of many words that one might take him as an arrogant Prince. But he was caring and helpful at the bottom.

"What was it?" My father asked, returning from his Ashram and finding me near the stove.

I stood up and walked to him to touch his feet, and he gently caressed my head, blessing me.

"God Bless you, child,"

I loved him dearly. And, in no world, I could hide the truth from him.

"The King has asked me to meet Yuvraj Abhinandan and try to convince him to return home," I said, walking back to the stove and rolling the chapatis with my hand.

He inhaled sharply, sat on the floor, and shook his head.

"The Kingdom and the people who reside in it are often ununderstandable. I will not let you walk into their matters. It is their family matters, and they shall fix that on their own," he said, and I nodded weak-heartedly while baking the chapatis.

"They cannot even handle their son and daughter. And God knew what Rudra thought before putting such a low act. I am ashamed of my teachings," he murmured, and I stayed silent, serving him dinner.

"Pitaji," I muttered slowly, sitting near him and putting water in the glass for him.

"He is ill. He said that he has little time left for himself, so he needs my help. He thinks that Prince Abhinandan takes me as a good friend, and I can convince him," I kept my voice low. I was not trying to convince him to let me go, but it was my duty to tell him all the facts I knew before he could make a decision.

"What happened to him?" he asked all of a sudden.

I shook my head. "I do not know what exactly happened to him. But, he told me that no one knows about his failing health, and amid all of this, he needs his son back. He also removed his page to request me," I said slowly in the last line, and my father stared blankly at me.

"You and Prince Abhinandan are good friends?" he asked, and I lifted my gaze to look at him. Something weakened in his gaze, and I felt a pang in my chest.

"Not that good," I managed to say, and he lowered his gaze.

"Okay, you can go and try. It is not like Pratapgarh is very far. It is at walking distance," he said, and I tried to hide a tiny smile that dared to appear.

After dinner, washing the dishes, and looking after the buffalos and their meal, I went to sleep.

Waking up early in the morning, I finished my morning business, went to the river to take a bath before the World could wake up, and got ready to leave.

Bidding goodbye to my father and taking his blessings, I left the home and walked towards Pratapgarh. I knew the directions because when Yuvraj Abhinandan was here, he used to visit Pratapgarh often. He also took me there once or twice.

It was a relatively more minor Kingdom than Mahabaleshgarh. I learned that it once belonged to his mother's brother.

By the time I reached there, it was afternoon. There were soldiers outside, and I silently walked to them.

"What do you need?" one asked, and I stared at the closed door.

"I am here to meet Yuvraj Abhinandan," I said, and they both looked at each other and asked.

"Who are you?"

Their interrogation sweated my palms up, and I tried to answer. I am his Guruji's daughter.

One of them nodded and replied. "I shall ask him,"

I nodded and watched him go inside and come out after a few moments. I was drenched in sweat in the brutal summer.

"You can go," he informed me. I watched the door open wider for me and took the step inside. A wave of goosebumps ran through my body as I remembered the story of the war that happened here. People had said that after the war, the King and Queen never returned to this Kingdom. And, somewhere inside, it was making me feel scared.

Thankfully, a soldier joined me and guided me inside. There was a wide open compound connecting a few galleries attached to the rooms before the main palace.

"This way," he said. There was hardly any female attendees. Maybe only the wives of the soldiers and staff, no royal ones.

I entered the main palace and took the seven stairs to reach a chamber.

"He is inside," the soldier said, stopping there, and I nodded.

I gulped with nervousness. My feet felt weak. I did not know what to expect from him right now, and I did not know how to begin the conversation at all.

I walked past the few parts of the chamber that were empty; only the noise of pigeons and birds was there. I kept walking until I saw him standing in the meeting area, facing the open garden. He was surrounded by thousands of pigeons and feeding them Bajra.

A tiny smile appeared on my face. He was taller now, way taller than before and muscular. I would not reach above his shoulder.

Suddenly, he turned to look at me, and my heartbeat stopped. There were no expressions on his face. His deep brown eyes looked intense and rather intimidating. The soft, wavy curls of his hair fell on his forehead, flowing with the winds.

"Such a long time," he said, and I nodded, walking closer to him.

He looked away and sat on the garden stairs, staring at the pigeons and birds.

"I could not stop myself from seeing you," I managed to say. I did not know what had suddenly happened to me.

He nodded, and suddenly, an attendee walked inside with two glasses of water, some fruits and things to eat.

"You shall eat something. I will be there momentarily," he said, and I could feel the distance between us, even as friends. It was like he was not ready for any conversation that would start or end with his family.

I shook my head and sat beside him, though maintaining three feet of distance I should keep as a celibate woman.

"I am sorry for whatever happened," I finally broke my silence, and he chuckled.

"Everyone is," he exclaimed, then stood up to walk into the garden and carefully picked up a tiny rabbit in his hand.

I lowered my gaze. What should I say now? I should have asked the King that, too.

"I thought you might need a friend at this moment," I tried to say, and he gulped and turned to look at me weakly.

"A friend?" he nodded, smiling weakly. Maybe an old friend," he said, walking back to his place and placing the rabbit in his lap.

"How are you?" he finally asked, and I smiled.

"Same as before. Tanned and hardworking," I said, and he laughed.

"He is so cute," I said, looking at the baby rabbit, and he nodded.

"He was born ten days ago," he said and asked. "Do you want to take him in your hands?"

I looked at him with confusion for a moment and then nodded. "Of course," I said, and he placed the rabbit on the floor and pushed him gently so he could walk towards me. I lifted him in my arms and looked at his tiny face.

"It's so small," I almost squealed, and he laughed a little.

"How is Guruji?" he asked, and I gulped before nodding my head. "He is good. He is busy with the new admissions," I said, and he nodded.

We stayed silent for a while as I played a little with the rabbit. For some reason, I did not have the courage to ask him to go back to his Kingdom. He was angry for a specific reason, and being a brother, I could understand his anger. And it was wrong to emotionally blackmail him to do something against his will.

"I think it's five years," I finally tried to say, breaking the awkward silence, and he nodded.

"Five years, two months and seven days, I think," he said, and my heart beat slightly.

"Umm, it is not like I was counting. It's just that I can calculate quickly," he exclaimed, and I nodded.

"And I am poor at it," I laughed a little. I did not know why it was going awkward.

"By the way, you are so much taller now," I made it even more awkward.

"And you are exactly the same," he said in a low voice, and I lowered my gaze to notice the baby rabbit sleeping in my lap.

"The food must be getting cold. You shall eat something," he said, and I immediately shook my head.

"I am not hungry. I came with a full stomach," I said, and he shook his head.

"No, it's the first time you've come here alone to meet me. I will not let you leave without eating," he pushed a little. I put the rabbit on the floor to let him sleep around his family and stand up.

"Okay, if you say so," I could not argue with him more.

He took me inside the chamber, and I looked at the food at the table. He guided me to sit on one couch while he sat across from me on the other.

"I cannot believe you came here alone," he said, and I took a bite of sliced mango after washing my hands.

"I hope you came here with Guruji's permission," he said, and I immediately nodded.

"Of course, I know that you are angry with everyone, so I thought to see if you are doing fine," I said, and his gaze lowered. Suddenly, he said.

"I hope this is not my father's plan,"

My heart sank deeper, touching a new low in my stomach, and I immediately shook my head.

"Of course not. How can you think that your father would know me?" I said, and he looked at me for a moment and nodded.

"Fair enough," he said.

I did not know, but suddenly, I felt like I was running away from here. I felt that he had low-key gotten the idea that I was here to convince him.

"It is so late now. I shall return to my home," I said, standing up after having a bite. He also stood up and nodded after a few calculated moments.

"I shall send a group of soldiers with you," he said, and I walked past him quickly.

"Trisha, Suniye na," he suddenly called, and my feet froze. He had never taken my name before.

I turned to look at him.

"Ji, Yuvraj," I said, trying to maintain and keep myself calm.

"Aap aayi hume acha laga. Kaash aap kuch samay or hamare saath vyateet kar paati,"

"I liked that you came. I hope you could have spent a little bit more time with me," he said, and I nodded slowly.

I looked away from him for a moment and then looked back.

"I shall come to meet you if I walk nearby," I said, and he smiled weakly before nodding.

I walked away from there, too.

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