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Trisha POV

As I stepped out of the grandeur of the Kingdom, a wave of relief washed over me. He had grown suspicious of my actions, but fortunately, I kept silent.

"Your palanquin is ready," A soldier informed me, and I looked at them confusedly.

"Yuvraj asked to drop you off at home," he said, and I nodded.

"Oh, okay,"

He bowed, and I noticed a group of Palanquin lifters bringing it closer. I sat inside silently, and my heartbeat raced wild the whole way.

We reached my home faster than I could have walked on my own.

"We have reached," a soldier informed me, and I walked out and thanked each of them.

"Are you thirsty? Shall I bring some water to drink?" I asked. They looked at each other, and I smiled.

"You all should sit and rest for a while. I'll bring water and something to eat," I exclaimed, and I walked into the home to bring some leftover rice and milk to drink.

"Here," I said, handing them over. They looked hesitant at first but then took it.

After some refreshment, they returned, and I sat down to breathe.

"How was it?" my father asked, walking in, and I stood up to give him water.

"Not as I thought," I said, filling his glass with water.

"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a sip.

I sat before him and removed the fruits from his old bag. "He got suspicious of me. He thought that his father sent me to him," I said, and Pitaji looked at me.

"He is an intelligent man. He has an intellect, good reasoning, and, most importantly, he thinks before taking any action. There is no doubt that he doubted you, too. I would have gotten suspicious, too," he said. I went in to wash the fruits quickly and brought the knife to cut them for him.

"What do you think should I do now, Pitaji?" I asked, sitting near him again.

He stayed silent for a moment and then looked at me.

"Why do you want to help the King, exactly?" he asked, and I lowered my gaze confusedly, slicing the melon and slowly shaking my head.

"Because he asked me to," I said.

"And, do you think you can do it?" he asked me, and I unknowingly stopped slicing the melon and stared at the tip of the knife.

"I do not know," I lifted my gaze to look at him. But I want to try Pitaji. I mean, if I could convince Yuvraj to return to his home, a father would be delighted, a Kingdom would be out of threat, and maybe so many things would come in line," I said, and he placed his hand on my head and gently caressed it.

"I am afraid of you getting hurt due to your selflessness, Trisha. It is good that your intentions are pure, and I am with you in that, but you never know the intentions of others," he said, and I lowered my gaze for a moment and smiled weakly.

"I am certain that Yuvraj will not do anything that would be burdening for you or me. I promise you that," I said. He nodded weakly and took a slice of melon from the plate.

"You should talk to him directly and tell him that he cannot run away from his responsibilities," he said, and I looked at him.

"I am sure everyone has repeated it in front of him already," I said, and he nodded.

"Maybe you can tell him the same by using different words or showing him why his people need him," he said, and I nodded confusingly.

"I will try," I said, and he nodded. "The melons are sweet, you should eat too,"

I nodded with a smile and spent a little time with him, sharing his thoughts and listening to the daily stories.

For the next five days, I kept thinking of what I could do or tell him to convince him to return to the Kingdom.

The Jawar stood tall in the fields, and I had to harvest. I would wake up early in the morning, do my morning business and then walk to the field with other paid labourers to do the same.

On a fine day, it suddenly turned cloudy, and I looked at the half of the field, still yelping for work.

"We should hurry up; it might rain," I told the other labourers, and they hurried up the work, too. I began moving my sickle faster and collecting the Jawar.

Suddenly, I noticed a troop of soldiers walking through the road from afar. It did not take me long to realise that it was none other than Yuvraj Abhinandan.

I immediately pulled my dupatta down and kept focusing on my work. He would not recognise me. But, suddenly, the bright noise of his footsteps approaching made me turn back and look at him.

"Hey," he said, pushing his hair back. I stood up abruptly and tried to smile.

"Pranam, Yuvraj Abhinandan," I said, slightly bending forward. He looked around, gulped, and muttered.

"Umm, you did not come back, so I thought I would check on you. I mean, are you alright or not?" he said, and I lowered my gaze for a moment, not knowing what to reply.

"I was busy with the field, so I did not get time to walk around," I gulped nervously, and he nodded.

"Is it good that it rains around harvesting?" he asked. I looked at everyone, looking at us, and shook my head.

"Not so good," I managed to say, feeling trembles in my stomach. I did not expect him to come here and, moreover, recognise me among hundreds of women.

"Umm, I can extend a few hands of help," he said, my brows knit with confusion.

"I mean, my soldiers and I," he said, and I lowered my gaze.

"You mean King's soldier," I said, and a pause of silence followed.

"Then I can offer my hand," he said, and I lifted my gaze to look at him.

"You mean Yuvraj's hand," I said, and he stood silent momentarily and exclaimed.

"Abhinandan's hand,"

I stared blankly into his eyes and shook my head.

"I cannot afford everyone gossiping about you coming here to harvest the crops only to help me," I managed to say, and he took a step back.

"So, you do not see me as anything besides a Prince?" he asked, and I bit on my lips.

"Honestly, you can never be less than anything but a Prince. It is not the choice you have made, but it is what you are destined to be. If there is anything you are willing to do, it shall be towards your people," I said, my voice low. I feared that he would not like me talking about it, and he stood silent for a moment before taking a step back.

"Well enough, I shall take your leave," he said, and I nodded silently, watching him walk away from there and out of sight.

I took a breath of relief.

I did not know what I said. For a moment, I thought he would grant an order to kill me.

But, thankfully, he left with nothing but silence.

A silence that never felt so disturbing.

I returned to my work and continued, but it began to pour.

"Trisha, we should head back home," one of the labourers said, and I nodded.

We all began to collect the harvested crops and stored them in the bamboo hut.

The rain intensified by the time I reached my home and looked at my father, who was already there. He was busy chopping the vegetables, so I immediately washed myself up and took the knife from him.

"Let me do it, Pitaji,"

He smiled warmly and sat aside.

"You should make Kheer tomorrow as it is Ekadashi," he said, and I immediately remembered the good old days of our friendship.

Whenever I used to make Kheer, he would ask for another bowl.

"I will take some to Yuvraj Abhinandan, too. He likes it," I said, immediately regretting noticing my father's weakening expression.

"Okay," though, he agreed.

I should have been careful with my tongue. But what could I do? My father had always praised me in front of others by saying that I could be anything but clever. He teasingly referred to me as Cow.

And hiding things was not there in me. I did not know how that lie slipped through my tongue when Yuvraj asked if his father sent me.

But, I believed that if I told the truth, he would have never let me meet him again.

And why was he worried for me?

I clearly told him that I would visit if I walked nearby. Was I not clear enough?

"How was your day? How much harvesting is left?"

Suddenly, my father's voice caught my attention, and I indulged in answering, except for the part where Yuvraj came to meet me.

Why was I even thinking about him that much?

I should concentrate on my life. I was not allowed to have too many manly thoughts; this could create hurdles in my becoming the Sage, just like my father.

After all, it was the ultimate motive of everyone's life. To be elevated and enlightened.

I could not sleep soundly. The image of him stepping down the horse, walking to me, and running his hand in his hair in the middle of the field was making me shift on my sides—right and left, left and right.

Urghh.

Sighing deeply, I sat up and opened my braid to let my head feel light.

Finally, I fell asleep.

As usual, I woke up early, finished my early morning business and made the Kheer and other things for the Pooja.

I used to fast on every Ekadashi.

When my father finished his meditations for the day, he joined me for prayers. I did the Bhog, and only after that did I serve him breakfast.

Packing two bowls of Kheer, I took his permission to leave.

"It would not take much time. I will hand it over to his attendees and come back," I said. My father stared at me blankly for a moment and then nodded.

I did not know what he was thinking.

Maybe he was worried that my thoughts about following the path of sages were changing, but they were not.

It took me one and a half of Prahar to reach the Pratapgarh Kingdom.

"This is for Yuvraj," I said, trying to hand over the bag to the soldiers standing outside.

"Is it something eatable?" One of them asked, and I nodded.

"We are sorry, but we cannot touch the Yuvraj's food. You must hand it over to him or his cooks by yourself," the taller one among them told me, and I blinked blankly.

"Oh," I did not know there was such a custom.

"Where can I find the cook? Or you can call her out?" I asked, and one of them said.

"Why do you not go in by yourself and hand it over? Is it poisonous?"

I immediately took a step back.

"No! No, no, why would I try to serve him poison," my voice shook with the mere mention of it, and their expressions told me that they grew even suspicious of me now.

"Fine, I shall give it to him by myself," I said, and they opened the door for me. One of the soldiers joined me and took me to the same chamber where I had met him before.

The weather suddenly changed, and the dense, dark, rainy clouds appeared out of nowhere.

And it had already started raining. I ran a little towards his chamber and stepped inside.

The strong winds blew the curtains, releasing the slapping sound of them hitting against the walls.

The attendees ran around with the fire torches to light the oil lamps.

I gulped silently, feeling nervous all of a sudden. I needed help understanding the change of weather.

"You are here?"

A shiver ran down my spine as I suddenly heard his voice.

I turned around to see him walking inside with a bow in his hand. His clothes were stained in blood, and I took a step back as he approached.

"Are you wounded?" I could not stop myself from asking.

"No," he chuckled. "It's a Lion's blood," he said, wiping off the slight remains of the blood over his fingers by wiping it over his chest.

"You... Killed a Lion?" I stuttered, and his smile shrunk on his lips. He clarified.

"I hunted him,"

I felt a metallic taste in my tongue. I knew Kings had a variety of fun activities, but it never occurred to me that Yuvraj was the one among them.

"But, you hated hunting. You could not even hunt a deer in the Gurukul," my voice broke even more.

Suddenly, I felt as if I did not even know this person.

It was not like I was shocked, but knowing was shattering.

"That was five years ago. A lot of things have changed since then, too, a lot of people, too, rather everyone, so it's good to change yourself with time, too," he said, staring at the blowing curtain and looking away.

"Give me a few moments. I shall take a bath and change very quickly. You can sit inside," he said and walked away, and I stood frozen.

I felt as if I did not know this person. When he was young, he was scared or rather cautious about lifting his eyes in front of me. He was silent, observant, and resolved.

I did not know what exactly had killed his inner child—the walls of the Kingdom or the blades of betrayal. The former are so thick that one cannot escape them and breathe the fresh air, and later, they are so sharp that once your head is near, blood is specific.

But, all in all, it was killed.

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes for a moment.

I waited until he came back in a fresh, dark violet Kurta. His wet hairlocks dropped water on his face.

"I made Kheer today, so I thought of giving you," I said, and he looked at my hand for a moment and nodded.

"Thank you so much for being so thoughtful. Come inside and eat a little, too," he suggested in a slow voice. I shook my head and put my hand out.

"I should be leaving,"

"But it's raining. The roads will be muddy, and it's not safe," he said, and I looked behind him. The curtains had turned wet, and sprinkles of heavy rain were falling over us.

"Come, it might stop in some time," he pushed a little, and I nodded.

"Okay," I muttered.

I followed him silently to the meeting area where the couches were laid. A book was on the table, and a dead Hukaah was beside the couch.

"You started smoking too?" I asked, and he lowered his gaze while sitting across me and opening Kheer's bag.

"Occasionally," he answered.

I settled down on the couch, too, my fingers fighting each other with the slight discomfort. I should have left by now. My father would be worried if I was late.

"It smells perfect. I have got nostalgia," he said in a weak voice. I remembered how he, Rudra Bhaisa, Ranvijay, and especially Agastya used to fight over the last bowl of kheer.

"Here," he said, passing one earthen pot to me, and I immediately shook my head.

"Both of them are for you only," I clarified, and he looked at the pot momentarily.

"Oh, it's your fast today," he said and gulped, putting the pot on the table.

Closing his eyes, he shook his head.

"I am so sorry. I did not know; otherwise, I would not have appeared before in a blood-stained outfit," he said, and I shook my head.

"That's okay. I did not expect you to know," I said, slightly awkward.

And he could have sensed that, too, as he did not say anything after that.

He ate in silence and licked the remains with his finger. Thankfully, some of his childhood was alive.

I was not staring at him while he ate. I was confident, but my eyes betrayed me occasionally.

Though I was desperately waiting for the rain to stop.

"It is not stopping. I should leave, or it will get really dark by the time I reach," I said, standing up, and he stood up, too.

"But it's literally lashing down," he reminded me.

"I suggest you stay here. I will get the guest room ready for you and send a soldier to inform your father about your safety," he said, and I immediately shook my head.

"No! I cannot. I need to head back home," I said, and he knitted his brows.

"But it's unsafe," he said, and I suddenly felt heavy in my heart.

My father would not be just worried but devastated to know I spent a night in the Kingdom when his family was not here, even if it was sleeping.

"I will send the message to him," he tried to say, but I took a few more steps away from him, too.

"No, I am leaving," I said and raced up my feet.

"Wait, I am coming with you," I heard his protective voice.

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