𝐀𝐚𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢

Year-1563

Chandra Nagri

A girl, covered with Haldi, was sitting between many ladies who were taking their turn applying Haldi on her, but she seemed lost.

Lost in thought about what had happened in the past few days.

Lost in thoughts about her family.

Lost in thoughts about her future with the man she had not seen even once in her whole life.

Lost in thoughts about how her hope to find her groom was shattered.

Here she was, sitting with a blank face, while everyone else was celebrating.

After all, it was the wedding of the princess of Chandra Nagri.

Maybe everyone wanted her gone. Maybe they never wanted her to be with them. That's why they were marrying her to a prince who was famous for his cruelty

A week agoAakriti pov-

I was in my garden taking care of my plants as usual. I had almost every flower in the garden because I love them.

I love how they grow into a full-grown and beautiful flower from a small seed. And some flowers even had thorns on them.

Flowers are beautiful and dangerous at the same time. That's what I love about them.

Indeed, small things can grow into beautiful and deadly big creatures. That's how a woman is. She is treated like she's a fragile little doll, but she's the one who handles the whole house alone sometimes even without the help of others.

They think women are not stronger than men when they are the ones who bear so much pain and give birth to the men who suppress them.

They think that women are not intelligent and aren't capable of handling business like men, but all they need is a change.

That's all it will take to take their place in this world. A chance.

I was wondering all this while giving water to my plants when I noticed a dasi running my way. She stopped in front of me, taking a long breath as she was breathless. "Why are you running like that? Everything's fine?" I asked her, making her sit on the grass. "Princess, Maharaj is asking for you right now. He said that you should be present in the family meeting hall as a serious discussion is going on there," she said. "Okay," I said and made my way towards the family meeting hall where only family members can enter.

Even though I was never called to be present in the family meetings, my stepmother, the second wife of my father, always managed to convince my mother and father that my presence while discussing family matters is not important.

I don't know what changed today.

With that, I entered inside the hall. Everyone was present there, including my mother, stepmother, and my grandmother. My step-brothers were not there as they had gone to complete their training in Guru Kul.

Everyone looked at me as I entered the hall. I went to my baba saa and touched his feet, then my maa's feet, then my dadi saa's feet, then my choti maa's (stepmother) feet.

Only my baba saa gives me a blessing with his heart. Everyone else just places their hand on my head for show. Even if the atmosphere of the hall was depressing, I found my father's presence comforting.

I had always found my comfort in his presence. "Aakriti take a seat," my baba said. He never takes my name. He always calls me bitiya rani. Now, the sound of my name from his mouth scared me. "Ji baba saa" (ok, baba saa), I said and moved to sit beside my maa.

Baba saa was sitting in the middle of the table and my maa saa was sitting at his left and my choti maa saa was sitting at his right side and beside her was sitting my dadi saa.

"Hamne aap sabko yha ek jarui baat krne bula hai." (I called all of you here to discuss something important.) My baba saa's voice was the only thing that could be heard the whole hall. "Maharani aur Maa saa ko tho iss baat ka andaza hoga hi ki main kya kehne vala hoon." (Queen and Mother might have already suspected what I'm going to say.) He continued.

I could see the expression on everyone's face. My maa sa's and dadi sa's face indicated that she knew what was coming.

"Beta, I have fixed your marriage with the crown prince of Suryagarh." He dropped the bomb after a moment of silence.

I stared at him for a moment.

Did he say what I heard? Yes.

He just said that he had arranged my marriage. With the crown prince of Suryagarh. The one who is rumored to be cruel. I have not seen him, but I know he's scary. Everyone says that he's dangerous.

"Baba saa." It seemed like I was out of words. "That seems like the best idea to me," my stepmother said.

And why would she not find it a good idea? After all, I'll be going out of her sight. "BABA SAA I CAN'T MARRY HIM UNTIL I SEE HIM AND GET TO KNOW HIM BETTER."

Somehow, I found the courage and said what I wanted to say. If no one was going to take a stand for me, then I was willing to take a stand for myself.

"I have decided that he is going to be your husband, and they will be here in a week, and you will be a married woman in the next ten days. All the preparations for the wedding are going to start from now, and the rituals will start from tomorrow. Maharani saa, I give the responsibility of this marriage to you, hope you won't disappoint me." Baba said, shocking me.

If what he had said earlier was a shock, then this was something above shock. "As you say, Maharaj," Maa saa said. "This is my order," Baba saa said, looking at me and going out of the hall without meeting my stare. "You should not have said that to your father," Dadi saa said.

"I always told you to have some control over this girl, but you never listened to me. Now look, she denied a marriage proposal," Choti Maa said.

They all started cursing me, and my maa saa just ignored them, including me.

I think this is destiny.

I can't do anything now. Can I? His serious tone and the use of my name instead of his usual endearing term left me uneasy.

He announced that he had arranged for my marriage to the crown prince of Suryagarh. I was stunned.

The rumors about the prince being cruel and dangerous had reached my ears, and the thought of marrying him filled me with fear.

I mustered the courage to object, but my stepmother supported my father's decision.

Despite their disregard for my feelings, I voiced my refusal to marry someone I had never met. My father, however, remained resolute, declaring that the preparations for the wedding would begin immediately, and the marriage would take place within ten days.

As my family members criticized and cursed me for defying my father's decision, I realized that I felt powerless.

It seemed that my fate was beyond my control.

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Aakriti pov-

(Present)

Now that the haldi ceremony is over, the Mehendi function will take place until late at night.

Tomorrow morning, I will be marrying a man whom I have never met or seen before.

They took me to my chamber to get ready for the Mehendi function, and I wore a green lehenga.

I felt like a soon-to-be bride, with my skin glowing from the haldi applied by the ladies earlier. A dasi escorted me to the venue where the Mehendi function would be held, and I sat on the sofa under a beautiful tent.

All the ladies, including my mother, stepmother, and grandmother, were present, but they were too busy to talk to me.

After my hands were adorned with henna, the ladies started dancing. Once the henna dried, they removed it, revealing dark red designs on my hands and legs.

Someone commented on how my husband would love me because of the dark-colored henna. However, only time will tell if he will truly love me. "Take Princess Aakriti to her chamber. She will rest now and start preparing for the wedding early tomorrow morning," Maa saa ordered a group of dasis.

They took me to my chamber, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep that night.

And, as expected, I didn't sleep the whole night.

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Glossary

□ hoti maa - step mother

□dadi saa - grandmother

□maa saa - mother

□baba saa- father

□dasi- lady servant

□mehandi- heena which is applied on hands and legs.