Challenging Fate

chapter 6

The  third ring of the bell was the signal to start the biggest yagya of the decade . With the third ring started the heavenly chants of shlokas and mantras simultaneously ,  shlokas by the woman in the temple and mantras by the priests and men outdoor . Adhira was relieved that she was able to complete her part in this holy ritual on time and without any flaws . All she had to do now was to thank her knight in shining armour, without him she would have been never able to complete this task . She was in life  debt to him afterall he did save her life  , and she intended to repay it anyhow , after-all a rajput always repays a debt . But first she has to know his name . but when she turned around he was gone .  

Jalal was amazed by the hindu culture ,all the heavy chants and mantras which started with the third ring of the bell were soothing to him . He felt peaceful and calm ,something he hadn't felt since he was on run from the enemies with his step-mother. He was in bliss. His chain of thoughts was broken by the worried voice of his step- mother 

" Where were you Jalal ? I was soo worried come inside and close the windows I cannot bare the horrid screeching sound  of those chants. "said Anga (step-mother's name ) with a disgusted face . 

Jalal followed his mother's words  but that doesn't mean he agrees with them .All the time he has spent hiding in these hindu kingdoms has made him love hindu culture a lot . He sometimes wonders if instead of anga his own mother would have been with him what would his life be like ? Anga loved him she really did , but there were times he really missed his own mother Hamida . He is sometimes jealous of his younger brother Adam , Adam has all he ever wanted love . Anga loves him but she  treats him as the future emperor and not as her son . Adam goes to bed listening to stories of great heroes , while Jalal goes to bed listening to stories of great emperors most of which he thinks are cruel and stupid . Adam gets to play whenever he wants and his mother encourages him , while  Jalal  has to live with "emperors are born to rule not play " . While his mother (Anga ) teaches his brother how to read and write , he is taught how to make people kneel in front of him .While his brother goes to bed drinking a warm glass of milk , he goes to bed drinking bitter yet colorful liquid , which he found out were different types of poison when he was 8 , he was fed poison since childhood so that his body got immune to it , he was heartbroken but then he remembered "emperors never feel heartbroken " and "emperors never cry"  times like this he is reminded of what a kind soul his own mother is . He respected his mother Anga for protecting him and taking care of him but she can never replace his real mother Hamida . 

 Adhira was confused where did her knight in shining armour go, then her 6 year old brain thought 'he must be hiding and waiting for me to seek him ' after searching for what felt like eternity Adhira's brain processed that he was not here he left ,then Adhira felt angry how dare the boy with unknown name run away leaving her ,the princess of Jaisalmer alone ! then she felt distraught how will she repay  her debt, then she was determined she was going to find him no matter what .   While Adhira was thinking  , she came face to face with huffing Kunvar  Shakti and  Phool Kanvar . 

"Hey bhagvaan Adhira ! kaaha thi aap , aap jaante hai hum kitne chintit the ! aap pandhra minute mei aane vali thi aur hum aapka ek ghante se intezaar karre the , vo toh Ek Ling ji ki kripa hai hume aap mil gai varna Kunvar Shakti toh abhi unke daaji raj ko jaakar sab kuch batane vale the(oh my god  Adhira ! where the hell were you , do you even know how worried we were ! you were supposed to return in 15 minutes ,and we waited for you for an hour , It's god's grace we found you here or else Shakti was prepare to tell the truth to his father.)  ." said a huffing Phool Kanvar 

" Ye ghaav , ye ghaav kaise laga aapko Adhira ? kitna rakt behe raha hai hume kabhi aapki zid maanni hi nahi chahiye thi !ye sab humeri hi galti hai , hum sabko kya batayenge ! sab kitne naaraz hoenge humse ....(this wound , how the hell did you get hurt ? I should have never agreed to your  stupid plan ! this is all my fault ,what will we tell everyone ! our parents would be soo disappointed ...) " his worried rambling was cut off by over dramatic Adhira 

" Hey Narayan humeri toh kisiko chinta hi nahi hai hume kitni peeda mei jaante bhi hai aap dono ! ye nahi ki chalo Adhira   tumhe aushadhi laga de ....(hey Narayan no one cares for me , do you even know how much my wound is hurting ! you should be treating my wound rather than lecturing me... )" without letting Adhira finish her baseless rambling Phool dragged her to the royal medical chamber. 

 There was one thing Adhira knew , Phool and Shakti wont help her escape the castle for a while so she decided to keep her wall size ego aside and ask him for help , her enemy for eternity Kanvar Pratap . All that just to find one special mystery boy ........

~yours truly 

the author