As the bouncing flames reflected in the watery glisten in my eyes, I stared forlornly at the burning pyre.

My head was tilted like a statue and the putrid smell of burnt wood reeked up into my nostrils.

The abyss which was brimming with light, seemed to create a dark, heavy heart inside me.

Rani Dharma wept quietly beside the pyre and Maharani was glowing in the bright dawn that had arose that day, with Sushim standing quietly at the back, probably watching the far distance beyond him to daydream about his crowning ceremony.

I kept turning my head to the gate of the courtyard, to see if Ashok had come.

He wasn't here and we were almost past the half way point in the funeral.

I looked around nervously and tried to wonder in between the crowds of family members, however I could not go too far.

The gate was being drawn together; it closed with a slight thud and my hopes sank.

The priest stopped reciting at a melancholy note and we all took a minutes silence to pray and remember.

"Who will take the ashes?" The priest spoke.

We all looked around at each other.

"I will. As - my bother is not here, I shall do the honours, being the most righteous." Sushim pretended to look disappointed.

The priest nodded.

I eyed him angrily. If only Ashok was here.

I felt rage flowing through my veins when a messenger came through the gate worriedly and dropped off a scroll.

In it was written: Dear Mother,
How are you? I'm sorry I could not attend, but I am busy in preparing for the arrival of mine and Ahankara's child. I give my condolences to everyone. Apologies.

My knees went weak when I heard about her pregnancy.

"Burn the scroll." I heard Maharani say to the messenger.

She came over to me, exaggerating her sympathy greatly.

"I'm so disgusted by Ashok's behavior, aren't you? I feel the pain you're going through. Your husband is no more yours." She said in a sad, blue tone.

I didn't look up at her while she spoke. I just stared at the ground, hoping to become emerged in other thoughts.

The death of Samrat seemed to have pass over everyone in a couple of hours, yet the thought still haunted me.

His own son didn't even show up at his funeral, let alone carry out the whole procedure.

"Let me in! Let me in!" I suddenly heard a frantic high pitched voice outside my door.

"Let him in." I ordered, narrowing my eyes.

A messenger was there, trying to get past the guards outside.

"Yes?"

"Princess - I have got good news! Prince Ashok is coming back to the palace today!" The messenger said.

Nor did I react or smile, I just continued beating my heart to the rhythm of the air.

"You may go." I responded quietly.

The messenger looked confused as to why I wasn't over whelmed.

I sat myself on my bed for countless hours, trying to make sense of life. A life that maybe seemed fruitful at the start, but took a steep turn near the middle. How would it end?

*knock knock*

"Kaurvaki?" A surprised yet delighted voice came into the room.

It seemed too familiar to be able to recognize.

I didn't look up to see who it was; it didn't really matter anymore. My mind wasn't focused.

The voice repeated. "How are you?" It said softly.

Ashok was here.

I felt the uneasiness rush to him upon hearing my silence.

The quietness said it all.

"Good, I guess." I jerked my head up and shrugged.

"You missed a lot." I said, smiling sarcastically at him.

He blinked down towards the ground.

"Dhrupad's archery skills, functions, the grand feast - our child's journey." I ended with slight tears in my eyes. I got up and walked across to the the washing line, collecting in some of the small clothes that Rani Dharma had made for the baby.

He looked up at me abruptly with distress across the slope around his eyes.

His chiseled cheeks hung blushingly, and stopped, turning around to face him gravely.

"I - I never tried to differentiate you between Ahankara, Kaurvaki." He said softly, hesitating.

I smirked.

"How could you, Prince Ashok? You don't do anything wrong at all do you? You're - you're perfect just the way you are aren't you?" The corners of my mouth melted and my voice went shaky. I was on the verge of breaking down into tears.

He looked at me in anxiety.

"I can understand that you may be angry at me but.... but why went it out on Ahankara? She hasn't done anything wrong."

I turned away, facing away from him as he walked up to me, inches away.

"Why are you so upset with Ahankara? It was my duty to..."

"Yes of course! A woman's reputation is clearly in your hands. Of course you fulfill your duties, of course you're not biased at all!"
I turned round and roared in his face.

"Did you ever even bother to check on us? The situation in the palace? You could have at least come in for a day or two to at least - check if everything was alright?!"

"Kaurvaki, I know where you're coming from but please! I promise I'll try and equal out my time between both of you. At the moment she needs me! She's due for her child soon!" Ashok said protectively.

I stared at him in utter shock.

Ashok looked at me destructively.

"You? You will equal out your time? I don't think so. Why would you take out your time to see ME when you didn't even ATTEND your own father's funeral!" I screamed.

His mouth dropped open.

I breathed heavily, softening my gaze as I realized how acrimoniously I had talked.

"What? My father's funeral? H-how did this happen?"

I looked at him angrily.

"Stop pretending like you don't know what happened."

"KAURVAKI TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED." He screamed.

I jumped at his naive responses.

"S- Samrat died... yester- yesterday." I said, rather taken aback.

Ashok went pale and I thought his insides had turned solid for a minute.

"A-Ashok?"

"You never told me." He said hoarsely.

"I sent so many scrolls Ashok, how else was I meant t...."

"You never told me." He repeated, slowly and angrily.

"I did! What are you saying?!" I replied frantically, tears cascading down my cheeks.

"They must have not reached you then! But I did. Rani Dharma herself wrote a message herself and you even replied! The scroll came today. We were so shocked that you had such a mild reaction to his death."

"What?!" He jerked up to look at me.

I jumped at the redness in his eyes.

"I never sent any scroll today!"

"What? Then how did -"

"There seems to be some misunderstanding." Ashok sighed, his voice choking on his salty tears.

I suddenly remembered my conversation with Maharani:

"Burn the scroll." I heard Maharani say to the messenger.

She came over to me, exaggerating her sympathy greatly.

Hi everybody! Thanks for 2K, means a lot to me x love ya, keep reading for some more exciting twists!