Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flecks of yellow dust floated in the air like clouds. Ladies wearing a profusion of silks in all the rainbow colors continued pounding turmeric in stone mortars, alternating between both hands in a rhythmic pattern. Yet others were engaged in making sandalwood paste by rubbing it against marble slabs along with fresh rose water.

Giggles and laughter erupted spontaneously as a few of them crooned naughty, tongue-in-cheek folk melodies and marriage songs. There was a song for each of the functions and rituals. The ladies whirled round and round in pairs, clapping and tapping their hands to the beat of the drums and cymbals being played in the background.

A blush crept up Avantika's cheeks as she sat with beautiful floral patterns of gorintaku etched along the length of her arms and legs, waiting for them to dry up.

"My son will not be able to take his eyes off his bride tomorrow", Sanga snickered as she sat down beside Avantika for a moment relaxing her sagging feet and cooling her hot breath. She had overworked herself beyond her capacity. She closed her eyelids and fanned herself with the ends of her saree as wiped her forehead beaded with sweat with the back of her elbows, "I'm burning. Will somebody get something cool for me to drink?"

"Here you are Sanga; a glass of sweet panakam with jaggery, fresh spring water, spices and herb."

Sanga involuntarily extended her hands for the glass and gulped down the sweet, syrupy liquid down her throat. "This is like bliss." It was only then her wide eyes gave away the shock that it was Rajamata Devasena herself who was serving the drink. "Rajamata, I didn't realize you..."

Devasena patted her back, "Come on, Sanga. I am a mother today just like you. I too want to do things, run errands for our son's wedding just like you. Rajamata took a holiday. And don't you dare Rajamata me."

Sanga caught hold of her ears and half-closed her right eye as she said in a tongue-in-cheek manner, "I wouldn't."

The turmeric, sandalwood and rose water paste that had been prepared earlier was smeared on Avantika's cheeks by all the women, one after the other.

"How long should I keep this gorintaku? Can I wash it off now?" Avantika asked, displaying her ignorance in the matters of grooming and beautification.

"It takes several hours for the gorintaku to ripen. When it is washed off, if the hands are the deepest shade of red, it means the girl's husband loves her that much. I would leave it on till midnight if I were you", Devasena explained as she touched Avantika's forehead with her palms. There was a soft glow in her eyes as she looked upon her. "Avantika, I am glad my son chose you. I wouldn't have been able to choose better even if I tried. You are the daughter I never had."

Avantika's eyes welled up with tears of happiness as she buried herself in her future mother-in-law's arms. "I never saw my mother. I've always wondered how she would look. But now I know."

The day had passed in the blink of an eye. Avantika found herself in the privacy of her chamber after a whole day spent with women, chortling and buzzing away with merriment. She had smiled and blushed like there was no tomorrow at the blatant jokes and not so subtle hints they continually kept throwing her way. The curtains were drawn and the lights in her chamber had been extinguished. But sleep would not come to her on a night like this. She tossed and turned from this side of the bed to the other.

She had never had a home. Except her rebel comrades, she knew no friends or family. Her entire childhood had been spent hopping from one jungle hideout to another. The thing that lay uppermost on her mind had been surviving from day to day.

There were times when she stared into the vast void of space that lay before her. The emptiness mirrored the unfilled space within her own heart yearning to be filled. That need within her lay unquenched. One day, Mahendra came. He changed everything. When she was with him, she felt nothing could go wrong. He completed her and filled all the dark spaces within her.

The future beckoned to her like an open book and she was somehow part of that story. There was also this unspeakable dread and fear about what if this was also snatched from her like everything had been since her childhood. Sweat poured out her pores. She loosened the clothes around her neck as she exhaled loudly. It had grown too hot and stuffy around her.

Avantika sauntered out of her chamber at a leisurely pace, breathing in the night air. Her guards followed behind her, maintaining a space of ten steps between her and them. She did not let that bother herself. They're doing their job. She smiled to herself.

The sounds and noises in the palace had subsided. She stood near a balcony breathing in the night air caressing her skin. A sudden movement flashed across the corner of her eyes to the right. Her senses were in the double alert mode. She stood up on her toes as her eyes strained to make out from the dim and blurry outlines of the garden below.

Dharini, a black cloak drawn over her head, was crouching towards a side gate in the garden. She glanced warily to her back and sides before she flung it open. There were fifteen masked intruders in all.

Avantika's voice took on a steely edge, "The garden gate has been breached. Pass me a sword." She turned to the guards behind her and said, "One of you, raise the alarm. And the rest, stand down beside me."

She dug her heel in the ground and arched backwards to catch the sword passed by the guards. Knees wrapped round the nearby pillar, she slid down and landed on the hard ground in a moment. The guards followed suit a moment later.

"Quick. To the narrow passage. If they cross it, we will be hard pressed. They are fifteen and we are five. But we must hold them off till help arrives."

One of the guards ran towards the high tower to sound the alarm gong while the rest stood with their blades raised high, shoulder to shoulder beside Avantika, sealing off the narrow passage. The dried-up patches of green gorintaku kept pealing off in layers, revealing the blood red floral patterns on her arms and hands, in the eerie light of the lanterns hanging overhead. The knot of her hair had come undone and was flying all around. Her fingers wrapped tight round the edge of the hilt as she took her stance.