“No harm in asking,” he grinned. Then the smiled faded, and with an oddly cute hesitation, he asked, “Can I tell you where I’d gone today?”

Disregarding the wrench in her heart, Nandini firmly said, “No. I – don’t – want to know. Now let me go so I can get the food.”

He didn’t relax his hold, and to her growing irritation, simply looked up meditatively. “It has stopped raining.”

“Yes, I noticed. Now could you stop smothering me?” she snapped.

Without responding, he shifted his attention to the unpopulated area at the back of the house.

“These woods are inching too close to the house, don’t you think?” he enquired seriously.

“Stop changing the - ” she stopped and breathed deeply to control her ire. “So you won’t let me go without telling me. Fine! Enlighten me.…what was more important than me?” she asked bitingly.

He had evidently not foreseen that dangerous question, as reflected in the frown that wrinkled his forehead. He released her suddenly and moved backwards.

“If that’s how you see it, I don’t want to tell you,” he said tersely and whirled away.

Crossing his arms, he stared into the beautiful night.

She looked at his annoyed profile.

It should have made her angry. But for some bizarre reason, he looked adorable at that instant. And despite her best efforts to be immune and make use of the opportunity to leave, something began hurting in her chest.

She sighed and said, “I’m sorry about putting it like that.”

But he didn’t show any sign of relenting.  

Not seeing any other option, she moved so that she was standing right in front of him. He looked down at her imperiously. Battling awkwardness and the hot blush on her cheeks, she tugged ineffectually at the arms that had been crossed against his wide chest. The aloofness in his eyes turned to bemused pleasure as he let her draw his arms free, and then she resignedly re-arranged them around her slender body.

“Can we go back a few seconds?” she asked cajolingly, looking up at his brilliant features. “You said you wanted to tell me where you were all day. And this time I’ll say….”

She pretended to think about it for a moment.

“Yes! This time I’ll say – Yes, your highness, I know it would have been a really important and special mission or you would never have gone anywhere on my birthday. So pleaaaasssseee tell me! I’m dying to know!” she nodded vigorously with dazzling animation.

Prithvi had been listening to her with increasing amusement, and as she concluded her petition, he chuckled. 

“You are too cute for your own good,” he mused.

And even as she was relishing that captivating sound, he yanked her closer and kissed her with an overpowering fervor again……long and hard. Her already painful lips protested at the long-drawn-out luscious assault, but she could no more have protested or stopped him than evade a lightning bolt.

When several minutes had ticked past, he leisurely lifted his head and cuddled her closer.

“Since you won’t stop nagging for an answer, I guess I’ll just have to tell you,” he grinned down at her glazed face.

“What?” she mumbled dimly.

“I had to go because it was probably my last chance to find a photograph of my mother.”

In the midst of learning to breathe again, she stilled and stared at him with shock. In her mind, she saw him sitting on that rock outside the old temple, alone and silently tormented with memories.

Do you have a picture of her?

No, not a single one. This is all I have left…

“You – you got it?” she whispered.

The joy that shone in his eyes and his smile answered her question.

She shrieked, then clapped her hands to her mouth to restrain herself, but she couldn’t resist doing a little ecstatic skip in his arms. Bursting with mindless delight, she put her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly, and didn’t bother to hold back the tears of happiness that flowed down her cheeks.

He hugged her back just as fiercely, and the strength of his clasp said everything about his boundless elation that his words didn’t. He instinctively knew she was feeling his joy as intensely as she had experienced the pain of his wound a few minutes ago.

It was completely bewildering…..frightening….and exhilarating….

This knowledge that another human being was so deeply in tune with his emotions that he didn’t have to utter a word to express himself…

The awareness that his happiness was hers, and his pain too…

 “I can’t believe I have her picture at last,” he muttered.

 “I can’t wait to see her,” she replied huskily.

He loosened his arms from around her, gripped her wrist and began walking towards Ayodhya’s terrace door.

“Where are we going?” she asked quickly, tugging at her captive hand.

“Don’t you want to see the photo?” he stopped and asked with a frown.

“I do, but not – not now. There’s no electricity!” she said hastily.

“We have a generator,” he retorted.

“But still….I - I’ll see it later,” she stammered.

He let go of her hand, and regarded her cynically. “Oh right...I’d forgotten….I can’t be trusted.”

“It’s not that simple,” she said exasperatedly, grabbing his arm as he began to walk away in a temper.

Though he still looked irritated, he didn’t move again. Encouraged, she quickly walked to the extinguished candle and picked up the plate of food kept next to it and removed the covering platter.

Walking up to him, she held out the plate. “Please have it. Look! I even saved some cake for you,” she smiled coaxingly.

He glowered at her. “I told you I’m not hungry.”

“Please eat a little bit at least….just a little….please.”

He didn’t answer, and just looked away pointedly.

She felt helpless for a moment. Then with a determined thought, she scooped up some of the fragrant rice preparation with a spoon and held it up to him.

He looked at her, startled for a moment. Then to her great surprise and relief, he leaned forward and took the bite she was offering. Feeling very warm and fuzzy inside, she refilled the spoon and held it out again and again, and he silently ate up every morsel of the food. When the plate was empty, she picked up the piece of cake she had secretly put aside for him in the evening, and raised it up.

“I think I’ve had my share of sweets for today,” he muttered, looking at her lips.

She turned pink, and mumbled, “You don’t want it?”

Feeling some pity for her enchanting shyness, he grinned, and drawing her hand to his mouth, wolfed down the cake clasped between her fingers. To her blushing confusion, he didn’t release her hand.  With a wicked sensuousness that made her toes curl with a strange, unspeakable pleasure, he began to draw the cream-coated tips of her fingers into his mouth, without taking his eyes away from her bashful face.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked. 

“I don’t want to waste any bit of the cream,” he said piously.

“Stop it!” she protested weakly, yanking her hand out of his.

“You won’t let me finish my dessert?” he asked innocently.

“No!” she snapped, hurriedly walking away to keep the plate down. When she turned, he was rubbing his neck, but he immediately put his hand down on noticing her concern.

“Is your neck hurting?”

He started to say something and she intuitively knew he wanted to deny having any such human weakness, but then he uncomfortably admitted. “Little bit.”

Nandini stood undecided for a minute. She would feel guilty if she left now. And if she did as her heart wanted, it would help her in two ways. She could massage his shoulders to give him some modicum of relief. Then he would inevitably go to sleep, and she could leave in peace.

With a new resolution, she walked over to the easy chair on Ayodhya’s side of the terrace and said, “Sit here.”

“Why?”

“Because I asked you to,” she said irately. “If you don’t, then I’ll leave this very moment.”

He gaped at her, then with some growing comprehension, he walked over to the chair and smoothly said, “No, you sit here. I’ll be more comfortable on the floor.”

His words conjured up a far more intimate setting than she had in mind. And it also meant she wouldn’t be able to leave without waking him up.

But before she could say anything, he had clasped her arms and bundled her into the chair. Then he sat down comfortably on the ground in front of her with his legs stretched out, resting his back against her knees and legs. She felt slightly befuddled with the new situation, but even through that fog, she yet again sensed the utter fatigue in him and wryly marveled at his refusal to give in to the tiredness.

Fortifying herself with the knowledge that she could help reduce some of his exhaustion, she nervously began kneading the muscles of his shoulders and neck. As her soft but determined fingers began working their compelling magic, he swore in amazement at the sheer relief and relaxation that warmed the flesh.

She flinched and said, “Don’t abuse!”

“Where the – hell - did you learn to do this?” he asked, with an astonishment that was insulting.

“Nowhere,” she said acidly. “I used to do it for my father sometimes and still do it for grandfather when he’s really tired.”

“Hmmmm…..this is bloody brilliant. Thank you,” he murmured.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled, softening with pleasure.

For a long while, neither of them spoke, and her fingers continued to move gently but unceasingly on the stiff muscles.

Her hands were just beginning to ache when Prithvi caught them gently by the wrist and kissed the inside of her palms before holding them together against his chest.

Tilting his head, he rested it on her lap, looking up at her face with a silent, unsettling intensity. 

She smiled down at him, and then all of a sudden, remembered the horrible day when Indrajit had attacked him. That day too, as she had sat with his head on her lap waiting for Sumer Singh to arrive, he had looked at her like this…..a quiet gaze that seemed to be saying much, and nothing at all….

She drew her hands from his grip and stroked his forehead and hair lovingly. He smiled and sighed contently. Then he closed his eyes and in a few moments, he was fast asleep. 

Her back was aching. She could lean back and rest, but he wouldn’t be comfortable for long. Unless….

Slowly, with very careful maneuvering, she slid out of the chair to sit on the ground, trying to ensure that his sleep would not be disturbed. Her heart clenched when he stirred restlessly and opened his eyes.

She wordlessly tried to coax him into the new arrangement and smiled when he rubbed his eyes and looked at her with a sleepy confusion that was incredibly cute, more so because it was so uncharacteristic. Then he drowsily laid his head on her lap and drifted into sleep instantly.

As she continued to stroke fingers through the luxurious black hair, tears suddenly blurred her vision.

She touched the thin chain coiled around her neck and thought of a young woman whose spirit had been broken by fate.  But Priyamvada had not been given a choice, whereas she was participating wholeheartedly in her own downfall.

Strength and self respect…..she seemed to be losing both in face of a love that refused to be denied.

***********************

She awakened slowly and vaguely registered the faint light breaking over the horizon. Her lids were still very heavy as she had dropped off to sleep only a couple of hours ago. Her head and back were resting against a chair.

But why had she not slept well….and why was she sitting on the terrace….

The answers came in a swift flash and she gasped at the sight of the gradually lightening sky. She looked down at her lap.

He was awake.

Prithvi was awake. Lying at ease with one leg folded and the other stretched out, he was playing with her right hand……holding it against his own as if to measure the difference, then lightly running a finger in a circle on her palm.

“How long have you been awake?” she croaked.

“Just a few minutes,” he replied, toying with her slim fingers.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?! Get up now!” she squealed.

“No, thanks,” he politely declined.

“Prithvi, please!”

“I don’t want to…..this is very comfortable,” he said obstinately.

Nandini felt as though the last strand of her sanity was about to break.

“Please get up! If anyone sees us, I’ll be killed,” she said, genuinely frightened.

“Alright! Alright!” he said gloomily.

To her enormous relief, he sat up reluctantly and rose to his feet. As she also scrambled upright, he muttered, “Drama queen!”

“What did you call me?” she asked angrily.

He didn’t make the mistake of repeating himself, and moving forward, gently caressed the inflamed-looking skin of her throat.

“I’m sorry about this,” he said with irrefutable guilt, “I’ll make sure I don’t hurt your skin like that again.”

“There won’t be a next time!” she said furiously, pushing away his hand.

“I’m starting to think you’re not a morning person,” he observed.

Nandini closed her eyes for a moment and tried to rein in the desire to claw at his face. She felt disoriented and sluggish, but there was so much to be done as soon as possible.

 “We need to clear this place!” she said distractedly, looking at the wide range of items lying around the terrace.

He shook his head. “YOU need to clean up. I just need to watch,”

“I – I can’t decide what to do! Help me!” she said desperately.

“No, its fun to watch when you get totally hysterical,” he said enthusiastically.

She glared at him in rising fury, then stormed into Vrindavan’s terrace and began to agitatedly look around to gather a sense of what needed to be done.

He watched with great interest as she frantically tried to decide where to begin….the medical case, the wrapped gift, the candle, the plates…..

For a start, she would just place them together and then transport them back into the house to their respective spots.

As she began to gather up the articles at a frenetic pace, he followed her around idly, and contemplatively said, “You know….that was the best sleep I’ve had in years….so either your brother was right, or there was something in that food you stuffed down my throat yesterday.”

Wild with anger, she turned around and hissed, “There was nothing wrong with the food but now I wish I had poisoned it.”

“People have tried that before and failed,” he confessed. “By the way, you should be more careful with all of that. They are priceless souvenirs.”

Sidetracked from her mission, she confusedly asked, “Souvenirs? Of what?”

“Our first night together,” he answered seriously. 

She picked up the candle stand and hurled it at him. “Out! Get out!” she screamed.

Smoothly ducking the metallic article, he brooded, “So my initial diagnosis was right. You’re really not a morning person.”

********************

Nandini peeked down the staircase to look into the living room. It was empty. She took a moment to rehearse her answers and yet again tried to remember if any material remnants of yesterday’s meeting were still lying around the terrace.

But she had scoured almost every inch of it in the morning, and she was sure she had cleared the area thoroughly. She had even been forced to bring down the mysterious gift that His Highness had deemed to give her and refused to take back. It had been stuffed with resentful care into a pile of her clothes to avoid discovery.  She had not opened it…..and would not open it.

No….there was nothing incriminating on the terrace. The only evidences of yesterday’s rendezvous were on her body, she thought bitterly.

Her back was aching from having sat up all night against the chair. Her lips were still a stinging red, there were pinkish blotches on her neck, her hip continued to hurt, and most dangerous of all – a gold chain lay smugly around her throat. She was still very undecided on what she would tell her family, or her friends about the chain. She could tell her mother that it was just gold plated, and had been gifted by her friends, and she could tell her friends that her family had given it to her. But if they ever happened to raise the topic with each other, she wouldn’t have any place to hide. She had rehearsed some answers, though she would have to fine tune them.

But she didn’t get the time.

 “Nandini, what are you doing?”

She spun around to see her mother. Her brain shut down and went into autopilot mode. All the expected questions came, and she mechanically spouted the responses she had formulated in the past hour.

What happened to her neck and lips?

She had gone to sleep on the terrace and woken up with an itching sensation on her throat and face.

Insects?

Yes, very likely. And yes, it would be great idea to spray insect repellant all over the terrace.

The chain?

Oh yes – she had been looking for her mother to show it. It was in one of the wrapped gifts but there was no card along with it. No, it was unlikely to be gold, but yes, she would show it to a jeweller on the way back from college to ascertain its value.

Doctor?

NO! There was absolutely no need to show the marks to a doctor!  Yes, she would apply some ointment on her neck. So what was for breakfast??!

******************

“You’re looking very pretty,” Nandini smiled at the girl preening in front of the mirror dressed as a princess. They were having proper dress rehearsals for the first time and the excitement in the auditorium was palpable.

“Thank you,” Vinita grinned back. “I’ll go to the stage now and start practicing.”

Nandini smiled as the young actress excitedly made her way out of the dressing room, and looked at the professional make-up artist.

 “You’ve done a wonderful job,” she complimented, genuinely impressed. The make-up wasn’t over the top and looked very natural, accentuating the girl’s best features and downplaying minor flaws.

The girl nodded absently, as if used to getting such praise. “Hmmm…her skin is not very good, that’s why it took so long. But you know….I’d love to work on your face someday.”

"Mine…why?" Nandini asked bemusedly.

"Because it wouldn't take much work," she laughed. "You have beautiful skin. It doesn't really need anything extra….it has a natural glow. Even your lips are so red. They don't need additional colour."

Nandini's cheeks burned with mortification. If anyone learnt of the reason why her usually pink lips had turned crimson…..

"They're not always like this," she mumbled. "It's because of some allergy."

"Ohh….then I hope the allergy continues because that shade is perfect," the woman said humorously. Busy in replacing the make-up articles in her bag, she missed the sudden pallor in the face of the young girl standing next to her.

Nandini swallowed hard. There wasn't much she could do about her lips, but maybe she could seek help with the marks on her throat so she wouldn't have to keep adjusting her dupatta around it to hide the abrasions from curious eyes.

"Could you help me with something?" she asked nervously. "I – I got this mild rash on my neck. Could you cover it up somehow?"

The woman paused and looked at the muted red smudges on Nandini's slender throat.

"Sure, I can conceal them. But what if it aggravates the infection?"

"Don't worry. If I feel any discomfort, I'll wash it off immediately," Nandini said quickly.

"Nandini, could you help me with moving the props!" a girl peeked through the door.

Nandini nodded immediately, and promising the make up artist to be right back, she hurried out of the dressing room and began helping with shifting a few of the littered fixtures.

While moving the cutout of a boulder, she felt a silken sensation run down her spine and looked around sharply.

She blinked rapidly at the sight that met her eyes, trying to confirm that it was real.

Daya was walking into the auditorium, with her arm coiled affectionately around a young man's arm. Her cute face was bright with excitement, her fashionable glasses were slightly skewed, and she was talking loudly with animated….almost hysterical….gestures. Her stunning companion was listening to everything with flattering, profound interest.

Nandini knew that only she could see the line of strain on that extraordinarily handsome face that showed the herculean effort with which Prithvi was curbing his seething temper.

Sensing her glare, he momentarily looked away from the moronic attachment on his arm and glanced at the angry, gorgeous girl standing stock-still far away.

That fleeting appraisal of her form held a dark, smouldering message meant only for her….as if they were alone in the large hall.

Nandini tried to free the breath stuck in her throat at the shock of the bold assessment.

He grinned at her, and she flushed as the wicked, irreverent smile sent an uncomfortable warmth surging through her veins.

She was still reeling, when he winked conspiratorially at her and then coolly turned his devoted attention back to Daya.

Without bothering to wait or study the source of the anger, Nandini dropped the prop and stormed towards the couple.

 “What are you doing here?” she asked Prithvi sharply on reaching them, cutting across Daya’s ceaseless prattling.

“Nandini, you know him? Why didn’t you introduce us before!” Daya trilled.

But neither of her companions looked at her.

“I felt it was important to participate in extracurricular activities…you know….for all round development,” Prithvi said seriously.

Daya exclaimed, “He’s brilliant! He has so many ideas for the show.”

Prithvi turned to her and looked deep into her already infatuated eyes.

“No one could be smarter than you,” he murmured, “So…you’re sure I can help with the show?”

Daya’s face turned glassy, and she suddenly acquired the look of a hypnotized animal.

“Sure, I’ll marry you.”

*************************************