Priyamvada's face was impassive as she gazed out the window of the luxurious private jet. Even the most astute observer would not have been able to sense the struggle within her as she tried to convince herself that she was doing a very smart thing.

Her father, Indrajit and Haimavati believed she was on her way to the palace at Amargarh. But she was actually headed elsewhere...to a place that was much further away from Devgarh.

There couldn't be better time for her to visit Shamli...it made perfect sense, Priyamvada told herself angrily, trying to shut down the voices that were telling her she had made a terrible decision.

It was true that she had flouted an important rule of never making decisions driven purely by emotions, since she had taken this particular one while she was seething with anger over her son's behaviour.

After having thrown back her stratagem right back into her face, he had implied that she was going to be ill again and he had then made it worse by calling up Haimavati with "instructions" to watch over her.

As if she was some feckless idiot who didn't have any idea what was happening to her, Priyamvada seethed. She knew what her son would have deduced from the change in her decision to send him away from Taravan. He would have read too much into it and assumed it was because of - but it was not. It had nothing to do with anything related to her mental health. She had just felt tired of his stubbornness, and had – just for this once- not felt like prolonging a game.

Otherwise, she was perfectly normal - and fully in control of her mind and emotions, unlike her son who was plainly incapable of handling either of those things when it came to that girl, Priyamvada thought with contempt.

The idea of this trip had come into her mind in a flash. And then it had looked more and more attractive until she had not been able to wait for another minute to leave for Shamli. She was only surprised she hadn't thought of this before.

The time was right for this. She would be killing two birds with one stone.

There was a huge chasm of silence between her and the Bharadwaj family. This would be her first attempt to make a bridge across it, even if it was a fragile one. This was a friendly visit to renew the acquaintance, and maybe create a more open channel of communication between the families. If Nandini was there, considering how much the girl hated her, she would probably not have found it easy to have a decent conversation with the rest of the family. Now with Nandini away, it would be easier for her to break the ice.

And the second benefit and best part was that this would show Prithvi like nothing else that she was perfectly well, and then her son would learn a valuable lesson...that he must keep his mouth shut about her supposed mental health issues, Priyamvada thought with cold anger. Would she have been able to think all this through so well if she was about to lapse into that dreadful state? No...absolutely not. And anyway, she had intended to visit the Bharadwajs in the next month or so. She had simply preponed it a little...that was all.

In a very short time from now, the plane would land close to Shamli, and there would be a limousine waiting to take her to the property she had purchased some time ago. She would freshen up, and then with two female staff members and her bodyguards and the considerable amounts of sweets and delicacies that the cooks at Devgarh had prepared exclusively on her orders, she would go to "Vrindavan". Yes, that would be the right amount of restraint and opulence for this particular visit.

Her son's new team in Shamli would keep silent if they knew what was good for them. But she was sure Prithvi would still find out about her visit somehow...perhaps he had already found out through Sumer Singh's network of servants. However, there was nothing he could do. Even if he set out for Shamli now, he would reach only by late evening, and by then her visit would have ended and the Bharadwaj family would be singing her praises. She would then travel to Amargarh for real, and spend some peaceful days there.

Priyamvada closed her eyes and tried to rest. Everything was okay, apart from an awful, sinking feeling in her stomach. But when she focused on it...when she tried to think about what was causing it...nothing unpleasant came to mind. It was just the doubts her son had put into her mind, Priyamvada told herself harshly. She was fine...absolutely fine...

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

Inside the room, Nandini looked at the entrance of the living room, trying to feel calm and collected, but it was difficult. Prithvi's sweet smile had banished the haunting spectre of Aadyabhoomi for a moment, but the unforgettable moments she had spent in its confines were swirling around her again.

Out of the blue, images from the strange dream she had seen last night also crowded into her brain. Was it Aadyabhoomi she had dreamt of, she wondered abruptly, disturbed and frightened by the thought.

Nandini unconsciously tugged at the neck of her sweater. She was feeling hot and uncomfortable all of a sudden.

After a distracted scan to make sure no one was watching her, she quickly unbuttoned her sweater and removed it. She folded it hastily and kept it on top of her handbag.

Nandini adjusted the pretty jacket, and then felt uncertain if it was going well with the dress. But she couldn't put the sweater back on now.

Nandini tried to calm down. That ancient fort wasn't leaving her mind, but she could try to think of the Aadyabhoomi memories that didn't revolve around Prithvi, couldn't she? The ones that didn't make her heart feel like it was tightly wrapped in chains of thorns...

And quite a few of the benign memories were of Uday Singh, who had unfailingly been so considerate and wonderful towards her during those days. Given how things were between her and Prithvi, this could very well be the last time she would be able to meet Uday Singh, and if that was the case, she wanted to express her gratitude to him for the kindness he had shown her from the very beginning.

With painful thoughts flooding her eyes with tears, Nandini slowly walked out of the room.

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

Prithvi smiled briefly at Uday Singh as the old man slowly neared him, but he was inwardly dreading the idea of facing another scene like the one that had happened with Sumer Singh. He was done with emotional drama for today – for the next few months actually.

Then his great-uncle gave him a smile that held immense understanding and blinked once meaningfully. Just as it had happened many times in the past, Prithvi felt very grateful for Uday Singh's presence in his life.

He heard a soft tread behind him and glanced at the girl who was walking towards Uday Singh with a pallid face and moist eyes.

A great delight spread across Uday Singh's lined face. He had been eagerly waiting to see Nandini again but he had not expected to feel this happy at his first glimpse of the exquisite child after five whole years.

Nandini pushed back pressing dampness from her eyes as she walked to the very elegant and distinguished-looking old man.

She didn't remember his hair being so white...and his gait was slower. But the friendly warmth and gentleness on his face was the same.

She paused before Uday Singh and touched his feet.

Uday Singh was pleased and touched as he blessed her sincerely with a long and happy life. He had forgotten how deeply traditional she was. People did touch his feet often but they did it because of his position and royal lineage. He couldn't recollect the last time anyone had touched his feet purely out of respect for him as an elder.

He hugged her with his free hand, and happily said, "It is perfectly splendid to see you again, my dear girl."

His sincere joy warmed up her heart instantly, and she felt a rush of relief, affection and happiness. The anxieties she'd harboured about meeting him seemed silly and unnecessary now, and she felt very grateful that she had not let gone of this opportunity to meet him again. The lifting of the tension brought a beautiful brightness to her features.

"It's wonderful to meet you again too," Nandini smiled warmly at him.

Uday Singh kept a hand on his heart and sighed. "There's that smile – I have kept count of the days until I could see it again. But first things first, you have to tell me how is it possible that you look younger and more beautiful than you did back then?" he asked her in exaggerated surprise.

More amused than embarrassed by the elderly man's words, Nandini laughed softly while automatically holding his forearm to assist him in walking into the living room.

As he began to walk towards the living room with Nandini, Uday Singh looked at Prithvi, "Are you coming? Or do you have work to do?" he asked gently.

Prithvi was thankful to Uday Singh for giving him a smooth way out if he wanted to escape more difficult situations. There was no need for him to hang around since her anxiety had clearly receded and she seemed fully comfortable now. It was his mental state that he needed to safeguard now. His rational self was already drowning. It would be inviting further trouble if he stayed around and kept watching her smile and laugh. And there were other reasons too for him to leave. Uday Singh would already have made a mental note of the fact that he had been sitting with Nandini, and he would be keeping a close watch for more such interesting titbits. So, overall, it was crucial for him to get as far away from Nandini as he could.

She was standing slightly behind Uday Singh, and as he glanced at her for a second, he saw a silent sadness in her eyes, and he was back to being infuriatingly unsure of what he wanted to do.

Sidestepping the question, he casually asked Uday Singh, "Did Baba tell you Nandini's here?"

"Sumer? No, I haven't seen him," Uday Singh answered promptly. "And no one needed to tell me. I have superhuman senses that tingle whenever an attractive woman enters the house," he winked at Nandini.

A hint of annoyance zipped across Prithvi's features. His gratitude for Uday Singh's existence remained intact, but he was beginning to remember how irksome the constant flow of flirtatious comments could be. In the last few years, he'd usually found it amusing, but now it was once again starting to get on his nerves.

Striving to ignore the pointless irritation, he asked Nandini, "Did you see Baba come into the house?"

Sumer Singh had excused himself and left as soon as he had seen Inder. He had assumed Sumer Singh had returned to the house. He wasn't really worried but he would feel better after knowing the older man was fine, considering this had been a stressful day for him...

"No, I haven't seen him after he walked with me to the doors," Nandini said unsurely. "But he might have come into the house while I was talking with Rajeshwari and Grishma. I probably wouldn't have noticed," she said awkwardly. With the madness that had caught hold of her, she had been aware of only one person's entry into the house. And until he had spoken, how fiercely she had struggled against the urge to look at him and make him see her murderous rage...

Prithvi nodded thoughtfully, then noting that Uday Singh's attendant had something to say, he looked inquisitively at the man, who respectfully said, "Your highness, Sumer Singhji is strolling in the lawns at the back of the house."

"There! Mystery solved," Uday Singh announced with flourish. "Come now, let's all sit down and have a nice chat."

Prithvi hesitated. In his concern about Sumer Singh, the earlier confusion had passed, and he was back to being quite certain that he needed to keep as much distance from Nandini as possible.

"You both go ahead, I need to make a few calls and finish some work," he lied, being careful not to look at her. Then he glanced at the attendant and directed, "Bring me the papers lying on the sofa."

As the man hastened to obey, Uday Singh understandingly said, "Okay, you carry on. It's actually wonderful that I'll get a chance to spend some time in private with this pretty girl," he said playfully, making Nandini smile despite the deep gloom that had set in a moment ago.

But the comment did not evoke amusement on Prithvi's face. He unsmilingly took the papers from the attendant and walked towards the main doors while mentally applauding himself for the decision to leave the conversation. If he'd chosen to stay, he would not have been able to suppress his annoyance much longer.

Nandini watched Prithvi stride out of the house with a depressed gaze, then realising she had been staring moronically at him, she quickly turned to Uday Singh, who didn't appear to have noticed anything.

In the living room, the attendant made sure Uday Singh was sitting comfortably, with cushions adjusted for his back, and then he discreetly withdrew.

As Nandini gingerly took a seat adjacent to him, Uday Singh caringly said, "Nandini, tell me all about how you've been doing? I hope everyone in your family is well?

"Yes, they are fine," Nandini smiled.

"And what about the place you've been working? Sankat said you've been doing well there," Uday Singh said kindly, but his attention was more on her expressions and attitude than her words when she replied to that question, and the subsequent ones about her career and family.

He had not exaggerated when he'd said she looked lovelier and younger than the girl he remembered. But something was very different. Five years ago, she had seemed to be an extremely fragile, vulnerable little thing, and he could see that there was still a lot of that delicate, enchanting innocence in her, but now there was also a new air of strength and steely confidence...born out of life's severe and harrowing trials, no doubt, he thought sadly, recollecting some of the distressing things that he had heard from Sankatmochan.

Then he realised Nandini was asking him a question.

"How are you?" Nandini asked him intently. "How is your health?"

Uday Singh looked at her with a vague surprise for a moment before answering. He was used to answering these kinds of questions and asking them too. It was generally just a matter of courtesy. But this felt different. The girl seriously wished to know if he was fine. The earnest concern and care moved him.

"Age continues to bring with it many problems," he admitted. "But I must not complain much, considering how I abused my health when I should have taken care of it."

Nandini looked at him compassionately. "Is there any pain in your legs? It seemed like that when you were walking..." she said hesitantly.

"I do have some pain in my feet and ankles," Uday Singh nodded, extending his legs and frowning at them.

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

Grishma paused in the midst of opening the door to her room on seeing Yamini emerge from the nearby room.

"Hey...I thought you would be downstairs with Nandini by now," she said.

"I was about to leave when I got a call from a close friend," Yamini said. "You met her?"

"Yeah, and then Rajeswari wanted to dress up nicely for the lunch, and she asked for my help. So I had gone up to her room."

Yamini could understand that. Rajeshwari had terrible taste in clothes.

"Doesn't she have someone to help her with that?" she asked Grishma quizzically.

"She doesn't like taking fashion advice from her staff. But she doesn't mind listening to me. Anyway, I thought I should redo my make-up a little before going down again."

Yamini followed Grishma into the bedroom and sat down on the small, compact couch that was placed against a wall while Grishma sat in front of the dressing table.

"So, you met Nandini...how did she seem?" Yamini asked offhandedly.

"She's very sweet and simple," Grishma said benignly. She applied a fresh coat of lipstick, and then curiously asked Yamini. "But...do you feel there's something weird about everyone in Prithvi's family knowing her so well? I mean...she's obviously not from the same circle as the rest of us."

"I've been wondering about that too," Yamini confessed.

"I tried to ask Rajeshwari about it, but she got really weird about it and clammed up. She looked uncomfortable so I didn't want to pursue the topic," Grishma shrugged, running a comb through her hair.

"We'll figure it out soon, I'm sure," Yamini said cautiously. She didn't want to prolong the talk about Nandini until she had a real idea about what was going on with Prithvi. If Nandini was important to him somehow, she would be important to her and the rest of the gang as well. Barring Grishma, of course, Yamini's mind adjoined uneasily.

By the time Yamini and Grishma arrived in the living room, a well-dressed Rajeshwari was already seated there, smiling happily at the affectionate compliments that Nandini was showering upon her.

Yamini looked askance at Nandini as she walked into the room. The girl was sitting on the floor near Uday Singh's, legs folded to one side

Nandini looked up at both of them and offered a friendly smile and 'hello'.

Yamini smiled politely at her, then perplexedly asked, "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

Uday Singh was the one who answered. "I was telling Nandini about the pain in my feet and ankles and so she sat down to take a look at them and she was telling me about the remedies that her grandfather uses for similar pains," he said fondly.

"And I'm more comfortable here than on the couch," Nandini said sheepishly.

Rajeshwari chirpily said, "I was wondering why I had this sense of déjà vu. I think I've seen you sitting like this with your grandfather in Shamli."

Uday Singh lovingly kept a hand on Nandini's head.

Nandini looked up at him with a happy, surprised laugh. "My grandfather does that when I sit like this near him."

Yamini found herself grinning broadly without really knowing why. There was something unusually sweet and uplifting about Nandini's laugh, and about this whole scene.

Rajeshwari announced to Uday Singh and Nandini with a giggle, "I've clicked a picture of both of you. It's so cute."

Nandini smiled in delight on seeing the adorable picture that Rajeshwari was showing all of them. "Thank you for clicking this," she said gratefully. "Please send it to me."

"And to me as well," Uday Singh said keenly, and then gave Nandini a mischievous smile. "I look exceptionally handsome in that picture because of the glow of your beauty."

Nandini reddened in embarrassment and chuckled, while Rajeshwari laughed and Yamini and Grishma exchanged amused glances at the elderly man's incorrigible tendency to flirt.

"I'm sending the picture right now to both of you," Rajeshwari said cheerily.

"You know, Nandini...that's a very pretty jacket," Grishma said with interest. "You shouldn't have hidden it under the sweater."

"I was feeling cold before, but it's quite warm in here now so I removed it," Nandini said politely. She would normally have felt thankful and relieved at having received some positive feedback about her dress. But that wasn't the case this time...

"Don't you know discomfort must be endured for the sake of looking good," Grishma said with mock indignation. "Fashion over comfort always."

"If I follow that motto, I might end up borrowing warm clothes from others," Nandini responded with a small smile that didn't reveal any of the sudden icy fury that she was feeling on the inside.

"Grishma does that to Prithvi all the time," Rajeshwari sniggered.

"I do," Grishma confessed with a husky laugh. "Poor Prithvi ends up having to endure the cold because I take away his coats."

"But I am certain Prithvi doesn't mind it," Uday Singh said gallantly. "The men in my family are very chivalrous, and also, they enjoy being of help to good friends."

Nandini looked unsurely at his cheerful face and twinkling eyes. Had she imagined it or had there had been a tiny bit of emphasis on the word 'friends'...

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

Prithvi glanced up from the papers that he was only pretending to read and looked at Sumer Singh who was walking towards him quickly. Concern created furrows on Prithvi's forehead as he noted the paleness on Sumer Singh's face, and he knew without a doubt that there was bad news related to his mother.

"She's down?" he asked Sumer Singh tightly.

Sumer Singh shook his head in continuing shock as he sat down. He was glad he had found Prithvi sitting outside. He hadn't even thought of calling Prithvi to know where he was and had rushed to the house in panic.

Sumer Singh mumbled, "Not yet...but she's...she's on her way to Shamli."

Prithvi stared at him in disbelief for some moments. And then he was overcome by utter rage.

He had known his mother would make a trip to Shamli at some point as part of her outlandish plan, as the first step for establishing a friendship with the Bharadwajs, and to ensure that they would join the large club of deluded folks who believed Priyamvada Singh Rathore was an angelic being in human form.

So, he wasn't shocked by the fact that she was on her way to Shamli, but he couldn't believe she could be so stupid as to make this trip at a time when she was highly vulnerable mentally and emotionally. Shamli was literally the last place she should have been visiting right now. She would not be able to handle it...

Sumer Singh feebly went on, "My sources in Devgarh told me. After talking to you, I felt it would be good if I got in touch with them, just to know how things were in Devgarh. You know how it is...almost everyone there is devoted to her and they are also afraid of her. They were very reluctant to tell me anything about this. I got all of the information with difficulty."

Prithvi listened with growing anger as Sumer Singh detailed how his mother has lied to Rajyavardhan Singh and the others about going to Amargarh, and then had taken the private jet to travel to Shamli.

"Is Haimavati with her?" Prithvi asked tensely.

"No. The queen has taken along four other female staff members and her bodyguards."

Furious, Prithvi picked up the mobile phone nearest to him, called up his mother's personal number. As he'd expected, the phone was switched off. He looked at Sumer Singh and commanded, "Call up her guards."

Sumer Singh nodded and hurriedly did as Prithvi had asked. He dialled the numbers one by one, then he looked helplessly at Prithvi, who didn't need to be told what was happening.

She would have made all of them switch their phones off, aware that he would try to get in touch. He could ask the team in Shamli to keep an eye on her, but doing that meant putting them at risk of incurring her fury, which could lead to anything in her currently unstable state.

"I have to leave for Shamli," Prithvi said grimly.

"I'm going with you," Sumer Singh said instantly.

Prithvi didn't object. If things were going to be as bad as he thought, he could use some help dealing with it.

"Nandini needs to know," Prithvi muttered.

Sumer Singh gaped at him. He had temporarily forgotten about Nandini being in the house. Now a new vista of problematic scenarios opened up in front of his eyes. But there was no other option. Nandini had to be informed. And even with his limited knowledge of the history between Prithvi, Nandini and Priyamvada, he knew this was going to be a nightmare.

"It's fine, Baba," Prithvi said with a subdued smile. "I'll handle it. Can you ask her to come here?"

"Okay, I'll do that," Sumer Singh said heavily. "And Prithvi...should I call up Bhoothnathji or Sarojiniji and warn them?" he asked warily.

"Yeah, go ahead," Prithvi said with a nod.

Sumer Singh called up on the landline first, and then he called up Bhoothnath's number.

"No one is answering," he said agitatedly.

"They must be busy," Prithvi said calmingly. "Try again in a few minutes. And don't be worried. They are not in any danger from her. This is just her first attempt to hold a friendship summit in Vrindavan," he said caustically. And anyway, based on the timings and the location of the private airport, his mother would have landed a while ago, and unless she'd decided to rest for some time first, she would be reaching Vrindavan shortly with her entourage.

Sumer Singh felt stunned and tremendously relieved at the same time. He personally would never have believed Priyamvada would ever acknowledge the existence of the Bharadwaj family, let alone extend a hand of friendship to them. But Prithvi had never been wrong yet about his mother.

"Okay, then...I'll bring Nandini here," Sumer Singh murmured. As he rose and walked speedily towards the house, his insides were bubbling with anger towards Priyamvada. There would not be any other mother in the world who was so determined to harass and trouble her own children in every way possible...

In a sudden move, Prithvi violently pushed the papers off the table onto the green grass of the lawn, letting out a tiny portion of the anger he had repressed for Sumer Singh's sake.

He had refused to be manipulated today morning, so his mother had found a different way to continue her idiotic game and to also prove to him that he was wrong about her mental illness. But of all the things she could have done to make things more dangerous for herself, this was the worst. Even with all of the low opinions he held about his mother, he would not have believed she could be this dumb.

Prithvi rose to his feet and paced around the table with a fierce restlessness, battling to bring down his raging temper.

He couldn't be angry with anything his mother was doing now. She was not in her right mind at the moment. This rash behaviour and unhinged thinking process she was exhibiting were the biggest warning signs of this ailment. Now he could only hope that she would not deteriorate further at least until he reached Shamli...

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

Priyamvada didn't know how she was managing to walk.

Her feet were hurting and felt heavy and unsteady. She was being pulled forward and pushed away at the same time by something unseen. It was late afternoon and the sun was bright and she knew at some level that the weather was pleasantly cold, but she was shivering as if she walking through snow.

Priyamvada looked fearfully at the new structure that housed the ancient power that had punished her in the worst way possible for her sins. She shuddered to even look at it from afar...

Priyamvada turned her face away from the shrine in terror.

Why were her feet hurting? Oh...she had walked out of the house barefoot. But why had she done that? Why had she left the house by herself, with none of her staff or bodyguards? Why had she asked the driver to stop on the main road instead of taking the car right to the gate?

She remembered doing all of it...and remembered hearing her own mental voice screaming at her to stop and think about what she was doing. But she had gone ahead and made all those choices anyway.

Priyamvada ran a quivering hand over her perspiring face and neck. This was a huge mistake...

She had wanted to show her son how wrong he was to think that she wasn't tough enough mentally. To show him that she was strong that she was capable of travelling to the place that had terrified and attracted and repelled her for decades now. But now she bitterly wished she hadn't done this.

She was feeling that emotional numbness creeping up on her...that strange feeling of slowly being pulled away from her personality, her strength, her vitality and dynamism. Energy was being drained out of her. She was feeling weak, vulnerable and helpless....so much like the lifeless being she had been before her son had found her five years ago...

Priyamvada halted at one point without really realising it, and with a trembling body, she stared at the two-storied house named Vrindavan.

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