Anuj frowned irritably at the unmoving truck in front of their car, muttering a variety of abuses.

Then he glanced around at the two young women sitting at the back of the car. "You two want to step out for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, let's get out. Doesn't look like we're going anywhere for a long time," Yamini grumbled.

Grishma nodded, and all three of them disembarked from the car and moved to the side of the road, being cautious to avoid going too close to the edge, beyond which was a steep hillside.

All three of them breathed more easily as they gathered together. They had not had any time to really discuss what had happened. They had ventured out for horse riding for some hours in the morning, and had returned in an exhausted state. And then Grishma had received a phone call from the queen's team, and they had been asked to leave Taravan as soon as possible and head to a place called Neevpara. And so they'd had to make this long and bumpy journey. And they hadn't been able to talk freely in the car with the chauffer listening to them.

"Grimes, what is this sudden change in plans about?" Yamini asked with a frown.

Grishma threw her hands in the air. "The lady who called me only said that the queen wanted us to go to this place instead of going to any of the palaces. And thakur was told the same thing -that we have to cancel our original plan and go to this hill station instead."

"Why didn't you tell that lady we wanted to go for that tour?" Anuj said accusingly.

Grishma looked at him tetchily. "You would have told her that? Knowing that she would convey the message to the queen."

"No," Anuj mumbled. The queen was unfailingly gracious and considerate towards him and the others. Yet, he was terrified of the woman for some reason.

"Anyway, the lady told me this would be an enjoyable stay for us, and that we could go on the palace tour later."

"I guess that would be okay," Yamini sighed.

"Yeah, I only wish I had not gotten my hopes up to see the palaces," Grishma said sadly.

"It would have been awesome," Anuj said sullenly. "Prithvi is the only royal guy we know, and we could have stayed at some really amazing places with dungeons and old artifacts and awesome stories."

Yamini mollifyingly said, "Let's wait and see what happens. Maybe this will be good for all of us."

"Yeah, let's see how it goes," Grishma agreed heavily.

"Have either of you spoken to Prithvi? Told him about this change of plan?" Anuj asked them.

Yamini shook her head. "No, he must be busy with work. I didn't want to disturb him with this."

"Yeah, same here," Grishma said.

"Maybe he can join us there later," Yamini hoped.

"I hope he does," Grishma said fervently.

"Me too," Anuj nodded, and then he looked at the long line of vehicles before them. "You think Rajeshwari's car is also stuck?"

"She left a while before us," Yamini pondered. "They might have gotten through this stretch before the problem began."

They stood for some time in a tired silence.

"Hey, the vehicles are moving now," Grishma said. "Let's get back in...."

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

With her arms wrapped around herself, Nandini looked around with a bit of trepidation, and glanced at Prithvi, who had slowed down to stroll beside her. The house they were walking towards was brightly lit but the rapidly thickening mist seemed to be putting a dense veil on everything. It was the first time she was experiencing something like this. The fog had seemed enthralling at the start, since she had rarely experienced it so far, but now it was also starting to feel somewhat threatening.

She wanted to talk to him about it, but controlled the urge with a flushed face, recalling his mischievous threat, even though she was about ninety percent sure that he was joking. Whatever else had changed about him, his unpredictability hadn't...

Almost as if to prove her right, in the next moment, he tugged one of her arms free and enclosed her hand in a warm grasp, and she was suddenly joyful and carefree again.

She didn't feel the usual pinch of anxiety even after they had reached the house, and were walking up the stairs to the first floor.

Finally releasing her hand, Prithvi opened the heavy wooden door and then waited for her to enter the house first.

As she did so, she turned and gave him a cheeky, jubilant grin.

"Don't be so smug," he murmured. "This just means there won't be an audience."

"You wouldn't," she scoffed, her skin flaming up.

"I absolutely would," he grinned. "I already have some very interesting ideas for the night."

"I'm not listening," Nandini refused, laughed shyly, and took her first look at the interiors, which thankfully looked simple and very similar to that of most houses, with sofas and armchairs and a television set. The only real differences were the very large windows, and to her great delight, a fireplace, which she had not seen before in real life. There were no blatant elements of ultra luxury that would have made her feel uncomfortable. There was a wooden staircase to the side of the room. The ceiling was very high up, and from here, she could see the upper floor. Some rooms on the second floor were visible from this floor, and then there seemed to be three corridors branching off in different directions.

"Which room should we take?" Prithvi asked seriously.

"I don't know, I -" she stopped abruptly in astonishment on realising what he was asking, and then hit his arm.

"I have to keep trying my luck," he grinned.

She shook her head in exasperation, then heard some dim sound, and looked around to see a middle-aged man in formal western attire walking towards them with a welcoming smile.

He greeted them respectfully, and she greeted him back politely, while Prithvi briefly asked, "The guests from Taravan have arrived?"

"Your friends are on their way, your highness. Princess Rajeshwari arrived a short time ago. She is in her room now, which is on the second floor, and has guided that she will be having her refreshments in the room for tonight. Miss Bharadwaj's room is also on the second floor. Your room, your highness, is on this floor, and Sumer Singhji and Mr. Anuj's rooms as well. The queen has guided that, for now, all the women should be accommodated on the second floor, and the men on this floor."

"Alright," Prithvi nodded, and then walked towards the cluster of armchairs.

The man addressed her courteously. "Miss. Bharadwaj, your bag has been placed in your room, and Sumer Singhji said I must inform you that your mother wishes to speak to you."

"Oh...okay," Nandini muttered. She wanted to sit with Prithvi for some time before going to her room, but the thought that her mother might have something important to tell her wouldn't let her feel fully peaceful until she called home.

"You should go upstairs now and call her," Prithvi said casually, pausing by one of the large windows.

Nandini hesitated, then nodded.

The manager turned to his left, and a smiling, smartly dressed woman materialised by his side.

"This is Mita. She will guide you to your room," he told Nandini with a smile. "You can reach out to her or me or any of the staff members for anything you require."

"Thank you," she said sincerely, then looked at the woman and requested, "Could you wait for two minutes?"

"Yes, of course, Ma'am," the woman said, and both the staff members retreated quickly back into the mysterious shadows from which they had emerged.

Nandini quickly walked towards Prithvi, and glancing around to make sure that no one was listening, she diffidently asked, "I have to ask you something, but don't get upset."

His forehead crinkled. "What?"

"This house...and the kitchen...who ...I mean..." she struggled to form the question.

"There's no connection to the family money," he said dryly, understanding what she was concerned about. "Like you, I would rather drive off a cliff than live in any place or eat anything that's funded by Rajyavardhan or his daughter. This is being run on my personal funds. Don't ask me the how of it. It's a complicated arrangement," he adjoined sardonically. Then a slight coldness came into his thoughts, and he wanted to ask her if she had a problem with that too, since he was Priyamvada's son, after all. But he curtailed the impulse on seeing the relief and gladness on her features.

Smiling happily, Nandini said, "Okay, I'll go now," but then paused and spun to him again, and tentatively said, "There is something else."

"What now?" he asked with a small frown.

"You should have told me you were scared of the mist," she said kindly. "I would have held your hand sooner."

She chuckled on seeing his expression and then quickly hurried off, still grinning.

Mita reappeared by the time she reached the stairway, and she followed the friendly woman up the steps, not daring to look back.

The second floor was larger than it seemed from downstairs. There was a common area with elegant seating arrangements in the space between the three spacious corridors.

Until she had been close to him, she'd forgotten that she was in a completely unknown place. Now the old insecurities assailed her again, but she fought them off. She was no longer a naive nineteen-year-old who had no idea about the world and was harbouring an impossible dream that she would be part of his life and his family one day. Now she was a working professional with a reputed company, managing her family's responsibilities, and she was quite strongly aware that there was no reality in which she was ever going to become a part of this...this world. So, she had no reason to feel insecure, she told herself stoutly.

Still, years had gone past since they'd been in such a situation, with both of them staying in the same house...a house owned by his family. She vividly remembered the first time she had done so, and the heightened nervousness, especially on the first day. She had to concede to herself that she was a tad anxious and uncomfortable right now as well, but it was a far way off from the tension she had experienced years ago.

Just before entering the corridor on the right, she looked down at the living room.

He was still standing at the window, looking up at her. There was something silken in his gaze that caused an intense swooping sensation in the region of her stomach. She looked away with a hot face and hastened to follow Mita.

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

Prithvi looked for a long moment at the spot from which she had gone out of view.

He was done with trying to caution her. The only thing he would do now was to somehow keep his distance...somehow...

He remained absorbed in thought for a few minutes, then walked to one of the armchairs and sat down while typing a terse message on his phone.

In a very short time, Disha was hastening towards him.

Prithvi glanced up at her as she paused at a distance in front of him.

"You still don't know why she became very upset all of a sudden at Taravan?" he asked briefly.

"I'm afraid not, your highness," Disha said contritely. "She wanted to go for a walk by herself, and refused to let me accompany her. She returned within a very short time though, and she was very upset, and that is when we heard that your friends were going to come here, and she decided immediately that she wanted to accompany them."

Prithvi looked out the windows absentmindedly, then casually said, "Nandini is here as well."

Disha instantly felt a great sense of relief. "I'm glad to hear that," she said with a smile.

Prithvi looked at her unsmilingly. "If there is any problem, you will reach out to me, not Nandini, unless Rai asks for her. Is that clear..."

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

Trying to keep herself in the mindset of a person checking into a hotel, Nandini listened amiably to the lady who was quickly taking her around the brightly lit room, showing her every single part of it. 

The room had dark, heavy wooden furniture and warm yellow lights, and the queen-sized bed looked very cosy and inviting. There was an open balcony with wrought iron railing that offered a view of the gurgling stream behind the house, and the hilly wilderness beyond it - all of which looked a little ominous at present because of the darkness. There were also pretty windows on the adjacent wall, so she had views of the side and back areas of the house. 

After the friendly woman had left, Nandini hastened to her bag and took her phone. She spent a long time talking to her loved ones. First to her mother, who had apparently called to check if everything was okay and to also tell her that she'd spoken to the Garewals, who had been told that Priyamvada had suddenly invited Nandini for a short stay in Neevpara. She was strictly told that she had to stick to that story and not reveal anything about Priyamvada's illness to the Garewals. The next round of talk was with her brother, who had sounded unexpectedly - and suspiciously - upbeat and excited about her trip, and quite fine with her having left without waking him up.

She'd just made a mental note to keep a check on his activities over the next four days when the same lady returned to her room with tea and delicious snacks. She enjoyed the tea and chocolate cookies, savouring them much more than usual. Then the phone rang again, and it was Aruna Garewal, who had sounded even more excited and happy than her brother. Rajesh Garewal had tried to take the phone from his wife, and had sounded decidedly less enthusiastic, but Aruna had snatched the phone back from him and refused to let him speak further.

When the calls were over, Nandini kept her phone for charging, and then she opened her bag and reverently took out the Ramayana and a small image of the deity that her grandfather had given her. She touched the book and image to her forehead and carefully kept both on the table near the windows.

Then feeling childishly delighted and bubbly, she sat down on the very plush mattress.

It made no sense for her to be so thrilled. But the mere idea of being in Prithvi's vicinity for the next four days was giving her a joy that her heart could hardly contain....

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

Having changed into a blue half-sleeved, collared t-shirt and black track pants, Prithvi emerged from his room and unthinkingly began walking in a particular direction.

He gave brief nods when he registered the greetings of the attendants, or else just bypassed them absentmindedly. But he had nonetheless noted that the staff he had seen so far were all part of the team that had been around him for years now, and knew his preferences. They knew he liked the atmosphere to be as informal and casual as possible, and that, unlike his other family members, he didn't like to see them hovering around him and his friends, waiting for orders.

His mother was clearly pulling out all stops to keep him comfortable while she manipulated everything she could about his life.

Prithvi stopped suddenly when he realised he was near the stairway. He was undecided for a minute, then he tentatively looked up at the upper floor, then looked around nonchalantly to check if Sumer Singh was in the vicinity.

He had just moved closer to the stairs when the main door opened and his friends walked into the house, looking tired and depressed. But their expressions changed uniformly when they saw him, and their exuberant reactions made him feel a little guilty about the sharp irritation he had felt towards them seconds ago.

"What are you doing here?" Yamini asked in happy astonishment as they walked to the seating area.

"I thought we wouldn't be seeing you for some days," Grishma said, elation in her eyes.

"I'd hoped so," Prithvi sighed as all of them settled down. "But the queen mother asked me to be here, and I had to obey."

Grishma chuckled, while Yamini rolled her eyes at the typical response.

"Thank god you're here," Anuj said enthusiastically. "I thought I was going to be stuck with these two boring women for the next few days."

Grishma threw a cushion at his head. Then she looked at Prithvi, "We really didn't think we would see you for another three days."

"Three days?" Prithvi asked with a frown.

"Thakur had said you would catch up with us at one of the palaces in about three days," Yamini explained.

"He did, did he?" Prithvi said wryly. Uday Singh had evidently been very enthusiastic to promote the palace tours plan.

"Any idea why your mother asked us to come here?" Anuj asked him, and hurriedly added, "I'm not complaining, but I really wanted to go to the palaces and explore all the old portions and the dungeons and stuff," he said sadly.

"I have no idea what's on her mind," Prithvi lied with a shrug. "I was given orders just today afternoon. And I reached here only a short time ago, and the only interesting thing I've heard since then is a dumb rumour that this place is haunted," he said dismissively.

"What? Really?" Grishma said warily.

Yamini snorted. "There are no such things as ghosts."

But Anuj was looking more interested and alive now, and he cast a look around the building with more respect.

They chatted for some more time, talking about the unpleasant road journey and the traffic, and then Anuj started yawning. "I'll go to my room now and take a short nap, I'll catch up with you guys in an hour," he said, getting up and walking off. As he walked away, a male staff member appeared to escort him to his room.

"We should go to our rooms too," Yamini told Grishma. "And we'll meet back here in a while."

Grishma agreed and started to get up.

"Sumer baba and Nandini are here too," Prithvi said casually, bringing a surprised look on the two female faces. "Like me, they are victims of the queen mother's orders," he said drolly. "I picked them up from Shamli on my way here."

"Oh...that's nice," Grishma smiled despite a tiny sinking feeling in her stomach. The unpleasant thoughts that had troubled her during Nandini's visit to Taravan resurfaced again, but not very strongly. While she'd spent some uneasy moments at that time, Prithvi's conversation with Rajeshwari about not asking Nandini to stay back had put her at ease. And this time too, it was the queen's decision, not his, to invite Nandini. She had nothing to be concerned about...

Yamini looked a little confused, then she said, "Prithvi, you know I don't usually suffer from curiosity or interfere in your personal matters or beat around the bush."

"You're just listing some of the reasons I consider you a friend or is there a point to this?" Prithvi asked calmly.

Feeling uncharacteristically nervous, Yamini said, "I'm just a bit confused. On the surface of it, Nandini doesn't really have anything in common with your family, but everyone seems to know her, she is friends with Rajeshwari, and Thakur also appears to be very fond of her. What's the connection here, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked warily.

"I'm also curious about all of that," Grishma admitted cautiously.

"Her father was a very good friend of mine," Prithvi replied nonchalantly. "And the queen mother and I used to visit them often when I was a kid, though I don't remember much of that. Baba and I had stayed next to them for a few months about five years ago when I had to be in Shamli for something related to my studies, and her family members are among my most favourite people in the world. The queen mother had lost touch with them for a long time but now she's trying to become friends with them again. Is that enough explanation for why Nandini is here?" he asked ironically.

Grishma quickly gave a grateful and smiling nod. She was still very confused about some things, but she was glad he had shared this much with them, and at least some pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place.

Yamini sheepishly said, "Yes...all clear now." Well, majority of her doubts were clarified now. They had heard a lot about his father, and how he had travelled extensively across the country and abroad, and had been very involved in social work. So it was understandable that he would have become friends with a vast number of people. And if the families were that close, the connections would have continued to the next generation, which could explain the bond between Nandini and Rajeshwari. There were still puzzling and vague elements in the story, but she didn't really care about that stuff. Her main doubts for now only related to his feelings for the girl..

Abruptly looking hesitant, Prithvi said, "She doesn't know most of the people here or this place, and she's only here until Sunday evening. So, I'd appreciate it if you both could help her feel comfortable and welcome," he muttered.

There was complete silence for a few seconds as the both girls looked blank.

Then Yamini smiled gently and said, "You got it."

"Yes, she is going to love being here so much that she will not want to leave on Sunday," Grishma promised.

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

Nandini looked at herself in the mirror as she braided her hair into a loose plait. There was a nagging wish to leave it open, but she had to tread very carefully for the next four days. But there was nothing she could do to hide the cautious light of happiness that was dancing in her eyes and coating her soft skin.

She wanted to go to him and spend time talking to him. But his friends would have also reached by now, and she didn't want to interrupt their conversations.

She'd just do a quick and quiet check of all the shared spaces downstairs. Hopefully he would be in one of them all by himself...

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

Yamini came out of the washroom and lay down wearily on the bed. She was going to get up in a minute and head to Nandini's room, which the attendants had pointed out, and she was going to do her best to be very friendly and sweet.

A sharp knock on the door was followed by Grishma peeking into her room.

"Come in, come in," Yamini yawned and sat up again.

Grishma walked in quietly and sat at the edge of the bed. And then she suddnely asked, "Yami, is this the first time Prithvi has asked you for a favour?"

"Yes, he hasn't ever done that before," Yamini muttered. She was still shocked by it and was yet to process it fully. He'd always been there for her and the others whenever they needed help. But he had never asked for help from them, not even the smallest, most insignificant kind. This was the first time he had asked anything from her, and she was so moved by it. She had never seen him look like that...so hesitant and sweet.

"Yeah, he hasn't ever asked me also for anything," Grishma muttered. "Nandini – her family, I mean...they must really be important to him."

Yamini saw the seeds of a dangerous confusion in the other girl's eyes, and she hastily said, "You heard him. There is an old bond between the families, so he would naturally feel responsible."

"That's true," Grishma conceded thoughtfully, and then stood up. "I'm going to Nandini's room to meet her. You want to come along?"

"Yeah, let's go," Yamini said, dragging herself out of bed.

"Which room is Nandini's? Do you know?" Grishma asked.

"It's the one in the corner."

"Okay, let's go," Grishma nodded. She was really tired, and her neck and shoulders were aching. But she would feel way too guilty if she didn't immediately start working on this little help that Prithvi had asked of her.

Yamini tried to gear up mentally as they walked towards the room in the corner. It was not in her nature to make an effort to be friendly with anyone. But for Prithvi's sake, she was going to be as nice and hospitable towards Nandini as it was possible for her.

Both the girls stopped abruptly as the room's door opened and Nandini came out of the door, and without seeing them, closed the door. She turned and then stopped with a startled look on seeing both of them.

Grishma had a welcoming smile on her face, but the other one strongly resembled a toddler who had been asked to show all their teeth, Nandini reflected dryly while automatically giving them a faintly uncertain smile. Both also looked tired and not in the best of spirits...

"Hi!" Grishma smiled amiably. "Prithvi told us you're here too, and we just thought of meeting you," she said while glancing at Yamini, who smiled and nodded.

There was a moment of confused awkwardness. Then Nandini smiled warmly at both of them. "That was very sweet of you."

The awkwardness seemed to vanish suddenly through the sweetness of that smile, and both Grishma and Yamini felt an unconscious relief.

Nandini opened the door of her room. "Would you like to come in?" she cheerfully asked them both.

Grishma and Yamini looked at each other uncertainly. "Are you sure? We could go downstairs and talk."

"You might not get another chance to be in this room again once I mess it up," Nandini quipped, wagging her finger at them, "Which I will be doing in a couple of hours. So come on in now while I'm yet to feel ashamed of it," she grinned.

She wasn't entirely sure why she inviting them into her room instead of chatting for a few minutes and then continuing with her original plan to seek Prithvi. But there was something about their faces that had roused her compassion, and as of now, she just had to go along with that part of herself that felt the need to make them feel better. Even Grishma. The confirmation she'd received about no one else having made a place in his heart and her currently buoyant mood had changed her outlook towards the girl for this moment. She hoped this feeling of goodwill would stay, Nandini mulled uneasily.

Grishma chuckled, and Yamini's smile became more genuine as the girls walked into the room.

"You don't look like the kind that would mess up a room," Yamini commented.

"Don't be fooled by my appearance," Nandini warned while entering the room herself and shutting the door. "Many people have done that, and all of them have regretted it later," she said proudly, hands on her hips, eliciting a chuckle from both the girls this time.

As Grishma and Yamini looked around, trying to decide where to sit, Nandini firmly said, "You should sit on the bed, it will be more comfortable. Yes, yes, I'm sure," she added quickly as Grishma began to speak.

Laughing, Yamini and Grishma clambered onto the mattress, sitting at the foot of the bed.

Nandini started to walk towards the bed herself, then she went back to the door on hearing a sound and peered out and pleasantly told someone, "You can bring it here. They are here with me."

She looked at the girls on the bed and said, "She has brought tea – or coffee – for you."

"It must be for Yami," Grishma said. "I'd told them I don't want anything."

"I'd only asked for tea," Yamini said, stifling a yawn, as a girl brought in a tray with a beautiful teapot and two cups and set it down on the short table.

"I'll do the rest, thank you," Nandini told the girl with a smile.

Yamini began to get down from the bed, but Nandini stopped her firmly. "No, no, you sit there. It is one of the joys in my life to make tea," she stated. "Serving tea comes a close second. Don't snatch these small joys from me."

"Thanks, just one sugar," Yamini muttered, looking at her amusedly. This whole setting was way more informal than she would have liked, but perhaps because of the unsatisfactory and stressful day, she wasn't feeling as uneasy as she might have under normal circumstances.

"When did you guys leave Taravan?" Nandini asked them genially as she poured the tea into a cup.

"Shortly after lunch. It took us hours to reach here," Grishma sighed. "We were set to leave for a palace tour arranged by Prithvi's uncle but we got a call from the queen's staff about this change in plan, and we had to leave for this place immediately. We would have reached earlier but there was a traffic issue at one spot, and we were stuck there for a long time."

"That sound really exhausting," Nandini said understandingly while handing the tea cup to Yamini, also noting again the dejection on both faces. "And you must have been looking forward to seeing the palaces."

"Yeah, thakur had made it sound really amazing," Yamini said glumly in between sips of tea.

"But the queen must definitely have something good in mind to have changed our plans," Grishma said quickly, not wanting to sound critical of Priyamvada in any way.

Yamini nodded emphatically, more out of her loyalty towards Prithvi than out of any genuine faith in the queen's plans.

She asked Nandini, "How long did it take for you guys to reach here from...errr.."

"Shamli," Nandini supplied the answer while perching herself at the head of the bed. "Around one and a half hours."

"So, it's not that far from your town. You must have come to this place before then," Grishma said.

Nandini shook her head ruefully. "This is the first time I've come to this hill station. In my family, vacations usually mean visits to houses of close relatives. But I love that too, so no complaints," she said contently.

Yamini frowned. "I would go mad if I had to meet my relatives during every vacation."

Nandini lightly replied, "I only meet the ones that I love. The others don't exist."

Yamini liked the response. The irksome image she had created of the girl at first sight was developing a few cracks. She had no idea what was happening, but she was glad this was going better than she had imagined, and the girl wasn't being as painful to befriend as she had thought.

"I know what you mean," Grishma said wisely while unconsciously rubbing her neck.

"Is your neck hurting?" Nandini asked her concernedly.

"Neck and shoulders," Grishma admitted. "The roads were bumpy in some parts."

Nandini hesitated, then uncertainly said, "If you're okay with it, I can give you a light massage to help with the pain and stiffness."

"What? Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that," Grishma said hastily.

"It's no trouble. And I've been told by my family members and best friends – all of whom are naturally unbiased - that I am excellent at it," Nandini smiled playfully.

"I couldn't. And it's not that bad. It will be fine by tomorrow morning," Grishma said weakly.

"I can help you feel better in ten minutes," Nandini insisted, walking to the foot of the bed. "Just move a little towards this side, you can sit facing Yamini."

Grishma wasn't at all sure about this, and she could see from Yamini's wary expression that her emotions were shared by her friend, but she didn't want to offend Nandini.

"Okay," she mumbled, doing as Nandini had asked, and then sighed in relief as gentle fingers began to lightly massage her shoulders.

"Prithvi had told us to take care of you, and here I'm making you do this," she said ruefully.

Yamini wondered if she had imagined the touch of new colour on Nandini's face. It was difficult to be sure because of the golden light in the room.

"It was nice of him to tell you that," Nandini said softly.

"He is very fond of your family," Grishma said smilingly. "He stayed with your family for some months, didn't he? He said it was five years ago."

"In the house next door, yes," Nandini muttered.

"You must have become friends with him at that time," Yamini asked carefully, feeling quite ashamed of herself for the prying questions. But she really did need an answer to the question of whether there was something...special between the two.

"Not really. He was busy with his studies, and I was busy with mine, and he was also very introverted, so we didn't really interact all that much," Nandini mumbled, keeping her face down.

"Looks like he was the same back then," Grishma said with a laugh. Then she asked, "What is that fragrance? It's really nice. Which perfume is it?"

Highly relieved at the change in subject, Nandini genially said, "It's not a perfume. It's from an oil I apply before taking a bath. It has sandalwood in it."

"Isn't sandalwood oil very expensive? Yamini asked in surprise. Then she flushed and hastily said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply your family can't afford it.

Nandini chuckled without any trace of self-consciousness. "We cannot afford to even sniff a bottle of pure sandalwood oil. But my grandfather is very close to a family that prepares special oils for temples and they also sell some curated oils to families they've known for long. For this oil, they just put a tiny bit of real sandalwood oil into a herbal oil that they make for the skin. There are other fragrant herbs in it too, but the sandalwood's scent overpowers all of them. They began with supplying it to my grandmother, then my mother and then me. I apply it for a few minutes before taking a bath, and the scent normally stays almost for the whole day."

"It sounds lovely," Grishma said. "Do you have it with you now?"

"Yes, you want to try it?" Nandini asked.

"Not now, but tomorrow maybe," Grishma mulled. "I'll just dab a little on my wrists and check how it smells on my skin."

She had allowed Nandini to give her the massage only to seem polite and friendly. But she was genuinely feeling a difference though it had only been some minutes. And this massage felt very different from the ones that she had received from professionals...

"Are you feeling better, Grimes?" Yamini asked.

"Yes, much much better," Grishma said in a surprised tone as she shuffled around on the mattress and faced Nandini. "Have you actually learned this professionally?"

Nandini shook her head. "I used to like to do this for my parents and grandfather when I was a child, and I guess it just started working at some point," she said sheepishly.

Yamini picked up her buzzing phone and read a few messages. "It's Anuj. Asking where we are. He has found some great room at the back of the house and is asking us to come down there."

"You haven't met Anuj yet, right?" Grishma asked Nandini.

"She has," Yamini said with a chuckle before Nandini could reply. "He saw her at Taravan and ran away."

"That was him? Why did he run away like that?" Nandini asked in confusion, recalling the strange incident.

"He tends to flirt with every other girl he sees," Yamini said, rolling her eyes. "And he knows if he does that with anyone known to Prithvi, he will be in trouble."

Noticing the sudden uneasiness on Nandini's features, Grishma quickly said, "But he doesn't mean anything by it. He just says some corny dialogues, that's all. He has a cute girlfriend, and he's actually devoted to her. And he's really goodhearted and decent, and never crosses his limits in any way."

"Yeah, and he doesn't flirt with any woman who is connected to Prithvi or his family because he's too scared of Prithvi," Yamini said approvingly. "But please don't take him seriously even if he says some dumb things."

"Okay, thanks for the warning," Nandini said lightly. She'd felt the usual upsurge of anger on hearing that the fellow was a flirt, but then it had calmed down slightly after listening to the other two girls. She recalled how she had not felt frightened of the fellow in spite of the odd behavior, and she wanted to trust what the girls were saying. Also, if Prithvi considered him a friend, he had to be good human being...

"Should we call him up and tell him Nandini's here and he has to behave," Grishma asked Yamini.

"No, let's tell him in person," Yamini said grimly. "We can make him understand things better that way."

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

Anuj walked around the first floor with a dour look. He was very tired but he'd not been able to sleep, and so he had investigated the entire floor twice now.

The house wasn't as big or beautiful as the one at Taravan, though it wasn't too bad either. It was comfortable and well-planned, and there was decent space around it, more so at the back than in the front. But overall, it was not much different from any of the other chalets that he'd stayed in while on trips. He hoped the greenery around it – and some good treks - would make up for its ordinariness.

But still, when he compared it to being in a palace...

Anuj stopped on seeing three girls come down the stairs, and his face brightened.

He couldn't believe it! The sublime beauty he'd seen at Taravan was here! And she was even more beautiful than he remembered. That was a rarity!

Temporarily forgetting everything else, Anuj walked towards the girls with a charming smile.

"Stop it right there," Yamini warned, stepping in front of Nandini.

"Yeah, Anuj, her father and Prithvi's father were good friends," Grishma added severely. "The families have been close for decades, and Prithvi is very attached to her family. So don't even think about flirting with her," she scolded.

Nandini gazed on with amusement as the young man looked increasingly horrified with the inflow of information. Oddly, the instant she had seen him, her anxiety about his behaviour had vanished. And in line with what she had sensed in Taravan, she knew that this was not someone she had to be cautious about.

Anuj inclined himself sideways to look at Nandini around the barrier that was Yamini and he folded his hands.

"Nandiniji, while you're here, if I say anything to you that sounds remotely flirty, just ignore me," he requested earnestly. "And if I don't stop being obnoxious, you can slap me as many times as you like. But don't let Prithvi gets his hands on me. These girls don't believe me when I say it, but he does have a violent streak," he said indignantly. "Yes, he's almost always the calmest person in the universe, but when he gets angry, he can be terrifying."

Trying not to laugh, Nandini stepped out from Yamini's 'protection' and reassuringly said, "Anuj-ji, you don't have to be worried about Prithvi's reaction."

"I don't?" Anuj asked her hopefully.

"That's right," Nandini said sweetly. "You see, in the past few years, I've slapped many men who tried to misbehave with me. And not just that. I've used pepper spray on some of them, I got one of them suspended from his job – and that was after I stabbed his hand with a fork, and I also got some of the creeps arrested," she listed enthusiastically on her fingertips, and then looked at him with a beatific smile. "I will be happy to do any of those things in your case."

"Ehh...what?" Anuj asked blankly, confounded, while the other two girls stared at Nandini in amazement.

"I'm saying you're worried about the wrong person," Nandini explained pleasantly. "You don't have to be afraid of Prithvi. Be afraid of me..."

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