Part 32 Teasing Arnav

Arnav saw Khushi looking at the pathway expecting the King and the Queen's arrival.

"Khushi..." Arnav called her in a thin tone.

Khushi looked at him. He gestured for her to see the SEAT of the king and Queen. Khushi looked at it and then at Arnav.

"Whaaat?" She asked.

"Don't you want to sit in the chair as a Queen?" he asked.

Khushi widened her eyes.

"Do you know how many people are ready to die for it?"

"I know... I have seen much more history than you. I studied about many kings who sat on the seat crossing the pool of blood of their own brothers..."

"Such a great seat is willingly waiting for you... it's coming under your control effortlessly... yet, you are not interested. Why?"

"I know about it well. That's why I don't want it...! it's an obsession. I don't want to get into it. I want to be a freethinker..."

"Do you think the rules and regulations of Royals will control you? Do you want to be liberal?"

"No, I'm not bothering about following rules and regulations. After my parent's demise, I'm living my life creating my own rules and regulations. I never thought of crossing them because I want to be disciplined. I could have lived freely without caring about anything as I had no one to question me but I hate to be self-begotten"

"Then what stops you?"

"There are a lot of PERSONAL issues, Arnav"

"Personal issues? What are they?"

"I'm not like your era girls"

"Of course, I know that. You are a warrior who could knock out men..."

"I'm not talking about it"

"Oh, are you talking about dressings? You can wear what you want. I will ask our Palace stitchery team to make your kind of dress"

"It's not a big deal, Arnav. I wore sarees to every function"

"Oh yeah, you told me once"

"Mmm..."

"Then? Are you worried about... what are they...? ( he thought) haan... current, phone, and vehicles...?"

Khushi nodded no sighing.

"Then what are you worried about?"

"I don't know I could fulfill your EXPECTATIONS"

"When did I say I have expectations of you? I have no expectations... trust me"

"Maybe not now, you may get it in the future if I marry you"

"I didn't get you, Khushi. I think you have something in your mind. Whatever it is, please talk straight."

Khushi sighed and said,

"You will be disappointed if you expect me to BLUSH. I did not even know the alphabet of shyness. In fact, I never tried them. What to do it's not in my blood." She said wearily.

Arnav was looking at her and laughed forgetting they were sitting in the court, in front of people. That dragged people's attention. All of them spared a glance at one another as they could not understand what made their Prince laugh forgetting himself. Khushi was suffocating, seeing all the eyes on them.

"Arnav, everyone is looking at us," Khushi said looking down and closing her mouth.

Arnav laughed hiding his face with his palm.

"Shut up, Arnav" Khushi said gritting her teeth.

Arnav sat straight biting his lip, in the process of controlling his laughter but he again laughed. Khushi held her head embarrassingly. She raised her head, hearing,

"Don't feel bad, dear... you made our Prince laugh forgetting himself who always looked rigid. We can see how happy he is with you. May God bless you BOTH to be happy forever" An old man said.

A few, YES followed his statement. Arnav observed the public's reaction. Except for one, all of them looked happy. The one was obviously Chandrika. There was nothing to be surprised. She would be like that. Arnav smiled at Khushi contently making her suffocate.

"Are you bothering about blushing?" he chuckled.

Khushi was about to say something, but the hall became silent as the King entered with his Queen. All of them stood up. King Chaitanya seated with Queen Medha.

"I welcome you all to this court. We are in necessity of finding a new commander-in-chief for our kingdom. Ashoka quit the war. From here on, we have to be more cautious than before. We had been under Muryas so far. From here on, we can't expect them to save us as they are not ready for war. We have to save us. Prince Aparajith has a few ideas to develop our country. He will announce them in this court. I welcome Prince Aparajith to declare the new commander-in-chief of our kingdom" King Chaitanya said.

Arnav stood up and bowed his head slightly. He came to the center of the hall.

"I'm honored to announce our new commander-in-chief. He was the one who stood shoulder to shoulder with me in many battles and was the main reason for my victories. He is not only the sub-commander of our force but also my friend... Viraj Mahadev"

Viraj was shocked to the core, hearing that. He didn't expect Arnav would be honored to this extent. He was looking at Arnav unbelievably. People applauded, looking at him.

Arnav walked to him and pulled his hand. That was when he got his consciousness. He jumped down from his seat.

"Come..." Aranv dragged him towards the King.

A servant brought a golden plate in which the commander's crown was kept. Taking the crown, the King kept it on Viraj's head amidst the applause.

"Congratulations..." Arnav smiled.

Viraj stood, looking at people. He pulled his sword out of his hip belt. He raised it in a promising manner and said,

"I will be faithful to my kingdom. I will work efficiently, realizing my responsibility. I will not allow the enemies to set foot within the borders of our kingdom"

Khushi gulped down hard. This was how Arnav promised on his sword and said he would not marry anyone other than her.

Arnav made Viraj sit on the commander's seat and came to the center hall again.

"I would like to announce two schemes in our kingdom. The first one is about our kingdom girl's security. We are going to form a TEAM in every village that will have twenty youngsters including five girls. They will be considered government employees and will get a salary for their work. They are the responsibility of their village girl's safety. You may ask me why I want girls to be on the team. If the team has girls, the village girl will approach the team without hesitation and share their problems. And more than that, I want girls to come out of the shell called HOME. There are many more things for them to learn. Girls should also study and learn the arts. Each team should submit the report to ME. Those groups will be under my direct supervision. We want the administration to be easily accessible to the public. That's why we decided to form such groups. The team girls will be trained by Khushi"

The hall was filled with applause.

"The second one is about FOOD"

"FOOD?" people murmured.

"Yes, our kingdom women are hard working. They are dying in the kitchen every day. They didn't get even an OFF from their regular work. So, we decided to provide them HOLIDAY on the last day of every month. On that day, the government will provide food to all in a commonplace of the village. No woman should have to cook on that day. They can take a leave and be relaxed. We hope it will bring a change to their minds and give happiness to their hearts" Arnav stopped.

People cheered with a big round of ovation. They could not believe Arnav would make such an announcement that no one ever did before.

"Long live Prince Aparajith..." They blessed Arnav...

Khushi was looking at him without blinking. She understood what made him make such an announcement. He would have decided to do this at the Biriyani shop when he saw a family having Biriyani for a change. She was pleased. She didn't expect his Modern Era visit would bring something interesting to his kingdom. Arnav was undoubtedly an amazing man. This scheme would definitely bring a good impression in women's minds about Arnav. She thought.

The court dispersed. People started moving out of the hall, talking about Arnav's new schemes. Viraj rushed to Arnav and hugged him.

"I didn't expect you would do this to me" he looked emotional.

"What I did?"

"It must be you who recommended my name to the king. Right?"

"It's because you deserve it"

"Thank you for trusting me."

"Your sincerity and loyalty made me trust you"

Viraj hugged him emotionally.

"Relax" Arnav tapped his back.

Khushi saw Padmakshi rushing to them.

"Congratulations," She said.

"Thank you, Princess," Viraj said joining his hands.

"You can stay in the Ex-commander's quarters from here on," Arnav said.

Viraj nodded ok.

"Did you meet your parents?"

"No. they went to meet my sister. They would have been back by now"

Padmakshi was about to say something to Viraj,

"I have to meet my parents," said Viraj, avoiding Padmakshi.

"Ok, carry on," Arnav said.

Viraj left the place and Padmakshi's face hung. Why did Viraj avoid Padmakshi? Why did she feel bad when he left? Khushi noticed it. Was there something between them? Khushi thought.

To be continued...