-• an unexpected punishment •-

A tense silence fills the room, the clinking of spoons and forks ceases. Honestly, does any dinner in this household ever goes peacefully? The only meal time when everyone comes together feels less like a bonding time and more like a trial of the court where the judge and the lawyer, both are Yuvraaj. While we? Either the accused or the spectators. No in between. All the damn time. For the last two dinners, Arush and Agastya stood in the dock, and tonight it's me.

"In the email, Mrs. Dodiya wrote that an unpleasant argument disrupted her peaceful class environment. She also said, the manner in which it was led, was loud, rude and uncouth." His fingers interlace through the gaps, resting just below his chin as he eyes all of us with a poker face. "If I may ask, will the two healthy debaters please get up?" He questions sarcastically.

I lay my spoon on the plate and stand up from my chair.

Dad looks at me in bewilderment, as if he can't believe I'm capable of arguing with someone.

I mean, c'mon, Dad, Mom was loud. Of course, I have it in my genes.

My eyes move to Agastya, not believing his audacity to stay seated through this.

"I'm confident Taranya has enough understanding of how a communication works. Surely she did not argue with herself, did she now, Agastya?" Yuvraaj snaps.

Agastya sighs and slaps his hand on the table as he gets up from his chair.

I try to hide my smirk.

Ha, take that jerk!

"Now," Yuvraaj leans back on his chair. "Could the stars of the show please come out?" He requests, but his eyes command. I leave my seat and step out, pushing the chair to its initial position. Agastya does the same. "Princess, go and stand there, five steps behind Vivaan's chair," he instructs me.

What's he trying to do?

I obey nonetheless.

"Agastya, come closer. Stand beside her."

The good for nothing comes over and stands beside me.

"Dad, what do you think is the height difference?" Yuvraaj asks nonchalantly.

"Hmm, about ten inches," Dad answers.

"Sounds about right," Yuvraaj hums. "So, Princess, tell me one of your favourite activities."

"Huh?" I frown.

"Something you'd prefer to do when you want to spend some time alone." He explains.

"Oh, uhm, baking, I guess?" I shrug.

"Alright," he nods. "And you, Agastya?"

"Running," Agastya answers gruffly.

"It's decided then, daily from tomorrow and until the day of the event, you both will pick out a time from your schedule to do these activities together, with your arms linked." He declares and resumes dinner, motioning with his hand at everyone else to do the same.

While Agastya and I? We both stand dumbfounded. But more than that, horrified and disgusted. I look up at him and he looks down at me, our faces scrunch together in detest and we both shout a synchronised No.

Everyone flinches.

"What's wrong? Did not like the idea? I think it's perfect for both of you to get used to walking with your arms linked." He shrugs.

"But we won't even be walking with our arms linked! Vivaan Bhai will! This morning it was just for the sake of practice!" Agastya screeches.

I step aside. That tone almost electrocuted my soul.

"No, Vivaan will be attending the guests with me and Dad. You'll be walking down with her." Yuvraaj answers.

"No!" This time I jump in. "I want Vivaan Bhai! Not- not-" I fail to come up with a word to describe the breathing disaster standing beside me. "This!" I point at him.

"Hey! What do you mean by this!?" Agastya grabs my arm and turns me so I face him.

"Whatever. Let go, I'm trying to get us out of this situation." I hiss at him and rip my arm off his tight grip. "Bhai," I plead, "Please, I really want to walk down with Vivaan Bhai. Please!" I scramble ahead, showing him the depth of grief on my face. I'd rather hang myself upside down than walk with Agastya.

"I never gave you an option." He states.

"But-"

"You want the reward, right? The offer will be revoked if you don't play by my rules." He threatens.

I sulk in defeat.

"What happened to I'm trying to get us out of this situation?" Agastya mocks. "Bhai, please, I'm not comfortable with walking into the party with her."

"Any specific reason?" Yuvraaj raises his right brow.

That leaves Agastya stumped. "I just- I just don't want to be seen with her!"

Ouch. But same.

"Agastya!" Dad shouts in a warning.

"What?" He counters. "We're entitled to have our opinions and preferences. And I prefer not to be seen with her."

"That doesn't concern me." Yuvraaj cuts in. "I don't care about your preferences. What I do care about is my image. The Chauhan family's image. And from what I gathered through the mail that Mrs. Dodiya wrote me this morning, you both absolutely left it in tatters. I understand Taranya, she must have hard time adjusting to royal etiquettes and mannerisms, but you Agastya? And to believe you started it?" He shakes his head in disappointment. "You know the drill. You make a mistake, you face the consequences. Now go back to your seat so we all can continue the dinner."

I huff as I walk back to my seat. Dad pushes the chair for me. I thank him and sit down pulling it close.

Defeated, Agastya plops down on his chair as well, both of our faces sour realising the aftermath we've to face for something we did in a heat of the moment. If this is what I have to suffer just because of an argument, I'd rather have my tongue slit so I never give an emotionally driven response in future.

"Taranya," Yuvraaj calls out and I lift my head. "I expect something sweet baked by you on the dining table tomorrow as a dessert, yes?"

I nod slowly.

The dinner proceeds in silence after which everyone departs to their own rooms. I drag myself upstairs, abruptly sitting on a random stair because my feet hurt just at the thought of running around the field with that cockroach tomorrow.

"Hey, champ, what's wrong?" Vivaan nods at Yuvaan to go forward while he comes over and sits beside me.

I clasp my hand together with my elbows resting on my knees and lean in slightly, grimacing when Agastya appears with Arush beside him. Both of them throw me a nasty glare as they walk away. Following them is Ayush, busy on his phone before his eyes fall on us and he rushes closer, settling on the stair beneath as he looks up curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm still waiting for an answer for that," Vivaan smiles.

"You know what happened in the great hall was not my fault, right?" I ask Ayush.

"Yeah, he started it."

"Exactly!" I look at Vivaan. "He started commenting on my height, then called me dwarf, then said why are girls so loud. Like, all I did was try my best to walk! You hear me? Walk! And this happened! And now I'm stuck with that moron!" I ranted.

"Mrs. Dodiya said you used the f word," Vivaan tells me.

"He used it first!" I rebuke.

"You used it thrice," he argues.

"Wow," I scoff openly. "She knows how to write a complaint, huh? Did she write the whole argument. Act 1 Scene 2, in brackets, Princess Taranya and Prince Agastya jumping on each other's throats, like that?"

Vivaan laughs a bit. Ayush chortles aloud.

"It's not funny!" I whine. "She told me to hold it in because I'm a lady. And I'm not allowed to curse or get into an argument, because according to her, that's unlady like. Does that make any sense? What she said was so sexist!"

"If that was the case, wouldn't she have only complained about you and not involved Agastya?" He cocks a brow at me.

"Right, she pointed both of your faults." Ayush nods along.

I let his words sink in and slouch in my position. "She still made that sexist-"

"Did she exclusively say that, anything along the lines that suggested that she was okay with Agastya's loud reaction?"

I shake my head in a no.

"Then don't assume and give her the benefit of doubt," he ruffles my hair. "Trust my opinion on this, Mrs. Dodiya might seem hard on the outside, but she is very sweet and sensible. My take on this is that you didn't let her finish. If you did, maybe you would have had a different opinion about her."

"Whatever," I mumble. "I'm already punished for something I didn't even start."

"But you did participate in it." Vivaan strikes.

"Will you stop pointing out my mistakes? I need to feel like the victim here to pity myself." I grumble with a pout.

He chuckles and leans in to kiss my temple. "You're adorable,"

I blush slightly at the compliment.

"I can't wait to show you off to the world," he strokes my head gently.

"And I can't wait for the school to start. You'll be in our class, you know that?" Ayush beams at me.

"Our?"

"Arush is in my class too." He shrugs.

"More than you, I feel like he and Agastya are twins. They are so in sync."

"Nah, Arush is more like Agastya bhai's blind follower. Trust me, it's embarrassing to live as his twin." He shudders visibly.

I laugh while Vivaan slaps him on the back of his head. "Don't say that about your brother. So what if he idolises Agastya? It's cute."

"Not when he fails to have his own judgement or perspective about things. If Agastya Bhai says black is blue, it's blue for him. That's blind faith. And it makes him stupid."

"He'll be mature as he grows," Vivaan says softly.

"You are one of those who hopes in always having a hope, aren't you?" I look at him with a fond smile.

He smiles back. "It keeps the hope alive."

I nod in response.

"That was a brilliant word play. If I ever write a book in the future, I'm stealing that. Don't sue me!" Ayush runs off before we can say another word. "Good night! And all the best, Tara. You need it."

I look over my shoulder in amusement.

"Alright then, let's call it a night-" I grab Vivaan's wrist just as he gets up. "What?"

"Are you really sleepy?"

"There's no surgeon in this world who'll say no to that question," he chuckles and sits back down. "I'm on call tomorrow, so I was hoping to turn in early tonight."

"Oh," I whisper, releasing his hand from my hold. "I just wanted to thank you."

"For what?" He tilts his head to the side.

"For yesterday," I remind him. "The thing with Tarun?"

"Ah yeah," he nods in understanding. "Don't thank me. It still went south despite my attempt to help you."

"Yeah, but you did help me." I mumble. "Tarun and I were really friends, you know? He became my first friend here. Pity it ended so soon."

"Honestly, I was surprised with Bhai's response to the whole thing." He mutters under his breath. "He's usually not that harsh."

"It must be because of Sam." I blurt out quietly.

Shit.

"You mentioned him yesterday too," he hums. "Who is he?"

"A- a friend, I mean not really. We used to like each other." I admit in a soft voice.

His nose wrinkles.

"C'mon, it's normal to like others in my age." I defend.

"Yeah, I just- it sounds absurd."

"What? A girl liking a boy?"

"No. My sister liking a boy." He says gruffly. This is the first time I've seen annoyance on his face. I can't believe this. The one brother I had hopes in about being open minded is also protective.

"You don't want to hear the rest then," I get up from the stair.

"No, wait. What happened in the rest?" He demands as he rises to his full height.

"Nothing-"

"No, tell me. If it was enough to snap Bhai at the thought of Tarun and you being friends, it was definitely something."

Great, I just dug a grave for myself.

"I- I- We kissed and he saw us."

His brows snap together and mouth presses in a hard line. "Tara, you're too young to be doing this!" He chides in disappointment.

"I'm sixteen!"

"Yes! And that's young!"

"Then when do I kiss?"

He appears stunned at that. "Never! Now c'mon, I'll escort you to your room." He holds my hand and leads me upstairs, almost making stumble behind him. "No wonder Bhai was so angry. I want to punch the boy in the face who dared to kiss you and I wasn't even there to witness it. You're lucky Bhai didn't go berserk!"

I stay silent as a consequence of my loose mouth. I don't even know why I brought that up. It's just coming to bite me in the ass now.

He takes the card key from my hands and opens the door for me, guiding me inside the room. He places the card key on the desk, resting his waist against the chest of drawers with his bulging arms crossed on his chest. Timidly, I sit on the edge of the bed.

"Don't you have night duty tomorrow? You should go and catch some sleep." I suggest to get him off my back.

"Tara," he looks at me in concern.

"What?"

"Don't ever cross a line with boys, am I clear? You're only sixteen, my love. And boys, they are not worthy of you, of your trust. They'll never be." He comes over and kneels in front of me, taking me by surprise. "Promise me," he holds out his hand. "Promise me, until you turn eighteen, you'll not even think of getting into a relationship."

Oh, wow, that's a hard promise.

"What if he's a nice guy?"

"Still no." He shakes his head.

I groan and slap my hand in his. "Fine. Promise!"

He sighs in relief and kisses the back of my palm, rubbing it softly. I love that his language of love is physical affection. So far, he's the only brother hugging me, giving me forehead kisses and truly treating me like a sister.

"So, I'm allowed to date after I turn eighteen right?"

"We'll think about that when time comes," he gets up from the crouched position.

"Bhai!" I look up at him in disbelief.

He ruffles my hair. "Go to sleep now. It's already late. Good night." He leaves the room with a beaming smile my way. I slouch in defeat.

Going to sleep was a lot harder than I imagined. Because there's absolutely nothing to do around here. I rarely get tired and that results in me not having the excitement to catch some sleep. I remember when I was running around to get things done during the time Mum was hospitalized. Sleeping meant heaven. And whenever I got a chance to catch a wink, I'd not let it go.

I laze around the bed until far into the midnight. It's three in the morning when my eyes finally fall close.

And I feel like only a minute has passed when a sharp knock on the door rips me out of my deep slumber.

"What the fuck!?" I groan aloud.

The pounding of fists continue.

I flap my hand around the nightstand to feel for my phone. Once the pad of my fingers touches the cold screen, I drag it closer and pick it up. My eyes sting at the bright light. I almost cry in frustration when I see the time. It's only five thirty in the morning!

Whoever you are, better be already on your deathbed.

Dragging myself off the bed, I turn on the main lights and yank open the door, my eyes enlarging when they fall on Agastya.

"Do you fucking know what time it is?" I demand hoarsely.

"Five thirty."

"Good. So why don't you crawl back into your bed? Sleep, and let sleep, God damnit!" I snap.

"Geez, so loud in the morning and for what?" He winces as he sticks a pinky in his right ear and shakes it.

"Agastya -"

"Bhai,"

"In your dreams." I spit out. "Now fuck off." I go to slam my door close but he slaps his hand on the frame, dominating my strength with his.

"I go for a run every morning at five thirty. Bhai said we've to run together. Trust me when I say, I hate this as much as you do. But you want the reward and I want riddance from you. So hop in your sports shoes and join me at the main foyer in fifteen. If you don't come, I'll tell Bhai and then you'll have bigger consequences to face. Make your choice!" He releases the door and storms off in the direction of the elevator.

I slam the door close, rush to my bed, bury my face in the pillow and then scream.

A minute later I get up, fix my hair and make my way inside the bathroom to get fresh. I don't particularly have any outfit for working out so I stick with black leggings and black tank top. I throw my raven hair in a tight high pony and put on the sports shoes before taking elevator to the ground floor. He's sitting on the couch with his legs spread, right foot relentlessly tapping and knuckles folded beneath his chin with his elbow resting on the arm rest. I announce my arrival with a clear of my throat.

He gets up and walks out of the palace. I follow him with a huff.

We reach the open grass field where I saw the horses last time.

"How many laps are we doing?"

"Twenty," he pokes out his elbow toward me.

My jaw goes slack and I'm sure I turn pale in the cold. I look at him with a stupified look on my face while he nods towards the arm waiting to be linked with mine.

"Can we remove the zero from the two, please?" I ask softly.

"Oh, you know the word please?" He takes great amusement at my expense.

"Agastya-"

"Bhai,"

"You don't even like the thought of me being your sister!"

"Yes," he agrees. "But you are. So I deserve the same respect you show to the other three elder brothers."

"I'd rather die than call you Bhai," I grit under my teeth. If I didn't know the meaning of the word, I would have used it unbothered of the context. But no way in hell I'm giving him the respect of a big brother when he's been nothing but a jerk to me all this time. Even now!

"If you say, Bhai, please can we do only four laps? I'll agree. You just have to say the magic word." He offers.

Tempting but no.

I'm a word of my woman.

Wait.

I mean, woman of my words.

"As I said, in your dreams, Agastya," I enunciate his name in a clear tone before linking my arm with his. His brows knit together and onyx eyes heat up. He clenches his jaw and looks forward.

"You're going to regret this." He states.

"We'll see that," I nod, my eyes on the distance I've to cover twenty times and sweat breaks on my temples at the thought of it.

Sweet Jesus, I love and miss my mother, but I'm honestly not hoping to meet her anytime soon.

Oh, well, she just doesn't seem to have a great luck when it comes to getting out of troubles.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment. Makes my day.