RECAP

Nandini solved the palace ghost problem but let Nakul have the credit. Manik suspects that Nandini is the one who caught Guruji not Nakul....he has a plan.

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"Maharaj....hum yahan kyun aaye?" Nandini asked as Manik brought her to a cliff area.

"Bas aise....humne socha ki hum dono ko saath waqt bitana chahiye." Manik replied. "Aur hum tumhari pariksha bhi le sakenge, paata lagane ke liye ke tumne Guruji ko pakra tha ya nahi.....yeh jagah mahel se bohot door hai. Bas ek baar Shaan ke aadmi waqt pe aa jaaye."

"Waqt bitane ke liye aap talwar saath le aaye?" Nandini raised one eyebrow.

"Hum Maharaj hai....toh rakhna parta hai." Manik explained.

"Hmm.." Nandini nodded, not fully believing his reasoning.

"Vaise....yeh bohot khubsoorat jagah hai...nahi?" Manik changed the subject.

"Ji...bohot. Kaafi uchai pe bhi hai..." Nandini commented. She narrowed her eyes at Manik. "Aap kahi humme jaan se maarne toh nahi waale na?"

"KYA!" Manik looked horrified at the idea. "Hum Maharaj hai.....hum apne hi Choti Rani ko maarna kyun chahenge?"

Nandini burst out laughing. "Haha haha! Hum....Hahaha...Hum mazak kar rahe they Maharaj! Apni shakal toh dikhiye! Bhoot ki tarah safed ho gaye aap! Darr gaye kya??"

"Maharaj Manik Singh Rathore kisi se nahi darte." Manik puffed his chest up and replied with attitude.

"Arre Pitaji aap?" Nandini looked behind Manik looking surprised.

"Pitaji humne kuch nahi kiya woh toh..." Manik spun around but didnt see anyone. Again Nandini started laughing, almost falling to the ground. Manik sighed as he turned back to her & was amused. "Humme paata nahi tha ke tum ITNi masti khor ho."

"Abhi aap humme jante hi kitne hai Maharaj?" Nandini asked with a smirk.

"Hmm...tabhi yeh zaroori hai." Manik mumbled.

"Kya?" Nandini asked.

"Nahi...kuch nahi."

At that moment 4 men came riding on horses. They had their faces covered with scarves and held swords in their hands.

"Aa gaye..." Manik thought with a smile.

"Maharaj, yeh log kaun hai?" Nandini asked, alarmed.

"Paata nahi...tum wahan door khadi raho. Inhe hum dekhte hai." Manik told her. He stepped forward & winked at the men before yelling out loud. "Kaun ho tum log? Kya chahiye???"

They didnt reply and all attacked Manik who quickly drew his sword and held them off.

"Kya garbar kar rahe hai yeh log? Humpe nahi...Nandini pe vaar karna tha. Shaan ne bataya nahi tha kya??" Manik was confused. As he was busy thinking, one man attacked Manik from the side and cut his arm. Manik dropped his sword & grabbed his arm in pain. "AAH!"

"Maharaj!" Nandini's rakshika instincts kicked in and she ran forward  picking up the sword before standing in front of Manik protectively. 

"Arre wah....garbar ke baad bhi wahi ho raha hai jo humne socha tha....." Manik watched as Nandini expertly fought the 4 men. With each blow, his mouth dropped lower to the ground in shock. 

"Rakshika se panga lena BOHOT mehenga parega tum logon ko!" Nandini blurted out angrily.

"RAKSHIKA?????" 

Nandini gasped and turned to look at Manik, finally remembering that he was also there. "Marr gaye....yeh humne kya kar diya??? Maharaj ke samne...."

Seeing Nandini & Manik both distracted, the man Nandini was fighting pushed her backwards making fall against Manik. 

"NANDINI!" Manik tried to catch Nandini but the force of her fall made him trip backwards & they both fell off the cliff into the deep forest. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The men walked to the edge off the cliff and then looked at each other.

"Chalo...mem saab ko batate hai ke kaam ho gaya. Maharaj aur Choti Rani sa dono marr gaye." One man said.

"Par...pakka mar gaye na?? Agar bach gaye toh?" Another man asked.

"Itni uchai se girne ke baad koi bachta hai kya? Yeh koi kahani thod na hai." The 3rd man assured him.

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At the Palace....

"Apne yeh kya kar diya Maasima??" Ranveer was shocked to hear that his brother & Nandini were killed.

"Haan...mere aadmiyon ne mujhe bataya. Dono pahar se gir ke marr gaye. Ab tumhe Maharaj banne se koi rokh nahi sakta."

"Maasima....humne manna kiya tha na?" Ranveer protested.

"Aur humne bhi kaha tha ki tum Maharaj tabhi ban sakte ho jab Manik marega. Vaise toh hum Manik ko Nandini ke khilaf karna chahte they taa ki uske mauth ki ilzam Nandini pe dal sake lekin unn dono ko dekh ke nahi lag raha ke woh dono door ho rahe they....ulta toh aur paas hone lage. Aur isse pehle ki Nandini iss Mewar ki Rajkumar ko janam de daale....humne unn dono ko raaste se hatha diya." Kaveri told him. "Thodi der mein....sabko khabar mil jayega. Uske baad main khud sifarish karungi ke tumhe Maharaj banaya jaaye."

She then left the room & Ranveer sat on his bed. He was in tears thinking about the death of his brother. Even though he had spent many years resenting him....his childhood was filled with fond memories of playing with Manik.

"Ranveer....kya hua tumhe?" Revati asked her husband as she entered the room to see him wipe his tears.

"Kuch nahi." Ranveer stood up to leave but bumped into Revati who had moved to block his way out. "Revati...kar kya rahi ho tum?"

"Pehle batao....kya chal raha hai tumhare dimaag mein?" Revati asked. She hugged Ranveer, laying her head against his chest. "Hum tumhari patni hai Ranveer....agar tumhe kuch pareshan kar raha hai toh humme jaane ka haq hai."

Feeling weak for a moment, Ranveer let his walls down and hugged Revati. For that moment, he wasnt the Ranveer who kept his wife at arms length, who hated Manik & refused to accept him as a brother. In that moment he was a young boy who was hugging his closest friend....a boy who loved his brother like anything.

"Kuch...kuch bohot burra hua Revati. Kuch aisa.....jo humne sapno mein bhi nahi socha tha." Ranveer confessed, his voice breaking.

"Kya? Aisa kya hua hai Ranveer?" Revati asked, rubbing his back in concern. But Ranveer suddenly snapped back to reality & roughly pushed Revati away from himself.

"Kaha na kuch nahi? Akela chor do mujhe!" Ranveer shouted and then left the room.

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Back At The Forest...

Manik & Nandini lay unconscious in the forest but miraculously both were alive. Soon Manik woke up, groaning in pain.

"Na...Nandini....Nandini?" Manik reached for her, seeing her still unconscious. Worried that she was injured, Manik lightly shook her. "Nandini...ankhen kholo! Nandini!"

Finally, Nandini started waking up and called out. "M...Ma..ha...raj..."

Manik took a breath of relief and pulled her into a tight hug. "Bhagwan ka lac lac shukriya ke tum thik ho! Agar humare vajah se tumhe kuch ho jaata toh hum khud ko kabhi maaf nahi kar paate."

"Aapki vajah se matlab?" Nandini asked. Manik released her from the hug & looked down ashamed. 

"Woh...unn logon ko maine bulaya tha. Shaan ke aadmi they woh." Manik confessed.

"KYA!!! Matlab aap sach mein humme jaan se maarna chahte they???" Nandini stood up angrily.

"Nahi Nahi! Bilkul nahi! Plan toh ulat hi par gaya.....unn logon ko bas tumpe vaar karna tha tha ki hum tumhari pariksha le saake. Tumhari jaan khatre mein nahi dalna tha! Hum chorenge nahi unko!"

"Par...parikshika kyun lena tha?" Nandini asked.

"Kyuki paata lagana tha ke tum- ek minute.....tumne upar kaha tha ke tum....RAKSHIKA ho?" Manik remembered. Now it was Nandini's turn to look down in shame. "Itni badi baat kaise chupa sakti ho tum??"

"Humme maaf kar dijiye....humara kuch chupane ka irada nahi tha." Nandini then told Manik everything about her being Rakshika and why she hid the fact. 

"Bakki sab toh samajh aa gaya....par tumne Rani Eliana pe vaar kyun kiya?"

"Kyunki...unhone kaam hi kuch aisa kiya tha! Humme gussa a gaya tha!" Nandini replied.

"Itna khatarnak gussa? Aisa bhi kya kar diya tha Eliana ne?" Manik asked.

Nandini stayed silent because she didnt want to say anything against Eliana without solid proof...she was worried that Manik wouldnt trust her because he knew Eliana for way longer. However, she also didnt want to keep anything else hidden from Manik so she took a deep breath to gather her courage.

"Woh...Rani Eliana ne-" Nandini looked up and saw Manik was looking very weak. His arm was bleeding badly and soon he fell to the ground unconsious again.

"MAHARAJ!"

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Thoughts?

How was this chapter?

Will Manik be alright?

Will MaNan get out of the forest?