8 YEARS AGO.

Aviram's Point Of View :

I HEARD anklets.
On a rather gloomy evening in December.
I heard the sound of anklets from the royal courtyard.
I walked out of the puja room, drawn towards the sound.

There was classical music. Tabla, sitar, all strung together to give a beautiful kathak tune.

The music was from the abandoned area of the Palace.

I almost started jogging, the anklets seemed to be inevitably drawing me towards them.
And then I stopped.
Barely breathing.

I stood beside the courtyard.
To my right, was the music of the anklets.
Exhaling a deep breath I turned to my side.

And I felt my breath was taken away.

Bathed in the silvery moonlight, there was a woman.
A girl.
Her feet danced as if they had a life of their own, the smile on her lips - enchanting.

I stood with bated breath.
She was alone, dancing to the music, in her own bliss.
She wore a simple cotton saree, yet looked more beautiful than any woman I had seen.

For moments, I had mistaken her to be Anamika, the height, at one glance she looked exactly the same - but she was not my wife.
Avantika could never dance, could never be this enchanted in her world of bliss.
She could never break the rules.

The girl turned and I immediately slipped behind a marble pillar.

And the song ended.
She fell to the floor.
Gasping for breath.

For moments she remained that way.

I slowly walked down to her, careful to not scare her.
She heard my footsteps and stood up, looking down, almost embarrassed.

"I.. I apologise.. Your Highness.. I..", she mumbled.
For some odd reason, I did not wish to let her know my true identity.

"I am not the Prince.", I lied.
She immediately looked up, rather annoyed.
She placed her hands on her waist, looking at me with a raised brow.

"Thank God, You are not that cold horrible tyrant Prince!.", She said heaving a sigh of relief. And then suddenly paused, "How dare you?!", She demanded.
"Excuse me—"
"Excuse you?! You are watching a beautiful seventeen year old maiden like me dance in the darkness! How outrageous!", She shouted.

Even if she shouted, I couldn't help admiring her beauty.
The hazel brown eyes, full of fiery passion and determination. Yet there was kindness, and childlike stubbornness.

"Forgive me.. but why are you here? This is the abandoned courtyard. Ages ago the dancers of the court practiced here.", I said, wondering how she ever got in.
This region of the palace had been locked away years ago.

"The souls of those beautiful dancers bless me when I dance here..", she said, almost dreamy.
"Plus..", she said looking me right in the eye, "I am going to Mumbai for formal training. Then I will rule the world by my dance.."

I couldn't help but break into a smile.
A dreamy dancer, she was.

"Leela!", This was the voice of the Raj Purohit.
Perplexed, I turned to find him standing, looking extremely angry.

"Hey Devi Maa!", She said immediately biting her tongue as she ran down to her father, picking up the music player.

"This is the forbidden area! How could you come here?", He demanded.
"I.. I am sorry..", saying so she ran away.

The Purohit turned towards him.
And then froze.

I drew in a deep breath and walked up to him.
"Your Highness..", he mumbled looking down, "She.. she is a foolish girl.. please.."

"Purohit, look up.", I said drawing in a deep breath.
His hands were joined, with teary eyes.
"She wants to pursue dance, it seems.", I stated.
"Indeed. She's absolutely mad behind dancing.", Purohit ji said, almost annoyed.

"It is a good thing. But you don't look too happy.", I said, crossing my hands before me.

"She says she wants to go to Mumbai. Where will I get that much money? I.. I mean.. if I give all that money behind her dancing, how will I pay for her marriage?", He said, almost frustrated.

I drew in a deep breath.

"Rajkumar.. you don't worry about her. Anyways, she has to marry only in future. All this dance will take her nowhere.", He added.

"No.", I stated, "She is talented and passionate, Purohit ji. If she wants to pursue it, let her. I will pay for it."

"You will?", Purohit ji looked at me in shock.

I smiled, remembering the beauty of the dance I had just witnessed.

"I will. But I expect you to not tell her that. She is drawn by lots of self respect, she might not like the tyrant Prince to pay for her.", I said.

He gasped.

"She told you? Oh Devi Maa.. she's a crazy girl.", He said, sighing.
"It is okay.", I said smiling softly, "At least she says what is in her heart. Very few do it."

"I would like to know where she wants to take admission by the end of this week.", I added.
Purohit ji thanked me, and turned to leave.

I glanced back the the courtyard.
Something glistened in the moonlight.

I walked down to it, to find an anklet.
I picked it up.

"I did not know you were financing random women's dance now."

Anamika's sharp voice rang.
I drew in a deep breath.

"Anamika, I am a Prince. It is my duty to help—"

"You don't care to buy me a single jewellery, Ram!", She snapped. I turned towards her in dismay, clutching onto the anklets in my hand. She hadn't noticed it.

"You have the whole treasury at your disposal—"

"You suffocate me!", She shouted.

"Suffocate?", I asked, unable to understand her context.
"Indeed! Your presence, you! You suffocate me!", Saying so she stormed away.

I felt numbness grip my throat.
I looked down, heaving a sigh.

•

PRESENT DAY.

Indeed, I suffocated her.
Suffocated her enough that she ran away.

I found myself at the same courtyard.
In the darkness, bathed in moonlight.
In the abandonment and isolation, there was solace.
There was solace in silence.

I lay back on the cold marble floor, abandoned, much like the heart if a beast.
Locked up forever.

I let the tears slide down.

Sometimes it was better to leave the facade, to forget I was the King, to be a teenage boy broken in love.

I pulled out the anklet.
It shone as bright as ever in the moonlight.
On my fingers, still burning with the injuries from the sharp strings, the cold anklets felt like peace.

Like ice on a burning heart.

I gulped looking at the moon, as drawn to it as ever.

A cool breeze blew, the ice it was.
My heart.
Which did beat in a strange silence, with bated breath, in hope it would find love again - in hope it would be free from the shell of a beast again.
But when the time shall be over, it would ultimately stop, the wounds on my fingers signified it better than anything else could.

And the latter would probably be his destiny, it knew.

For no one would love the beast.

•••

Beauty And The Beast parallel with a twist :)