Aakarshan

(Attraction)

Arnav was exhausted as he returned back to the kingdom with his father and brother. It had been a short yet exhausting war extending for just one day.

"Oh! Thank God, you all have returned safe and sound from the war. The fear that something might happen to you, was killing me." Empress Mayuri said as she walked towards the Emperor with a plate filled with earthen lamps and flowers and circled it in front of him.

"You don't need to worry, Empress. As long as your sons and son in law are here with me, I don't think that you shall ever need to worry about me." Aaryamann laughed putting an arm around Vikram, his son in law and Arnav.

Shyam made an irritated expression as his wife, Sayantani approached him to congratulate him about their win. He blatantly ignored her and went away.

Anjali ran towards her father and hugged him tightly.
"I am so glad you are safe."

"And I am so jealous that you are not glad about me being safe!" Vikram sighed making Anjali blush and giggle. She came towards him and congratulated him.

She then went towards Arnav and hugged him. "My little brother captured the enemy and got him killed so soon! When did you grow up?"
Arnav made a face making Anjali laugh as she hugged him back.

"Now, all of you must be so tired. Please rest before you proceed meetings about the war in the assembly hall. I shall ask the servants to send refreshments and food for everyone in their own rooms." Sayantani said.Everyone nodded and went to the respective rooms.

Arnav couldn't think about anything but the girl whom he met today. She seemed familiar but he didn't know how. He smiled as the mendicants treated the wounds he had got from the girl as a warfield gift.

He continued thinking about the girl as he came back to his room after a warm bath.

The poor girl's wounds were deep. Did the mendicants tend to her too? He thought to himself.

"Arnav, you mentioned a lotus symbol, didn't you? Well I, have some interesting facts for you," Aman said enthusiastically as he entered Arnav's room.

"Ah! That's what I was waiting for, our reporter Aman's research!" Akash approached both of them. He had already taken a bath and had his bruises tended.

"Aman, please! I am not in the state of mind right now to listen about that mysterious girl. The state of the princess of Padmadurg was quite disturbing for me. However bad someone's father might be, I don't think anyone deserves to see their father dying in front of their eyes.
And she is so brave, I admire her so much and can't help but sympathize with her.
I am going to put a petition at the court to free her from prison and send her back to her capital with respect." Arnav said.

"Woah! So much affection for an enemy's  daughter. Looks like when you become emperor, Aaranya is going to have two empresses." Akash said.

"What?" Arnav looked at him in confusion.

"Yes, my prince, seems like you have fallen for both the forest girl and the princess of Padmadurg. "
Akash teased.

"No, Akash there shall be only one empress!" Aman said calmly.

"Will you people please stop talking about this type of marriage future! I want to let the Princess of Padmadurg go back to her kingdom. So, let me frame what I have to say in court. Bravado like hers doesn't deserve being kept as a prisoner." Arnav said, irritated by his friends.

"The princess of Padmadurg is the girl you saw in the Mrugsarovar forest the other day."
Aman stated.

"What?!" Akash exclaimed in shock.

"How are you so sure?" Arnav raised a brow.

"Have you noticed, Anjali Jiji always used to wear an emerald brooch on her hair before getting married? And now she wears a haath phool with rubies."

"Not only her, Aman, the Empress, princess Sayantani and all the wives and daughters of Aaranya's noblemen wear an emerald brooch. What is the big deal in that?" Akash pointed out.

"The emerald brooch signifies that they belong to the royal family of Aaranya as Aaranya means woodland.

As Anjali jiji is now the Empress of Raigadh, she wears their heirloom which is the haathphool with rubies.

Rajkumari Sayantani is from Pushprajya and so she used to wear floral jewellery as a maiden.
Similarly, Padmadurg means a fort of lotuses..."

"So their women wear lotus shaped jewels and tattoos?" Akash questioned inquisitively.

"Not tattoos exactly, only tight armlets which appear like lotus symbols on their arms...and these armlets are only worn by the unmarried princesses to signify their lineage."

"I understood what you are trying to say. The girl I saw in the forest must be Shashi's youngest daughter then, the one who was going to get married to Bhadraketu, the one who is kept in prison currently. "Arnav sat back on his seat and clutched his drink.

Taking a sip, he smirked to his cousins
"

No wonder half the world is crazy about Padmadurg's princesses. This one is amazing. You should have seen her in battle feild. I want to marry her!"

"What!?" Akash exclaimed again. "but you just said that you don't want to talk about marriage."

"Bhadraketu is my enemy, he fled the battleground before I could catch and kill that coward! I am ready to do all possible things to defeat him in every field possible. Making his fiance my queen is going to be no less than a mortal insult for him. "
Arnav spoke with utter vengeance remembering all the bitter insults that man had hurled against his beloved motherland.

"What about the girl? Would she marry the man who killed her father?" Aman rose up from his chair.

"She shall have to, she has no other option as a prisoned princess." Arnav smirked.

Aman and Akash looked at each other, wondering if this was ethically correct.

"Do you know her name?" Arnav asked.

"Princess Tarini, I
think." Aman thought and said while Arnav looked on happily.

She has completely smitten me.

**********

"Oh, leave me!" She sighed as her dehydrated self was tied in chains. She was kept in the prison as a prisoner of war. The soldiers had locked her up and not given her any food so that she becomes weak enough to not be able to escape.

What has turned of my life within a day?
She wondered as she lay on the ground, bound in chains in a half unconscious state. The soldiers had had a tough time keeping her bonded. But once she was weak and tired, they easily put her in chains.

"Open the lockup and leave." A dark shadow told the guards.

"But sir..."

"Don't worry, I shall not let her escape. Give me the keys to her chains."

He entered the lockup and gave a proud look looking at the brave girl who lay exhausted on the hard ground.

He went near her and opened her chains.

Half in her senses, the princess looked up to see the person who was opening her chains. She squinted her eyes to see properly in the dimly lit area.

"I can't see you, who are you?"she spoke, taking pauses, in a very tired voice.

"Here have some water, princess," he said, bringing a glass of water to her lips.

"You ...are that ...war..." She stuttered, recognizing his voice.

"Here, I brought these fruits for you. Let me help you sit up." He said as he helped her sit properly and handed her the fruit. She started munching on it slowly.

"Are your wounds open?" He touched her arm making her flinch in pain.

"Aah." She whimpered.

"The guards are so irresponsible. Your wounds haven't been cleaned and tended." Arnav said in concern. He took off his shawl and shredded it into small peices using his dagger.

He dipped one of the cloth peices in water and looked towards her.

"Please bring forward your arm, let me clean your wounds."

Tarini was not in a state to reason or question. She raised her arms towards him with great difficulty.

Arnav wiped her wounds carefully with the moist cloth. She had bled a lot, he noticed. In the last he covered her wounds by wrapping them with the remaining peices of his shawl.

"I should be leaving. Don't worry princess I will get you out of here by tomorrow." He said softly as he cupped her cheek with his palm.

"Please stay, this place is scary." She tried to hold his wrist and stop him from going.

"I promise you won't have to be here for long." He assured her and she left his wrist.

"You are really brave and kind, princess!" He said before locking the jail. He didn't bind her back in the chains, Tarini noticed. She decided not to try to break out of prison and keep the trust he had bestowed upon her by not binding her.

Arnav cast one last look back towards her. He couldn't sleep that whole night.