Sita simply stared outside. She remembered doing the same thing on the night before she chose her husband. The night before Ram broke that bow. The night before her life changed, it seemed, all for the better. She put her hand under her chin. It was a half moon, a waxing gibbous. She liked to think that it was only half full because she was not quite yet united with her other half. She smiled.

Sita often felt ashamed that she had ever thought so terribly of Ram. That he may never show up because he was too proud of himself, or that she wasn't good enough for him. She swallowed as she felt the emotions bubbling up her throat again. Only this time, it wasn't a sorrow filled sob she was choking down. It was a giddy giggle. She heard footsteps behind her and whirled around.

Shrutakirti stood there, smiling tiredly. "Are you excited, didi? I am. I've been dreaming of this occasion for ages." Shrutakirti stood next to Sita, and they both smiled at each other. "I wonder, Sita didi, what married life must be like. It's not all fun and games, I know, but it must be better than having no one at all." Sita frowned, pulling Shrutakirti closer to herself.

"Hey! You have me and Mandavi, and Urmila too. Never say that you are along." Sita looked up at the moon again, its illuminating light shining on her face. "I think married life would be nice, especially to someone whom you love. No one can leer at you anymore, and I suppose most every moment would be spent in pure bliss." Shurtakirti shrugged.

"Yes, I suppose so." she kicked the base of the balcony railing a bit dejectedly. "It feels like we will always be under spotlight, and that our husbands will be holding us to the highest standard, as the princesses of such a large kingdom as Kosala. I wonder if the people in Ayodhya will judge us. If they will feel different about us. Especially you, Sita didi." Shrutakirti looked up, her lip quivering. "I wonder if they won't like you Sita didi, and I feel horrible." She wrapped her arms tightly around her sister.

Sita was touched. Urmila was her confidant, the one who always followed her around, the one she didn't feel completely comfortable without. Mandavi was always being reprimanded by her, and they often talked about and laughed about things together. Here was Shrutakirti, the youngest, often the forgotten among the four, worried about her! Sita swallowed hard.

"Ram loves me, Shurtakirti. Enough, I think, that he won't let the people's judgment ruin his love for me. Yes, I will be the Maharani, some day, but I don't think that I will be put under any large spotlight until that day comes, when Ram is crowned. God wish Raja Dasharath a long life. Besides," she pouted at Shrutakirti. "You don't think I'm so terrible that people will judge me, do you?" Shurtakirti looked horrified, and quickly shook her head, her eyes widening.

"No, no didi! You are the best of all four of us. I just-I," Shurtakirti sighed. "It seems Lakshman bhaiyya's pessimistic nature has travelled onto me, for I worry, Sita didi. Women are constantly placed under a judgment that man is not. Those people, they love Yuvraj Ram. If you accidentally do anything wrong, they might-I don't know!" Shrutakirti sank her head into her hands as if ashamed of even bringing it up.

"I think," Sita began. "That I will never do anything against Ram, and so they will never look down upon me." Shrutakirti looked up grinning. "I think so too, didi! See, I was just being pessimistic, such things should not be spoken about," The atmosphere was lightened up again, and Sita turned back towards the moon.

Ram stared at the exact same light, suspended in the sky, wanting so very suddenly to slap himself. How could he have ever thought about not attending the wedding? How could such a stupid, impure thought ever cross his mind that he would bow down Kosala's head by thinking that he would not be able to lift the bow? It was not possible!

And then, Sita. If any other person married her, Ram was sure he would be going on a murderous rampage that no one could stop. He loved that lady with all of his heart, and with every fibre of his soul. He sniffled a little bit, wiping a single, silvery tear away. None of his brothers liked to step out to watch the moon except Lakshman.

And there he was. His second brother, standing right beside him, half-asleep. Lakshman found sleep very easily, even on the night before his wedding. Ram cuffed the back of his head quickly, and Lakshman jumped up. His wide eyes reached the face of his brother, and softened immediately, wiping away Ram's single tear.

"Don't cry bhaiyya. Don't be sad. Life will only get better from here, don't you think?" he swallowed. "I've heard that women are amazing in many ways. I've heard that birds and butterflies flock to them, as if they can speak to animals." Lakshman frowned. "And I've also heard that they are very sensible in times we are not, and let their heart and minds both guide them." Ram shook his head, hugging Lakshman closer.

"Oh no, Laksh. I am not sad. These are happy tears, do you understand, happy tears?" Ram felt as if he was explaining this to a child, a small toddler. Lakshman would find no reason to cry, ever, especially when he was happy. "When someone is so exceptionally happy, and excited as I am, then sometimes, they cry." He took a long, deep breath of the chilly night air. "Isn't that weird, Lakshman? So very weird?"

Lakshman wordlessly handed him something, before disappearing back into his room. Ram opened it up, and let out a single, breathy laugh. A small, bejeweled hair clip, carved with wood and embossed with pearly shine and jewels. Lakshman always gave him toys when he was younger, arrowheads when he got slightly older. Now, he gave him a gift to give. Ram felt something changing. He was now going to be married. Have something other to worry about than kingdoms. Bharat would have something else to pay attention to other than his paints. Lakshman would have to set aside his weapons. Shatrughan needed to tone down his pranks. The days of their childhood were gone, no more steadily disappearing as the very last slipped away from him as the clock struck twelve loudly. Gone.

"Sita didi! Sita didi! Look at this! Do you see this golden earring? I think I'll wear it." Mandavi squealed, putting it on quickly. Shrutakirti, the self proclaimed jewelry expert, marched up to her, and snatched the large bell-like earring away from her, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, studying the earring closely.

"Urmila should wear those. Here, Maan. Wear these." She put on a small nose ring and a large, slightly less extravagant beaded earring. Mandavi pouted as Urmila laughed, snatching the jhumroo earrings and putting them on herself. Sita stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself, mouth agape. Urmila danced up to her, her face alight and sneaky.

"I think Ram bhaiyya will most certainly like that." She pointed to the off center maang tikka as Sita swatted her away, laughing. The entire atmosphere was alight with fervor and excitement as the giddy princesses twirled each other around, picking out jewelry and makeup for each other to wear.

Sita, always wanting floral jewelry, wore an off-center maang tikka as well as a centered one, a floral beaded necklace or two, and a large nose-ring. Mandavi tried to be cineplex, and had a beaded head jewelry, a choker necklace, and a set of beaded earrings. Urmila, unlike all of her sisters, liked to go all-out. And so she did. A heavy headdress, a large nose-ring, as well as multiple necklaces. She looked like a true princess. And then there was Shrutakirti, with an off-center maang tikka as well, and a large, jeweled Necklace as well as multiple ones further below. They all looked like the princesses they were.

"This is the last time I will ever go in public without sindoor." whispered Mandavi, looking down. Urmila choked and Sita smiled as Shrutakirti finally dropped her jewelry and sank onto her bed, putting her hands on her mouth as if scarcely believing it. "But I am not sad about that. I think sindoor is a lovely touch when you love the one you marry." Mandavi stated proudly, and Sita went up and hugged her, her smile widening.

"Speaking of the ones we will marry, I wonder how they will react to our ensemble!" squealed Urmila, her eyebrows wiggling. "I wonder what they are doing. Ram will be there with his large crown. Bharat, princely as ever. My bet is that Lakshman will still somehow appear dishevelled as always. And Shatrughan's hair will be even more immaculate than normal!" laughter echoed in the rooms.

Rani Sunaina walked into the room, followed by the kind Rani Chandrabhaga. "My girls have all grown up," Sunaina flicked a tear away from her eye, and put a large, jeweled bindi on her two daughters' foreheads as Chandrabhanga did the same to her daughters. Urmila took a deep, sobbing breath as Sita shuddered. They were about to get married.

"Ugh, no! No, please no!" cried Shatrughan, trying to run away as Bharat tried to fix yet another necklace on him. Ram caught him from behind, and shaking his head, pushed him down onto the ground again, putting the last, beaded golden necklace on him. Shatrughan pouted. "You all are not doing this to Laksh! Why me?" Ram turned towards Lakshman, smirking, as the older twin, looked up quickly, eyes widening.

"Not yet," he quipped, grabbing a large, golden crown as Bharat grabbed Lakshman's other arm. "Haha, Lakshman. Now you actually have to spend time on how you look, it's your own wedding, you know?" Lakshman looked sullenly back at him, not being able to do anything as they quickly violated his no-jewelry stance with a large silver armlet.

"I would not voluntarily wear jewelry, Ram bhaiyya, until your coronation." Lakshman mumbled, sighing in defeat as they put his largest, spikiest crown on him. "That thing is heavy! What is it made of, rocks?" he cried out, standing up for a second. Ram shook his head, exhaling from his mouth.

"No, price of having a spiky and scary looking crown." And the room was filled with chuckles at poor Lakshman's expense. "Ram bhaiyya, I notice that you yourself have put on quite a lot of necklaces. Is it to impress a certain someone?" he teased as Ram turned bright red, confirming his question. "Awww, Ram bhaiyya's in love." Shatrughan snorted. "Isn't that the sweetest thing?" Ram kicked his shin.

"We all are. We all are in love. I just hope that this love won't drive us apart somehow. We'll always remain brothers, though now we are also brothers in law, I think?" When he received some nods, Ram continued. "Our bond has only strengthened. Let us not be separated though we are married. We'll always be together, in everything we do." He got a group hug, and his tears were wiped away, and his crown straightened.

"Come on." Ram whispered. And so, the four brothers began to walk out of the room, Ram leading the way followed by Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughan. They paraded down the halls, the corridors, feet marching in symphony, in unison, as the servants and maids turned around to watch the four of them, some crying.

In the halls, the four princesses sat in front of the fire, each looking down. As the steady marching of feet was heard, they looked up quickly. The princes looked somehow exactly like their thoughts, and somehow, more. Ram was shining with princiless and looked kingly as ever, and yet the crown didn't look so big as his smile. Bharat looked handsome and very much the son of Kaikeyi, but also calm, serene, and dedicated. Lakshman was not dishevelled, and yet still somehow managed to look so. Shatrughan smiled at everything and everyone, not a hair out of place, but layered with necklaces.

Ram sat beside Sita , swallowing hard, and looking up at her. They stared into each other's eyes, and the moments, the timeline of their lovelife flashed in front of them. The first meeting. When they had realized that they had fallen in love. When Ram had picked up the bow against all odds and shattered it into two pieces. Swinging on the swing, confessing to each other. And now they were here. About to get married.

Bharat and Mandavi tried, as always, to look away from each other. Both of them were blushing hard, though they were polar opposites of each other, both in appearance and in nature. Old habits die hard, as their eyes somehow still managed to reach each other's eyes, and they both caught each other, gaping.

Urmila, as always, began to speak, rambling on about how exciting it was to get ready, and how amazing her jewelry is, and how excited she was to get married, and how great it was to finally marry, and everything else possibly relatable to the current moment. Lakshman listened to her without interruption, looking at her as if she was all he could ever want, endless words or not.

Shatrughan began to tell jokes, loud ones and quiet ones, and the particularly suggestive jokes he told, he would accompany excitedly with wiggling eyebrows, making Shrutakirti burst into laughter, and slap his arm as he feigned hurt and pain. They were the loudest couple, the most exuberant, the ones who shone the brightest, but also the most naive.

"I can't believe it!" cried Rani Sunaina. "I never actually thought, they fit so perfectly, don't they Chandrabhanga? It's meant to be." Sniffling, she clasped her hands together. "And the alliance is perfect as well, don't you think? Kosala and Videha. Ayodhya and Mithila." she swallowed. "I hope they adjust well to their life there. Such a large kingdom." she flicked another tear away, grasping onto her fellow queen, who also had started crying, for support.

Raja Janak stared at the four couples, beside him, Raja Kushadwaj. Their four girls, the kind Sita, the bubbly Urmila, the bold Mandavi, and the sweet Shrutakirti, were getting married. The very four princesses, whom he had thought years ago that no one deserved, had finally found their equals in the humble Ram, the tough Lakshman, the princely Bharat, and the hilarious, childish Shatrughan. There were four that deserved them. His girls would never be separated from each other.

A/N-Haha. DId you guys know I was writing this chapter before I published it? Were you expecting it? I really snuck it onto you, didn't I? So...since I forgot to post after the first part of Phool Jani, I did post today instead of going by my original plan and editing today. So...in case this chapter is not up to par with your expectations, that be my bad.

Isn't this so sweet? I think it is. So, thankfully, I should have enough to fill another 3+ pages for the second part, which is a big relief considering that I was wondering if my choice to divide the wedding into two parts was wise or not. Anyways, I was seriously contemplating going back on my word and not posting the two wedding parts on the same day, just because I didn't want an entire day of hard work to be posted on the same day. But I guess that's not happening, because I am a truthful and nice person. Be happy, okay? Also, I included some drawings of the four princesses. I won't even make you guys guess this time. I'm feeling very generous today, can't you see?

Sita

Mandavi

Urmila

Shrutakirti