Bit by bit, she regained consciousness.

Firstly, she became aware of the soft, silken sheets beneath her, her hair scattered across the pillow. Her chest was moving in a rhythmic motion, in and out, in and out.

Then: where am I?

She opened her eyes.

Everything was blurry.

Lilavati sat up and groaned. Her head was pounding.

"Lila?"

She whipped her head around.

There was a light touch on her hand.

Her heart was hammering as her fingers grazed the spot where she had been touched.

There was no one in the room.

Lilavati tried to focus on her breathing.

Just like Satyaa Jiji taught: in and out, in and out.

She looked around. The room was familiar. A wardrobe standing in the corner, a mirror next to it. When her eyes fell on the Vishnu murti, her breath hitched.

Is this my room...?

"Natha?" she called out, hoping for her flute-wielding lord to come out of the shadows any moment.

There was movement in the shadows.

"You called for me, o beautiful one?"

Lilavati narrowed her eyes.

That was not her husband. The man's voice that had just spoken to her had a deeper voice than Krishna.

"You are not Krishna."

Her lord's name tasted sweeter than honey on her tongue, but she had no time to dwell on the fact that this was the first time she had addressed her husband by name.

"Indeed I am not. Needless, it does not matter, Lilavati."

A man emerged from the shadows.

She tried to suppress her growing horror. "Where have you taken me? Who are you?"

The man chuckled and moved closer to her. The shadows prevented her from seeing the man's features any more than its general shape.

He tucked two fingers under her chin and pulled her gaze upwards.

"I wish you to be mine, beautiful one."

His thumb traced her features as he crooned, "What a beauty! Shame you chose to waste it on a gwala who has sixteen-thousand and eight concubines. Accept me, Lila, and you will know more pleasure at my hands than you have ever experienced."

She struck him.

The man reeled back, the force of her slap forcing him a few steps away.

There was silence in the room for a while.

With every second passing, Lilavati feared she had gone too far.

But the man rose again and chuckled.

"A feisty one you are, Sundari."

Lilavati's hand found its way to her mangalasutra and she gripped it tightly, forcing away the pain that bloomed in her heart.

She wished desperately that the pounding headache that had made itself known had faded, or that she had some more of her strength. Had she been not drugged, she would have definitely fought with the man, but she found that the slap had taken most of her effort and drained all of her energy.

"My lord will not tolerate your foolishness, you craven being!" she cried. "Let him come, and you will know mercy only in death!"

The man tsked.

"You seriously believe he will come for you, Jivantaki? You've murdered people. Why would your precious, beloved Krishna waste his energy and time on finding you? In fact, I bet he's actually relieved you're out of his hands, and relaxing right now! No one will come for you."

Her grip on her mangalasutra tightened as she tried to ignore the man's words.

He leaned into her, whispering words into her ear.

"But don't you worry, Lila. I have plans for you. I am a man of principles, my beautiful one, and I will not force myself on you. You must choose whether to give into me or not. Consider your decision carefully." His saccharine tone provided no disguise to the baseness of his words.

He rose and left.

~

Days passed.

The four walls of the room that had been designed to mimic her chambers in Dvaraka seemed to close in on her.

She grew sick of seeing the room.

She had, mercifully, been provided with enough food to survive, even if her stomach rumbled in hunger at various odd intervals.

It was akin to the years that Lilavati had spent wandering in the forests, her mind lost in the anger that lurked beneath her skin, forgoing food for her anger. But she had grown used to eating the rich food from the kitchens of Dvaraka, and the food she had now was both meagre and tasteless, leaving her longing for the warmth of her lord's kingdom.

She leaned against the wall, wondering exactly what she could hope for now.

She had spent the first few days trying to convince herself that Krishna would come for her, that his efforts to build a relationship with her, those daily evening walks with him along the beach were not for naught.

But in the haunting silence of a room that should have been her solace, with nothing but her thoughts, she could not help the despair that dredged itself up in her darkest thoughts, that the man really was right and her husband wouldn't come for her.

The isolation was getting to her.

Lilavati exhaled slowly.

Where are you, my lord?

~

A shriek awoke her from her dreamless sleep. The door slammed open and Lilavati winced, moving away from the door involuntarily.

Someone was thrown inside and the door was shut again, the grumbling of a man heard outside, though the words were muffled.

The heavy breathing of someone... a woman perhaps, from the shape of her body and her relatively high-pitched voice filled the room.

Lilavati shifted to her knees.

"Are you okay?"

The woman started backwards, fear evident in her expression.

Lilavati raised her hands.

"I mean no harm. I was... taken too."

The woman blinked in the moonlight at her, and then leaned forward.

"You aren't an illusion?"

Lilavati held her hands out to the woman in response. The woman reached out hesitatingly, and then gasped when her hands came in contact with Lilavati's cold flesh.

"Where are you from?" Lilavati asked, her voice a soft murmur.

"Dvaraka."

The name was said in a breathy gasp and Lilavati had to force back her own sound of shock at the kingdom.

"I was returning back home after having collected my fish for the day, and then my leg got caught in a trap and I hit my head and blacked out. Next thing I know, I'm surrounded by a group of men. And they..."

The woman shifted, trailing off, her body stiffening, and then she said, "Come closer, please?"

Lilavati complied, moving into the moonlight. The woman studied her closely.

"You seem familiar."

"Do I now?" Lilavati tried to keep her tone light. "Did you see anything outside when you were brought here?"

The woman shook her head. "I was blindfolded until we came to this corridor. But it seems hopeless to escape. There are guards around every corner."

They fell into silence, and then a gasp startled Lilavati.

"I know you," whispered the woman with dawning horror. She flinched away full-bodily.

"You're—you're that murderer woman that Devakinandana married!"

Lilavati tried to keep herself from trembling.

"Please, I mean no harm. I only wish to escape."

The woman shuddered.

"Better to die in this hellhole than accept the help of a murderer to escape! I bet you'll only use me until we reach the doors and then you'll kill me! I would rather die here in the darkness!"

A/N: *raises hands* I know this is like a very random thing, but I thought that publishing this chapter now really wouldn't make any difference. It doesn't have too many edits, so I figured best to get it out of the way.

I hope to return with the rest of the chapters by September 1st. So about another month. 

Take care, everyone! <3