Soon the three of them reached the palace/hotel. They had booked two rooms, one for Faizi and Karan and one for Monami.

They had approximately 2 hours to the wedding, and Karan being Karan, he had already started ordering them to be fast so they could reach in time.

~~~

In Karan and Faizi's room

Karan had gone to take a shower while Faizi sat in the room, reading the newspaper. He was already dressed. Cream Kurta and white pants.

"Janaab aur kitna time..." Faizi called out Karan

"Haan aa gaya...toone meri ghadi kaha--" At that moment, Monami entered the room, she was completely ready.

Karan froze in his tracks, he couldn't even complete his sentence. She was looking almost divine...

"Janaab muh band karoge? Machhar bohot hai yahan.." Faizi whispered in his ear. Karan immediately shut his mouth and looked to the other side.

"Haan,,,to Monami Tsunami ..yahan kaise?" Faizi asked walking towards her.

"Vo....." Monami suddenly forgot what she was here for when her eyes landed on Karan. Black salwar and a navy blue kurta. He looked so.......she couldn't even describe how she felt in words.

"Vo?" Faizi broke her trance.

"Uh...mai ready hu....chale?"

"Chaliye mohtarma. Janaab sap taiyaar hai?" Faizi asked, smiling.

"Haan...haan mai to taiyaar hu..." Karan found his watch and after putting it on, the three of them booked a cab and went to the venue. All along the way, Karan couldn't stop looking at Monami.

~~~~

In the cab, the three of them sat silently. It was a 15 minute drive.

Suddenly Karan's phone rang. He picked it up.

Monami saw him lowering his head slightly. He said something quietly. He nodded and slowly kept the phone down.

"Karan kiska phone tha?" Faizi asked, slightly concerned.

"Vo...Rahil Sir ka."

"Kya bol rahe the..."

"Shaan...yaad hai? Pehle mission ke batch ka."

"Haan...Baramda...Battalion leader..." Faizi smiled slightly, remembering the name that he had given him.

"Haan...vahi. Saala....Kashmir me tha. 13 terrorists ko ek baar me handle kar liya. Lekin...amar ho gaya saala." Karan smiled proudly, his voice cracking a little. Faizi understood immediately. His smile softened, eyes glistening. Monami too understood. She sighed silently.

"Rahil sir bol rahe the...4 din me uske ghar jaana hai...." Karan said finally. Faizi nodded solemnly.

Heavy silence enveloped the car again.

"Kya soch rahe ho..." Monami asked in a comforting way.

"Kuch nahi....bas....tum logo ko 'bahadur' ki definition galat sikhayi gayi hai...." Karan said softly.

"Log maante hai...ki jo bina kisi darr ke, bina apni jaan ki parwah kare, aise hi jang ke maidaan me utaar jaaye vo hi 'bahadur' fauji hai. Kitni galat hai na..." Karan smiled sadly.

"Asliyat to ye hai....ki hum log--.aisa nahi hai ki hume maut se darr nahi lagta. Apne liye nahi...to apno ke liye. Lagta to hai. Lekin...asli bahadur fauji vo hai...jo apne inn daro ka saamne karta hai aur apno aur har musibat ke beech deewar banker khada hota hai..." Karan finished, his eyes reminiscing about someone. Faizi smiled sadly, knowing exactly who had said that. Karan was still so influenced by Param bhaiyya.

Monami smiled sadly, a proud feeling fluttering in her heart.

"Bohot achhi soch hai tumhaari..." she said thoughtfully.

"Kuch kaha?" Karan said, immediately switching back to his usual self.

"Nahi to." Monami shrugged.

Soon all of them had reached the venue. It was a field just next to Sanjana's house. Since none of them had been there before, they were unaware of that.

They entered a mildly crowded field. The people were dressed in comparatively expensive silks, chiffons and cotton. It clicked to Karan that maybe Sanjana's family held a high status in the village.

Most women had their faces covered by their pallu's. Seeing Monami in a lehenga, all of them gave her strange looks, whispering behind their back. It gave her an odd sense of insecurity.

"Karan yaar...ye log aise kyu dekh rahe hai.." Faizi asked, slightly uncomfortable under the crowd's strange gaze. Seeing Monami's uneasiness, Faizi and Karan silently shifted around her as if in a protective stance.

One of the women was eyes Monami angrily, this did not went unnoticed by trio. Faizi sighed heavily and went over to her. The other two followed, hesitant at first.

"Namaste...kya aap jaanti dulhan kahan hai?"

"Sanju? Kaike laane?" The woman eyed him suspiciously.

"Milna hai usse." Faizi said, raising a brow.

"Kaike laane?Hai kaun aap?"

"Hum uske senior hai...hume usse baat karni hai..."

The woman gave them a dirty look, and then proceeded to say something to the woman next to her.

"Dekh rahi ho Rashmi? Maudi to thi hi besharam, maa baap ka sar jhukaane ke alawa ka hi kiya, batao pati parivaar ki seva karne ki umar me fauj me bandooke taane marado me saath ghoomti thi. Yahan tak le aayi unhe. Khud ke paas to na laaj na --"

"Dekhiye aa--" Faizi moved to step forward.

"Chodiye, hum khud dekh lenge." Karan immediately put a hand on his shoulder stopping him midway. Karan pulled him away, while Monami followed. She was shocked by the woman's words. If this was where Sanjana came from, a place where people thought in black and white....she was certainly rare to be still standing strong under the weight of this suffocating environment..

Monami smiled, her respect for her increasing.

Karan was still looking for a way to reach Sanjana. It wasn't that he was going to force her to stop or anything. Just...If this was what she wanted, then he might as well meet her one last time, for he knew if the ceremony succeeded, they might never see each other again. It felt wrong, that she would be willing to give up her dream, her duty, the thing she loved more than anything for a loveless, married life. Hell, she wouldn't have given up her duty even if it had not been a forced engagement.

"Karan Sirji?"

He stopped in his tracks.

A/N: I'll share the pics of their clothes in the next chapter.