"It's impossible! "a voice intruppted his roar. "he's your elder brother! The rightful heir of the kingdom. "He turned around furious. His eyes glowing red and his hands itching to silence that voice forever. "The king would never choose you as his...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It is indifferent to me, where I am to begin, for there shall I return again.
-Parmenidies
Devika was thankful that she was left in relative peace for the whole day and though there was very little assurance in what Roopak hard said, somewhere in her subconscious mind she knew what he said was the rational thing to do. 'Wait until he comes back?'
'And then what? What if he repeats the same thing the Queen had said?'
She will then have two choices, either to brave that utter humiliation for the rest of her life here or to go back to her father to face yet another kind of degradation, forever.
And if she is doomed either way, she will rather have her eyes plucked out by her father than watch the man who had betrayed her for the rest of her life spending a joyous time. 'But for now, she will have to wait.'
'Oh! How does this wait tormented her sanity!'
The orange evening glow of sun lay spreaded throughout the land of Maniteek and her eye lids were heavy with the lack of rest and it was then that someone knocked at her door. Slowly getting up from the window, she unlatched the door not so surprised this time to have Queen Sunayna standing on the threshold. She would be lying if she thought this wasn't going to happen.
Devika watched expressionless as she strides inside the same smile, she so vividly recalls during the announcement still transfixed on her face.
"I heard what Roopak has to say about the upcoming marriage.... that I am an outright liar and that I am fibbing about the engagement and all that...you know..." The queen shrugged nonchalantly. "And as much as I don't really care, whatever that cheat of a Prince has to bark about me, I don't really enjoy being called a lair and hence I am forced to provide the proof that the engagement had indeed been officiated, I have already shown this to Roopak and now I would like you to have a look at it too, perhaps... It will help you to take a decision for your future rather than this futile path of waiting which would lead you to nowhere but heartbreak." With her heart drumming in her throat Devika had no choice but to take the white scroll in her shaking hands.
She didn't want to read it, she knew she shouldn't, not because it will end her wait right this moment but because it will choke the last breath of hope that she had wanted to save as long as she can.
It was a letter from the king of chitrakoot, the father of the sisters Sunayna and Sukanya who had given his consent and best wishes to prince Chandra and his younger daughter for their marriage in no uncertain words.
Biting back the howl of pain that fought to be torn free from her chest, she handed the letter back. She wasn't standing straight right then for some foolish love for that tyrant prince but she stood straight for her own self respect refusing to give into the sadistic pleasure the vulture queen has no doubt came looking for.
