kingdom of hearts | sumellika

• chapter six •

"She's beautiful isn't she?" His mother said, as she looked through saris.

"Yes mother," Amar replied, standing behind her.

"Which of these saris will she like?" His mother asked. "That pink one looks good. But so does the blue!"

"Well, maybe you should ask her," he replied, rolling his eyes.

His mother softly tsked. "That's not how it works, Amar," she said, picking up another sari. "We are supposed to give her something, as her soon-to-be in-laws." She then looked at him. "Understood?"

He nodded stiffly. "Yes, mother."

"Maybe you should talk to her," she suggested. "Find out her likes, dislikes...her favorite color." His mother picked up a sari that was in a royal purple hue. "Okay, Amar?"

"Yes mother," he repeated.

🥀

"Madhuri?" Amar said, as he walked through the rooms of the palace. "Hello, Madhuri?"

His face had a quizzical look on it as he searched for her, wondering where the Princess could have gone. He arrived at the royal garden to find her sitting on a swing that was placed there, and she was stroking a bunny's fur.

"You're here, Madhuri?" He said.

She looked up at him from the swing, then smiled. "Hello, Amar," she said, softly. "How are you?"

"I'm good," he replied, walking towards her. "But I expected you to be elsewhere."

She raised an eyebrow, her dark brown eyes twinkling. "Elsewhere as in?"

"In your chamber," he proposed. Then he smiled. "I don't know."

The smile that appeared on her face mirrored his. "Okay then," she said. She held the bunny in her arms, then gave a look as if saying do you want to hold it?

He nodded and she placed the bunny on his hands, and he stroked its fur, like she had. Then he said, "Can I make an assumption?"

She replied, "Sure."

"You seem like," he began, setting the bunny on the ground and sitting on the rough grass. "You like nature a lot."

"Well," she said, gently swinging on the jhula. "Your assumption isn't wrong. Nature is quite beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is," he agreed. He followed her gaze as she looked at the bunny which ran across the garden.

"They're free to go anywhere, aren't they?" She asked. Noticing his confused expression, she further explained her question. "I mean, are they caged or...?"

"No, they aren't caged," he answered hurriedly. "I won't be able to bear it if they were."

She nodded. "In some places..." She took in a sharp breath. "They are caged."

He suspected that they caged rabbits and bunnies in Madhuri's kingdom, but he didn't tell her that. He also didn't know why that fact seemed to hurt her, but he ignored that thought.

"Sometimes..." she continued. "I wish to be free like the birds above." She glanced at the pretty blue sky that hung above them. "They're free to roam everywhere, they carry themselves on the wind. How amazing would it be if we could do the same?"

Sometimes, she puzzled him when she would suddenly look dreamy and talk all philosophical, but he nodded. "You would be a beautiful bird," he added, then cringed at his words.

She looked at him, then burst out laughing. "Thank you for that, Prince Amar," Madhuri said, smiling.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, happy that even if he had said something cringy, he had made her laugh.