ABDICATION

26..

It was dark all around her. she had been here before but today it's different. last time she was determined and had a home but today she is injured, confused, weak , hungry and she wasn't sure if she had some place she can go to.

she stop walking.

where she is even going?

to home? where her parents surely be disappointed in her?

to palace? where she had been only disrespected again and again?

she know she needed time to clear her head but not in the middle of the forest. but at this time dying seem easy to her than facing the reality. so she decided to sat down near a tree. When she say down then she realise how tired she was because now she knew she can't stand up now. her eyes felt heavy and droopy. she had tied all her hair in a braid and wrapped herself with her arms.

yes she was scared but she knew she doesn't have many options.

maybe she should left this place. she knew her parents would be disheartened but at this time it's the best she could think of.

crunch

her eyes widens at the sudden voice which didn't came from very far. she shift closer to the tree and wrapped her arms tighter around her. her eyes were alert and roam in the dark try to find some shadow. she wouldn't try to run this time.  she is too weak to even get up, nor did she had any dagger with her today.

so maybe this is the end.

she took a deep breath and rest he back on the tree and relax.  if this is my death bed than let it be.

I give up.

crunching sounds came closer while she kept her eyes shut. suddenly the crunching noise stop just few inches away from her.  she kept her eyes shut and waited but nothing happened.

she waited more but no claws or teeth tear her limbs apart.

she meekly open her one eyes and what she saw in front of her made her cry. she sobbed.

tears began to flow down freely from her eyes while she was confused to what to do next.

hit him for playing her like a game.

or

hug him because he  found her.

or

tell him how much scared she was.

or

just turn away and run.

but unable to reach any particular choice she just sat there and cry a little more.

at first Randhir just sat their in front of him looking at her with her eyes closed tightly. he know she was scared. very scared but he realise that he was scared himself.

he was scared of the sudden relief and peace he felt when he found her. he was scared of the sudden urge to hold her close to him and keep her safe from the entire world.  he just sat there and saw her open her eyes. there was a sudden relief in her eyes when she looked up at him. it looked like she was fighting with herself. then she began crying and tear flood out from her eyes. he wanted to wipe her every tear and kill everybody who are the reason of those tears.

he knew he was one of them.

he slowly lift his hand up to her face to wipe get tears but she smack her hand away. angrily.

he tried again and bring his hand close to her cheek but she smack away his hand again. this time a little weekly.

he tried one another time and bring his hand close to her cheek, this time she stopped his hand but didn't snack it away.

she kept her hold on his wrist for sometime and looked straight into his eyes. her resistance was not that strong so Randhir forwarded his hand and reached her cheek.  she closed her eyes and her hand fall down. he smile to himself and wipe away all her tears. he also ran a thumb near her bottom lip.

"if you think I will come back with you to palace by doing this then you are wasting your time. " she mumbled but he heard her well.  her voice was weak and he knew he had to feed her.

"then I will drop you to your house." he shift close to her and rest his back on the same tree

"and with what face I will go back to my home? I don't even remember how many rules I have broken from the moment I met you. In our culture,  parents are ready to disown their child if they don't hear them in first time and I have done nothing other than to disappoint them."

then she felt silent and he knew she had more to say.

"I will just leave. I will just for far away from here. I hope we will never meet again." she mumble to herself but he heard it.

"I would have done the same thing if I was at your place " he told her genuinely because he knew how hard it was when you are disrespected again and again but you just have to prove yourself again and again.

they both felt silent and hear the sounds of the forest.

they didn't fear the animals anymore because the Prince had enough weapon. the only problem is the storm began to show up in the sky. though the wind was cold mad soothing to the Prince but he could feel her shivering.

"why are you here?" sanyukta asked with soft voice.

he didn't know himself.

"let me just stay with you tonight." he requested looking at her and she looked back into his eyes.

the storm in his eyes seem dangerous than the storm up in the sky.

thank you so much

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