kingdom of hearts | sumellika

• chapter nine •

"And he wants to be a writer?" Antara asked.

She nodded.

"Huh," Antara mumbled. "I've never seen or heard of a prince like that...interesting!" She looked at her cousin. "He's definitely different."

Madhuri nodded again, not registering what Antara had said. Her mind was actually thinking about something else.

"I don't want to marry him," she said finally.

"What? Why?" Antara asked, confused. "Is he not a good prince?"

"It isn't about him being a prince, Didi," Madhuri said with a sigh. "I don't want to get married to anyone. Why can't I be like my aunt? Should I have to be married to a king to be recognized as a queen?"

Antara's eyes were on the bangles which were covering her hands. "That is how the world works right now, Madhuri. There aren't many people who respect women."

Madhuri stood silent, recalling her conversations with Amar.

"How much of a good person is Amar?" Antara continued to ask.

"He's..." the Princess hesitated. "He's different."

Antara waited for Madhuri to tell more but frowned when she remained quiet. "That's it? He's different? He's your future husband, Madhuri! You need to know everything about him."

Madhuri fiddled with the dupatta of her gold lehenga. "Can we not have this conversation right now?" She asked. "I'm kind of tired and would like to sleep for some time."

Antara softly shook her head, knowing that her cousin would stay silent and refuse to answer any question about her marriage. "Fine. But we will get back to talking about this one day or another, okay?"

Madhuri subtly nodded and got up from her chaise. She walked to her chamber and sat down on her bed with an exasperated sigh. She laid down, clutching a cushion tightly as she slowly fell into sleep.

The nightmares were back. For a long time, she hadn't seen them. But for some reason, they had come back.

Darkness. Darkness everywhere. Hands lunged out to grab her out of nowhere. That feeling was back again. Even though it seemed as if she was in an airy space, she felt as if she was being suffocated.

Her breathing became more laboured as she struggled to inhale. Her throat began to close up, and all of a sudden she was awake. Her hands clutching the blanket, beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.

She picked up the glass of water, on a table beside her bed, and slowly drank it.

Troubled sleep haunted her that night, and for many more nights to come. The same nightmare made her mind its home and endlessly ensued her.

Antara noticed the bags under her sister's tired eyes. "What happened?" she asked.

Madhuri shook her head, folding her arms. "Nothing. It's just..."

"It's just..?"

"I haven't been sleeping well lately," Madhuri replied, meekly.

"Troubled sleep?" Antara asked, looking at her with concern. "Are you okay, Madhuri?"

"I'm fine, didi," Madhuri promptly said, not wanting to dwell on anything that included nightmares of her past. "It's nothing, don't worry."

"Madhuri?" Antara continued. "I know you very well and I know what you say when you lie to me. You can tell me anything, you know that right?"

"Yes didi," Madhuri mumbled, her gaze transfixed on the anklets on her feet. "But not this. I can't tell you this."

Antara sighed. "Tell me when you want to tell me," she said. "Come on, it's time for us to eat our breakfast."