Part II-
After getting rid of his blood-stained clothes, Vibhakara walked over to his bath naked. The room was dim-lit using small candles and torches and was filled with scents sprinkled all over the room by the Dasis. His body ached and the cut on his lower back was stinging. Even though Jatadeva had insisted that he get his wounds cleaned, Vibhakara wanted the stinging sensation to remind him of his failure.
It was unusual of him to be distracted during the training sessions and that is what mostly bothered him. Dagon had messed up his mind and now Vibhakara was more vary of the things happening around him. Closing one of the windows, Vibhakara blew out few candles to darken the room-lighting.
All he wanted was to bath in peace and just clear his head. Dagon had been stressing him out a lot since the last few days and Adara just added more to the mess today.
She was unique, not like someone he had ever met before. She intrigued him but, yet at the same time he was suspicious of her motives. When he had seen her with Bahishka, he was baffled with her behavior. It was almost like she had a guard put up around her.
Resting his head against the marble, he sighed. The day had been a tiring one and Vibhakara was ready to end it. But, Adara wasn't ready to leave his mind yet. Her face was planted in his head and those hazel eyes were haunting him. He opened his eyes to see her standing naked in front of him. He stopped breathing for a second as his gaze roamed her naked body. The curves were on display for him and he couldn't turn his eyes away.
She smiled sweetly at him and he found himself smiling at her in response. She slowly walked over to him in a seductive manner and his gaze followed her every movement. Her hazel eyes lured him in and he relaxed a bit more. She circled his stone bath before stopping behind him. Adara sat behind him and put her legs beside his shoulders. He laid his head behind and looked up to find her smiling sweetly at him.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and applied little pressure. His shoulders relaxed a bit and he let out a moan. His right hand traced her knee and caressed it. She continued her massage and Vibhakara seemed to relax more, feeling a bit dizzy. Vibhakara's left hand gripped Adara's breast and she let out a small gasp. He moaned out at this and she gripped his shoulder's tightly.
The room was filled with sexual atmosphere and there wasn't anything more Vibhakara wanted. This is against all my morals- this thought crossed his mind but, Vibhakara pushed the thought away.
Adara started massaging his neck and Vibhakara shifted a little. He positioned his body more under the water. It was as if she was pushing his body more under water and he wasn't resisting at all. His mind was all clouded with lust. Her hands continued the massage as he slid under water. Her grip on his neck increased as his head was almost under water.
Just as he was fully under water, she dipped his head more under water. Vibhakara's eyes opened and the water burned his eyes. He immediately shut his eyes but, his hands started flapping around to grab onto something. His attempt was unsuccessful as his body filled around in the water. He opened his eyes again to see and find some way out of the water but, the pressure wasn't letting him come up.
When he was almost sure that he was about to run out of breath, the pressure stopped and Vibhakara was able to come out of the water. He loudly gasped for air and coughed out some water on the side of the stone bath. Gripping the side wall of the bath, he heaved and tried to stable his breathings. Vibhakara looked around the room to find Adara nowhere to be seen.
His breathing was back to normal when suddenly his throat started to constrict and he felt like he was choking. He looked up to see Adara laughing at him with her head back. He tried to reach out to her but, couldn't. Suddenly, his eyes opened and he sat up straight in the bath.
He looked around and realized that he had fallen asleep in the bath. It was all just a dream and he wasn't dead. The room was silent and the night was eerie. Vibhakara heaved out a huge sigh of relief and pushed his hair back with his hand. He stood up and got out of the bath. The water from his body pooled at his feet as walked over to the table to grab the body-cloth and dry his body. He patted his skin dry as he shook his head to clear out the visuals from the nightmare.
He wore his night clothes and closed the bathroom door behind him as he made his way towards his bedroom. It was after midnight and no one was walking around the corridors. Vibhakara was still vary because of his nightmare and was in a guarded trance.
Suddenly a hand gripped his shoulders and on instinct he gripped the wrist to defend himself. As he was about to twist the wrist of the attacker, the attacker twisted Vibhakara's hand instead. Vibhakara tried to get out of the grip but, the grip was too strong and the attacker had tangled his legs too.
Vibhakara turned his face a bit to look at the attacker and was met with Dagon's face. With a grunt, Dagon released Vibhakara and he stumbled to gain his balance. Dagon kept his one hand on the dagger tied at his waist. Vibhakara's gaze fell upon it and he quickly composed himself from the attack.
"What are you doing out so late?" Dagon asked him in a threatening voice.
"I could ask you the same." Vibhakara replied grimacing little.
"Don't play riddles with me, prince. You know how dangerous it can get." Dagon warned him.
"I was bathing and I fell asleep there." Vibhakara said in a low voice, keeping his eyes down. He didn't want to share the information about his nightmare with anyone. He was afraid that everyone would judge him and he would be proved unworthy of being the crown-prince.
"I hope that you aren't planning anything against us or else you know what would happen. Or do I need to remind you of the consequences?" Dagon urged him to dare.
"No," Vibhakara shook his head," I'm aware of all the consequences."
"Good. Now go to bed. I don't want to hear any rumors about why the prince was seen roaming the corridors at ungodly hours." With this being said, Dagon started walking in opposite direction but not before squeezing Vibhakara's shoulder. Vibhakara winced at the move and the pain he felt was too much. He questioned his imagination as to was the nightmare real or not.
~~~
The next morning Vibhakara's body ached a lot but he didn't forget to wake up before dawn for the training. He was already present at the training ground when Jatadeva arrived. Vibhakara was feeling proud to still be his student. Jatadeva was his ideal warrior and he aspired to be like him or even better if he could.
The training session was much more tougher and longer than his usual ones. Jatadeva had increased the level a lot more than just a notch. It had lasted the whole morning and half of the afternoon; with small breaks in between. If his body ached from last night, then today was the day Vibhakara stopped feeling muscles in his body.
At the end of the session, Jatadeva just nodded in Vibhakara's direction and that was enough for him. Atleast, he wasn't angry at him anymore that was what mattered the most- he thought. After cleaning himself from the wounds, he got a message from a Dasa that his parents had summoned him to meet them in his mother's office.
As Vibhakara entered his mother's office, he saw that his mother had some paintings sprawled across her desk. His father was observing some of them with interest as he stood behind the desk. Maharani Jyothika crunched her nose before picking one of the paintings and throwing it aside on the ground. The Dasi quickly picked it up and placed it on a huge pile of paintings. His father just chuckled at his mother's face and this caused a smile to spread across Vibhakara's face.
"Maa, Pitaji aapne hume bulaya tha?" (Mother, father you called me?) He asked out loud and the attention was shifted to him. A smile lit up on his mother's face as she motioned him to come sit next to her. His father nodded at him in acknowledgement before going back to his observations.
The dasis closed the door behind him as Vibhakara walked over and sat on one of the chairs next to his mother. She tossed another painting aside and picked another one to inspect. Vibhakara noticed that all the paintings were of different princess from all over the world. Some were quite young whereas other were quite older.
Vibhakara scanned the paintings to see if any one of them would catch his eye. They were all beautiful but, no one compared to Adara. He internally cringed at his subconscious; even after last night's nightmare she intrigued him.
His father held a painting and his eyes shone with excitement as he spoke,"Hume lagta hai hume apni agli Maharani mil gayi." (I think I found the next Queen.) At this, his mother got up from her seat and stood next to his father. Her eyes lit up at the painting and she took the painting from his father's hand into hers.
"Vibhakara, Rajkumari Gargi ke saath tumahara vivah tay hua hai. Tumhara vivah teen saal baad hoga par, abhi tumhari sagaai pakki hai." ( Vibhakara, your wedding has been fixed with Princess Gargi. Your wedding will be after three years but your engagement has been fixed.) His mother quickly turned into her Maharani trance and gave out the orders. All of this was noted down by the minister who was standing in a corner.
She also ordered to get the jewelry, clothes and all the preparations to be ready for the message to be sent to Rajkumari Gargi of her engagement. "Kya hum unka chitra dekh sakhte hai?" (Can I see her painting?) Vibhakara asked in excitement but, his mother shook her head.
"Vibhakara, aap unka chitra nahi dekh sakte ho," (Vibhakara, you can't see her painting.) Maharani Jyothika walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders gently,"Aap unka chehra tabhi hi dekhoge jab aapki aur unki mulakat hogi. Samajhe?" (You can only see her face when you meet her in person. Understood?)
He just shook his head in response and looked down at his feet."Aap ko bas itna jaanane ki jarorat hai ki woh bohot khubsoorat hai." (You just need to know that she is very beautiful.) Maharani Jyothika smiled at him.
Vibhakara smiled at her and nodded his head."Jahiye aur apne yaatra ki tayaari kijiye." (Go on and prepare for your trip.) She ordered him.
"Yaatra?" (Trip?) he asked her in confusion.
She nodded her head at him and said,"Aap Rajkumari Gargi ko milne Akashala ja rahe hai."(You are going to Akashala to meet Princess Gargi.)
With that being said, Vibhakara took his leave from his mother's office and made his way to his bedroom. There were many important things to think about but, only one thought haunted his mind- Will she be as beautiful as Adara?
~~~
Vocabulary-
Dasis - Female servants.
Dasa - Male servants.
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