MAIN CHARACTER: "CHANDRAMUKHI"

Further characters will be introduced as the story continues

TROPES -

- historical themed

- my or may not be tragic

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CHANDRAMUKHI , a young princess of a small kingdom named sreebhumi was forcefully married off to a king of Pratapgarh KAILASH PRATAP , just at the tender age of 18 and 16, a forced alliance between two young kids.

chandramukhi who was just taught to become a good wife and a good mother , accepted her fate of being the wife of a stranger man that she never even saw before marriage.

but on the other hand kailash started hating chandramukhi to the core . he never liked her in fact he even hated her as if she was a plague , Kailash always wanted his wife to be a beauty like that of an apsara , ..someone from whom he would not even take his eyes off, he wanted to marry a beauty with fair skin, slender body and beautiful features

chandramukhi on the other had dark brown skin, plumpy body ...which did not look like a beauty in the eyes of kailash, his hatred towards chandramukhi grew with each glance cursing his fate of marring chandramukhi , he started avoiding chandramukhi, mistreating the girl and even neglecting chandramukhi....he did not accept chandramukhi as his wife.

Little by little... time flew by 6 years ..., their distance grew with their age , while kailash was busy running away from chandramukhi, she put in all the efforts as a wife, taking care of his food , to his bathing ... making sure everything for kailash would be perfect, and kailash did not leave a single chance to humiliate chandra , his comment on her skin "tumhara ye sawala rang hamari aankhon me chubhti hai , chali jao yaha se" ("your brown colour of the skin pierces my eyes, get lost from here"). ..to her preparing food for kailash "agar dasiyo ke hi kaam karne the to dasi ban kar aati, kam se kam ham is kadhve bandhan me to na bandhte" ("if you wanted to work like a servant , you should have come here as a servant instead , at least i would not have to be bound in this bitter marriage"), whether chandra did her work as a queen or as a wife , kailash always dismissed her ....but chandramukhi still didn't lose hope , during each and every duty of hers of a wife, of a daughter-in-law she that of the queen because the only dream chandramukhi had as was to have a family ...a sweet little family ...but destiny had cursed chandramukhi....a pure curse !

with chandramukhi constantly losing the support of her husband or king, she started losing her power and the value of her position in the kingdom and palace as well . Their relationship was an open secret in the palace ,and now even the maids were having the audacity to neglect the queen .

Chandramukhi did put efforts even after being completely forgotten from kailash's wife, but one news and her hope shattered to pieces , because she too had limits. Chandramukhi standing near the window of her bedroom hears the news from the maid , she could feel her heart crumbling into pieces with each word coming out of the maids mouth "Rani sa, maharaj has announced his second marriage with the princess of raigarh, princess NAYANTARA DEVi , the marriage will be held --- ". The later words of the maid blurred in the ears of chandramukhi as she slumped down on the bed ...she clutched the bedsheet with her one hand and with the other hand she touched her hair partition...a crimson red power staining her fingers ...'sindoor' ...she muttered under her breath "ye sindoor hame ab sirf hamara nahi rana ?" ("this vermilion no longer belongs just to me ?") . A warm drop of tear rolled down her eyes as , trailing through her cheeks and fell onto her finger ...staining the red vermilion on her fingers ...making the tear crimson !

the same night chandramukhi sat on the window crying her hearts out as usual, no one was there to give a word of comfort , the maids never bothered to even stay past afternoon ...she sat on her chambers all alone in her wing , her sobs and sniffles echoing everywhere, the only thing that was visible or gave comfort to her was the shadow near the doorway .....the black shadow giving comfort and sense of his presence in her lonely and alone cursed world

The news chandramukhi heard a few days ago that shattered and broke her into pieces. She stood with a blank face , devoid of any emotion ... although if you stared too deeply inside her eyes , the pain was not hard to make out .

Her eyes fixated on the women sitting beside the king , a woman far prettier, educated , talented , standing right next to her husband They looked like a match made in heaven created by God himself. And chandramukhi could no where even come near to nayantara in comparison to being better ...maybe the fair skin, the slender figure with an apsara like body that kailash talked about , he finally found it in Nayantara , and her husband who never even looked once at her let alone smile or touch ...was smiling ear to ear happily as he puts the vermilion in Nayantara's hair partition

by now Chandra's tears had died down to even dare escape from her eyes ...her eyes fixated on the new couple, the king and his second wife....while someone else was staring at chandra . Daring enough to stare at the wife of king with a smirk

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After the second marriage of kailash with nayantara, the authority of chandramukhi dropped to the lowest, around just 2-3 maids were , a single guard were the only ones assigned to her chambers ..that too the maids barely did their work or focused on chandramukhi ..one of the reasons, For such a big inferiority was because chandramukhi could not give an heir to Pratapgarh, not because she couldn't but because kailash never even touched chandramukhi. It was the words of the former queen that made even the maids bold enough to blatantly disrespect and neglect chandramukhi .

"kailash ka dusri vivah karne ka nirnay bilkul sahi tha , pehli Rani 6 saali me ek varish nahi de to saki, ek banjh ka rani kehlana ka adhikar bhi nahi hai , isliye nayantara rani sa bhale kailash ki pehli patni na ho par nayantara rani sa ko darja pehli patni ka hi milega"

("kailash's decision to marry the second time was definitely correct , the first queen could not even give a heir in the 6 years, a sterile does not have even have the rights to be a queen , therefore even if nayantara is not kailash's first wife, still she will be given the status of first wife")

Being the first wife and becoming the other woman in the marriage... people had completely forgotten chandramukhi's existence , people praised kailash and nayantara, they worshiped the king and queen of their kingdom...but everyone forgot that one soul .. chandramukhi

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Chandramukhi ,curling herself in the bed of her chamber, sobbed uncontrollably ...the pain in her chest was almost unbearable...the way kailash smiled with nayantara , that one smile for which she had prayed days to her god to let her husband just once look at her and smile ...but kailash never did ., her eyes red and puffy from continuously sobbing went to her only comfort , the shadow near the doorway .

chandramukhi got out of the bed, her heavily lehenga choli slightly disheveled, her hair messy and disoriented and her face a mess because of constant crying with her slow little steps she walked towards the shadow of the person ,she stood right beside the person and without looking at the person, she glanced at the eerily empty corridor and says in a low and little hoarse voice.

"yaha surya dhalne ke paschat , mere kamre ke aas pas koi bhi dasiya nahi rehti , na koi pehra dene wale hota hai....sab hame chhod kar chale jaate hai ..parantu har din 24 pahar aap yaha kyu pehra dete hai"

("after the sunset, here ..no one is present near my room neither any servant nor anyone to guard. ... everyone leaves me here alone ...but why do you guard here for 24 years")

a sigh escaped from the man standing still in his position, a man far taller than chandramukhi casting a shadow , dark brown skin, muscular built befitting a guard, he didn't glance at chandra and replied to her in his low and deep voice.

"mai yaha pehra de raha hu rani sa kyuki ye mera kartavya hai , baki log apna kartavya nibha rahe hai ya nahi , is baat se mujhe koi farak nahi padhta rani sa"

("I am guarding here, queen because it's my duty , whether other people are doing their duty or not is none of my concern queen")

chandramukhi finally averts her gaze from the corridor and glances at the man's face directly, he is a very scary yet charismatic looking man, his charm was in his manly features of thick beard, the scar on his face, the rough looking arms and body , and the scary dead black eyes , he was a handsome man, Chandramukhi shakes off her thoughts of thinking about another man like that .

chandra takes a step towards the man while opening her mouth to say something but before she could even say anything chandra stumbles stepping on her own lehenga , about to fall down on the floor on her face .."aaah"

the strong arms of the man wrap around the bare waist of chandramukhi on her lehenga choli...for the first time chandra find the hands of man touching her ..that too on her bare skin , the man pulled chandramukhi roughly to his, looking down at chandramukhi and Mutters to her in a low , deep and dangerous Voice

"apne kadam aur nazar zara sambhal kar chalaiye rani sa , nahi to yu hi meri baaho girti rahengi"

("be careful of your steps and glances queen or else you will continue to fall in my arms")

chandramukhi was frozen and stunned looking up at the man with a little widened eyes, her hands resting on his shoulder , and her eyes were focused on the man completely...she could feel her heart that was beating like crazy at the moment, his hushed deep voice sent shiver down her spine

That was the first time Chandramukhi ever looked and came so close to her personal guard....VIKRAMJEET

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VIKRAMJEET

CHANDRAMUKHI

A woman who is never loved by her husband often turns out seeking that love and attention outside the house

And in chandramukhi's life 'he' came like a silent storm, who was silent for days just making his presence known to chandra without making a single sound, after months of being a shadow comforter ..he finally bloomed in chandra's life

Chandramukhi's personal guard Vikramjeet

Vikramjeet was a man, the only one who knew the situation of chandra very well, after months of guarding chandramukhi silently, he came to know her , the words hidden deep inside her

It was almost half a year since he was appointed as guard of the chandramukhi's almost abandoned palace

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VIKRAM'S POV

'I couldn't believe that I was assigned to guard the king's first wife, the very woman who had absolutely no authority, power, support, she was just like a decoration in the west palace ...a small fragile decoration with no care or guard of that decoration, and the stupid authority sent a single well trained soldier capable of taking down almost hundreds man single handedly....only because I was an outsider , bloody racism !!!'

i came to the palace thinking with my skills , at the very least i will get to enter the main queen's palace or by luck the king's northern palace ...but out of all , it was the west palace of rani chandramukhi pratap

"Tch" a frustrating click of tongue escapes Vikram's mouth as he walks down the hall going towards the chamber of chandra ...'hmm...indeed this palace is like an abandoned fort, being taken care by just few maids , there's hardly any servants here let alone guards' ..vikram thinks as he walks through the empty hallway

Of course the hallways and the palace of chandra was eerily silent and dark ...almost mirroring the loneliness of chandramukhi, a complete irony of her name

he reached the chamber of chandramukhi after a few minutes of walking with his long strides, a frown appears in his eyebrows as there wasn't a single servant either to announce his presence

And slowly a calculative smirk appears in Vikramjeet's face , his eyes lighting up, as without a care he walked inside the chambers of chandramukhi , his walk such that not even a footstep was heard , he walked with his slow steps studying the chamber of chandra

His eyes roam over the chamber, which was big like all the other palaces but the way it was almost run down , and kept minimal decoration and taken care of showed the budget or the attention this palace received

"i can almost see the chains binding it down" Vikramjeet Mutters under his breath with a slight smirk and the amusement dancing in his eyes

vikram's eyes searched for the owner, but his eyes couldn't find her in the chamber ...'strange .. rani sa do not leave her chamber-' his thought process stop as he heard a soft Hum, a soft melody of the song coming nearby ..'ah , the bathroom ...yet there isn't a single maid here in the chamber'

Vikram's step automatically takes him towards the melody and towards the bathroom near the chamber , the melody was like that of a siren, "a sweet poisonous melody"

vikram's step did halt in hesitation outside the bath chamber...but he still wanted to know the extent of how far the wife of the king .. Could be left vulnerable....at least she would have one maid to guard her ....right ?

Alas,

vikram froze In his place, his eyes widened,his steps halting almost as if being struck by lightning bolt, Vikram's hand curled up in a fist ...and a moment of darkness flashing inside his eyes, almost mirroring anger , it even sounded absurd but still he was witnessing such a scene

'the wife of the king, the queen of the pratapgarh, even if it was a name but still...so vulnerable that a guard just walked in and saw her...a woman in the most possible vulnerable moment there could be'

vikram's eyed for a few seconds roamed over the glistening damp brow skin of chandramukhi, shining beautifully with the ray of light hitting her from the small window in the wall, the way the droplets if water streamed down her soft skin over her swell of breast and the bust of hips ...it almost made vikram choke and gulp down, he wanted to avert his eyes, he wanted to look away ...it was wrong to stare at a woman in this state, yet he couldn't...his eyes were completely fixated on the way chandramukhi bathed ..and the soft melody she was humming . Which was now sounding like a curse to his ears

vikram for the first , he could feel his heart beat raising , a sweat bead running down his forehead to his jawline..and the blood in his body gushing to a very interesting part ,dow-

but suddenly chandramukhi turned beside ,towards the entrance, she felt like she heard a rustling of cloth ...for the first time chandra felt a bit anxious that she was not alone ..which actually she wasn't

But the bath chamber was empty, there was no one , chandra Shakes her head shrugging it off as an illusion, she stood up and walked behind the changing curtain to wear her dress

on the other hand ...vikramjeet stood hidden behind the pillar, his jaw clenched tightly and the hands curled up in a fist ..with his other hand he was palming his face feeling like a fool !!!

Vikramjeet couldn't take it anymore , he immediately rushed out of the bath chamber of chandramukhi secretly, and immediately went to the backyard ...Vikram stood in the shadow against a wall, his fingers running through his hair frustratingly with a slight blush on his face

"this wasn't supposed to happen"

slowly Vikramjeet's face darkened, his eyes darkening with anger, frustration...and most importantly amusement

"Pathetic!! Kailash pratap , you are way too pathetic"

vikram cursed under his breath, the fact that kailash could keep his wife so unprotected and unguarded that even a guard could witness her vulnerable moment easily messed his mind a bit, he expected at least one maid in there who would have stopped from going inside ...but well well well

Vikramjeet's lip curled up into a smirk holding back his laughter .

"it will be way easier than I expected"

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Since then Vikram didn't exactly interact directly with chandramukhi, he just did his work as a guard, guarding outside the chambers of chandramukhi 24 hours, ...he especially made sure to guard outside while she was bathing after that day , and most importantly the nights

Vikramjeet had heard from the soft melodies that chandramukhi used to Hums...to the painful sobs of longing for her husband throughout the nights ...maybe because Vikram was present there the most, but Vikram had somehow figured out most about chandramukhi

Every night when chandra would cry inside her chambers Vikramjeet would make his presence visible to chandra, silently guarding outside her bedroom chambers

"A pathetic way of solace in the pathetic life of rani chandramukhi" that's what Vikramjeet thought , until he too got tangled in the messy life of chandra on the night of her husband's second wedding , when chandramukhi finally took steps towards Vikram and voices out !

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Chapter khatammmm my dear PLANTLETS !!! ..do comment and like the chapters, support your authy !!!

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