ATTENTION!

WARNING:THIS IS NOT MY WORK! THE STORY BELONGS TO THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR! I HAVE ONLY UPLOADED IT HERE!

...PROLOGUE...

He is the crowned prince of Kingdom Rakshatra. Everyone feared him as well as respected him. He is well versed in all types of training, intended and given for a crown prince. Some felt jealous and envious of his talents and achievements, especially his stepmother, who is the ruling Queen. On the other hand, the ruling King (his father) always felt his chest swell with pride while thinking about his son. But whenever the King look at his son and his blank eyes, which veils the underlying hatred, he wished he was able to change the past. The crown prince who was once a notorious and innocent child, had to transform himself into a tough guy after his mother's demise. But he never let his personal resentments come in between his work as crown prince, which is why he is famous among all the royal princess in the entire Hindustan.

She is the pampered princess of Kingdom Hridaypura. Her brother and father, who are the crowned prince and King respectively, fulfill all her wishes. She is trained from a young age to behave as a proper royal lady and also got all the disciplinary lessons, royal etiquettes as well as financial lessons to handle the inner palace which will consist of royal women. Based on her performance assessed by the tutors, she is the most desirable woman among many princes and kingdoms, who wants a graceful and kind lady. But is she really what everyone thinks she is? Or is there another side of her which is hidden from the world?

These two are already engaged from their childhood, decided by their parents. Now when they are grown up, would he accept her? Would he desire her? He never liked submissive women who always think with their hearts instead of mind when required. For him those are weak people. After all, that was the reason why his mother is no more in this world. And that made him lock away his heart.

Her first impression on him was also the same, which he disliked the most. WEAK.

But is she really weak???

His first impression on her was of a heartless person.

But is he really heartless???

...******CHARACTERS******...

Kingdom Rakhshatra

1. 𝙰𝚋𝚑𝚢𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚢 (meaning- rising sun) :

The Crown Prince (Yuvraj) of Rakhshatra. 20 years old. Engaged from childhood. At the age of 12, he lost his mother as well as his smile.

2. 𝚅𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚊 :

The ruling King of Rakhshatra and Yuvraj Abhyuday's father. He has two sons and one daughter. He has slight biasness towards his first son Abhyuday due to his own guilt as well as the outstanding performance and reputation among scholars and subjects alike.

3. 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚊 :

She was the first wife of King Virendra and Queen of Rakhshatra until her death. Yuvraj Abhyuday is her son.

4. 𝙾𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚊 :

Stepmother of Yuvraj Abhyuday, second wife of King Virendra and the ruling Queen of Rakhshatra. She has one son and one daughter.

5. 𝙺𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚕 :

Stepbrother of Yuvraj Abhyuday.

6. 𝙽𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊 :

Stepsister of Yuvraj Abhyuday.

Kingdom Hridaypura

1. 𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒 (meaning- the sun) :

Princess of Hridaypura. 17 years old. Has her own secrets and talents. But all the world knows about her is her cooking, painting, sewing skills.

2. 𝚄𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚊𝚗 :

The ruling King of Hridaypura and father of Princess Kalindi. He has one son who is the crown prince and one daughter, which is Kalindi from his first wife. He has some more children from his other wives.

3. 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚊 :

The ruling Queen of Hridaypura and the first wife of King Udayan. Mother of Yuvraj Pratham and Princess Kalindi.

4. 𝙿𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚖 :

Yuvraj of Hridaypura and first son of King and Queen. Protective brother of Kalindi.

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By:- sahawrites

Rakhshatra

It is early in the morning and the servants of the palace had already started working in their allocated sections. The palace of royal family of the Rakhshatra, spread over acres of land, is protected by large 12 feet compound walls which remains closed always, except the time of "court of common people", when the common people would be allowed to meet the king and put forward their problems, requests and ask for justice directly in the court.

The entire vast palace is designed in round shape and there is a lot of space between the palace and the compound walls, which is utilized for different purposes like daily martial practice, horse stables and a vast garden. The garden is present in front of the palace, the horse stable on one side while the special building for martial practice along with weapon storage is built at the back of the palace which is called as 'Shastrashala' (Palace of weapons).

There is a big forest at the back of the palace compound which is separated from the Shastrashala by that one compound wall. All the important ministers and Army Generals, along with their families, live in the capital city of Rakhshatra while there are certain chieftains who will look after the provinces within Rakhshatra.

In the palace, a man dressed in Silk Dhoti and Angavastra (a long piece of cloth placed on one shoulder of the upper body) with some gold ornaments adorning his upper body came to the Shiva temple. He stood in front of the shivling (a form of statue of Lord Shiva) and prayed for a few seconds before he looked around for someone. And when he couldn't find anyone else, he went out of the temple and asked the guards standing outside the temple, "Where is Yuvraj Abhyuday? "

The guards informed him, "Young General, Yuvraj already completed his morning prayer rituals and went to the underground basement".

The palace is of two stories and an underground basement which is the prison for accused people before the case is solved. Once the judgement is given then the proven accused will be sent to the large prison constructed on the east side of the capital, away from people.

The ground floor of the palace mostly consists of the royal court, the common puja (prayer) room with human form statues of God Shiva and Goddess Parvati and also some halls where ceremonies could be held. And the top floor where the royal family members and their children lives. This floor is segregated into four wings east, west, north and south. North and South wings consists of two chambers each for King with his Queen and Yuvraj (the crown prince) with his Yuvrani (the crown princess) respectively. The couple could live together in a single chamber or can live in their own chambers, while both the chambers will be connected by a bathroom in between them for common use.

In the case of Yuvraj Abhyuday, he designed a private prayer room in his wing, where no one else could enter without his permission. While East wing is for the children who will have separate chambers, the West wing is for the other wives of King. Yuvraj and other royal males who will have normal-sized chamber compared to the main wives with titles. Along with the other wives, there will also be courtesans for the entertainment of royal male members but these girls will not have separate chambers. In case any one of the girls is called to spend a night with a royal person, then they will have to go to the chamber of that person.

The Young General named Parth, went towards the basement in search of his childhood friend cum future King, Yuvraj Abhyuday. He knows very well about his friend, that the latter wouldn't miss his prayer early in the morning. And today it seems like his friend woke up too early. While he was halfway to the basement, he saw a mighty figure of a man coming towards his direction and stopped in his tracks immediately.

As the figure came near, Parth sighed at the bloody sight of his friend. "Yuvraj, what happened that you suddenly went to the basement early in the morning? ", Parth questioned his friend Abhyuday, who didn't stop walking towards his chamber. And Parth followed him to his chamber as well to get his answers. When they both reached Yuvraj's chamber, Abhyuday took off his upper cloth which is simple cotton comfortable for night wear and went towards the bath area. Parth looked at the bloodied clothes on the floor and sighed again at his friend, who becomes tight-lipped when he gets angry. Parth could already guess what could have happened.

Finally Abhyuday came out after taking a refreshing bath once again and looked at his friend who hasn't left his chamber yet. Parth is his childhood friend who has been by his side through thick and thin, during the most crucial and vulnerable time of his life. Parth asked, "Once again an assassin? Don't they get tired? I mean how do they keep themselves motivated even after hundreds of failed attempts? "

By looking at the kinds of faces that Parth makes while talking about those people, anyone would have laughed or atleast chuckled but, not Abhyuday. Abhyuday simply nodded at Parth to confirm his assumptions. "What to do now? Is he even alive now? ", Parth enquired. To which Abhyuday replied," He is alive. And you know what we do generally ". Parth grinned and said, " Ofcourse, another target for our archery practice ". After the first few assassination attempts, the King has given full permission to Yuvraj to deal with them on his own, since he anyways catch them red-handed. But everyone finds it mysterious, as to how come the assassins get inside the palace compound with increased security. Thinking of some insider help, the King had once ordered for investigating everyone in the palace and search each of the rooms without exception. But still nothing was found.

In the Shastrashala, Abhyuday and Parth finished their archery practice and the dead body was cleared off by the guards while Parth went with them to dispose the body. Just then the second Prince Kaushal came to the place. "I heard of the assassin just now. Are you fine Brother? ", Kaushal asked Yuvraj Abhyuday. While these are the words from his mouth, the thoughts in his mind are different from the ones he uttered now. Abhyuday looked at him in his eyes and replied with a blank face," I'm good. You don't need to worry about me".

Kaushal nodded but then Abhyuday added, "And I have already told you many a times that it's Yuvraj for you. Not any relation". Kaushal was about to apologise but Abhyuday stopped him with a hand gesture and said,"Beware of your slip of tongue. It happens too many times that my patience might cease to exist at some point ". This has happened far too many times that Abhyuday knows what he would say for apology. Parth came just that moment and said,"Abhyuday, it's time to check the practice of our soldiers". Abhyuday nodded at his friend who has the right to call him by his name. Abhyuday nodded and went for supervising the practice of soldiers and future army aspirants who are in their teens.

After the two friends left, Kaushal clenched his fists and murmured with clenched jaws,"While he allows that servant friend of his, to call by his name, he doesn't allow me to call him as Brother. It's as if I'm the servant and that loyal dog is the royal. Abhyuday, there will be a day when you will beg me for mercy and I won't be merciful". After his murmuring, he left the Shastrashala to meet his mother.

Kaushal, although a trained prince who got the same training as Yuvraj Abhyuday under the same Guru, is a bit lazy to train everyday. He goes towards his mother's chamber in the North wing, which is next to his father's chamber, to discuss about their failed plans and further steps. As he reached near his mother's wing, he is able to hear his mother's angry voice scolding some maids regarding her makeup not being good. He rolls his eyes at his mother's high pitched voice which he can hear even from outside the chamber. And then a maid goes to inform his mother about his arrival.

Later he enters the chamber, following which his mother gives out orders for privacy and all maids go out. He asks his mother,"Mother, don't let out your frustrations on the poor maids ". Oormila's frustrations didn't cool down but she simply glared at him. Both of them were silent for sometime and then he asked," What are you going to do now mother? Why don't you stop sending assassins even after failing numerous times? "

Oormila glared at her son and said,"Is your father getting any younger? Or that Abhyuday is a child that I can get rid off him easily? Previously his mother was alive and she had a strong hold on your father that I could not dare to take any step to kill him. Once I got hold on your father and his mother was dead, he was already a teenager and immediately went for Gurukul. You know very well how guarded your Gurukul is. Not even a fly can enter without the knowledge of your Guru. And when he came back, he was a warrior. And now he has become invincible. I'm desperate to remove the only obstacle between you and the throne. If he is no more then we don't even need to wait for your father to pass on the crown ".

Kaushal knows about his mother's cunningness and viciousness all along. So it is no big deal that she is talking about eliminating his father who is the ruling King. Just then both mother and son heard the announcement by the guard that the King is coming towards the chamber. Both of them got alert and felt fortunate that they were discussing in a low voice.

The King entered and smiled at his wife and said,"It's good that both of you are here. I came to inform you that we need to depart by next week for Hridaypura. I hand over all the responsibilities of the wedding to you. So I expect no problem in the wedding ". Oormila nodded at his words with a gentle smile which the King reciprocated. The King looked at his son and asked," Why are you not training in Shastrashala at this time? " Kaushal started to stutter,"Father, th....that I... I" when Oormila came to his rescue and said,"I have called him here".

The King nodded and left from there. The mother and son sighed in relief but Kaushal's face turned ugly when he remembered about the continuous lectures that he gets to hear from his father about learning from his brother.

On the other hand, while walking towards the court, King Virendra thought about his eldest son Abhyuday and felt sad. Why his son's life is in danger continuously? At some point of time, he even thought that it might be Oormila or Kaushal as they are the closest ones to benefit from taking Abhyuday's life. And he started to watch their activities through his trusted guards but nothing suspicious was found even after another attack. So he left that idea and could only tighten the security of the palace as well as the boundaries to try and protect his son who is hell bent on not getting any help from him. He just wishes that he could hear his eldest son calling him as Father once again rather than addressing as King. Leaving all his thoughts, he went to proceed with the court.

 ~~~~~~~~

𝙷𝚒 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜,

𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍.

𝙳𝚘 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜.

By:- sahawrites

Hridaypura

The early morning singing of the birds were defeated by another smooth and soothing voice which was thanking the God for everything present on earth. In the palace of Hridaypura, a girl who was wearing a silk saree with gold jewellery adorning various parts of her body, completed aarti (a small wick placed on a plate for praying the statue of God). Then she turned back to look at all her family members including her step sisters and young stepbrother with their respective mothers as well.

First she moved towards her father and showed him the aarti from which he took the blessings and then she went to her mother and brother. All the while the small clipped smile on her lips didn't change. Once puja is done, everyone dispersed to their own works. She remained in the puja hall for sometime and then moved towards her chamber. When she came back to her chamber, her mother, Mathura was already waiting for her. She greeted her mother,"Mother! You are here? That too this early in the morning? ".

When her maids were standing with bowed heads, her mother came near her and said," Kalindi, The Royals of Rakhshatra will be here by next week and the wedding will happen three days later. So I came here to give you some new jewelleries which I have ordered from the goldsmith. Hereafter put on these heavy jewellries rather than the light ones you wear usually. Because you will not be one of the princesses of Hridaypura. You will be the Yuvrani(Crown Princess or Princess Consort), the future Queen of Rakshatra".

Saying this her mother looked at her with warm eyes which is rare since the Queen had always been strict about the learnings and discipline of Kalindi. From childhood, Kalindi has been carefully craved by her mother to be a proper wife as well as a Queen. Her mother time and again reminded her that a woman may be the Queen of a kingdom but for her husband, she is a wife and should always be at his service. This is a reason why Kalindi as well as her step sisters were made to learn cooking, sewing and other ordinary things generally done by their maids along with the academic education of a princess.

After the Queen departed from there, Kalindi went on to do her usual work to pass on the time, which is gardening. Although the garden is common for all the royal members, there is a separate garden with a little protective shade from the sun, which is a private garden for Kalindi. She collected a lot of plants and seeds which are rare for common people as well as the royals to find, through various travellers and traders from overseas who are brought to the back entrance of the palace by one of trusted maid, Rekha.

Kalindi was going towards her garden for which she had to pass through the common royal garden, where her step sister Uttara was sitting, eating snacks and gossiping with some of her friends, who are the daughters of important aristocrats. Seeing Kalindi going towards the private garden, Uttara made a face and ignored her while one of the girls asked her,"Princess Uttara, your sister doesn't look much like the Queen. So is the rumours true that she is the illegitimate daughter of the King? ".

Another girl admonished her by saying," Keep your voice low. This is the palace and talking ill about the King is offence punishable by death ". Kalindi ignored their talks although she could hear them clearly and went away without any change of expression. This is nothing new as she had heard even more ugly statements about her birth, the truth of which she herself don't know.

Once Kalindi went away from the common garden, Princess Uttara answered them with an irritation,"No one in the palace knows anything regarding her birth. But everyone is sure that she is illegitimate because Father brought her back from his journey, where he chased and defeated the rebels with the help of our neighbouring King. That is when her engagement was also decided with the crown prince of that Kingdom. I don't know why such a prestigious kingdom would want to have an illegitimate child as their future Queen. I doubt that their crown prince is either ugly or might have some disease".

Other girls also pondered on Uttara's words and somehow got convinced that the crown prince is ugly. Because everyone had heard about his achievements when he was in common Gurukul (Residential school for Princes) for all the Princes and his excellence which made him a direct student of the head Guru (Teacher) which happens once in a decade or more. But nobody mentioned about how he looks so they don't have any knowledge about that. What the girls missed to notice was the jealousy visible on Uttara's face.

Uttara got jealous that her elder step sister will be the future Queen of Rakhshatra, which is twice the size of Hridaypura. She herself knows that her father wouldn't hesitate to nullify the previous engagement of his precious daughter, if the crown prince looks ugly. From childhood, Kalindi had the privilege of the official daughter of the King even after being illegitimate child, just because the King put her under the care of the Queen. And on top of that the Queen never mistreated her nor did she let anyone else to mistreat her. What the King and Queen couldn't control was that Kalindi being isolated and outcasted among her step siblings.

However, Kalindi has a different perspective on her life, She didn't mind being isolated or outcasted by her step siblings because she herself doesn't like to interact with more people. Her birth has always overshadowed her other qualities. But she doesn't have any complaints about it because her mother, Queen Mathura and her father, King Udayan had never made her feel like an outsider. Not to mention her elder brother Pratham, who has even postponed his wedding till she is married off.

Although her mother is always strict, she had never shown slightest bit of hatred or disgust for her. And Kalindi is always thankful for having such a family. When Kalindi entered her private garden, her maid Rekha was already there with a new plant in her hands. The other maids of Kalindi stood outside the private garden as Kalindi doesn't like anyone else apart from Rekha and Lekha, her other maid who is the twin of Rekha, to be inside the garden.

Kalindi asked Rekha,"What is this plant? What kind of flower would it bear? ". Rekha answered," Princess, this is a special herbal plant which a merchant from persia got here". Kalindi frowned at the answer and said,"You know that I don't like plants without flowers right. Then why did you get this. Send it back." Rekha immediately replied,"No Princess, this plant has other uses other than simply medicine ". Then she went on to tell the uses and the impact.

After sometime, Kalindi and Rekha came out of the private garden after watering the plants and just then Lekha came there and greeted her to continue, while they walked back towards her chamber. Rekha and Lekha followed immediately behind her while the other maids followed at the back.

After passing through the common gardens, Lekha started saying,"Princess, today the court has finally concluded that they wouldn't import the vegetables from the Kingdom of chakyanagara. Yuvraj Pratham had convinced the court that the vegetables from the Kingdom of chakyanagara would perish within a short period of time which will cost a lot for us than the existing imports. So they have rejected the proposal of that kingdom ".

Kalindi nodded at her and all of them went to her chamber. Yuvraj Pratham was already waiting for her in the visitor's hall of her chamber. Kalindi dismissed the maids except Lekha and Rekha. Pratham asked," Why didn't you attend the court today? " Kalindi answered,"I had some other important work and anyways the court had no interesting discussion today ". Pratham sighed at her non-chalant behaviour and said," Anyways I came here to thank you for your suggestion regarding the import case. It's because of you that the disaster was averted ".

Kalindi smiled at him but didn't say anything. Pratham knew that her smile is the most acknowledgement he would get from her. So he stood up to leave but turned towards her and said," Your marriage is to happen by next week. I know that we Prince or Princess don't have much of a choice in choosing our life partner but I want to tell you that, I will always have your back whatever the situation may arise in the future ". Kalindi smiled at his words and teased him," Thanks for your concern, Brother. I will also assure you that I will have your back whenever you need to be away from your wife ".

Pratham rolled his eyes at her teasing and went from there. Pratham had never treated any of his step sisters badly or with resent. Although Kalindi is not his own sister, she is more special for him because he was the one who held her for the first time when their father brought her here and his mother refused to look at her. The five year old Pratham instantly liked his sister and accepted her.

After Pratham left her chamber, Kalindi changed her attire to a more comfortable form and then asked Lekha,"There is still one hour for lunch preparation right? " Lekha replied in positive and then both of them went to the balcony attached and climbed down using a rope. Then Kalindi moved to the denser part of the forest as she doesn't want anyone to see her face, while Lekha was watching out for her by hiding on a branch of the tree near the entrance of the forest. Rekha will handle there in the palace about Kalindi's whereabouts till they return back from the forest.

In the forest, Kalindi was looking for some target and got bored by the usual tree barks, leaves and fruits. So she moved towards the small lake within the forest which spilts the forest into two parts. She was looking for a target when a fish kept on jumping out of the water and back into the water again. She followed its movements within the water, which generally others might not see through and released her arrow at the right time to kill it. Then she tried to pull three arrows together in a single release and succeeded to reach the target for two of the arrows. She felt disappointed at that but still practised the same for some time and then went back.

Lekha climbed down the tree and said,"Princess, you finished your practice early? " Kalindi replied,"No, we came late and now it's almost time for preparing lunch ". Then she went to the palace in the same way and after dressing herself, went on to prepare the lunch for the royal family, as today is her turn to cook.

It's not a new thing that women of royal family learn martial arts. But surely its a rare thing to hear nowadays. The rule is written that women of the royal family choose to learn martial arts but not implemented by everyone. Once in a while there will be a story of some brave Queen who took up the throne after her husband's or son's death, but only a handful of them were able to sustain the position with loyal people supporting them.

And Hridaypura is one such Kingdom which keeps the rule for namesake while in reality wouldn't even ask the girls their wish for learning. So Kalindi hid her archery skills away from her family as her request was rejected by her parents during her childhood. Whatever she had learnt was from watching the training of her brother before and after his gurukul education. Among all other weapons, it was only bow and arrow which pulled her interest. Kalindi could only hope that situations will change when her brother ascends the throne.

𝙷𝚒 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜,

𝙳𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒? 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜. 𝚂𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗.

𝙳𝚘 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛.

By:- sahawrites