**Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and thus does not revolve around the real world. Words or incidents mentioned do not signify anything related to the real world. **
Imagine your whole family being slaughtered like animals in front of you, and you are standing in front of the killer, and you cannot do anything but obey their command of serving them. How pathetic this might feel?
Shivantika couldn't do anything but sit, with her head touching the floor and greeting the killer, who turned out to be the Crown Prince Ahil Chandra of Braheshwat.
"Girl in the middle will serve me, others may go to the Royal Princess." Shivantika was surprised at his words, and tilted her head a little up, having a glance at him, and their eyes met. Both remembered the days from Ampranam when they used to spend time with each other.
"Yes, yes, your royal highness, your words are our command", said the Manager, and asked Shivantika to thank His Highness.
With tears flowing through her cheeks behind her veil, she did as she was asked and left to pack her stuff.
Nayantara came from behind, grabbed her wrist, and asked for her sudden change of attitude. Hugging Nayantara, she told her that Ahil is her Veer from Ampranam, and she does not know what to do now, and is in a dilemma.
"According to what you have told me, Veer and Radha were siblings, and if Veer is here, then Radha would be. I guess soon the questions will be answered, it is just about a matter of a few more days," said Nayantara.
Listening to what she said, she understood one thing for sure that if Ahil is Veer, then Radha might also be the Royal Princess. Shivantika asked Nayantara to serve the Royal Princess in the meantime and to meet her at midnight near the watch tower situated between the palaces of the Crown Prince and the Royal Princess.
While they were discussing, Madhumita, outside, eavesdropped and heard everything.
Shivantika greeted Nayantara goodbye and left.
When she stepped out of the department, she saw a horse carriage with a person sitting inside it.
"Miss, the Crown Prince was waiting for you. You are quite lucky to receive such treatment from His Highness. You must be grateful to His Highness," said one of the elderly servants among the servants standing outside the carriage.
They all started moving towards the residency palace of the Crown Prince.
Shivantika never wanted to go with him or serve him. She was still carrying the dagger that her mother had handed her before dying to kill the person responsible for the bloody massacre.
Seeing Ahil sitting inside the carriage, she could imagine a hundred ways of killing him with a thirst of blood and revenge in her eyes.
When he arrived at the gate leading to the Crown Prince's chambers, the Prince stepped out of the carriage and stepped his right foot forward on the stone ground. He got enchanted by Shivantika, to whom the breezing wind was complementing.
As Ahil stepped outside the carriage, the gates automatically opened, and the servants, with their heads tilted downwards, of which Shivantika was now a part, and Ahil went inside. The moment they went inside, Shivantika saw the whole palace decorated with paper flowers(also called Bougainvillea) with colors differing from pink, purple, red, and white, ranging from all the colors available in the entire world. The blowing wind made the scene even more captivating and mesmerizing. After all the many weeks, Shivantika finally smiled, though it was for a few seconds, but those few seconds were enough for Ahil.
Lagging, Shivantika was scolded by the head servant, who always stayed with Ahil. He ordered her to stay with them.
She tripped to stay close to them.
When they entered the main hall, Ahil asked all the servants to leave and close the doors, along with the head servant, but excluding Shivantika. The moment they all left, Anirudh entered the room and closed the doors.
Shivantika just stood there staring at the floor, but when Anirudh came, her eyes widened seeing him, and it added a cherry on top when he said, "Your Highness, your command has been fulfilled. Your servant has kept his word. Ampranam's Princess is in front of you."
Seeing him say this, she couldn't stop herself from exposing herself and saying, "What are you talking about? Anirudh bhaiya(brother), what is all this? What do you mean by that?"
"Thank you, Anirudh. You've been a loyal servant," replied Ahil to Anirudh.
Anirudh greeted farewell to the Crown Prince and Shivantika by addressing her as Princess.
When he turned back to leave, he threw a small piece of crumbled paper towards Shivantika, escaping the gaze of the Prince.
Seeing it, she immediately grabbed and hid it.
"Are you not going to remove the veil from your face, Shivantika? Or shall I call you Maithili?" Ahil turned towards her and called. He was domineering, chivalrous, but also with tenderness through his eyes.
Tears welled up in her reddened eyes as she glared at him, her figure slumped against the ground, a palpable aura of anger radiating from her when she removed her veil from her face with her left hand.
After fleeing from Ampranam, Shivantika was forced to abandon many of her lifelong habits, including using her left hand. It was the first time in a long period of time that she had used her abandoned habit.
Ahil took a step towards her, knelt and sat in a squatted position; took his left hand forward towards her face; she took out the dagger given by her deceased mother and pointed it at Ahil and attacked him. However, he was lucky enough to dodge the attack. He grabbed her wrist and turned her, holding her wrist, resulting in her back pressed against his chest.
As Shivantika resisted and struggled against his restraint, Ahil whispered in her ear, "It looks like your demeanor has undergone quite some transformation, Your Royal Highness."
As Shivantika broke free from his restraint, she became outraged and burst out through her tears, screaming and crying out.
"A transformation, you say?" she shrieked, her voice laced with rage, "After what you've done to me, my family, and the innocent lives of Ampranam, you still dare to say that. What do you even want from me now? Being your puppet wasn't enough for your throne games; you again played dirty and brought me here. Let me go, I beg you, I don't want anything. If a barren land is all you desire, then Ampranam is all yours."
"Throne games, you say? Huh? Why would I want a land like Ampranam, which has no resources, where there is no hope for anything? Also, when I can be a ruler of Braheshwat, why would I want a kingdom like Ampranam?", grinned Ahil.
Not believing anything said by Ahil, she again shouted, "I won't believe a word coming out of your filthy mouth."
Ahil grabbed Shivantika's wrist and said, "I don't care what you think, but trust me—I had nothing to do with the fall of Ampranam or the royal family's slaughter. I never meant to bring you here, but I was worried about your safety given the company you kept. That so‑called friend of yours, Rajveer, sold your identities to the soldiers for a few coins, calling you spies and murderers. To protect you, I had to bring you here."
"You're lying. Why would he do that?" Shivantika's voice trembled.
"He loves Nayantara too much—he'd never hurt her."
Ahil sighed, releasing her wrist. "I don't know how to make you trust me."
Shivantika stepped back, jaw tightening.
"Trust you? I would never—never—trust, like, or love you. I HATE YOU, AHIL. YOU, CROWN PRINCE!" She glared at him, voice shaking with controlled fury.
"I want nothing to do with you."
The outrage made her so furious that she had a nosebleed. When she touched the philtrum and saw the blood, she instantly fainted.
After the massacre in Ampranam, Shivantika developed a fear, a depressing trauma, triggered by seeing blood. When triggered, she starts seeing the images from her memory of the slaughter.
As Shivantika's anger reached a fever pitch, blood suddenly trickled down her nose. She pressed a trembling finger to her philtrum—and froze. The sight of her own blood triggered memories of the Ampranam massacre. Her vision blurred with flashes of slaughtered bodies. Before she knew it, she collapsed.
Ahil caught her mid-fall, arms cradling her like she was all that mattered. His voice cracked: "Please don't leave me. I cannot lose you again."
Cradled in his arms, Shivantika's world tilted—safe, yet exposed. Ahil's eyes brimmed with unexpressed love for her. She closed her eyes. Can I really trust him? she wondered as he summoned the physician.