To Calcutta By Sea

1920,England

Anastasia was sitting in her Vanity, The maids silently dressing her up for her journey. She was staring outside the window. Her eyes? Without emotions.

She remembered how she begged her father not to make her marry Lord Montague because she was in love with someone else. A Knight, silent, strong yet broken because his beloved is leaving him. She did not want to leave, but her father was fixed on one decision.

"You must accompany your husband to Bengal, I fear if you stay here you'll get more rebellious."

She thought to Herself-

..."If love is rebellion, then hunting a soul for refusing to abandon its own culture is just cowardice wearing the mask of conviction."...

Her mind was processing all of this. She looked at the maids,who told her to get up and walk to the carriage which was waiting to drop her to the ship with her Fiancé

She nodded and walked elegently downstairs and sat on carriage beside her Fiancé

Alaric Montague, Anastasia's fiancé was reviewing some documents, when he noticed She entered,he put his Papers down and tried to initiate me into small conversations

"Are u Excited to go to Bengal?" He asked with his usual calm and quite composure.

She was not excited but she also did not want to disappoint him,because in this Era if a fiancé or wife Disappoints a husband either the end result is execution or divorce. So she nodded and looked outside enjoying the scenic view.

When they reached the port, She quickly hides her face with an umbrella to cover the heat of blazing sun. She noticed how workers mostly Indians were treated like peasants and were forced to work for East India Company, They were silently loading their luggage in ship. Their clothes? Iller than most peasants in England. She boarded the ship with her fiancé. They were greeted with her fiancé's Secretary who bowed to her out of respect. Likewise, She gave him a subtle nod.

Suddenly an incident occurred. An Indian worker who was loading their luggage fell in front of her feet because his thin and weak body could not keep up with the weight of heavy bags. His fingers slightly touch her shoe. Within instance her husband's Secretary hit his back with a whip leaving deep scars in his back. The poor man wiped her shoe with his clothes and left… She felt sad, She wished She could help, but She was no one to question the absolute authority

...Anastasia's pov...

It takes 3-4 months to reach Bengal… In this 3-4months I mostly stayed in the room assigned to me by my fiancé and read books. Because I felt suffocated going out, It felt unbearable seeing innocent man do anything for living, The Britishers would mock them and even hurt them without any valid reason. Once my fiancé gave me a gun and gave me right to shoot a peasant, but I refused to, he made a sarcastic comment about my weak and emotional heart and shot the peasant himself…

After we reached Bengal's Capital, Calcutta. We were escorted to a lavish Bungalow near the Ganges river. I loved the house it had a lot of room's library, study area, a big garden and that gives clear view of the Ganges. But Bengal was very hot, and it was mostly unbearable in the mornings, so I did not intend to leave the Bungalow mostly in mornings. My fiancé also told how women are told to stay indoors like a good, obedient wife, so I guess I followed his wish and stayed indoors, but only I know it was just for the heat and never for his will.

Wednesday, Bengal

I finally Decided to explore Bengal, I've heard that the village side of Bengal is very beautiful.

A carriage was arranged for me by my fiancé, I hoped in and was enjoying the cool breeze of air and scenic view until I noticed a girl…

She was wearing a white saree, her hair was open, and they were flowing as if they were rebellious just as her, She was being chased by some men with Sharp objects. She was crying and begging for help, yet no women helped her and looked at her from far.

I was granted a British solider with me when I was leaving the Bungalow. So I told the British solider to stop them

The terror of East India Company was evident, It was clear that they were terrified of White people [that's how Indians refer Britisher's]

I opened the carriage door and stepped out and looked at the girl I asked her-

"Why are you crying and running? Why are they chasing you?"

To my surprise the girl spoke clear English and spoke in a broken yet determined voice

"My father is a jamindar, I was wedded off to this Village's head a few days ago, but due to old age he died. Now they want to burn me with my husband. Because they think this proves my ultimate devotion to my Husband "

I thought to myself.

She looked young, maybe 15 or 16 years old, but she was educated, I decided to bring her with me to the Bungalow and then decide what to do with her.

I spoke

"Very well, please accompany me to my Bungalow I think they will not let you live if you stay."

She agreed and hop into carriage, Our drive back to Bungalow was quiet.

When i reached my fiance's residence and spoke with him, he got angry and told

"Do u realize what you did!! You just picked up a girl who was meant to die during sati daha!! You made things harder for us Anastasia now the stupid Hindu's might rebel just because you dare disrespect their culture!! You made things HARDER for us!!"

Anastasia was just standing silently not knowing what to do now. She was never scolded by her parents but now? She was getting accused of ruining her Fiance's career or maybe risk her own life.

Alaric's Words hung in the air. Outside the shouts grew louder.

If you were Anastasia, would you hand the girl over or burn everything down for a stranger.?

To be continued...

_________________________

Character reference for Anastasia and the girl!!

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***