Chapter 2

...Author's pov...

The silence that followed Kaveri's words was heavy, suffocating the ambient warmth of the room. The fresh jasmine flowers lay scattered on the stone floor like discarded offerings.

Aradhya's mind spun into a chaotic vortex. An attack? This did not happen in the past. Devendra had arrived at the gates of Chandragarh with elephants draped in gold, royal musicians, and a heart full of unexpressed hope. He had not brought a siege.

​"Yeh... yeh kaise sambhav hai?" Avantika stammered, her voice losing its calculating edge for the first time, replaced by genuine panic. "Maharaja Devendra ne aakraman kar diya? Kal toh vivah hona tha!"

​[How... how is this possible? Maharaja Devendra has attacked? The wedding was supposed to be tomorrow!]

​"Yeh... yeh kaise sambhav hai?" Avantika stammered, her voice losing its calculating edge for the first time, replaced by genuine panic. "Maharaja Devendra ne aakraman kar diya? Kal toh vivah hona tha!"

​[How... how is this possible? Maharaja Devendra has attacked? The wedding was supposed to be tomorrow!]

Aradhya didn't look at her sister. Her gaze was locked on the horizon outside her window, where the deep purple of the twilight was suddenly marred by a distant, ominous orange glow. Smoke was rising from the western borders of Chandragarh.

"Kaveri," Aradhya called out, her voice dangerously calm despite the storm in her chest. "Maharaj Vikramaditya kahan hain? Aur Senapati Veer Singh?"

​[Kaveri, where is King Vikramaditya? And Commander Veer Singh?]

Kaveri wiped a tear from her cheek, her hands shaking violently. "Maharaj aur Rani Vasundhara sabhagrah mein hain, Devi. Senapati Veer Singh ne Suryagarh ki sena ko rokne ke liye apni tukdi ko aadesh de diya hai. Kintu... sandeshvahak ne kaha ki Maharaja Devendra swayam yuddh ka netritva kar rahe hain."

​[The King and Queen Vasundhara are in the assembly hall, Princess. Commander Veer Singh has ordered his regiment to halt Suryagarh's army. But... the messenger said Maharaja Devendra himself is leading the charge.]

Devendra himself.

Aradhya gripped the silk of her royal skirt. In her past life, she had believed he was a monster because of Avantika's whispers. She had spent three years resenting him, keeping him away from her bed, treating his presence like a curse. But she knew his tactical mind. Devendra never moved without a profound reason. He was a man of honor, fiercely protective of his people and his word. Why would he break a sacred marriage alliance to spill blood?

Unless... someone else had forced his hand.

Aradhya turned her gaze sharply toward Avantika.

Avantika was pale, staring at her own reflection in the bronze mirror, her fingers twitching. She was shocked, yes, but underneath that shock, Aradhya saw a flicker of calculating thoughts. Avantika hadn't planned this attack, but she was already trying to figure out how to use it to her advantage.

​"Jiji," Avantika whispered, rushing to Aradhya's side and grabbing her arm. Her touch, which used to feel like comfort, now felt like a viper crawling on Aradhya's skin. "Maine aapase kaha tha na? Maharaja ek kroor vyakti hain! Dekhiye, unhone hume chhal diya. Woh Chandragarh ko apna das banana chahte hain!"

​[Sister, didn't I tell you? The Maharaja is a cruel man! See, he has deceived us. He wants to make Chandragarh his slave!]

Aradhya looked down at Avantika's hands on her arm. A cold, dark satisfaction bloomed inside her. In the past, she would have panicked, wept, and agreed with her sister. She would have entered Suryagarh harboring hatred, ruining her marriage before it even began.

Not this time.

Aradhya gently, yet firmly, removed Avantika's hands from her arm. She smoothed down her own royal attire.

​"Hume Pitaji ke paas jana hoga," Aradhya said, her voice echoing with a chilling authority that made Avantika blink in surprise. "Satya kya hai, yeh toh sabhagrah mein hi gyaat hoga."

​[I must go to Father. What the truth is will only be known in the assembly hall.]

​"Kintu Jiji, wahan jana surakshit nahi hai" Avantika tried to protest, stepping forward to block her.

​[But sister, it is not safe to go there]

​"Hum Chandragarh ki Rajkumari hain, Avantika," Aradhya interrupted, her eyes flashing with a dangerous fire. "Bhay hamare rakt mein nahi hai."

​[I am the Princess of Chandragarh, Avantika. Fear is not in my blood.]

Leaving a stunned Avantika behind, Aradhya swept out of her chambers, her heavy anklets chiming aggressively against the stone corridors. Kaveri hurried closely behind her.

...The Assembly Hall...

At the center of the hall stood Maharaj Vikramaditya, Aradhya's father. His face looked older, deeply lined with worry under his golden crown. Beside him, Maharani Vasundhara held a prayer bead, her lips moving in silent, frantic chants.

​"Pitaji!" Aradhya's voice cut through the shouting of the ministers as she stepped into the hall.

[Father!]

Maharaj Vikramaditya looked up, his eyes softening with paternal dread. "Aradhya? Tumhe yahan nahi hona chahiye, Putri. Yeh samay ashant hai."

​[Aradhya? You should not be here, daughter. This is a turbulent time.]

​"Mujhe satya janna hai, Pitaji," Aradhya said, walking straight to the central map table. "Maharaja Devendra ne aakraman kyun kiya? Vivah se keval ek divas poorv unhone apni hi pratigya ko kyun toda?"

​[I want to know the truth, Father. Why did Maharaja Devendra attack? Why did he break his own vow just one day before the wedding?]

​A heavy silence

​"Mujhe satya janna hai, Pitaji," Aradhya said, walking straight to the central map table. "Maharaja Devendra ne aakraman kyun kiya? Vivah se keval ek divas poorv unhone apni hi pratigya ko kyun toda?"

​[I want to know the truth, Father. Why did Maharaja Devendra attack? Why did he break his own vow just one day before the wedding?]

A heavy silence fell over the ministers. Maharaj Vikramaditya sighed heavily, leaning his weight against the table.

​"Hume swayam nahi gyaat, Aradhya," the King admitted, his voice cracking with emotion. "Suryagarh ke sandeshvahak ne koi chetavni nahi di. Kintu unki sena hamari pashchimi sima ko dhwast karti hui aage badh rahi hai. Senapati Veer Singh wahan hain, kintu Devendra ki rann niti ke samne hamari sena piche hat rahi hai."

​[We ourselves do not know, Aradhya. Suryagarh's messenger gave no warning. But their army is advancing, destroying our western border. Commander Veer Singh is there, but against Devendra's strategy, our army is retreating.]

​

Aradhya's breath caught. The western border.

Suddenly, a violent sensation clutched her temple. The room around her seemed to dissolve once more. The sound of the ministers fading into a distant, muffled hum.

​The deity's hidden boon the glimpse of the future was pulling her back under.

​In her mind's eye, she saw the western border. But it wasn't an unprovoked invasion. She saw a dark, hooded figure standing on a cliff above the Chandragarh border post, holding a glowing black stone. From the stone, a horrific, dark smoke was spilling into the valley, corrupting the air.

Then the vision shifted. She saw Devendra on his white stallion, his eyes bloodshot, his face twisted in absolute rage and pain. He wasn't attacking to conquer. He was screaming a name through the chaos of the battlefield.

​He was screaming her name.

​"ARADHYA...!"

​The vision shattered. Aradhya stumbled, catching herself on the edge of the map table. Her forehead was slick with sweat.

He thinks I am in danger, Aradhya realized, her heart pounding. He isn't attacking Chandragarh to conquer it. He thinks Chandragarh has done something to me, or someone has lured him here under a false pretext.

​"Putri? Tum thik toh ho?" Maharani Vasundhara rushed over, placing a gentle hand on Aradhya's shoulder.

​[Daughter? Are you alright?]

Aradhya looked up, her mind racing. The timeline had changed because someone had manipulated Devendra earlier than before. If this war continued, Chandragarh would fall, Senapati Veer Singh would die, and Devendra would be left vulnerable exactly like the apocalyptic battlefield she had seen in her vision.

She had to stop it. She had to face him before the first major drop of royal blood was spilled.

​"Pitaji," Aradhya said, straightening her posture, her voice echoing with absolute resolve. "Hume iss yuddh ko rokna hoga. Main swayam sima par jaungi."

​[Father, we must stop this war. I will go to the border myself.]

​"Kadaapi nahi!" Maharaj Vikramaditya roared, slamming his fist on the table. "Tum ek rajkumari ho! Tum yuddhbhoomi mein nahi jaogi!"

​[Absolutely not! You are a princess! You will not go to the battlefield!]

​"Main keval ek rajkumari nahi hoon, Pitaji. Main Suryagarh ki hone wali Maharani hoon," Aradhya countered, her eyes meeting her father's without a single trace of fear. "Yadi Maharaja Devendra kisi bhram ke kaaran yahan aaye hain, toh keval main hi unka woh bhram door kar sakti hoon."

​[I am not just a princess, Father. I am the future Queen of Suryagarh. If Maharaja Devendra has come here due to some misunderstanding, then only I can remove that misunderstanding.]

Avantika, who had quietly slipped into the back of the hall, watched her sister with widening, horrified eyes. This was not the Aradhya she knew. The Aradhya she knew would be locked in her room, weeping and cursing Devendra's name. What has happened to her?

The Border of Chandragarh

An hour later, ignoring her parents' protests, Aradhya was inside a heavily guarded royal chariot, racing toward the western border. The night sky was no longer dark; it was illuminated by the fierce fires of war.

An hour later, ignoring her parents' protests, Aradhya was inside a heavily guarded royal chariot, racing toward the western border. The night sky was no longer dark; it was illuminated by the fierce fires of war.

​The sounds of clashing steel, the roaring of war elephants, and the screams of dying men began to fill the air.

The chariot came to a violent halt just behind the secondary defensive line of Chandragarh. Aradhya pushed open the silk curtains and stepped out, refusing to wait for her guards.

The sight before her was gruesome. The Chandragarh forces were in a chaotic retreat.

Suddenly, a massive explosion of dust and splinters erupted nearby. A royal chariot was blown apart. Out of the smoke, a figure fell to the ground, coughing up blood, his golden armor dented and covered in ash.

It was Senapati Veer Singh.

​"Senapati ji!" Aradhya cried out, rushing toward him despite the protests of her personal guards.

Veer Singh looked up, his vision blurred with blood. When he recognized her, his face contorted in pure terror. "Rajkumari... Aap yahan... Kyun...? Chaliye yahan se... Maharaja Devendra... woh manushya nahi hain... unpar kisi pret ka saaya hai...!"

​[Princess... You here... Why...? Leave this place... Maharaja Devendra... he is not human... he is possessed by some ghost...!]

Before Aradhya could process his panicked words, a thunderous sound shook the earth.

The frontline of Chandragarh soldiers parted in absolute terror as a massive white stallion charged through the smoke.

Sitting atop the horse was Maharaja Devendra.

His dark armor was splattered with enemy blood. In his hand, he held a massive, glowing broadsword. But it was his face that made Aradhya's breath hitch. His eyes weren't the eyes of the devotion filled husband she remembered from her past life. They were completely pitch black, void of any human emotion, burning with an unholy, demonic energy.

He didn't look like a king coming to save his bride. He looked like the God of Death itself, unleashed upon the mortal realm.

Devendra's gaze swept across the battlefield, halting precisely where Aradhya stood.

As his black eyes locked onto hers, a sinister, deep laugh echoed not from his throat, but seemingly from the very air around him. He raised his blood stained sword, pointing it directly at her chest.

Aradhya stood frozen. The deity's words from the divine realm suddenly echoed in her mind with terrifying clarity: "Tumhara janm keval pratishodh ke liye nahi hua hai. Tumhara lakshya kuch aur hai..."

​[You were not born merely for revenge. Your true purpose is something else...]

Devendra spurred his horse, charging directly at her with lethal speed, his sword raised to strike. He didn't recognize her. He was going to kill her.

The thunder of hooves grew deafening. The white stallion tore through the burning debris, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. Devendra's blade cast a sickening, cold glow across Aradhya's face. He was mere yards away, his arm tensing to deliver a fatal blow.

​"Rajkumari! Hatniye!" Kaveri screamed from somewhere behind her, but Aradhya's feet felt glued to the blood slicked earth.

​[Princess! Move!]

She closed her eyes for a split second, refusing to let fear dictate her final moments.

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