Lust Or Love?

Chapter 21

"Maybe, they.....knew about that passage? And they closed the pond in the palace and so all those men who you went there under water, could not reach the surface because it was already closed? And then they died because of the lack of air? "

A few seconds Surya's mind pondered on the possibility of what she said. But how would they know?

There's no way, they could know about that secret passage.....unless and until someone told them about it.......someone who is among them. And the first possibility of that someone was this girl, standing in front of him!

A deceiving beauty, a hell attractive woman who could allure anyone, could she be the one culprit here? Could she be one of the spy, they sent here?

He looked at her again.

But she looked like a princess in disguise!

"Who are you? "

Three words, nine decibels and the air was sucked out from Rajani's lungs. Did he know? But how?

Her heart attained an erratic trend of beating, loudly, so loudly that her ears could only hear it's sound. It berated like a drum against her rib cage, ready to tear it apart and come out.

No! She told herself. She have to be calm, he did not know! How could he? He meant It in another way. She have to play with the situation and handle it carefully. Like she had practice so many times.

She laughed nervously, to ease away everything. "My lord I think you already know my name, 'Rajani'."

"No! Tell me who you really are! " his strong authoritative voice boomed, making the hair stand at the back of her neck. Who you really are....who you really are.....who you really are.....

The sentence whirled around her head and for a second her frantically beating heart.....stopped!

She no more felt the cold air hitting her.

She tried to speak but nothing came out. And then she felt as if a volcano erupted within her body. And each of her tissues, veins and muscles ached as if, the hot lava flowed through them.

'Rajani speak. ' her mind told her but it seemed like her every other organ was paralyzed. She can't move! She can't talk!

She inhaled a large amount of air, to calm her senses.

And she felt like the earth was back under her feet. Not until she saw the suspicious look on his face as his eyes scanned her face to fathom where exactly she stands. Who she really was.

That cleared something, he Don't know, it is just the suspicion but if she did not say something soon, things would get more complicated than it already is!

"My lord, with all due respect....I didn't understand....." She said masking away her real feelings, and glancing up at him, with the most innocent look she could look. It always convinced people. She knew! It even worked on her mother! A look which for the world, she knew was something, she could get away with.

Surya blinked twice at her. Her beautiful eyes were more wide now, her eyebrows were arched upward in confusion, and her pink plump lips slightly parted.

How could he think like this? She started to work in the palace even before the war broke. Even before all this happened and most importantly she was the one to save his life! If she was a spy, then why on the earth did she saved his life in the first place?

Huh? He heaved a sigh and turned around. His back now facing her.

She must be thinking, you are going mad Surya. He thought to himself.

Oh why on the earth a man in his right mind would question his savior as a spy of the enemy and ask her 'who you really are?' She might be thinking you are going insane.

He thought.

He turned around only to find her stand in the same way at the same spot. No doubt looking innocent as ever, but he soon realized that if he continued to look at that face anymore, he would do something insane! She was sinfully beautiful........there were no words to describe such beauty. There wasn't any one thing which was attractive in her, rather everything was fascinating from her features to the innocence and purity which she casted.

'Huh...huh! " he cleared her throat.

"You may now go and rest, it's already late. " he saw her expression change as she pursued her lips together and bow for the last time and leave. But what he missed was the slight glint of relief in the coroner of her eyes and a ghost of a smile pulling onto the her lips as she turned around to leave.

***

"Two gold coins for six gujiyas, thank you! " she said while handing over the packet to a man who soon trotted away with his two children on his either side after leaving two gold coins in her hand.

The evening had been already changed into a dreadful cold night. As she packed up everything and went inside the little hut in which She now live. With in total sixteen gold coins in her hand, as today's selling.

She entered into the hut only to hear a sound of deep coughing.

"Are you alright Urmila maa? " she asked sitting beside the old lady who is now lying on the mat. Concern lacing her voice.

"Aeyy.." She looked at her and nodded coughing again. "I am alright! It's just the common cold, don't worry! " followed by coughing again.

"I wish it is! " she said while placing the pillow right under her head, when a strange kind of fear settled in the pit of her stomach.

Fear to loose someone, again!

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