Step, step, step, step, and turn.
Step, step, step, step, and turn.
Step, step, step, step, and turn.
Step, step, step, step, and turn.
Princess Dhara had been repeating the steps for a long while in her room. Meera, her chief maid, had been watching her for the past two bowls of water, occasionally noting that the clock marked evening.
Acharya cannot be that scary, Meera thought.
A message from the royal guru had arrived that morning: the Acharya wished to meet the bride of Prince Ashok.
Dhara had no way to escape. She had defied before, but not this time—every eye would be on the future bride. And Prince Ashok would not let it pass lightly. She remembered the last time she had skipped an assembly; he had dragged her out of the pool, half-dressed. Now we are to be husband and wife…
