Goddess Chandi and Royal Prince
2023 Words
The party was in full swing with an unceasing supply of food and drinks as soft music played in the background; some were dancing, some were mingling with others, some were gorging on scrumptious delicacies while others were simply enjoying the peace with a drink in their hands in the corner.
And Ishanvi was one of those people who preferred their peace. Hence, she was sitting on a chair kept in the farmost corner of the huge terrace, with a glass of mango pulp in her hand as she observed the people around her, especially her colleagues who were making the most of free alcohol and food.
A small smile was playing on her lips as she watched her colleagues enjoying themselves without caring about the deadlines and piles of manuscripts on their tables waiting for their attention. She believed they deserved this break after working day and night for the last few days.
Onir and Anna were entertaining the guests but Ishanvi had excused herself saying she too needed to enjoy the party that she and Anna had worked so hard for. And her idea of enjoyment was to be left alone, away from the crowd, unbothered by anyone's presence. Onir and Anna knew this perfectly well, thus they had let her go to enjoy her peace after mingling with some important guests.
After gulping a few glasses of mango pulp down, she felt the need to make a short trip to the washroom. Putting the empty glass back on the table, Ishanvi got up from her seat and walked out of the party area.
Once outside, she felt slightly better. Enjoying the calm atmosphere of the lobby, she made her way to the nearest washroom.
Lost in her thoughts, Ishanvi was walking to one of the empty stalls when she heard a shrill voice saying, "you uneducated w***e! Do you have any idea how expensive this dress is? Even if you work all your life, you still won't be able to afford this dress."
Ishanvi's mood soured and her blood boiled upon hearing such crude words. She couldn't believe someone could be so rude to another person. Deciding to find out what the fuss was all about, Ishanvi moved in the direction of commotion.
A girl —who must be in her early twenties— was standing near the elevator. She was wearing a sequin short bodycon dress which nicely displayed her slender legs while thin straps on the shoulder were holding the whole dress; her dress indeed looked expensive. Her slender arms were folded across her chest as she glared at the petite woman in front of her with a haughty expression.
"Another snobby, rich brat who thinks she owns the world," Ishanvi muttered under her breath as she observed her body language. Ishanvi had studied psychology for two semesters in college so she had learnt quite a bit about how to read body language of people.
Another woman —an employee at the hotel, probably in her mid thirties— was standing across from her, her head hanging low. She was constantly apologizing to the girl, saying it wasn't really her fault and she was just doing her job.
It didn't take long for Ishanvi to realise that the snobby brat was at fault here but she didn't want to jump to any conclusions.
"Are you blaming me? Are you trying to say it was my fault?" the girl asked the staff lady of the hotel, who kept mumbling apologies. "Do you have any idea that it won't take me a minute to get you fired from your job, you disgusting slut!"
The woman fell on her knees and folded her hands and started sobbing as she asked the girl to forgive her.
Ishanvi had enough, she couldn't let this arrogant girl continue to insult a hotel staff and threaten her job, so she decided to interrupt and inquire what the matter was.
She walked up to them and held the woman from her shoulders, helping her to get up on her feet. The woman stood up with some difficulty. Asking the lady to calm down, Ishanvi looked around and found a water dispenser nearby.
Getting a glass full of water from the dispenser, she offered the water to the sobbing staff lady who took the glass gingerly and gulped down a few sips.
"Now tell me, what exactly happened?" Ishanvi asked the staff lady, once she had calmed down a bit.
The woman glanced at the girl who was glaring at her venomously.
Ishanvi understood her worries. "Don't worry about her and tell me your name first."
"Reshma… Reshma Solanki is my name," the lady stuttered.
"And Miss Reshma, what exactly has happened here?"
"Who do you think you are? Are you the police or the owner of this hotel?" the girl, who has been quiet for a while, asked Ishanvi. "Who gave you the right to interfere or interrogate like a police officer?"
"I don't need to be a police officer or the owner to school a spoiled, rude brat like you," Ishanvi answered in a calm voice, trying to suppress her anger.
"Who are you calling a child?" the girl raged.
"You of course," Ishanvi replied in a duh voice. "And don't interrupt me again unless you want me to break your bones," Ishanvi threatened her before turning towards Reshma.
"So, Miss Reshma, please elaborate on what the fuss is all about?"
Reshma began narrating the story— how she was doing her job when the girl bumped into her and dress was ruined a bit and she started abusing her. The crux of the story was that it was entirely the girl's fault. And Ishanvi could tell the employee wasn't lying from her body language and her expressions.
Ishanvi turned towards the girl after hearing the whole story. "Do you want me to call the police for insulting a hotel staff member on duty?"
"Who are you threatening with the police? Adaa isn't afraid of anyone. Besides, my uncle is the assistant commissioner of the city so I know there's no such law," the girl, Adaa, replied arrogantly with a flip of her hair.
"Okay, there isn't such a law. But I'm pretty sure there must be some laws regarding calling a woman derogatory terms and harassing her, right?" Ishanvi c****d her eyebrows, knowing she had hit the Bulls eye. "And I'll vouch for this lady here that you've been harrassing her for a while now even when you're at fault. And a luxury place like this surely would have some rules and regulations to protect the dignity of their employees, so I'm sure they would definitely take some actions against you for insulting their employee on duty."
Adaa's facial expression turned ugly upon hearing those words. "You b***h, haven't your parents taught you not to meddle into someone else's business? Or are you as dumb as your parents?"
"Listen you," Ishanvi glared at her as she took slow, deliberate steps towards Adaa, "I haven't given an outsider the right to insult my family, no outsider has the right to say a single word against my family, especially my parents. So, one more word from you against them, and I'll bury you alive right here." Ishanvi's face and body language was radiating a dominating aura at that moment, it felt like goddess Chandi had taken over her body.
But Ishanvi wasn't bluffing. It was true that she never let anyone insult her family, not even her own family members can insult each other or otherwise they'd have to face her wrath. Ishanvi loved her family the most in the world, no one can take their place in her heart and that's why she couldn't bear to hear anyone saying bad things about them, especially when they weren't even involved like right now.
Adaa, who had been pretty fierce so far, turned a bit docile after hearing Ishanvi's warning. Her intimidating aura scared her and she knew better than to mess with an angry lioness.
Begrudgingly, Adaa muttered a 'sorry' before moving toward the elevator.
"Not so soon, sweety," Ishanvi held her elbow and dragged her backward. "Apologize properly like you'd have asked her to apologise to you if I hadn't arrived."
Adaa glared at Ishanvi before turning to Reshma. "I'm sorry, miss Reshma. It was my fault."
Reshma just nodded her head.
"Happy now?" she asked Ishanvi, wearing a distasteful expression on her face. "Or do you want me to do something else as well?"
Ishanvi suppressed her smile as she shook her head.
"I have zero interest in being a moral police. But I do have a few words for you. Being rich doesn't mean you have to be rude and mean to those who work under you. Treat them with dignity, respect them and their profession. Be kind to everyone you meet irrespective of their gender, profession etcetera and you'll experience the joy unparalleled," Ishanvi told Adaa who seemed to be in a hurry to leave. "Now, you can go. Have a nice day!"
As soon as Ishanvi said those words, Adaa disappeared from sight like a mirage in the desert.
Reshma too returned to her work and Ishanvi walked back to the washroom to relieve her bladder which was on the verge of exploding.
At some distance from them, someone had watched the whole drama unfold in front of their eyes and it wasn't clear from their expressions what they thought of it.
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"There you are!" came Onir's voice as soon as Ishanvi returned to the party from the washroom. "I have been looking for you everywhere! Where were you?" he inquired, walking up to her.
"I had gone to the washroom. Why were you looking for me though?"
"Because I want you to meet someone!" he replied, and began dragging her towards one of the canopies near the podium.
"Who?"
"You'll know," he replied mysteriously.
"Are they your 'special guests' you've been discreet about?" Ishanvi knew it could only be them otherwise Onir had left her alone for most of the part knowing she doesn't like mingling with strangers or people in general.
"Uh-huh. Now let's hurry! It's not nice to make them wait." With that, he increased their pace.
Before Ishanvi knew, she was standing under the canopy beside Onir and Anna. She saw three unfamiliar faces looking at her as she arrived there. It was a gorgeous looking middle-aged couple and a young, handsome man —probably their son— who stood between the couple.
The older man was clad in an Armani three-piece suit while the woman was wearing a beautiful organza saree by Sabyasachi.
And the young man had donned Gucci's cotton and suede tailored jacket and had paired it with matching tan trousers and a silk shirt underneath. His fine, black hair was combed over and his beard was well-groomed along the length, giving him an overall rugged yet sexy look.
"This is the lucky charm I have been talking about. Meet Ishanvi Dixit," Onir introduced her to the strangers in front of them.
Ishanvi folded her hands together to greet them and mumbled a barely audible namaskar. After all, she barely knew them and felt a bit awkward in their presence; she blamed her asocial nature for this awkward feeling.
"And Ishanvi, these are our special guests of the day— the Royal family of Punjab."
Her hands still folded together, Ishanvi's mouth fell open and her jaw almost hit the ground the moment Onir's words registered in her mind. She looked pretty comical in that position.
Ishanvi hadn't recovered from the initial shock when Onir dropped another bomb at her.
What he said next left her completely awestruck with bewilderment. "And Neer here, is my best friend," he said, pointing to the young man in the middle.
She hadn't imagined even in her wildest dreams that Onir was friends with an Indian Prince. It felt surreal to be standing with one of the last surviving royal families of India. Yet, here she was— greeting them at her office party!
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- Writer
