The Village Girl

Chapter Three - [Seetha]

I didn't really understand why he wanted to spend time with me. He seemed like the kind of man who had so many important things to do, yet he was here with me. We were right next to the river and I was sitting next to him, though not to close, hugging my legs under the long skirt of my sari. "Are you a soldier?" I asked, my eyes looking down at his sword.

"I am," he said.

"Are you at the Western Fort?"

"I am."

"Will you be there for long?"

"No."

I nodded, now wondering why he wanted to spend time with me though he wasn't talking much. "Is being a soldier hard?"

"It depends."

I decided to stop asking questions.

After a moment of silence, he spoke. "No more questions?"

"You don't seem that interested."

Now he chuckled. It was deep and soft and for some reason, my heart skipped a beat. "My apologies," he said. "I am not much of a talker."

"Well, tell me about yourself," I said. "I know nothing about you yet you wish to sit and talk to me."

He seemed surprised by this. He thought about my words before speaking. "My name is Aaryan, I am a warrior and... I like stories."

I laughed. "You don't seem very interesting."

"Well, tell me about yourself then," he said. "Show me that you are more interesting."

"My name is Seetha, I am the daughter of a farmer and I like to tell stories."

"Hmm," he smirked.

"And I have a cow named Maadu."

He laughed. It was a nice laugh. "Alright," he said. "You win."

We spoke a lot after that. He told me about the reason why he was here and Nandioor, the fact that he was trying to help train a hopeless brother of his and how he hoped to be a great military leader one day. He even showed me the sharp sword and explained that it was as old as the kingdom itself and apparently belonged to an ancient king.

I believed him. The sword looked glorious. It was long and sharp and had rubies all around the handle. It looked heavy too.

Then I told him about myself. How I had four brothers who I loved and two older sisters who I also loved, though both of them were now married and off in different villages with their husbands. I told him that I had only recently turned eighteen and how my parents were eager to find me a suitable husband, as they had for my sisters, though I wished that i could find someone for myself.

"Why don't you find someone for yourself?"

"I'm not interested in simple minded men."

"What is a simple minded man?"

"A man who wants a wife who can cook and clean and sew and make love to him whenever he pleases."

He nodded.

"And those are most men."

He smiled. "You are not wrong."

"If my parents find me someone, they will most likely find me a simple minded man. He may be wealthier than us, as they were with my sisters, but I cannot settle for someone who won't let me... be me. I have a voice that needs to be heard. I do not do so well with people who try to silence me."

"That is fair," he said. "But in that case you must look for someone yourself. You cannot always expect someone to come to you."

"I know," I said. "But there are not many places to look in a little village like this."

"Then come with me," he said, looking at me. "You can join my tours and we can find you a suitable husband who would let you keep your voice."

I laughed and then smiled at him, tilting my head to the side. "I like to try and solve my own problems, thank you very much."

He nodded. "Fair enough," he said before standing up.

I felt a slight disappointment fill me as I got up too.

"However," he continued. "I must add, since I was a child I never liked simple minded women. Women who care only about riches and status and beauty. And in my twenty-two years of life I have only met a handful of women who were not simple minded, just as you have only met a handful of men who were not simple minded."

I smiled at him, but watched as he pulled one of his gold bangles off of his wrist.

"And I would like to think that you are not simple minded, just as I hope you think that I am not as well," he took my hand, slipping the thick gold onto my right arm, surprising me. "So give me a month," he said, still holding my arm by the wrist. "A month to prove the intricacies of my own mind. If I fail, you can return this to me and we will part ways. I will not waste your time or mine."

I let out a breath.

"However, if you find my mind to be worth your time when a month has passed... keep the bangle and come with me. Be my bride."

My eyes widened.

His bride?

I didn't even know him.

And a month? Was that anywhere near long enough to be able to know if someone was suitable for you?

I smile formed on his face as he let go of my arm. "Seetha," he started. Hearing him say my name sent a strange feeling through me. It was a feeling of desire, though I didn't understand why. "To ease your shock and confusion... my way of life is straightforward. I trust my instinct, it has served me well," he said. "And I have a very good feeling about you."

...

I was sitting on the floor of my families sleeping room all alone. Everyone was eating together but I wasn't hungry. Instead, I sat alone in the room lit only by a candle, staring at the gold bangle which Aaryan had left me. I still couldn't believe his words. How could I? He was a handsome and fierce looking warrior who obviously had some wealth, yet I was the daughter of a farmer who may have been slightly more intelligent than some other girls.

Part of me wondered if this was all a joke... a game among soldiers.

But something about him told me that he did not like games like that.

Nothing seemed to make sense.

My mother walked into the room with a metal cup filled with milk, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was still rather young looking, though her eldest child was in his thirties, with long greying hair and a pretty, fair skinned face. I didn't look anything like my mother... if I had, I would have been beautiful. Instead, I looked more like my father, who was handsome, but had features that did not particularly suit a girl like me. What I did have of my mother's though were my very dark eyes. Only the two of us shared that, while all my brothers and sisters shared my father's light brown eyes.

Before she could greet me, though, her eyes widened at the sight of the bangle. "Where on earth did you get that?" She rushed over to me, sitting on the floor next to me and setting the cup aside. "It's beautiful."

Thoughts raced through my head. Should I tell her the truth?

I trusted my mother, I always had. She was sometimes irrational but I knew she was always looking out for me. Maybe she would help me understand what was happening... what I was feeling.

I handed it to her, letting her examine it in awe. "A man gave it to me."

"A man?" She looked at me. "Who? He must be wealthy to simply give away something like this!"

My beautiful sister-in-law Mayu, the wife of my eldest brother, walked into the room right then too. "A man gave you that?" She too rushed over, staring at the bracelet in awe.

"He's... a soldier."

"A soldier?" My mother looked surprised. "A soldier who could afford this?"

I let out a breath. "He asked me to be his bride."

Both my mother and sister-in-law stared at me, eyes even wider now.

We were silent for some time.

"How long have you known him?" My mother finally asked.

"He has been around for some time now... but I only really spoke to him for the first time today."

My sister-in-law laughed. "And what did you say to him when he asked?"

"Nothing," I said. "I was speechless."

"Seetha... speechless?" She asked. "Unbelievable."

I chuckled.

"Do you like him?" Mayu asked.

"I don't know..." I said, honestly. "He's handsome and intelligent but... I don't know him at all."

"I didn't know your brother when I married him," she said. "But look at us now, as happy as we could possibly be."

It was true. All my brothers and sisters who were married had marriages that were arranged by the elders of our family. But of them all, Mayu and my brother Shiyam seemed to be the happiest. They were in love and everyone knew it. Plus, she was already pregnant with their fourth child.

"Seetha," my mother started. She was no longer smiling as she returned the bangle to me. "Be careful."

"Why?" I asked, worriedly. Why did she think that I needed to be careful?

She hesitated. "A warrior... is not an easy man to love," she said. "They are often not home, leaving you alone to raise your children, and if they were to be killed in battle then you would lose absolutely everything."

I watched her, seeing that she was indeed, sincerely worried.

"It is not easy for a woman to marry again. Not at all. Think of Lalitha."

I hesitated.

Lalitha was an older woman in the village. She was once married to a warrior who was killed in battle. And when she returned to her home, no one would take her back... as a widowed woman is considered more of a burden to her family than an unmarried woman.

She lived here now, alone and with a broken heart... even her children had abandoned her.

I would visit her sometimes, to keep her company. Most of the villagers told me to stay clear of her, calling her bad luck, but I did not think so. I think she simply needed some love.

My mother held my hand in hers. "Darling," she started. "We have raised you to be wise and I ask that you think this through. You may feel a thrill in loving a strong and handsome warrior, but stability does not come from a man like that."

I took a breath, not knowing how to feel.

"Kairav's mother has asked once again about you considering marrying her son-"

I scowled, giving my mother a face of disgust, making my sister-in-law laugh.

"Seetha-"

"I cannot marry a man who cares more about his hair than I do, mother," I said, firmly. "And when I last spoke to him I asked him to simply consider reading a story and he told me he'd rather be 'fucking.'"

My mother put a hand over her mouth, "Seetha!"

"I am simply quoting him," I said. "I will not marry a man like that."

"But his family owns-"

"No, mother," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, in that case there are others," she said. "Just... not a warrior, alright?"

I took a deep breath and then sighed. "I will think this through."

My mother put a hand on my cheek and smiled. "I must speak to your father about this, you know that, right?"

I nodded. My mother told my father everything... and I did not mind, my father was rational.

She kissed my cheek before standing up and leaving the room.

Once she was gone, my sister-in-law looked at me. "Be honest, sister," she said. "How handsome is he?"

I chuckled. "Very handsome."

She nodded. "And how much better is he than Kairav?"

"He is the incarnate of Lord Shiva," I said, "where Kairav is the dirt he steps on."

She laughed loudly, before reaching out and holding my hand. "Your mother is right, Seetha, but the look on your face seems to tell me that you have already fallen for him."

My eyes widened. "What?" I asked. "No!"

A smile graced her pretty face, her fair skin looking red because of the candlelight. "One thing our mother seems to have forgotten to mention, however, is that most warriors are noble men," she said. "If he is true to his word then he will take care of you so long as he's alive."

I smiled, seeing the truth in her words.

"Your mother is right, but don't let the fear of death stop you from being with someone who may be the ones who the gods want you to be with," she said. "If death is what is fated for this man then that is what is meant to be. But if you are meant to be his wife then that is also what is meant to be. At the very least... you know that you have a family that will never abandon you."

"How am I supposed to know that?" I asked her. "That he is the one for me, I mean."

"You don't know," she smiled. "That is the problem with you, Seetha, you use your brain too much."

I gave her a confused look.

"You feel it," she said, reaching over and putting her hand over my chest. "Right in there. You just feel it."

I sighed. "That's not very helpful."

Mayu giggled before helping me put the bangle back onto my wrist. "You will figure it out," she said. "That's the thing about smart girls like you... you figure things out."

"A month," I said. "He gave me a month to make my decision."

"Well good," my sister-in-law said, getting up and putting a hand on her inflated belly. "He respects your choices... that's already a good sign." She then messed my hair up with her hand, something she had learned from my brother. "You will be fine, love."