Was & Will

In The Palace

They were in the palace now. In a luxurious room. A huge king-sized bed was in the centre. Decorated with a silky red bedsheet and ivory cushions, it looked very comfortable. The bed was supported on four wooden posts. Each with intricate carvings. They continued 4 feet above the bed surface. A canopy of netted white cloth was secured over these posts, adding to the coziness. The floor beneath was covered with precious rugs over the white marble flooring. The walls were of stone masonry. An arched door opened to a balcony. They were at a height. Many potted plants arranged along the railing of the balcony enhanced the view of the city outside. The entire room looked like a stolen piece from a fairy tale.

Many servants were just standing outside the room ready to appear within no time to serve them. And yet these two were least interested in all those riches.

They had different questions to be answered. Both were having a heavy time accepting the situation. Both of them had time traveled into an unknown era. They had no clue where exactly in history they were. Or maybe in the future. Or some other reality. Maybe it's not time travel but travel through the multiverse. God knows. They both were silent. Digesting the situation.

"So it's not just me. We both time traveled, right?." She said with a mild smile. An attempt to lighten up the mood.

He glared at her, "I don't understand what's happening. I am a king. I have so many responsibilities, so many issues to act upon and what am I doing? wasting my time with a kid."

"Excuse me!” she looked offended. “I know you are a king and might have bigger responsibilities. But I too have a life which I don't at all wish to waste with some rude and arrogant king." She argued.

"And what is it?" He asked arrogantly.

"School and stuff…"

"See, this is what I was talking about, kids."

"What the hell? How old are you to call me a kid?"

He folded his hands. walked a few steps closer to her. He stood right in front of her. With a smirk he said, "Since my birth the earth has completed fifty revolutions around the sun."

"Fifty years!" She blankly stared at him.

"More than double your age." He smiled.

"So?" She moved past him, surely shocked but didn't want to show. She muttered under her breath, "That's why you act like my grandfather."

"What did you say?" He again moved to face her.

She looked at him. You don't look fifty, she thought. His skin was young, nothing more than a 20-year-old. His face looked tender. Pinkish lips over a pale fair face. He is handsome but strangely has no trace of being a worrier, as he claims to be. At least he doesn't resemble the karna of my imagination. He might be lying. He can't be fifty. With all these thoughts running in her mind, she looked into his eyes. Trying to search for the answers. His eyes were different. Light blue, inviting and deep. Something hidden in them. Something that wants to be discovered. But he isnt allowing it to be seen. They say eyes are the way to the soul. Is this your soul? It's beautiful and mysterious.

He was also looking into her eyes. His expression was soft and tender. He further decreased the distance between them. Her heartbeat increased. She didn't know how and why, but there was a known comfort in the closeness. She didn't move back. She felt a strong pull and hence allowed the moment to take over.

Suddenly his expression changed. He looked past her. Panic in his eyes. He shouted. "This is impossible."

This broke her chain of thoughts. She shook her head and followed his gaze.

He was looking into a huge mirror behind her. He ran towards the mirror. He analyzed his reflection again and again. Confused, Nisha came to him and asked, "what's wrong?"

"Everything."

"What?"

"Look at it." He pointed at his reflection in the mirror. "This is not how I look."

"What are you saying?" She looked at him for a moment, recalling her previous thoughts. She then pushed him aside and looked at her own reflection and she kept staring.

Her complexion was lighter. Eyes perfectly defined. Iris had changed its colour to blue. Lips were soft. Her face was free of any marks. She looked beautiful. Her eyes moved down to admire her clothes. The dress looked amazing on her. Like it was made just for her. The clothes were of high quality. The stitching was precise. The gown perfectly fitted her curves. Enhancing the beauty of her body

"This is not my body." She said with awe, still admiring her reflection. She had never experienced being in such a beautiful body. She looked like a real princess. Picture perfect. Attractive. Desirable. Irresistible.

"Only and only if I was this beautiful," She whispered. Her face reflected pain. She thought, "he would never have left."

Karna was continuously muttering, "This time travel thing is getting even crazier. I have to find some way to go back." She didn't pay any attention to his words. She was lost in her own world. Her body seemed numb. Her mind was somewhere else.

Then a soldier entered their room with a message that the mother queen wished to see Prince William.