A night without end

Prathama .. and her twin..

It was not until Prathama was thirteen that she heard the song of the forest, felt the romance of the winds, the music of the bird songs and saw the romance of the cursed couple. She knew the places they visited, the horses they rode, the songs they sung.. at dusk. The princess Rajkumari had never met her mother and he had never met his parents. 

He was truly a son of the desert and she was ready to follow him through. They did not know a reason of any conflict to arise once they were ready to confess their love to her elders. In his family he was the eldest as per position. His brothers were from his uncle, his mother's brother. His uncle and his wife..aunt to him, had shifted their residence to come and raise the orphaned child at birth when his mother passed away from medical complications that the tribe's doctor could not fix. Their children , all five of them were brothers and sisters to the Nomad King. In Prathama's mind she heard his name, Kaiser.

She picked up paints and drew the picture of the castle that was actually a fortress .. the left side that no one visited even then as it was too remote and steep, where Rajkumari and Kaiser rode to the empty dessert. Wooing Rajkumari had not been difficult as both were stuck by each other's look . It was later when they met that they felt a bond as deep as time where looks ceased to matter. Rajkumari had long wavy hair that she tied in intricate buns and covered with a jewelled lace. When she met Kaiser she left it in a braid to flow free. They touched but briefly as even a finger to finger touch seemed to convey a depth of emotions deeper than words. Kaiser encouraged Rajkumari to sing. He taught her desert songs, some rough , some strong. Rajkumari who knew the softer ballads of the land, slowly let her voice ran free. When it did it called to all the desert creatures big and small and Kaiser laughed and said this will have our desert populated with little offsprings of all kind till me marry and have ours. 

They never thought they won't marry, have children and have a life of togetherness.. Their secrecy was in the blush of a love that had taken both of them by surprise and they wanted to hold on to the preCious feeling for a little long before letting formalities roll on.their confidence in acceptance to be found of their love played on and on in Prathama's mind. She asked the caretaker elder, " if you could have freed the King, what would have happened ?" 

The caretaker, who was now referred to as Malik shook his head and said," As kids me and my brothers tried entering the west side of the old fortress. It was said that the walls there , were brittle enough to allow us in. It was not .. it was a death trap. My brother almost lost his limbs. He regained his motion but still has a limp from being caught under a fall of stone. "

"But what would have happened ?" She insisted .. 

" I think we would have died .. I would have died as I freed the King to die. And it would have been my honour to die and bow to the truest King that ever lived. " 

"But he cursed us .."

"No he never cursed us. He cared for common people. He protected both his tribe and our kingdom from other looting tribe's. Our King was .. senseless . By removing him the Nomad King, he made himself vulnerable to forces he knew nothing of. The curse is of the mother.. Rajkumari's mother. She cursed all the houses that stayed closed while her daughter bled to death, not even a hand, a soft word, a glass of water appeared..they all will suffer when their first born daughters will never speak to ask for anything. She cursed the family in the castles on the hills to live on miserably, in penace and fear,losing all glory of their years. She cursed the nomadic tribe to cease to exist for they had betrayed their leader for land and a rooted existence. I hear that the roads still echo her curses."

"How will it lift? The curse.." 

"I just know my Princess that we have to free the prisoner in the dungeon to die.. we have to tell him that the Princess has died to. May be then in a world unknown they will meet and be together and feel it in their hearts to forgive us. May be they will be reborn to their parents and be together. But only by being together will the curse be lifted , for even in the last breath the only request the Princess had was to be held in the arms of the Rebel King Kaiser. It is a curse of a mother into the storm of time.. the sand storm of time. I understand you were born on such a night and hence a part of your memories carry the burden. "

"What can I do ?" 

"Nothing my Princess! You be happy. It is our role to.. protect the children. I will see that the King is freed."

The look on Malik's face was so grim that She had gasped and run away. It took her six months to return. Malik had passed away by then and there was no one left to answer her queries. His old mother requested Prathama to not ask any question about the old palace.. " it was a palace a castle a fortress.. but in actuality it is a living doom that ate my son. We should just ignore and let the forest claim the place and then someday all will be well." Nobody told her how or when he died as if there was a promise given to not say anything. 

The forests continued to sing but life became ordinary for Rajkumari. She tried grieving for him in ways known  to her. She wanted to know if Malik went to the dungeon but how ? Did he die there and where was his brothers ? But her own mother kept her busy, activities, Games, lessons with her twin filled her days. Then one day the western horizon darkened threatening all that there will be a storm. Prathama's mother locked the entire family inside of the house asking them to go to sleep. Prathama and her twin started playing a mock sword fight when the sword flew and fell on a iron half pillar of no use.. The pillar turned as if in reaction, opening a slight c***k in the walls. Her brother tried to open the c***k and the pillar but it was not movable. Prathama looked at the pillar and understood that in had been painted over with a thick , strong coating. She picked the sword and tried hitting the place where it hit first and almost gave up,when her twin asked her to move aside and at the same place and distance as before, he swung his sword and let it fly. The sword hit the pillar with a clang and she moved as did the walls, in a protesting c***k. 

The path inside looked long, dark cob webbed.. Pratham stopped his twin and crawled in.. As the storm raged.. the two fourteen year olds had found a way to the old palace through a corridor that went straight to the abandoned walls.