Chapter 1 Suman #2
I could hear swords clashing, and then I noticed an even louder noise as a crowd rushed toward us. Around fifty men circled him, assaulting him from every direction. I looked at my late husband’s father, who gripped my hand and started pulling me away.
“Leave me!” I yelled. His biting hold scraped my wrist as he dragged me through the mud, dirtying my white clothes.
“Kunwar-sa,” I yelped.
He killed people mercilessly, one by one, his clothes stained with his own blood and theirs.
A coppery taste lingered on my tongue, seeing so much bloodshed. He plunged his sword into another person’s stomach and yelled. “Leave her alone, I said.” He rushed toward me and held my hand.
I was being pulled from both sides: the deceased’s father and Kunwar-sa.
“Let go of her hand. She must die with him. Don’t bring the wrath of the gods upon yourself. Leave her,” the father yelled at him; however, Kunwar-sa punched him hard, knocking him to the ground, making him cry out in pain.
Kunwar-sa pulled me closer, his steel-strong arm wrapping around my waist as he moved forward with his sword.
“This is wrong. She wants to live; let her live. She wasn’t a burden to him.
She is on her own and doesn’t deserve to be killed like that.
” He argued, and I cried, burying my face in his chest and collapsing to my knees in despair.
He also sank to his knees and tightened his grip around me.
“She is a widow. There’s no life for her; no husband means no support and nothing left. She needs to give up on her life.”
“Yes, she needs to be tied to that pyre. You are sinning,”
"Leave her, or we will kill you. This is our ritual."
"Leave her alone,"
I heard distinct voices of people yelling at Kunwar-sa.
He inhaled deeply. “She is our responsibility. Suryagarh will take care of her. She belongs there; she works there, so you don’t need to worry about her. Consider her dead already, and let her…live,”
“No! We can’t do this and make our gods unhappy. His soul will never rest in peace; she needs to die along with him,” the people argued.
Frustration was visible on his face. “You’re all sick. She is not an animal but a human being, a woman. If she doesn’t want to die with him, don’t force her. She wants to live,” he yelled.
I clenched my fist tightly against his chest. His heartbeat poured into my ears, and a sweat bead crawled down his jaw and fell onto my neck. He placed his hand on my head.
“I won’t let you kill her in front of me,” his voice was firm.
The father asked. "Who the hell is she to you? She is just a maid in Suryagarh. Why the hell are you even trying to protect her?"
He breathed shakily, “She means nothing to me, but she is still a human, and if she wants to live, she… will.”
Another man said, “She cannot live like that. There is no life for a widow in our tribe; she needs to lie on that pyre.”
“She won’t, and I’ll make sure of it.”
“What the hell can you even do? Look at us and look at you. You can’t protect her alone,” the man argued.
“I’m the Prince of Suryagarh, and you know what our army can do,” He raised his voice.
“How easy it is for you to threaten us because we follow our customs,” one argued. “You can gladly kill us, and we will happily get killed while protecting the happiness of our gods. She needs to be served by the God of Death along with her husband, or neither of them will ever find peace.”
“No one will touch her. Either I’ll kill you all, or you’ll let me take her from here with no hassle,” he declared.
Suddenly, a soldier whispers in his ear, “It doesn’t work that way, Prince.
If you want to protect her from them, she either needs to die or get married to someone else.
I know this tribe; even if you take her away, they will keep searching for her, and one day, they’ll kill her because they believe her deceased husband will never find peace without her death. ”
I trembled, breaking apart, and he looked at me with worry on his face. For a moment, I felt lost, staring into his eyes.
“Who will marry her this instant?” he asked, looking away at the soldier.
“You can ask them if they want to marry her.” The soldier replied.
My body was trembling.
“She will marry someone,” Kunwar-sa announced.
I shut my eyes tight. No, I don’t want to. I want to go home.
"Who?" they asked in unison.
"Anyone who wants to marry her," he suggested.
One of them chuckled. “Who will marry such a bad omen, knowing he will die eventually?”
Kunwar-sa patted my head as I cried uncontrollably in his arms and argued, “We all will die, eventually. How is she a bad omen? It’s not her fault that her husband died; she wasn’t even with him all this time.”
"Why don’t you marry her, then?"
A strong shiver ran down my spine, and I immediately opened my eyes.
“No!” I interrupted. “He cannot marry me.” He gently placed his palm over my mouth, pressing my face into his chest. My lashes forced closed. I could feel our hearts beating loudly.
"I will, but let us go," he offered. I shivered with fear.
This cannot happen, not at all.
A few objected, “Marry her now. We don’t trust you. Or leave her here; let us finish our ritual.”
I looked at him, snivelling. The bloody sword was still in his hand. Rage filled his eyes as he turned to look at me. I hid my face, unable to meet his gaze. I knew nothing.
Let me die. Don’t do this.
“You should not do this. Your bride will not like it. Please,” I protested, crying.
“I will,” he decided, and I was stunned, hearing the sizzling sound of him piercing his thumb with his sword.
I nuzzled my face even more into him and shook my head terribly.
“No, no, you are a prince, and I’m just a maid. You cannot do this,” I argued, but he clamped my nape tightly and made me look into his eyes.
Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably as I felt his thumb touch my forehead, filling the parting of my hair with his thick, warm blood.
I burst into tears and immediately tried to wipe his blood off, but he grasped my wrist and pulled me closer.
I sobbed.
“She is mine now!” he shouted. “Touch her, and you all will burn alive on your pyres!”
As he wrapped his hand around me, I was reminded of when he accidentally threw colour at me during Holi3. The thought of his family finding out paralysed me.
What just happened?
He picked me up and stood tall. “She is dead to you all now. Never try to look for her,” he stated, stepping back and mounting me onto his horse.
He quickly settled behind me, and I turned to see the soldiers following him as we rode off.
The din of the crowd diminished as the horse galloped faster.
I looked at my white clothes stained with his blood and his finger adorned with the engagement ring. It was only six months until his wedding, and I had ruined everything for him.
A strange tension lurked between us, as I didn’t know where he was taking me.
As his chest kept bumping my back as we bounced on the horse, I tried to maintain distance,
But he tugged the horse’s reins with one hand and wrapped his other hand around me to keep me from falling.
I sat in silence, stunned.
Once we reached a spot far from the horror, he dismounted and helped me down. He glanced away momentarily, checking if anyone was following.
I wiped the tears off my cheeks and looked at a small river winding through the woods. The sun was setting, casting an orange and red glow across the sky.
“Come with me,” he ordered, walking into the forest while holding his horse’s reins, leading him along.
My feet froze. Being alone with a prince felt too heavy on my shoulders, especially since he was to be married in six months. I couldn’t tarnish his image. My gaze scanned the surroundings, considering all the possibilities I might face alone with him.
But I didn’t have any choice. Clenching my trembling fingers, I followed him quietly. The scent of mud was strong after the rain. The trees were a different shade of green, reminding me of his eyes.
I shook my head.
“Suno,”
“Listen!” he called out, and I looked at him. He stood a few steps from the river, and I stopped a foot from him. “You should clean yourself. No one can know about this or what happened today,” he exclaimed, and I understood.
“Ji,”
“I’ll get you clothes. Just wait here for me,” he added, striding away. I grabbed his wrist and looked at him with tear-filled eyes, and shook my head. He held my wrist back, pulling his hand away. “It’s okay; nothing will happen. Just stay here,”
My voice cracked as I tried to speak through cries, “No, please, don’t leave me alone.”
He inhaled deeply. “Fine, I’m here,”
I strolled towards the river. The sound of running water weakened my knees as I approached closer. At that moment, everything seemed capable of killing me. Kneeling, I leaned forward to cup the water in my hands and noticed the dried trail of blood in the partition of my hair. I froze.
I’m his wife now.
No! He did that only to protect me. Circumstances demanded it.
I closed my eyes and splashed water onto my face. Once, twice, thrice, until the last drop of his blood was rinsed off, along with my hands and feet. Afterwards, I returned to the spot where he had been waiting for me, and suddenly, he grabbed my wrist.
My eyes widened with shock.
“Come with me,” he said, holding me by my wrist in his grip. The touch felt uneasy. However, my soul didn’t seem to mind. I knew he was protecting me, so it shouldn’t feel wrong.
“How did you find out about me?” I questioned hesitantly. “I mean, why did you come here?” as we walked through the mazes of the trees. The dusk was darkening.