Chapter 12
She left the chamber, and I looked at the attendant, waiting for her to explain why she had arrived.
“Kunwar-sa,” she said slowly, causing me to furrow my brows.
“Yes?” I asked.
She gulped, glancing at me before speaking in a low voice, “Princess Rashmika wants to meet you.”
Acknowledging her words, I nodded and replied, “Alright, I need to freshen up. Please call her over for lunch.”
She nodded and licked her lips slightly, and I rolled my eyes, unable to believe what was happening in my life.
I ignored her and tried to walk toward the bathroom, but she collapsed before me.
My eyes widened in shock as she cried out, looking at me, yet I continued to walk into the bathroom, ignoring her.
Seriously?
After bathing and getting ready in a white kurta and dhoti, I went to my guest chamber, waiting for lunch. After some time, I heard the announcement of Rashmika’s arrival and stood to welcome her.
I saw her enter with a few of her attendants, all dressed in pink with dupattas on their heads.
“Greetings, Prince Agastya,” she said warmly.
“Welcome to Suryagarh,” I walked forward and took a seat across from her on the couch.
“How’s everything? Was your journey comfortable?” I asked, and she smiled, nodding.
“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?” she said, gesturing for her attendant to place a plate on the table. “This is for you,” she said.
I furrowed my brows slightly. “What is it?”
She let out a small giggle. “Something that you will enjoy,”
I blinked before lifting the cloth off the plate. My brows creased in confusion as I looked at the long, black object. It seemed to be made of iron, with a long tube about two feet long attached to a thick handle.
“What is this?” I asked, holding it in my hand. It was heavier than any regular sword and spear.
“It’s called a gun,” she said with a smile, and I didn’t know, but suddenly a suspicious thought crossed my mind.
“What does this do?” I asked, my voice filled with curiosity.
“It kills,”
After a brief silence, I rose.
“How?” I inquired.
She turned to look behind, and I glanced at the head commander, stepping forward. He took the gun from me and aimed it at a tree. I saw him pull a handle, and a blast occurred, causing him to step back. The next thing I noticed was an apple falling from the tree.
“Oh,” I said, impressed, but I was astonished. “What is this? What caused the blast?” I asked, intrigued.
The head commander forced a smile.
“It is gunpowder.”
And I tried to behave incognito. “Oh, what is that? I didn’t know about it.”
I said, taking the gun from his hand and aiming at another apple, faking a wide, impressed, and radiant smile.
“Mehrangarh imports this. We buy this powder from Songarh and use it in these guns. Our army is going to use it too. What do you think about it?” he said, and I didn’t understand why, suddenly, just a day after the brothel incident, he was telling me about gunpowder.
That only meant one thing. Either he was right or just covering up for something.
“Impressive! I love it, Rashmika. Thank you so much,” I said, smiling at her, and she smiled back.
“Yes, I know you’d love it,” she said. I pulled its handle, and a strong thunder ran through my body, making me shake and fumble.
“Oh my goodness, it’s powerful,” I said, attempting to act normal, but inside I was freaking out.
I knew this ruthless commander was up to something and had grown suspicious of me. There was no way he would come with Rashmika. Who would send a commander with the princess?
Well, Eklavya went too. However, we were three brothers and could direct an army, while Mehrangarh could not.
And suddenly, I remembered.
“Where’s Eklavya?” I asked, glancing at Rashmika as her smile faltered.
“He came with us, too,” she said slowly, and I furrowed my brows.
“Oh, so my princess has protection from two commanders,” I said, returning to my seat.
She laughed softly, then looked at her commander and said, “You can go.”
He walked away, and the attendants began serving us.
I spent the afternoon with her, having lunch and chatting for a while, trying hard not to give off any hints.
I didn’t know if Rashmika was na?ve or acting like one. The commander came here to teach me how to use the gun, leading me to believe they were using gunpowder for it, as if they were proposing a business deal.
Smart.
Making money from both sides.
I turned to Rashmika and asked, “Did you hear a rumour going around that scary noises come from the other side of the mountains?”
Her brows thinned in a line as she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so,” she said. “I mean, we’re close to the mountains. If anything came from the other side, we’d be the ones to know first,” she said.
“That’s true,” I replied, standing up from the couch. “You should rest now because I need to meet my brothers and take care of the feast preparations.”
She nodded and left. I immediately returned to my bedroom and sat on the couch.
I needed to find out what that big thing was. There was no way that gun could’ve killed our army since they couldn’t import it in large numbers without attracting attention, and they were no saints who would show me the gun before importing it.
That only meant these guns were a cover-up; their gunpowder had more uses. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
If a three-foot gun could shoot gunpowder to kill one person, then there could be a big gun that could shoot gunpowder in enormous quantities, which could kill many people at once.
The fact that coastal fishermen belonged to various kingdoms prevented its importation; others must have already known this if we hadn’t.
I felt restless and went to meet Eklavya. After talking to him, I realised he didn’t know about it, but he told me that frequent meetings were happening at the back of the palace, where they stored war weapons.
That meant I had to go to their weapon storage room once. I suspected Rashmika, too.
After meeting him, I met Ranvijay Bhai-sa to look after the preparations.
I didn’t meet her the entire afternoon; I was too stuck on that gun thing.
I couldn’t sleep that night; only two days remained until the grand feast. An enormous crowd of guests had arrived for the princess’s naming ceremony. I worked all day alongside them, taking care of the guests; a few meetings took place, and by the end of the day, I was exhausted.
“Shall we bring your dinner, Kunwar-sa?” the attendant asked as I entered my chamber late at night. I shook my head lazily, took off my kurta, and lay on the bed.
"No, not hungry,"
My head was pounding from lack of sleep, and I sensed that something was about to happen. I was drained, but the scenario kept playing in my mind.
And I couldn’t leave during the celebration.
I pressed my hand against my head to ease the throbbing pain when a sweet voice entered my ear.
"Kunwar-sa, dinner,"
I inhaled deeply, closed my eyes, and stretched my hand to her.
She approached me quietly.
“Someone will see,” she said, looking at the open curtains of the entrance. I took her hand to help her sit on the bed, then stood up.
I went to draw the curtains of the bed and windows, then lay back on my chest, resting my head in her lap.
She hesitated slightly at the sudden touch, but gave in after a few moments. Her embrace felt so good. She was less chaotic, sorted, mature, and understanding. She was also caring and simple.
I had always disliked girls with big egos and unnecessary attitudes. However, she was calm and composed. I wrapped one arm around her while letting my other arm fall low, reaching the floor.
The silence felt like heaven after too much noise.
“Are you okay?” she asked slowly.
I shook my head. “My head hurts.”
I could feel her thighs beneath my face. She felt comfortingly warm, but I sensed she found me cold, unable to get cosy around me.
“Should I massage your head?” she asked slowly, pressing her thighs together.
“If you want,” I muttered, and she gently slipped her fingers into my hair.
As my wrist brushed against her feet, I felt her stiffen slightly. A faint smile crossed my face as I intently took my palm closer to her feet. When my fingers contacted her toes, she curled them, attempting to pull them away without drawing my attention.
However, to me, it felt good.
I gently touched her toes, and her fingers stopped on my head. She also wasn’t wearing her toe rings.
As I touched the tips of her toes once, then again, from the bigger to the smaller one, she slowly gave in.
I could sense the tension and tightness in her body. Her breathing was noticeably uneven.
“Kunwar Agastya,” she muttered in a slow voice, and I hummed lazily.
“Ah… your hand,” she muttered, but I brought my hand closer to her feet, touching the sole, tickling.
She curled and crossed her feet, and a soft chuckle escaped my lips.
But slowly, she gave in, and I kept feathering her feet while she massaged my head. Her feet were half the size of my palm, which I discovered when I cupped them. The soft tickles made her giggle.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, and I nodded, bringing my finger closer to her ankle. My thumb grazed the bone, and I realised she wasn’t wearing anklets either. I wondered how she would look once she dressed up.
She was beautiful. Her eyes were deep and lovely, and her smile could brighten anyone’s mood. But I felt terrible that she rarely smiled. I had hardly seen her smile in four years, but I could bet now she was smiling under my touch.
I took a deep breath and brought my hand closer to her calf, softly brushing my fingertips against her skin.
She narrowed her thighs. I could feel her body responding to my touch.
“How was your day?” I asked slowly.
“As always,” she replied breathlessly, as if caught between a moan and a whine.
“Like dreaming about me,” I murmured, cupping her to feel its thickness.
“Um… no, I don’t,” she muttered as I lowered my hand to her toes, intertwining my fingers. She immediately grabbed my bicep and pressed my fingers with her toes. A smile curved my lips.
My dinner is ready to be eaten.
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