Chapter 2 - Never See You Again

"Welcome to Adibar," Ahankara nodded. "So what brings you here?" She asked, her eyes back on Yashvir. 

"You," Yashvir replied, taking another step in her direction. This time she remained rooted to her spot, since she did not want to seem intimidated by his supposed 'greatness'. 

"Forgive me, Yuvraj, but flirting with a Princess does not fit someone of your status," Ahankara replied, and gasps escaped the mouths of most her maids. They looked at Yashvir in fear, scared that he would be offended, but Yashvir only smiled in response. 

"There is a very real difference between being honest, and flirting, Ahankara," Yashvir replied, and Ahankara's expression hardened. 

"I would appreciate it if you'd address me as Rajkumari Ahankara. I don't think we are friends, so I don't see why you should call me by my first name," she said, holding her head up high. 

"I see," he smirked, nodding. "So, Ahankara, I think you should get back to the palace now. Wouldn't want any other strangers to walk in on you having a good time."

Ahankara clenched her jaw, and her grip on her shawl tightened. Normally, she would not be angered so easily. But there was something about this man that was aggravating her. Firstly his reputation as the arrogant Prince of Kalang had just been proved before her, and more over, he had also turned out to be misogynistic, ordering her to go back to her Palace just because she was a woman. Who was he to do that? Who gave him the right to? 

"As I mentioned earlier, no one else comes here. You are an outsider, which is why you did not know the rules. Besides, I will go back when I want to. I only take orders from the Maharaja of Adibar. No one else," Ahankara replied, trying her best not to sound extremely rude.

"I like the sound of that," Yashvir smirked, almost looking at her with pride in his eyes. Ahankara frowned at his expression, bothered by the way he was staring at her. She noticed as his eyes once again trailed down her body, and she held the shawl tighter around herself, feeling uncomfortable. 

"We will leave now. You are welcome in our Kingdom, and you can stop by the Palace if you need to see my brother. I'll inform him of your arrival. Khamma Ghani (Many Blessings)," she gave him a court nod.

"Ghani khamma," he nodded as well. "However, I feel the need to escort you back to your Palace. The sun has gone down, and I don't feel it is safe for a Princess to be roaming the streets of the Kingdom at night."

"That won't be necessary," Ahankara replied. "My people love and respect me, and they are used to this routine of mine. So you do not have to worry. Thank you for your concern."

"Very well, then. We will be back on our way to Kalang. Hope to see you again, Rajkumari," Yashvir replied, taking a good look at the Princess. He did not want to leave, but he knew he had to. He had to leave in order to come back. 

Ahankara offered no response, except for a polite smile, while in her mind, she said only one thing. 

Hope to never see you again, Yuvraj Yashvir Rathore. 

- - - - 

"The audacity of that man!" Ahankara said in disbelief, throwing her shawl on the bed. Neharika pursed her lips, and quietly picked it up, folding it neatly. "Who does he think he is? Some kind of King?"

"He will be soon. Of Kalang," Neharika frowned, shrugging. 

"Yes, but he is not one at the moment!" Ahankara scowled, pacing around the room. "No one has ever talked to me that way. No one. Not even my own brother!"

"Well," Neharika smiled sheepishly, "you wouldn't expect your brother to flirt with you..."

Ahankara stopped, and crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowed dangerously at Neharika. Neharika's eyes widened, and she bit her lip, smiling. 

"He was very arrogant Rajkumari," Neharika nodded in agreement to the Princess. "He should have watched his words. His behaviour towards you was quite questionable. 

Ahankara sighed, walking over to her bed and plopping down on it, lying down on her back. 

"He ruined my mood," she said softly, frowning. 

Neharika sat down beside her, wondering whether she should speak her mind or not. 

"Do it," Ahankara rolled her eyes. "Say what you want to."

"You'll get angry," Neharika whispered timidly. 

"Just say it. Or your stomach will hurt all night," Ahankara sighed. 

"He was quite handsome, wasn't he?" Neharika said excitedly, pursing her lips together to suppress her smile. "All the maids kept giggling on the way back. I even heard them talking about him."

Ahankara frowned, confused. She blinked, reminiscing his features. His silky, dark hair falling over his forehead, his intimidating tall height, his deep, manly voice. Even the structure of his face, prominent cheekbones and a sharp jawline, littered with a light beard. Now that she thought about him, she realized Neharika was actually right. 

"He looked okay," she waved off, not willing to admit that she found him handsome too. It was against her pride and honour to do that. 

"He was more than okay," Neharika giggled. "Did you see his eyes? They held such a sense of power, almost as if he could burn you with his gaze."

"Yeah, no," Ahankara instantly disagreed. "He had the eyes of a pervert," she said, sitting up. "Did you see how shamelessly he was staring at me? His gaze was so full of lust. He is the first man to ever stare at me in such a... Lewd manner!"

"You can't really blame him, Rajkumari. Any man who saw you would stare. You are exquisitely beautiful. I feel you have the beauty of Maa Parvati (mother Parvati, a Hindu Goddess)," Neharika said, smiling. 

Ahankara sighed, before smiling back at her. "You flatter me, Neharika."

"No, Rajkumari, I don't need to. You already love me too much," Neharika laughed, and Ahankara chuckled as well. 

"Hmm. But the Palace guards and soldiers are men too. They don't stare at me like that," Ahankara pointed out. 

"They don't have a death wish," Neharika laughed. "Who would dare to stare at the Princess of Adibar? It requires guts, Rajkumari."

"So you're saying he is brave?" Ahankara raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm saying he is bold," Neharika replied. "And probably brave too. We have been hearing the tales of his courage since a long time now, as well as of how good looking he is."

"You're forgetting the ones about his cruelty," Ahankara added, making the smile disappear from Neharika's face.

"We don't know they are true for sure," she shrugged. 

"The other rumours proved to be right," Ahankara raised her eyebrows, shrugging. 

"You mean you accept he is good looking?" Neharika teased. 

"No," Ahankara replied instantly. "I meant his arrogance."

"Oh, right," Neharika nodded, biting her lip to suppress her smile. "But Rajkumari, by the way he was looking at you, I think there was something going on in his mind."

"So you're a psychic too now, huh?" Ahankara teased. 

"No, but I can tell when someone is... Well, up to something," Neharika replied. 

"And what was he up to?" Ahankara asked, amused. 

"I have a feeling he fell in love with you," she giggled, making Ahankara's eyes widen. 

"Haye Bhagwan (Oh God)! Don't utter such nonsense Neharika!" she scolded. 

"I'm sorry, Rajkumari," Neharika laughed out loud, standing up and moving away from her before Ahankara could slap her on the head. 

"I think I've given you too much freedom. You're starting to talk a lot of rubbish without thinking," Ahankara said glaring at her. 

"I'm sorry, forgive me," Neharika apologized while holding her ear, biting back her smile. Ahankara narrowed her eyes at her, before sighing in defeat and looking away. She knew there was no point of scolding the girl. She had always treated her like a friend, and that was how Neharika was behaving. Like her best friend. Actually, like her only friend in the entire world. Palace life was indeed very lonely. 

"Draw me a bath, please. I need to clear my head. That stupid Prince ruined my day. I'll go straight to sleep after that," Ahankara said while running a hand through her long hair. 

"At once, Rajkumari," Neharika smiled, before walking away to do her work. 

Ahankara laid back down, a frown on her face. 

"Stupid, arrogant Prince," she muttered, rolling her eyes. His flirtatious words, and rude, misogynistic remarks replayed in her memory, and she once again felt her blood boil. "Who did he think he is, to order me around like that?" She whispered in disbelief. "'Go back to the Palace'," she mimicked his voice. "Huh. As if I would listen to him. As if I am supposed to answer to him. He may be a Crown Prince, but he is that of Kalang. Not of Adibar. How dare he try to command the Princess of Adibar? And that too in her own Kingdom? If my brother found out, he would probably wage a war against him for this!" She continued talking to herself. 

'I hope I never see him again,' she thought, closing her eyes now, taking deep breaths to calm her mind. 

Little did she know, that destiny, as well as Yuvraj Yashvir Rathore, both had a different plan for her. 

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