Chapter 2

The next morning, everyone was up and the haveli was in chaos because Inaayat used to wake up early and do the chores which she assigned for but today when everyone woke up they didn't see their works done. Everyone started to call for Inaayat in their angry and loud voices scaring the timid girl who was trying to complete her morning routine fast.

After last night when she fell into unconsciousness, she woke up late and before she could even understand she knew she was late. She started doing her morning routine fast and stitched the pieces of her inner back not having any other option. She wore another fresh pair of clothes above them which were also stitched from many places and were loose at her small body.

Covering herself with her dupatta(scarf) she started limping to the other side of the haveli where the Thakurs live. She immediately entered the main hall where all the servants were standing in a line getting scold but the Bade Thakur, the head of the family.

Before she could even a register a slap was delivering to her cheek harshly that she fell down on the floor. Her hand instinctively palmed her reddened cheek and she looked up with her honey brown fearful orbs. Thakurain, the wife of Bade Thakur was glaring at her with so much rage that she wanted the earth to swallow her.

The Thakurain, grabbed her by her arm and yanked up from the floor harshly. She couldn't even able to balance herself at her feet but the Thakurain already started dragging her with herself. She saw Dadi, mother of the Bade Thakur and the elder of the family was sitting at the couch with Urvashi, the daughter of The Thakur and Thakurain.

"Kaha so rahi thi itni der tak?! Ye kaam kaun tera baap aa ke karega?" Thakurain asked her in her angry voice and pushed her in front of Dadi and Urvashi.

(Translation: Where were you sleeping for so long? Who will do this work, your father?)

Inaayat raised her fearful gaze and saw the dust at the table in the centre of the couch. She slowly sat up on the floor and looked at the cleaning cloth was laying there also. Without wasting any time she picked the cloth up and started cleaning the table silently. She didn't have much energy left in her after last night but she didn't have any way to escape from the scene.

"Arre kyun gussa kar rahi hai bechari par, Sudha?" Dadi said to the Thakurain which made her confused that why her mother in law was stopping her from scolding her because she never did that before.

(Translation: Hey, why are you getting angry at the poor girl, Sudha?)

"Bechari thak gayi hogi, raat ko palang tod mehnat jo ki hai Abhinendra ke saath." Dadi said in a taunting way but it didn't affect Inaayat or more like she pretended to not to be affected.

(Translation: Poor girl must be tired from all the hard work she did last night with Abhiendra.)

Since her childhood she hears taunting and hurtful words from everyone in the haveli, except one. She is not still habitual to hearing all this but she couldn't even do anything about this. She just have to silently bear all this and keep taking their orders and fulfill their demands, only that's for what she live there more like caged there.

"Accha aisa kya? Mujhe to laga apne sapno ke rajkumar ke sapne dekh rahi hogi." Urvashi said and giggled at her own words which made Thakurain to chuckle deeply.

(Translation: Well, is that so? I thought she might be dreaming about the prince of her dreams.)

"Rajkumar tum jaisi rajkumariyo ke liye aate hain beta inn jaisi naukraniyon ke liye nahi jo khud doosron ke tudkon par palti hain." Thakurain said slightly nudging Inaayat's back with her knee.

(Translation: Princes come for princesses like you, dear. Not for maids like these who herself lives on the crumbs of others.)

Inaayat whimpered lowly feeling pain in her injured back but kept doing her work silently. Thakurain grabbed her by her arm again and pulled her a little up while herself slightly bent down coming to her ear level.

"Tujhe to koi rajkumar humse bachane se raha. Par agar zyada khayali pulaav pakaye to Abhinendra se keh kar teri tange tudwa doongi. Samjhi?!" Thakurain threatened her and pushed her back at the floor again.

(Translation: No prince can save you from us and if you daydream too much then I will ask Abhinendra to break your legs, understood?)

Fear coursed inside her veins only even after hearing Abhinendra's name so she immediately shook her head in yes and started moving her hands more fastly so that she could escape from there as soon as possible. Thakurain went away from there meanwhile the table was also cleaned.

Inaayat was about to get up but Dadi placed her feet at the coffee table halting her. She kept looking at Dadi's feet not knowing what to do but didn't dare to raise her eyes.

"Ab dekhti hi rahegi kya? Chal mere pair daba!" Dadi ordered her and Urvashi nudged her a little. She immediately sat back and started messaging Dadi's feet softly.

(Translation: Now will you just keep watching? Come and massage my feet?)

"Aayi badi rajkumar ke sapne dekhne. Haveli ke bahar ki duniya to dekhi nahi aur chali hai rajkumar ke sapne dekhne." Dadi scoffed looking at Inaayat which made Urvashi to smirk in satisfaction.

(Translation: Dared to dream of a prince! She didn't even see the world outside of the mansion and dared to dream of a prince.)

"Waise Dadi, mujhe to lagta hai ise to ye bhi nahi pata hoga ki Rajkumar kon hote hain. Isne thodi naa Rajkumaron ki kahaniyan suni hai bachpan mein." Urvashi said mocking Inaayat.

(Translation: Well, Grandma, I think so she might not even know who a prince is?)

Urvashi and Inaayat are of same age. When they three years old Dadi used to narrate them different types of fictional stories about prince and princesses and how prince saves the poor girl from her cruel family as always but Inaayat never heard of them because they used to discard her from this side of haveli after the work gets completed.

Inaayat didn't pay much attention to their conversation because she was never the one to eavesdrop. She was silently concentrating on her own work but Urvashi was intentionally going deeper into the topic to earn some reaction out of her because she likes to bully her.

Reason: First she used to like Abhinendra since the starting of her teenage but when she got to know that Abhinendra want Inaayat she started hating and bullying her, every chance she gets. She leaves no chance to humiliate her in front of everyone but Inaayat being Inaayat doesn't even understand that she is humiliating her.

"Haan to isme kya hua mai abhi bata deti hoon? Aye ladki! Sunegi kya kahani?" Dadi asked Inaayat earning her attention this time.

(Translation: So what happened in this, I will tell you now. Hey girl! Will you listen a story?)

She knew that she was asking her intentionally because even if she didn't want to hear, she was at no place to deny her. So, with heavy heart she nodded her head in approval. Urvashi smirked looking at Dadi who also understood her unsaid words.

"Dadi ap ek kaam karo, Cindrella wali kahani suna do bechari ko." Urvashi said with fake sympathy towards Inaayat.

(Translation: Grandma, do one thing for her, tell the story of Cinderella to the poor girl.)

"Accha thik hai. To ek ladki thi jiska naam tha Cindrella........ aur phir wo apne rajkumar ke saath khushi khushi rehne lagi." Dadi started and narrated the very common story among the children to Innayat in one go who was also not less than a child from her mind.

(Translation: Well okay. So there was a girl named Cinderella........ and then she lived happily ever after with her prince.)

She was oblivious from many things just like a little kid but there was no one to clear her confusions, there was no one who respect her curiousness and handle her patiently. She never stepped out of the haveli since she remembers, she never used a phone and know how to do so, she never watched T.V. because whenever she tried to watch sneakily she always got caught and punished.

She doesn't know how outside world is, no one knows about her outside the haveli like she doesn't even exist. She doesn't know how to use modern and electronic weapons because she was never allowed to touch them, she doesn't know how to read and right and what are it's importance. She knows no one in this world except the people of haveli, Thakur Abhinendra and his men who sometimes visits there.

She doesn't know how to dream, what to think, what to do with her future because she has always been caged and restricted from everything. She doesn't know showing emotion except fear and crying because this is what she was doing since her childhood.

There was nothing happened in her life ever that could make her happy or smile except one person from whom she was too busy to scared that before could understand they was not a threat, they were gone from her life. She was just being cautious because she couldn't believe anyone but she didn't regret it because she didn't know how to do so. She was just blank, numb and confused after their separation from her.

When dadi finished the story there was a different kind of shine in Inaayat's honey brown eyes for a moment because all the while she was imagining herself in the story. The story was fully similar to her life but suddenly the glint disappeared from her eyes after realizing that no prince will come to take her out of this hell.

"Arre dadi ye kahani thodi si Inaayat se match nahi kar rahi?" Urvashi asked intentionally bringing Inaayat out of her thoughts. She again focused on massaging dadi's feet.

(Translation: Hey Grandma, isn't this story matching a little bit with Inaayat?)

"Wo kaise?" Dadi asked putting her finger at her chin like in giving her words a thought.

(Translation: How so?)

"Arre dekho naa Inaayat bhi apni haveli me kaam karti hai, mere purane kapde sil-sil kar pehenti hai aur sochti hogi hum log kitna zulm karte hain iss bechari par." Urvashi said pouting sadly which was obviously fake.

(Translation: Look, Inaayat also works in our mansion, she wears my old clothes after stitching them and must be thinking how much oppression we people do to this poor girl.)

"Accha tu hamare baare me aisa sochti hai?" Dadi shoot her questions towards Inaayat who vigorously shook her head in denial.

(Translation: So, is that what you think about us?)

"Humne to tujhe bachpan se paala hai ehsan faramosh, nikal jaa meri nazron ke samne se!" Dadi said kicking her away which made her scared and she immediately stood up from the floor.

(Translation: We have raised you since childhood, ungrateful girl, get out of my sight!)

"J-ji w-wo mai---" she tried to explain herself even after knowing she will not believe her but Dadi cut her off harshly saying.

(Translation: I-Its j-just I---)

"Dafa ho jaa yaha se manhoos ladki." her voice was loud which made her flinch and she immediately limped away from there not wanting to create more trouble for herself.

(Translation: Get away from here you wretched girl.)

She slowly entered inside the kitchen and saw some maids whispering into each other's ear after watching her. She avoided everyone's gaze and started to wash the dishes waiting for her already. Abhinendra and the Thakurs are not enough to make her life hell that the maids work in the haveli also bullies her because she is the youngest of all of them.

They make her do extra work and sometimes they give her their own work to do because they know she can't complain to anyone and even if she does no one will believe her in fact she will be the one to suffer so they take it as their golden opportunity and make her work whatever they want just like washing the dishes which was some other maid's work.

"Sun ye bartano ke baad zara ye kapde istri kar diyo. Mujhe kuch aur zaroori kaam karna hai." a maid came and ordered her to which she just silently nodded and again focused on washing the dishes.

(Translation: Listen, after washing the utensils, iron these clothes. I have some more important work to do.)

"Arre zyada kaam mat de bechari ko kal raat ke baad to thak gayi hogi." two other maids said to the maid who was giving her work and laughed out loudly.

(Translation: Hey, don't give the poor girl too much work; she must be tired after last night.)

It was clear that they were teasing Inaayat which made tears well up in her eyes not because their teasing but after remembering another cruel night in which she again got tormented for the nth time. She silently wept for sometime, then wiped her tears harshly before going to iron the clothes.

She started ironing the clothes, few minutes didn't even pass there was another maid came finding her. She put a mop and broom in front of her but still she didn't say anything.

"Ye jhadu pocha kar diyo iss kamre me kapde istri karne ke baad." the maid said and went away without waiting for her reply.

(Translation: Sweep and mop this room after ironing the clothes.)

Inaayat sighed softly and kept completing her tasks as well as the others the whole day nonstop and prayed in her that in night Abhinendra shouldn't show up or she will not be able to wake up next morning.