Part 5



Only those who spread treachery, fire and death out of hatred for the prosperity of others are undeserving of pity.

-Jose Marty

"What did you just say? "The stinging pain in her palm felt nothing compared to the throbbing heartache that she felt right then, when she slapped him across his face.

'Was her father even alive?'she looked over her shoulder still struggling to free from his death grip.

"Now that wasn't a nice thing to do princess! "She heard his chuckle but he wasn't amused not in the least.

He was furious! How could he not...when a woman....a mere woman slapped him in front of his men!

But he knew it was not the right time to show the heiress her limits....there would be the whole life left to discipline this spoilt brat once he gets married to her.

But right now, he needs to go through with his plan first.

There were no words exchanged their after, instead Chandra decided to take the matter in his own hands. 'It was getting late!'

Dragging the struggling heiress with ease, he reached the large dais.

Where the old priest sat shivering in a corner, after all his innocent eyes had seen too much tonight.

"Start the ceremony! "Chandra ordered, dragging the woman, his soon-to-be wife no better than a disobedient cattle.

And he realized it soon enough when he felt the drying cut on his right arm to be aching again, so much so that he had to bite his own lips in order to control the agonizing moan caught in his throat. The barely dry tissues were once again tore down to flow as the heiress's long painted nails dugged deeper into his already deep wound. 'Arrgh...' He hissed, his head reeling back, the fire in her eyes were distinct as much as it was in his own.

"You damn woman! You need to learn a lesson...."He spoke menacingly. The molten fury along with the physical pain causing his teeth to grind against each other.

The young heiress had then stopped struggling as well for she knew that she was soon going to be released from his death grip. 'He have to! 'She dugged her nails deeper. '

She would make him! '

"You will pay for this! "The Prince threatened before he loosened his grip on her. But he had no intention to let it go at this juncture.

"Chief! "He called. "Drag that bastard businessman right in front of me! I will have him chopped into pieces."

He was going to have her either hook or by crook and no matter how heartless he was, it was against his ethics to physically hurt a woman so he settled for what he was best at, 'Manipulation.' 

Devika then saw the same bald giant dragging her father's limp bleeding body on the floor till he reached right in front of where they stood.

Her body shook in uncontrollable tremors of fear and mental agony to loose her father. His face was pale, paler than the color of milk. There were several wounds all over his body, some which were fatal if not treated immediately. 'Her father was slipping away to death on his own, slowly....with the course of time!'

"No!" She involuntarily shrieked. The prince was striding to her father, his naked sword, glinting right in front of her eyes. "NO! NO! Please No!" Every thought of self respect, dignity and pride was gone in a blink as she kneeled down on the floor. Her eyes watered and she was left as nothing but a crying, sobbing mess while begged to him to leave her father alone. "No, not him ...PLEASE!"

His characteristic smirk was back on his face as he turned around to pick up from where he had left. 'com'on! Enough drama for one night. Let's get married now and be done with it!" He held her arms to pick her up from the floor. But this time he did not physically force her for anything but stood there simply, holding her as the tremors in her body started to dissipate.

"Now are you going to come up with me willingly?"He indicated towards the raised dais where the mandap was arranged. The holy fire still burning.

"Or do I need to....?"

"I will marry you!" The heiress nodded slowly. Her fiery eyes downcast ed now when she spoke in whisper. "B-But my father needs immediate treatment....He will die if-if the blood..." Tears stung her eyes again looking at his ashen face, his limp features that lay amidst the hundreds of lifeless corpses that have no names now, no identity...now that they were all dead!

"Alright!" he hissed frustrated his patience growing thinner by the time. "call a doctor right now and start his treatment." He ordered. He was wounded, exhausted, aching and irritated.

"but master where would he find a doctor now?" One of his soldiers asked. "nobody willing to come here at this hour."

"I don't care...If not willingly then drag him here forcefully."He shrugged his shoulders. and devika was forced to look away from her ailing father's face because a warm rough calloused palm caught her fingers in a grip but surprisingly it was not harsh like the other times. It was ironically soft as her slender digits smeared in blood molded into his, the owner of that blood. indeed! The life was nothing but a series of ironies that's hard to believe!

He strode forward again this time towards the holy fire,taking her with him. 

She closed her eyes, preparing herself for what she knew was coming next. From now on, she was going to be the wife of a heartless,cruel, arrogant plundering prince who held no regard for women.

~♡~♡~

She felt like she was watching a nightmare as the sense unfolded in front of her.

And hence she tried....tried very hard to wake up from this dream that seemed so real and frightening. So much so that she felt herself rattled to her bones but alas! the truth did not took much time to reveal itself though, breaking the last ounce of her will power when the charade ended.

With him, filling the parting of her hair in a pinch of vermilion, the priest announced in a shivering voice. "You both are now married..."

'Finally! 'He huffed in relief as soon as he learned that this was over. Well, indeed he was eager to get married to this heiress for the treasure her father had earned and accumulated over the years but sitting straight for hours now, he was barely alive while every cut in his body itched, untreated, while the burning embers from the holy fire flew.

And adding to that was the discomfort coming from the unbearable rotting smell that have already started to spread from a few bodies.

'But it's over now!' He sighed in relief.

"Prepare to get back to the camp.....bring the horses....load them with enough water, food and medication to last us tonight!"He ordered. "We will be coming back tomorrow...." His calculative eyes then slowly moved to her.

'His wife! ' he self mocked. A few days ago, he was running away from his father to save himself from a marriage that he didn't want and now....he stood here married to another rich spoilt heiress!

'Irony indeed! '

She silently listened to him barking orders, but her mind floating far-far away as she kept her eyes focused on the stairs. The same way they had took her father to start his treatment.

Sometime in between the rituals, a traditional herbalist had been dragged in through the double doors just as expected and then the treatment had started, or at least she believed so.

'How was her father? ' She could not help but wonder. Now not only because he was her only parent but because now he was her...sole hope too.... only he could help her to come out of this horrendous scandal, unscathed.

Because God knew that she could not even imagine to share a roof with a womanizing man as this.

The rumors were everywhere until a few days ago that he raped the young sister of his own step mother and was now hiding away in the wilderness of faizabad.

She shuddered involuntarily. 'Would he force himself on her as well?'

'Why? When he could molest an innocent young maiden who is even related to his family she wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find him forcing himself on HER, his wife on their martial bed.'

But that doesn't mean she wasn't going to fight. She will fight him with all her might!

Granted, she was a woman, granted she was his wife now but he has no right to barge into her life in this manner, turn it into a havoc, murder her innocent people crushing them under his feet like a bunch of ants.

'She would make his life hell to make sure he regrets marrying her every living second of his life! '

And about tonight at bed.....she thought for a few seconds. She could always turn to her trusted tricks!

He watched silently as his wife stood beside him un-moving, her eyes fixed on the stairs. 'What was she thinking? ' Until a few days ago he had considered women as nothing but a means to produce an heir and to carry on the legacy. An useless, intellect-less bickering part of human population, but by the act of God in two weeks he had been subjected to immense pain and humiliation because of two women. 

Once...Princess Sukanya and twice....His wife!

But he would gratify himself with what he had gotten. After all, there's the extra money that would solve all his problems and this little one here......He stopped to look at her carefully for the first time. Studied her features for a long spell before released a sigh of satisfaction......' Ah!She's innocent!'

And truth to be told she wasn't bad looking either, with those dark eyes obscuring a storm as though the end of the world is approaching was another complete different kind of enchanting captivation that could put any hot blooded male's body on fire... and he could swear of the lean curvy body beneath that wedding dress would be nothing short of his imagination. 



'One look' was all it took for his own fantasy to run wild. 'enough' he averted his gaze sideways. 'He could not let such distracting thoughts come into his mind now.'

"Master..." He saw his men approaching him one by one. "Yes...? Is something the matter?" He could not help but frown since he was too exhausted to deal with anything else right now.

"No Prince Chandra......we all wanted to congratulate you and the princess on your wedding. Despite the circumstances and all, it's still an celebratory occasion. The lost smirk then bounced back to his face  as he looked at the damsel in distress standing beside him once again. "Oh Yes, indeed IT IS a celebratory occasion." His head has already formulated another plan to torment her and extract his revenge for how she insulted him tonight. 

"And in the honor of the new princess I announce  a banquet to-morrow." His chest then rose and fell in immense satisfaction as the she darted the sharpest of her glares his way. 'Oh it is going to be fun!' 

"Now we must leave....." He gave her a wicked grin before, taking her palm in his own. "Certainly.....certainly...." His men bowed their heads and parted to gave the royal couple way to move ahead. A few of them highly amused to see their master who was so repulsed at the prospect of marriage until a week ago, now walked, keeping his wife at his side every moment.

"Who knows perhaps by the next month we would be searching for the names of the next heir?" Someone whispered and the few others surrounding him chuckled lightly, unable to hold their grins as the followed behind the prince.

The horses were all loaded just as instructed with plenty of food, water and medications for one night that they could gather from the nearby villages. Chandra talked to the chief for the plans of tomorrow before he was back by her side. 

Devika could not understand what was cooking in his mind but the way he was looking at her left no doubt....that he was upto no good. 

"now princess....what are you waiting for? Hop on!" He indicated at the most beautiful horse of the lot, it's pure white furry coat calling out to be caressed. "Wait a minute....there's no need actually." He stopped her before flinging his own arms around her waist line, and while one of his hands went under her knees the other secured her shoulder as she was thrown up in air....or in his arms to be precise. 

"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed, her face turning the deepest shade of rouge in embarrassment and mortification as twenty pairs of eyes followed her every movement. It wasn't everyday after all that they see such scandalous scene in front of their eyes. Specially when 'Their master' was the one involved in it with his newly wed wife. 

He in return said nothing though and kept on walking towards the horse. "Put me down..ughh.."The mortification slowly grew morphed into another whirlwind of anger. 'He was doing it deliberately....wasn't he? To embarrass her in front of everyone and take revenge for that slap.' And as much as she then wanted to scratch his face away to her hearts content and crush his puffed ego under her feet, she could not do so for the oblivious reason that his men were looking. 'anyway, she would make it equal once she gets the chance.' 

Suddenly she was flipped over, her body jerking forward before she found herself  on the horse. 'Darn this man.' continuously he was manhandling her...dragging her left and right and now throwing her! She wasn't going to let it go, she promised herself. 'I would have him thrown into a dungeon for this....'

 But her thoughts were left incomplete when she felt a warm hard body pressed to her back. He had taken his place right behind her. Her breath was caught in her throat when he picked up the reins of his horse, both his arms brushing across the sides of her body and charged forward. Sounds of many other galloping horses following behind as she was taken into deepest part of the nasty wilderness.