* **

"My lord? You have summoned me-" 

"Yes, Pulvit. Come inside." Dipankar's heart was troubled deeply, unfortunately, he had overheard his mother's head maid ordering a group of men about entering the dark forest behind Prince Raghuveer's house. This time, his mother didn't even inform him about this as probably by now, she would have known that he was against these unfair ways. 

Dipankar could never get himself to go with his mother's plan of assassinating Raghuveer, maybe he wanted to play it the right way. If he can't even fight a man for his throne in a righteous way then how will he ever lead this kingdom on a good path? 

"My mother has planned something else again, but this time she has excluded me from it." Saying Dipankar quickly threw a set of black clothes at Pulvit. "I overheard about killing Raghuveer's servant to teach that bastard a lesson and I can't let it happen." 

"Dhruvan? Why will the queen kill him? He is innocent-" 

"And why can it not be the maid?" Dipankar quickly threw a question as the cells of suspicion in him woke up at once, why is Pulvit so alarmed about that boy? 

"I don't care about the boy, but just in case if it is that new maid the bastard prince has hired, then I can't take the risk. So change into these, we should reach the forest before the tragedy is done." Saying Dipankar stepped inside to the balcony as he glanced at the vast sky. 

Golden rays of the early morning were partially visible and the moon was still struck at his spot in the sky. A small secret smile took over his face as he remembered last night, his gloomy self couldn't even have a conversation with the girl he loves, somewhere in all these years he has lost himself and now he can't help but behave like a gloomy person he wanted to predict others as. 

Shortly, with a tiny case filled with bows and arrows along with daggers hidden under their clothes they silently slipped away from the palace. Pulvit was absolutely shocked to see the prince escape the security guards with ease like a professional. Even after working for years Pulvit still can't read his master's face, he always had a tough set up of unwelcomeness on his face making everyone shiver in fear and stay away from him. 

The long walk only increased the amount of struggle in Pulvit, what if Dhruvan was their target? That boy doesn't even know any self-defence techniques! Pulvit has warmly welcomed him to join his training batch to make him strong but look at this situation, hardships strike you hard when you are least prepared. 

"My lord, pardon my ignorance but why do you care about that maid?" Pulvit tried his best to zip his lips from asking this question but he couldn't kill curiosity. 

"Did you observe Lady Sahastra on the night of Mahashivratri? It looked like she was fond of that girl, Sahastra rarely makes friends but now that she has made one I don't want her to lose that new happiness she has found." Dipankar spoke as he looked up at the tall coconut trees and the tiny sharp rays of the morning sun piercing through the dense forest. 

"Your thoughts are mighty and righteous like you, my lord! But Prince, if you love her so much then why don't ask for her hand in marriage-" 

Dipankar let out a peal of mirthless laughter as he continued walking forward. 

"Love is pure, Pulvit and a purer heavenly angel-like Sahastra is not meant to marry a monster like me." 

And after that Pulvit couldn't get himself to console his master. His master, prince Dipankar might seem like a rough and foolish prince but only he knows how soft and empathetic the prince is. Everyone sins, but the one sin Prince Dipankar has committed kept haunting him and there might not be a cure for those nightmares. 

•• 

"Dhruvan, if we keep walking like this my hair might turn grey soon! What are we even finding for?" Riya complained loudly as he leaned over a tree panting loudly unable to handle this nonstop hiking.

"Alright, listen. That plant will be a little tiny, it has thin sharp leaves with dark green stem-" 

"Eh? Are you a moron or what? Each and every plant on our planet looks like that!" Riya almost cried complaining. What should have possessed her that she offered to go with him! 

"Right, I am a moron for asking your help." Dhruvan silently cursed under his breath as he looked around for the plant. 

"Every plant is unique and you are a moron for not knowing that!" Shouting loudly he walked to a bush expecting that one to be the herbal plant. 

"Really? You know what, back in my country I was considered as a topper, and intelligent!" Riya spoke loudly as she crossed her hands over her chest, "We had examinations to test everyone's knowledge and I always scored around sixty percent!" 

Dhruvan sulked as he couldn't find that plant even at this bush, but also he was surprised to hear about examinations for women. 

"Really? Is that good?" Dhruvan asked with newly growing excitement as he walked near Riya. 

"Of course!" Saying Riya threw her hand over his shoulder making him bend down under her weight, "Scoring sixty percent is like amazing! Not everyone can do that you know!" And also I am feeding you bullshit which you need not know, Riya smiled herself as she confidently lied on his face. 

"But, if you are so intelligent then why can't you even find a plant?" Dhruvan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and the sleeping actress in Riya woke up with a sudden startle as her freely hanging left hand flew to her hand. 

"Oh. It's just that my head was hurt, right? So it's working a little slow." Riya gave out a painful expression and Dhruvan couldn't help but believe in her words. 

"You know it's really appreciable that everyone can study in your country. In our country, no one other than royals can study. However, your country letting women study is very cool." Dhruvan spoke dreamily as he kept staring at Riya expecting more gossips about her country.

Riya felt a sharp sting of pain hearing his words. He must love reading, but this country is more than weird from what she could see, but which country exactly is this? 

Riya tightened her hand around his neck almost choking him as she spoke, "Stop sulking boy! When I find a way back to my country I will let you come with me! We have several schools in which you can join and finger smacking foods and oh god, I almost forgot! We have Tv, phones and electricity-" 

"Are they delicious?" Dhruvan's eyes sparkled with happiness as he asked and Riya narrowed her eyes at him, silently shaking her hand. 

"Yeah, yeah. They are so tasty that people spend thousands of their fortune on them than on their life." Riya spoke as she quickly, right now she has no power to explain him about electricity nor she has the right knowledge, she was extremely poor at physics. 

"Oh look at that plant! That is what I was talking about! Let me get that!" Jumping with excitement Dhruvan ran to the left as he sat down and started pulling the plant out of the soil as carefully as possible. 

Riya looked around fascinated by the lush green forest, she has to accept this aspect. Though this country has no electricity and vehicles, the air here is so fresh that it almost feels weird to breathe and the sweet tweets of birds almost sounded foreign to her as she was unknowingly accustomed to the city pollution and noises. 

A particular tree at the right corner caught Riya's attention. That tree was huge and dark but even from this distance, she could see some movement behind it. Was there a tiger or wolf as Dhruvan mentioned? 

Oh god no, Dhruvan will be scared to death. She should do something before he could see that. 

"Dhruvan! Are you done?" Riya asked standing in front of him, trying to cover the tree from his view. 

"Yes! There are a few more rare plants here so I was thinking of-" 

"Stop thinking and come with me." Saying she hurriedly pulled him up by his hand and dragged him back to the way they came from, "Should we not hurry? You know, the minister might leave." 

Coming up with a clever excuse she kept dragging him but a sudden sound of dry leaves crackling from behind made them halt in their spot. 

"Wha-what is that so-sound?" Dhruvan gulped visibility as his voice shivered. 

"Might be an animal, let us run," Riya suggested and soon they ran like no other day but unexpectedly men dressed in brown rags blocked their path by pulling out daggers and even before they could understand what was happening they were completely trapped in a circle of men. 

Dhruvan pressed himself closer to Riya in fear and she protectively wrapped her hand over her shoulder as she spoke, "Who are you and what you want?" 

Her voice came out firm and demanding making the men dressed in brown rags look at her in amusement. Of course, they were thinking she was brave, but only she knows how insultingly scared she was. If she would have not been with Dhruvan she might have tried running but it won't work right now.

"What a scene, I must say. A woman dared to open her mouth in front of us?" A man marched forward towards them with a deep smirk on his face. 

He indefinitely stood out from the others, it must be the cruel look and the long knife in his hands. 

"Give us some gold and we will let you go." He stifled a laugh as if he knew that they had no gold with them. 

"W-we are mere servants to the p-prince. How will we have any g-gold-" Dhruvan tried his best to speak up but he stood close to Riya trying to protect himself. 

"Tsk tsk. Then what do we do?" Another man stepped forward laughing. 

"And you! Why are you keeping him so close? Is he your son or what?" And all of the group caught their stomachs laughing at them and all Riya wanted to do was roll her eyes at their shitty humour. 

"I am his sister. So what?" Riya's voice rose high, unable to deal with their stupidness. 

"Alright then, you boy!" The head of the group pointed at Dhruvan as he spoke, "Go get some gold from your house and till then your sister will be our captive." 

He had a dirty smirk as half of his men began giggling loudly while one stepped out as he calmly whispered in their leader's ear, "But we need that boy right?" 

"Let him think that he is escaping and then we can have fun with both of these." Quietly he whispered back and turned to Riya as he calmly asked about what they had decided to do.

"Dhruvan, you go and fetch help from Veeru and I will be here." Saying Riya tried her best to convince him to leave. 

But Dhruvan straight away denied to leave her alone, although Riya couldn't understand he knew that they were trying to trap her and he won't let it happen. He might be weak and scared but he will never fall to that pathetic level of pushing Riya in danger to escape. 

Dhruvan tightened his grip on Riya's hand as he rejected the leader and that irritated him making him match forward and with all the force he had, the chief of the group caught Dhruvan by his hair pulling him away from Riya. 

"What did you say, you pathetic boy? How dare-" 

Riya's blood boiled seeing that man pull Dhruvan by his hair, just in a reflex she lifted her leg and kicked that man in his groin making him fall to the ground crying in pain.

"Let us run." Considering this as the best moment to escape Riya caught Dhruvan's hand but before they could run a sharp knife gashed on her hand which made Riya scream in pain.

Thin drops of blood slipped down her hand and a loud scream echoed through the forest but this time, that ear-splitting scream belonged to Dhruvan. 

The man who used his sword to attack had to cover his ear, unable to hear the scream and Riya kept wincing in pain.

But a sudden shower of arrows surprised them and Dhruvan quickly pulled Riya down to the ground trying to cover her with his hand. And after a long, never-ending shower of arrows, the screams of men shut down indicating that they were dead. 

"Oh, God! She is bleeding!" Pulvit shouted as he ran to them, he swiftly tore a part of the dress he wore and wrapped it around her arm preventing the bleeding but all this while Riya's eyes were struck on the man behind Pulvit. 

Is he the prince, Dipankar? Okay, with a close scrutinised look he didn't even look that worse. Alright, then. She will allow Sahastra to date this guy. 

"Has no one ever told you? You shouldn't even meet a royal's eye!" Dipankar's firm voice almost scared her to the core. 

Nope, rejected! This candidate is not worth to date her friend! Never in a million years. She will make sure that Sahasthra maintains her distance from this stupid, arrogant prince.

"Dhruvan! Even, you are bleeding!" Pulvit tried to tear another half of his kurta and trying to wrap it around Dhruvan's head and Riya couldn't help but stare at them. 

"My lord! We have to take her to Prince Raghuveer's house to treat her arm so that the cut should not deepen if possible can you-" 

"Right. We can't let her die now, can we?" Dipankar spoke with gritted teeth as he stepped forward standing in front of Riya. 

"With your permission, can I lift you up? That would be the fastest way to save your arm from infection." Dipankar spoke in a deep, low voice and helpless with the pain, Riya quietly agreed. 

Shortly, Dipankar picked her up in a bridal style, being careful with her arm as he began walking and Riya turned her head around to find Dhruvan blushing secretly as Pulvit tried to tighten the cloth around his head. 

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Pulvit asked slowly and Dhruvan nodded his head and pointed towards his leg. 

And immediately, Pulvit started to massage his leg to reduce the pain and Riya's eyes widened at the scene. 

"Oh no! I will chop Pulvit to pieces if he tries anything funny with my boy!" Riya exclaimed in a heavy voice as dramatically as possible and a frown grew up on Dipankar's face as he asked, "Whose boy?" 

Pulvit kept pressing his right leg and Dhruvan kept blushing! That stupid, shouldn't he be wincing in pain like her? 

"My boy, Dhruvan! Tell me, is Pulvit decent? Is he good in character? Dhruvan is so fragile and delicate! I have to-" Riya swiftly caught Dipakar's kurta collar as she quickly demanded answers.

"What shit are you talking about, woman? Stop acting like the mother of a married girl and concentrate on your wound!" Dipankar huffed in frustration as she slowly calmed down. 

Right, she should make sure to teach some dating tips to Dhruvan the next time she sees him.

Dipankar wanted to bang his head to a tree unable to deal with the girl in his hands. How come his innocent Sahasthra made friends with such a lunatic? He quickly made a note in his mind to find out more information about this girl. He hastily strode through the forest as for the first time, he deeply wished to reach that bastard's house to get rid of this bizarre girl in his arms. 

* * *

•~

He prefers to watch a Rom-com while she loves to watch a horror movie. He loves to read a book before hitting bed while she prefers her room pitch black. He has wrecked dreams hidden deep in his heart while she is living her life relishing every moment of it. He is Aniruddh and she is Avni.

An arranged marriage. 

A silent Love with loud complaints. 

A constant cat and mouse chase with different priorities. 

After all, isn't it what love is, A beautiful Chaos?

~•~•~