The tragedy wasn't that history repeating itself.

The tragedy wasn't that a naïve girl got roped in the darkness of a fort.

The tragedy wasn't the curse that has been haunting an entire generation and the next is finally coming into the light.

The tragedy was, when he saw her in that frightful state, her spine bent back at a chilling level, her long hair touching the ground, her hands clawing at her throat and body quivering like a dried leaf on a wintry night, he didn't feel horror or awful. He felt as if someone was squeezing the life out of his body. That if something happened to this stranger girl, he wouldn't be able to survive. The beast in him which remain usually silent except for the nights of the full moon, was roaring and bombarding against his skull, fighting to come out and haul her far away from this deadly battlefield of evil forces. He thought that the fates were conspiring against them, trying to snatch her from him.

Feeling responsible for someone's life was different. Feeling protective was fine. But stressing over a fragile doll and accepting her unwelcomed presence all of a sudden, was a shock. His rational mind argued it was out of humanity but he knew, he wasn't human. The beast has never felt this drawn to anyone before. Not to their birth mother or the only woman who beard their child once. But this new girl, simple and silent has coaxed his attention unknowingly from day 1. Yagya hated every bit of it. He wanted to pull his heart out and stomp on it until the bastard understood forbidden ties.

Clutching the back of her neck, he tried to right her unnaturally bent posture. He slowly pulled her straight and heard her spine cracking back in its original position. Her eyes were shut tight and her throat constricted inwards as if she was being choked. Her breaths were ragged. She was gagging and heaving as if the bile was stuck in her chest.

"GAURI"

This was the first time he called her name. Not in a normal voice but with beastly valor. Deep and animalistic. A frown appears between her brows as if she heard him. His hold on the back of her neck tightened when she started to chant God's name, screaming as if she was deeply immersed in a nightmare she can't escape.

"GAURI"

He shouted at the top of his lungs feeling her body shuddering badly and going cold. When nothing worked, his hand raised on its accord and struck her cheek. Yagya has never hit a woman before. He was left dumbstruck. His heart bled at the action. This wasn't him. He would never do that. It was that bloody monster inside him. Slowly taking reigns and pushing him back. No, he can't lose control.

"Damn you, wake up."

Fortunately, her eyes opened, carrying both confusion and fear. She stared at him speechless as if unable to comprehend the situation. At that moment, Kirti's face flashed in front of his eyes. He was reminded of that similar instance, the first time the evil killed two birds with one stone.

Was this female in front of him delusional as well? If he called a doctor right now, will they declare her sick the same way?

His heart throbbed at the thought. This girl barely reached his shoulder and was so thin.

Her screams ceased and her body lost its grip on the ground. He immediately pulls her into his chest and examines the surroundings.

"What are you doing here?"

Yagya asked lowly, glaring at the familiar shackled doors of Chandra Mahal, the hotspot of all the bad memories. In the background, he could hear the whispering of equally shocked servants and guards. They were discussing a bad omen and the ancestry of this silly girl. Anger bloomed once again. Opinion of a blind mass was the last thing he wanted to hear. Lifting her in his arms, he made a beeline towards his bedroom in Rajwada Palace, not far from the satin Chandra Mahal. She was shivering badly in his arms, her body cold as ice. He wanted to know what happened to her, the reason behind this midnight venture but he kept the curiosity at bay. Her comfort was his priority, not his but the beast's who feels so drawn towards her. Her sweet scent filled his lungs and finally, he felt at peace.

"Wait for a second, please. I feel sick."

She whispered hoarsely making him tighten his hold around her on instinct.

Kicking the door open to his private chambers, he settles her on the bed and kneels in front of her. Clenching his jaw, he examined the sole of her foot and released a curse. A sharp pebble was stuck in her heel and a thorn was deeply embedded in her thumb.

"How didn't you feel it and bawling already?"

She cried when he rubbed the mud from her wounds. Her nails have turned blue.

"Are you cold?" he asked next as he pulled a blanket on her shoulders.

"I... I am on..."

He was running around, trying to figure out what to do next when a different scent invaded his nostrils. The scent of a fertile virgin bleeding. Driven by nature, he started sniffing her wrist and then dipped his nose in her neck. All the while, she remained still, letting him have a taste. She was an idiot for not pushing him away for this was sending a thrill to a certain monster's heart. The beast was imprinting the essence of her purity in his mind. Looking for a place to stake his claim.

As his mother's handmaiden enters the room unannounced, he feels thankful for the haze was broken. He instructs her to do the needful, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the girl's vulnerability, and later scolds Ambika for interrupting Gauri. Helping Gauri into the bathtub, he enters the closet to dress appropriately.

No sooner did Ambika arrive with a doctor and entered the bathroom to check on Gauri. He sat on a cushioned chair near the window and eavesdropped.

"That's a nasty cut, your highness." He heard the doctor mumbling the smell of disinfectant flooded the air.

"I am fine." The girl tried to assure. He glared at the door. 'No, you are not.' He wanted to accuse but knew better.

"Did you sleepwalk often?"

The question was delivered carefully and he held his breath. Sleepwalk. The first symptom of the pattern.

"No. It never happened to me before." She mumbled under her breath and he breathed in relief. She wasn't sick for sure.

"Okay. Might be the stress and new place. I am going to prescribe you antibiotics and a little dose for anxiety. Have it only when it is necessary. As you are on your periods, you must take a good rest."

Inside the bathroom, Gauri nodded in relief and laid her head back on the tub. The kind doctor smiled in assurance and handed the prescription to Ambika.

"Get these medicines, please." Ambika nodded while trying to make sense of running handwriting and escorted the doctor out of the bathroom. Then she turned towards Gauri who was lost in her thoughts and cleared her throat.

"I think, you must soak in the warm water for a bit and get changed into fresh clothes. It will help. I'm going to get you warm turmeric milk." Ambika patted Gauri's head awkwardly and left the bathroom as well. Gauri was about to follow her advice but stopped remembering her menses was here and it would be gross to sit in the tub at the moment.

So, limping towards the shower, she discards her ruined nightgown and stands under the warm spray of water. Her tensed and sore muscles instantly relaxed and she sighs heavily. The content of nightmare haunted her but she decided to move past that because it wasn't the most gruesome thing, she registered this week. Rekha's corpse was at the top of the list. Chanting the name of Goddess Durga under her breath, she dries her body and slips into clean clothes.

Jumping on an uninjured foot, she exits the bathroom and came face to face with her husband. He was standing there casually, giving her undivided attention. Feeling shy, Gauri tugs the rogue strands of her hair behind her ear and lowers her eyes. He grabs her elbow and helps her onto the bed. Dragging a chair from the corner, he sat beside her maintaining a respectable distance. His gaze hardly left her and she felt elated, basking in his light.

"What happened tonight?"

She was aware it would come to this. She was prepared for the question but had no idea how to answer it.

"I don't know. One moment I was in my bed and the next, found myself waking up to your face. As the doctor said, I might've sleepwalked..."

He cuts her off with a scoff.

"No, you didn't. You know in your heart you didn't. What was it? Talk to me about anything. I will listen. Did you see anything disturbing?" he queried in a gentle tone as if getting a child to open up. She blinked a few times to make sense of his words and piece the broken fragments of that dream together when her eyes fell on a huge portrait in front of the bed.

Goosebumps erupted on her flesh, a chill went down her spine and her heart skipped a beat.

There in the portrait was the very woman whom she saw in her dreams on the night of the reception. The one whose reflection was only visible in the glass of window. The woman in the portrait was refined and stunning. Her shoulder-length hair was nicely combed. She was smiling, exposing a single dimple on her right cheek and a beauty spot beneath her left brow. Her body was clad in a baby blue chiffon saree and modern jewels. She screamed high-born and royalty.

"Who... Who is that?" Gauri asked with a gasp while pointing at the portrait.

It was as if he was awoken from a daze and dunked into an icy river. Reality washed over and guilt foreshadowed his vision. What the hell was he doing?

Standing from the chair he gritted his teeth.

"That is my wife. Kirti Singh RANA."

He cleared there was no place for Gauri in that one statement and marched towards the doors. It was the only picture of Kirti in the entire fort. His mother had rest bound and thrown in the storeroom.

"Impossible. I saw her in a dream!"

Gauri's statement made him freeze. The surety in her tone stole whatever ill thoughts he was having earlier and in instant, he was kneeling on the bed beside her.

"What?"

The incredulous voice terrified her but she was in shock. She had never seen this woman before.

"At the night of reception, right before seeing Rekha, I woke up from a nightmare. In the dream, I saw her saying something but her voice never reached my ears. She was gesturing at something. There was this restlessness in her eyes and it scared me." Gauri slowly revealed as if reliving that unfolding event. That horrible night.

A stunned Yagya left the room, he had no idea what was happening anymore. Life was making no sense.

The girl was a big fat liar.