I woke up feeling quite excited about my riding lessons. I was to learn how to gallop on a horse today. Suraj had also praised me for being a fast learner.

"What happened? You seem to be in an extremely good mood today. I even heard you hum a song "laughed Vasundhara in a teasing tone.

Before I could tell her about my riding lessons the chirpy bird of the house crept up from behind and said "I know ...I know ... why Lekha jiji is so happy today"

"Oh ...you do! Miss know it all. Please enlighten me too" I said wondering if she had been watching my enthusiastic efforts at horse riding.

"You are happy .... Because... Rudra bhaisa is coming back today" said the romantic fool.

I lost my entire happy mood at that. She looked between me and Vasundhara and seemed to be a bit disappointed at not being able to provoke the right kind of response from us.

"Did you make the fresh garland for the Goddess Durga... Lajo?" said Vasundhara trying to deviate her from her favorite topic.

"Oh ... no. I made it but its inside. Seeing both of you made me forget what I was supposed to do." Saying this Lajo ran back inside the house.

I realized that although I had worked hard on hiding my feelings Vasundhara seemed to have got a hint to what or who I was upset with. There was an awkward silence between us after that.

"I am going to learn to gallop on the horse today and I am feeling quite excited about it." I smiled trying to show my happiness.

"It's great news as now we both can visit our farms on horseback" said Vasundhra happy to have a different topic for conversation.

"I would love that" I said.

I couldn't concentrate in the puja(prayers )because I expected Rudra to pop up any minute, but he didn't. I had mixed feelings about his absence. I didn't know whether to be happy that the arrogant man was not there or sad, as in some corner of my infatuated heart I missed him. After repeating to myself that I was a silly teenager who believed herself in love just because a man looked at her with love in a drunken state, I finally knew that it was just infatuation.

After another lesson in the art of Indian cooking I went for my riding lessons feeling quite excited. I met Suraj in the stables where he waited for me. After a brief chat about life in general and a bribe of gur being fed to Pari, Suraj helped me climb her. I rode in the courtyard initially and then he led me outside towards the open areas to practice my galloping.

This time Suraj had to run along with me to help me control the horse.

"What's happening here?" shouted the voice I had been subconsciously waiting to hear all morning.

I felt butterflies in my stomach and in my nervousness instead of sitting relaxed on the horse as instructed by Suraj, I pressed my thighs on the horse's flanks a bit too tight and the horse bolted.

"Lekha ...." shouted Suraj."Relax ...relax... don't hold tight"

"Are you mad ...?"I heard Rudra shouting, but the rest all was carried away in the wind as the horse galloped at top speed towards the open desert.

I clung tightly to Pari's mane trying to maintain my balance. There came a piercing whistle and the horse sensed something and slowly came to a halt. In my hurry to get off her I took my feet out of the stirrup and jumped down but my skirt had got tangled under my feet as I again forgot to gather up my skirt a little before jumping down.

I felt a pain shoot up my ankle as I fell on top of my foot in a crooked angle. The horse looked at me mournfully as if it could understand my pain or maybe it was just my imagination. Then again I imagined Rudra galloping towards me.

"Are you mad ....who gallops away like this on a horse? You could have hurt her" shouted my imagination. I realized that it was Rudra for real and he was shouting at me. He cared more about the horse than me. Good, now I really knew my worth.

"She suddenly spooked and..." I tried to explain to his back through gritted teeth as he talked to the horse softly.

"I will take her away with me as a reckless rider like you doesn't deserve a horse like her" said Rudra.

"But I ... I didn't hurt her" I tried to explain.

He turned around taking both the horses with him. If I hadn't been hurt I might have gone after him and giving him a piece of my mind along the way as the estate was at just five minutes walking distance from where I had fallen.

I saw Suraj walking towards Rudra from the other side. He must have given his horse to Rudra. They seemed to discuss something and then Rudra handed him both the horses and walked back towards me.

"Why are you sitting here like an adamant person? You need a special invitation to follow"

I glared at him with my eyes burning with anger. How I even liked this person in the first place, I wondered. My first instincts about his arrogant self were true it seemed. It was the tragic love story of his that had softened my heart towards him, I decided.

"You don't have to be rude. I have hurt myself while climbing down from the horse. It would be kind of you to send someone from the estate to help me here or you might even send Suraj sa back here" I said in a formal tone, not wanting even a tiny bit of his help.

I turned my head away from him not wanting to see his reactions or show him my hurt feelings. There seemed to be a deafening silence after that.

I slightly turned my head and saw Rudra striding towards me and then as suddenly he scooped me up in his arms before I could react.

"What... Put me down. What is the meaning of this" I screamed, struggling to get down.

"Keep still girl" he growled.

"My name is Lekha ... You brute. Put me down this instant. I can walk on my own." I shouted at him forgetting that I used English while saying 'you brute'.

"So you say rude words in a foreign tongue now" he smirked.

"I can manage on my own. Don't need your help" I said ignoring his remark about my slip of tongue.

"So you prefer Suraj's help instead of mine" said Rudra in a cold tone.

I went all still at this but I couldn't let this go easily. I had to prove to myself and him too that I didn't like him. I wanted to hurt him as he had hurt me.

"Yes I do" I said in an angry tone."He is a much better person then you. He is never rude to me"

I could feel him go tense at this, as his grip tightened on me.

"Well now that you are getting married to me, you can only ask me for help" he said in a cold arrogant tone.

"You said I could choose anyone for..." I said in retaliation, just to win a point.

"Silence... "he growled stopping me mid sentence, making me scared. He stopped walking and then as suddenly dropped me on the sand. I was stunned at this show of anger. I was not hurt as he had dropped me on soft sand but my pride was.

"What was that for you jerk... are you nuts. I hate you so very much" I shouted all in one go using perfect rajasthani so that this time he could understand and make no mistake about what I felt.

"You will only marry me... Is that understood"he said ignoring my outburst, slowly wording each word as he brought his face close to mine.

"I will never marry you... you ...you" I said in a defiant tone.

He simply picked me up as though I weighed nothing. I tried to hit him with my fist on his chest. He simply laughed at me. The humiliation made my eyes glaze up with tears.

"I hate you so much Rudra Pratap Singh. I will never marry you" I said softly but with determination in my voice. He heard me and stopped laughing. He looked down at me and simply stared at me as if trying to validate my words.

His mouth tightened in a straight line.

"There you are bhaisa... Oh! What happened to Lekha" exclaimed Suraj as he came towards us in hurried steps. Rudra didn't answer him so I obliged the kind man.

"I hurt my ankle while climbing down the horse"

"Oh ... dear ! I should never have taken you out. We will practice in the courtyard from now onward till..."

"There is not going to be any more practice" growled Rudra interrupting him.

"But bhaisa I was just..." Suraj tried to explain.

"Can't you see she is hurt and you are talking of practicing"

"Ah... Yes ...Let me help you carry her" Suraj offered.

"No..."said Rudra in a stern voice making the poor man stunned. I just kept silent too angry to utter anything.

As he entered the house carrying me, we were met by maasa.

"Oh what happened to the child" she exclaimed.

"She hurt herself. If you let such novices teach her riding, this was bound to happen" said Rudra. I thought it best to stay out of this, especially after the scene outside.

"Suraj is no novice and you know it. You yourself have praised his skills lots of times" said maasa in a calm but surprised voice.

"I will ask someone to help her to her room" she said.

"Don't bother I will take her up. Just get some ointment and compress for her ankle" he said.

I looked helplessly at maasa but she smothered a smile and turned away.

He carried me all the way up the stairs where we were met by an open mouthed Lajo, who just stared but didn't even utter a single word.

I was surprised the way he softly laid me down on the bed as I had been mentally prepared for another dumping session.

I turned my head the other way not willing to talk to him.

"Can I touch your ankle?" he asked surprisingly in a very subdued voice.

"No" I replied curtly. He kept on standing near my leg and staring at it as if giving it a visual x-ray.

"You can leave now" I said in a dismissive tone, still feeling angry with him but he kept on standing though now looking towards the door.

Soon maasa came with the lep (ointment) of some herbs it seemed to tie on my ankle but he just stood on one side watching the proceedings intently.

"It will take a day or two for the pain and swelling to go down" said maasa as she applied the lep to my ankle with her gentle hands. She then tied it with a piece of cloth.

"Don't move this foot of yours much. I will send some medicine to make the pain less." said maasa as she got up to leave. "I will send Radha the maid to help you with your needs. She will sleep in your room tonight. You now take rest."

"Rudra you can also leave now...your staring at her won't make her ankle heal faster" she laughed, making me blush.

"I was just leaving kakisa. Just was waiting to see if you needed any assistance" he mumbled.

Maasa simply smiled at both of us, enjoying her private joke. Rudra quietly left the room without a backward glance.



Hi everyone ,I seemed to have jinxed myself by getting too happy on completing my chapters so fast. Well this week had been a transition of sorts for me and so kindly ignore any grammatical errors you might find or you might just point it out to me. :D

Enjoy!!!!