I was treated like a princess as everyone tried to make me feel comfortable. My injured foot was propped on a bolster for comfort. Maasa herself regularly massaged my foot with a nice smelling ointment. The food was served to me in bed. The only disgusting part of it was the bitter medicine maasa made me drink and the turmeric milk. I missed the modern day medicine at those times.

As evening drew near, I felt lonesome as everyone was downstairs having food. I had already been served food by Radha but having it alone was not what I liked.

"How is your foot now?"

I looked up to find Rudra standing by the door. I wanted to reply back rudely but it felt good to have company.

"It's better I think" I said softly unsure of how to react after the turbulent events of the day.

"Good to hear it."He smiled at me. "I had wanted to tell you... I mean I had thought ..." He hesitated.

"Bhaisa ! Why are you standing here at the door? Why don't you go inside? "said the busy bee Lajo.

"Oh! Nothing... I was just inquiring about her ankle. I have work to do. I must be leaving." said Rudra in a hurried manner as he left from there, giving me a tight smile.

I wondered if Rudra was trying to apologize to me for being rude.

After that whenever Rudra crossed my door he gave a small smile and a nod towards me which I returned back courteously. I was amazed at this sudden change in attitude but I still didn't trust him, as I wasn't sure when his mood would change again.

Lajo visited me quite often but I could sense her trying to send feelers about my relationship with Rudra. She still couldn't get over the fact that Rudra had carried me up the stairs, no matter how much I tried to convince her otherwise.

Two days later after the incident she sneaked in while I was having my lunch and gave a satisfied smile seeing no one there with me.

"Jeeji tell me something ... why did bhaisa pick you up as you could easily have hopped upstairs using the other leg and a little bit of help" she asked with a naughty smile on her face.

While I contemplated what to say she continued.

"You know it almost felt like a princess was being carried by her prince after being rescued from a castle" she said with a dreamy look on her face.

"It was nothing Lajo ... you over think about things. I had fallen badly and it would have caused too much pain to be hopping around from near the horse. He just didn't remember to put me down" I tried to explain.

"You don't understand jeeji but bhaisa is head over heels in love with you" said the wise one.

"Please Lajo stay away from such contemplation... you have heard too many fairy tales it seems" I said trying to make her stop.

"You might consider me young for all this but I am quite sharp at reading people". I didn't respond on this considering silence to be golden in this case.

"Don't believe me, but soon you will" she persisted.

"Lajo what are you doing here bugging Lekha... don't you have any work" said Vasundhara.

"Jeeji I was just talking to Lekha jeeji as I like her" said Lajo pouting.

"No ... no don't worry. She was not disturbing me. I was feeling lonely so she came in to entertain." I said trying to pacify.

"See I told you "said Lajo as she skipped out of the room in a much happier frame.

"How is your ankle now Lekha" asked Vasundhara.

"Much better, but I am bored to death lying here" I said.

"Do you want to go out? I was thinking of visiting a friend nearby" she asked.

"But how will I travel?" I asked.

"You don't worry about it. I will ask Suraj bhaisa for help" she said smiling broadly.

"What are you up to now? There seems to be some conspiracy going on here" I said all suspicious.

"Why are you thinking like this Lekha. I just wanted him to go as he has a small crush on my friend, it seems. He will be happy to meet her" she said trying to placate me.

"Oh! That will be fun to watch" I said enthusiastically.

"Yes great fun. I will send in Radha to help you" said Vasundhara.

I was helped down the stairs by Suraj on one side and a cane for support.

"Where are you going?" It seemed that Rudra was some kind of inquiry commissioner, always on the prowl asking people what they were doing.

"Suraj bhaisa is taking us to Parvati's house for a visit. Lekha got bored so wanted to go too" said Vasundhara.

He looked down towards my foot and then towards Suraj who still held me to support.

"I will take you all. Suraj has to chop some logs for the kitchen"

"But bhaisa... "said Vasundhara and Suraj in unison.

He lifted his hand like a dictator.

"I don't want any more accidents to happen so I am going with you"

"But this time we are not taking the horse but going in the carriage. You need not worry bhaisa. I will come back and chop the logs" said Suraj.

"No problem. I have work with Mukesh I will just come along" said Rudra after a pause. I wondered why he was so persistent.

I felt shocked when he took over my arm from Suraj . I rolled my eyes at that which only Vasundhara saw and started giggling.

I could almost feel him trying to lift me up in the name of giving support.

"I can walk with the help of the cane" I said trying to create space in between.

I saw him frown at that but didn't say anything. He just tightened his hold over me as if he feared I would escape and kept helping me to walk.

He helped me climb the carriage by lifting me up and placing me softly in the carriage.

"Thank you" I said .

"There is no need to thank me, it was my duty" he said without a smile.

Vasundhara climbed behind me all smiles.

"Bhaisa are you going to drive or should I?" asked Suraj.

"I will drive. Don't you worry Suraj" said Rudra.

Suraj gave a big grin and climbed up behind though there was still a space left in the front near Rudra. I saw Rudra frown at that.

"Are you comfortable Lekha" said Suraj."So when will you be back to riding. Pari and me both miss you"

"Suraj sa sooner than you think. With maasa and everyone tending to my foot and me getting bored lying on the bed, I am bound to get well faster" I laughed.

"Even I am dying to take you out to see our farms. We have a beautiful grove at some distance from here" said Vasundhara all excited.

"I heard Suraj sa that you can stand on the horse's bareback and ride" I asked. He nodded his head with a big grin.

"I want to learn too" I exclaimed excited.

"Kakisa will kill me if I try to teach you that" replied Suraj laughing.

"That will be our little secret" I mock whispered. All three of us burst out laughing at that. The horse jerked and started to gallop a bit too fast for comfort.

"What happened to the horse bhaisa?" It's running too fast, jerking Lekha's foot" cried out Vasundhara.

Rudra didn't reply but he slowed the horse down. I wondered what Vasundhara and Suraj found funny as they again started giggling for no reason at all.

We soon reached Parvati's house. It was beautifully adorned with all the paintings related to the Rajputana way of life. I sat in the carriage staring at the adornments forgetting to get down.

"Come Lekha I will help you get down" said Suraj.

I slid towards the edge of the carriage and as I tried to hold the side of the carriage for support, I was lifted up like a child in strong arms. I opened my mouth to protest but my voice got stuck, as I saw that it was Rudra who carried me. I closed my mouth shut but gave him an angry glare, which he returned with a smirk of his own.

I had wanted to say something rude to him but I knew we had an interested audience and so did Rudra. He put me down in a slow motion just to irritate me. To an outsider it must have looked like he was being extra cautious but I could understand his ulterior motives.

"You can leave now. You had work... Suraj sa will help me inside" I said deliberately loud enough so that others could hear me. I could feel his body tense at that but he let me go as Suraj came forward to support me. Rudra gave me a long hard stare as if he wanted to read my very thoughts but I averted my eyes so as not to give myself away. I still had a tendency to get all flustered when he was near.

"Come Lekha... here comes Parvati. Parvati... meet my sister Lekha. She is maasa's niece" said Vasundhara in a sing song way.

"Lekha ... nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you from the village girls" Parvati replied politely, but her eyes seemed to be engaged on someone behind me. I turned slightly to see who she looked at.

"Rudra sa won't be coming inside" asked Parvati still looking at his retreating back.

"He has some work with Mukesh sa. He will come in later as he has driven us here." replied Vasundhara.

"What happened to your foot?" asked Parvati , her attention back to us.

"I fell down from the horse" I said distractedly, trying to figure out if Parvati was interested in Rudra. I had thought as per Vasundhara that Suraj was interested in Parvati, so felt sad for the poor boy.

Suraj helped me walk into the house. I was introduced to her mother and other family members as maasa's niece but no reference was made to my engagement.

Everyone was very pleasant to me and was truly interested in my injury. It seemed to be a main topic of discussion for quite a while and also how Suraj was known well in the area for his great horsemanship.

I couldn't detect any kind of attraction between Parvati and Suraj, not even a single look was passed between them. It got me thinking if it was a one sided love story and Parvati was more interested in Rudra.

We were lead to a room with low seating arrangement. There was a takhat(a type of wooden bed) on one side where I was helped to sit with the bolsters propped all around me.

We were served cool buttermilk, homemade sweets and savories called dal ki kachori with mango pickle. It seemed food was the main attraction for my stay in this century.

They talked about the wedding in the palace. I was able to contribute little tidbits from my end too.

"You people ready to make a move" said Rudra as he came inside the room where we sat. He had another man with him who stared at me.

"Come in Rudra. Why are you running off so soon? It has been a long time since I last saw you." said Parvati's mother."Bring buttermilk for him Parvati"

I saw a happy gleam in Parvati's eye as she almost ran to bring buttermilk for Rudra. Could Parvati be the ultimate match for Rudra that I had vowed to search for, but then why was I feeling annoyed.

Rudra looked once at me and then sat near Parvati's mother, while the other person who had come with him sat right across me.

"How is your mother dear? It has been long since I last saw her. We had been quite busy searching for groom for our Parvati and bride for Mukesh" she rambled on. While Rudra just nodded and hummed in response.

"Lekha dear I haven't introduced you to my son Mukesh" she said as he pointed towards Rudra's friend. He grinned at me and I smiled back and that got Rudra frowning. He seemed to be in a sudden black mood. "Mukesh had been selected as an archer in the king's army. He worked there for three years before he was recalled back by his father because of his ill health. Somebody had to take care of all this property. My other kids are still too young for that. My son would have become a big officer if he had stayed there" she said proudly. I simply nodded and smiled.

She went back to describe the special qualities of her daughter and her other four unique children.

"Here comes Parvati... Come dear serve Rudra the buttermilk and give him the kachoris you made"

Vasundhara and I exchanged looks at that as a few minutes back when Rudra had been absent she had told us that she herself had made them. We had to hide our smiles at the error made by the enthusiastic mother.

"Do you know how to cook Lekha?" She asked out of the blue in between her praises of Parvati's culinary skills.

"No kakisa, maasa is teaching me" I replied humbly.

"Every girl should know how to cook properly. It's very important for the girl to keep her in laws happy. I can bet no one can cook as delicious meals as my Parvati in this whole area. I myself taught her"

At this Parvati smiled and looked coyly at Rudra from under her lashes. I suddenly felt anger surge inside me but kept quiet, even when I saw Rudra smile back at her.

"Rudra how do you like the kachoris" asked the eager mother.

"They are very delicious kakisa. You are indeed right about Parvati's culinary skills. It's a great plus for her in finding the right groom" said Rudra enjoying the savories while I felt like rolling my eyes at him.

"Lekha had made halwa(sweet dish) on her first day in the kitchen and it was very delicious" said Suraj as if defending my skills. Rudra stared at me at that but didn't say anything. He had been absent that day, I remembered.

"It was with the help of maasa" I said trying to generalize the matter.

"Suraj seems to be much impressed by Lekha's halwa" said kakisa as if she relished the thought.

"Our Lekha is very impressive kakisa" said Vasundhara smiling at me in a show of support.

"I think we should leave now. I have some work at home too" said Rudra.

Suraj quickly got up to help me get up.

"I will help her Suraj. You go and check if the horses are ready " said Rudra a bit gruffly.

"Alright bhaisa" said Suraj and went outside after sending a smile towards me.

"You should not move around so much" said kakisa looking unhappy with the arrangement.

"Let me help you" said Mukesh.

"No need ... but kakisa you are right. She should not move around so much as it puts pressure on her ankle". Saying this Rudra suddenly picked me up in his arms.

"What are you doing?" I squealed. " I can walk with support"

"But kakisa said you should not be moving around much" he said with a smirk.

I blushed and was now totally confused at his mood swings. I heard Vasundhara giggling at that and the other ladies standing there gaping at the scene.

"You can't publicly pick a girl like this and go out... what will people say if they see..." said kakisa in a horrified tone.

"What do they have to do with this kakisa? They will say that look Rudra is such a caring man can't see his fiance in discomfort so carrying her. It will raise my face value." said Rudra mischievously.