A Great Big Thanks to @abditive for making this cover page for me. It brings out the true colours of Rajasthan :)

I woke up feeling quite refreshed and with a feel that I had had a beautiful dream at night. Didn't remember much but I was sure it involved Rudra. I thought it but natural since Rudra was there beside me. I quickly turned to see if he was anywhere around but there was no sign of him and surprisingly neither of the chain. If the disturbed sand near me, hadn't been signaling me towards the proof I might have thought it to be a figment of my imagination that I had been lying so close to him.

My mind shifted to the scene in front of me as I saw Anil curse and fall. He had forgotten all about the chain it seemed and then there was another shriek as it was on Vaishali's leg that he fell.

I just couldn't help myself as I laughed hard till tears rolled out of my eyes as both of them tried to untangle the chain. I felt someone staring at me from my periphery so turned slightly to find Rudra standing nearby. I wondered where he had popped up from. A blush graced my cheeks as I remembered that I had actually dreamed of him.

It had been a weird dream of Rudra sitting near me holding on to the chain keeping a watch over me. I kicked my brain for not conjuring up something more romantic. This caused me to blush even more and I moved sideways so that he could not see my reddened cheeks or what effect his presence had on me.

I totally decided to concentrate on my friends and stick by Vaishali's side more. I had realized that the moment I was anywhere near Anil, Rudra would try to stick to me at even more closer proximity. I wondered if they were still fighting over the 'responsibility' factor. Men and their big egos never changed I supposed. They had to mark their territories even if it didn't belong to them.

After a small breakfast in which everyone concentrated on the meal rather than talking we again boarded the cart. Complete silence seemed to have become the anthem of the moment. Anil seemed to avoid others and had chosen the seat near the driver. He observed his driving skills with great concentration with a small question here and there. Maybe he could become a cart driver I thought if he was stuck here. This brought a smile to my face, which was quickly wiped off as I saw Rudra watching me in concentration from across the place I sat.

As Anil had vacated the place our very own growling lion didn't seem to guard his territory so closely and had given me a breathing space I thought, but I was wrong. He guarded me with his eyes and all my actions were watched, making me wonder if I could scratch an itch without him noticing. This thought made a giggle burst from my lips making everyone who was not looking at me, look back at me startled. Rudra looked at me with suspicion and that made the giggles burst out with even more fits and starts.

Before anyone else could ask anything, the drive notified that we were approaching Chand Baori.

"I want to see it?" said Vaishali forgetting everything else.

"That is no problem..." said Rudra smiling at her.

"No. I mean I can't stop here. We can come back some other time. Please..." I begged.

"What happened Lekha?" asked a worried looking Vaishali.

I debated what to tell in front of Rudra.

"You told the old guard that you were Rano..."smiled Rudra.

"How did you know?" I was taken aback.

"A girl travelling all alone on a horse is not a common occurrence... at least not in our time. Plus being a part of a top-notch family does have its benefits." he said with pride.

"That is why I don't want to visit again" I whined.

"No issues Vaishali can go while you stay inside the cart" he offered like a good host.

"Good for you Vaishali now you can brag about knowing what others missed when we return back. I will stay here to keep Lekha company" Jumped in Anil.

I gave him a grateful smile which was cut short by Rudra.

"You will be accompanying baisa (sister) inside along with my men... as you are the only person she is familiar with. Is it not so baisa?" interrupted Rudra throwing a beautiful smile towards Vaishali.

"Definitely jijasa (brother in law) that will be perfect" said Vaishali sending her equally charming smile towards Rudra. I felt like rolling my eyes. If I had been a suspicious girl I might have thought that they both were cahoots with each other, but then I had never seen them talking alone so I had to let it go.

"But ... I wanted" stuttered Anil.

"You wanted to be helpful so be helpful... 'to me'. Let's go now." said Vaishali in a commanding voice I had never seen her use before.

Rudra too went along with them to arrange the matter with his men but was back quite fast. He came and sat right across me. I wondered what I could do to pass the time. Both of us avoided glancing at each other. Then out of the blue Rudra spoke perhaps trying to break the ice.

"Last time I came here..." he began.

"You were drunk" I blurted out and then mentally slapped myself. It had been a bad night for him and I just blurted out that I had been a witness to it. He looked at me surprised and then the surprise changed into some kind of realization. He gave me a deep penetrating glance.

"Who told you all this?"

I felt like lying and taking his brother's name but then again it was better to stick closer to the truth.

"I heard you when you were shouting like a drunk person." I mentally patted my back for this version of the truth.

He stayed silent for some time.

"It was the night of our engagement" he stated keeping a hawk eye glance at me.

I lowered my head not wanting to give away anything by my expressions and simply nodded my head.

"What did you hear?" he asked softly as if he didn't want to startle me.

"It was too far off so couldn't make out the words but could understand that it was you"

Now I truly felt as if I was participating in a crime investigation scene.

I could feel him relax at that but his next question caught me off guard.

"Weren't you resentful that your new fiancé was a drunkard?" he said with a self-depreciating smile.

"You were unhappy ... so how could I resent that? You were forced and wanted to drown your sorrows in... No... I didn't resent ... I understood" I quickly finished off before my mouth wandered off in nervousness.

"You understood ... at that moment?" He lowered his head to look directly in my eyes as if trying to search for answers there. I felt flustered at that.

"No... Yes ... I mean I understood you didn't want the marriage" It all came out in a croaky voice as I tried to control my emotions, as the hurt returned with the past recollections. My throat felt choked and suddenly I wanted to cry my heart out.

Silence reigned after that for a long time.

"What if I had not been forced ... would you have felt happy?... I mean in marrying me?"

I looked up shocked at this sudden question. I tried to decipher his thoughts as I looked into his eyes, but he seemed to be searching my eyes in return for the answer. I felt confused and wondered if it was some kind of test. He was soon going to be happily married to the love of his life so why was I being assaulted with these hypothetical questions which had the power to shred my heart into pieces 'again'. The confusion turned to anger as I lifted my chin up with determination and a resolve to not let my emotions rule again.

"Rudra sa... you are soon going to be a married man and I believe a happily married man so ... it's not appropriate for you to ask these questions to an unrelated and unmarried girl. My answers have no connection whatsoever to your life ahead ... so better leave them with me" I let anger rule my heart so as to sound unmoved.

He looked intently at me for some time making me nervous and then slowly nodded his head. I averted my eyes to look outside cursing the time I let Vaishali leave me alone with him.

"So, what are we going to tell others about your friends... have you thought something?" He had thankfully changed the topic to a safer ground.

"No... not yet but I thought letting them be connected to me would be a safer bet than them being connected to you" I said softly still unable to come to terms with the emotions running haywire a few minutes ago.

"Let's just say that they are nomad brother and sister duo just like you. They too had lost their parents and were your friends. We met them on our journey back and invited them for 'our' wedding"

I felt something prick in my heart as I heard "our wedding" and closed my eyes to control my emotions. I did a slow breathing exercise and counted till ten before I looked back at him. I found him observing me with a concerned face.

"Are you alright?" He said softly touching my cheek causing it to heat up.

"I am fine. Just a headache." I gave a small laugh subconsciously. I turned my head the other way as he seemed to have forgotten to remove his hand.

"Have you thought what we are going to say about your escapade? They must be all very curious especially since the house is full of relatives. Only kakisa will understand but the rest... you know" he asked very gently as if not wanting to aggravate the situation.

"No... I am quite confused as to, what to say."

The stupid person inside of me made me add "You can tell your fiancé the truth if you want, I won't mind". Then I kicked myself mentally and turned red for having picked up the avoidable topic again.

He looked at me cryptically for a second before he coolly said "Of course", making me add one more kick to the previous ones.

"But... I would rather you not discuss it with anyone. By anyone I mean anyone ... no matter how much you might be tempted to. I want to handle it my way ... hope you understand... so the things go smoothly 'this time'." He smirked at the last part but I could see the warning in his eyes.

I cursed him mentally for being selfish and not even slightly thinking about my hurts but then realized that he didn't know that I was hurt. These men are such dumb people who take everything on face value, I declared to myself.

Outwardly I nodded my head in agreement and acted all docile.

"Our story will be that you heard noise outside and went to explore. You found someone trying to steal Pari and followed him. You didn't want to lose sight so you were not able to inform anyone. Suddenly you were hit from behind and lost conscience. You had been kidnapped by some people... whom you naturally don't recognize as they had clothes on their faces. ... and ... hmm... you were brave enough to rescue Pari and headed towards Amber... hmm... why you didn't return home?"

"I lost my memory... you know hit from behind... in movies people do get amnesia" I added excitedly getting in the flow of the story line forgetting all else.

"Movies...?" asked Rudra.

"Oh... it's like recording... I mean... leave it. It's a thing from our time. Will explain it to you later" I said dismissively.

"Later ...when?" He looked at me seriously. I was taken aback by his question as I was just trying to dismiss his query without offence.

Thankfully I heard my friends returning and quickly turned my attention back to them ignoring Rudra.

"He was so pushy... didn't let me enjoy the place. Most boring person ever. Always in a hurry" complained Vaishali as soon as she got inside the cart.

"She had started doing a comparative study right in front of all... it would have made people think that we were mental" countered Anil.

"Oh... you are such a naive person... I was giving these people some alone time" winked Vaishali making Rudra laugh while I turned beetroot.

"But our position..."

"Nothing happened ... so relax" interrupted Vaishali giving a cheeky grin towards Rudra.

I realized that I had lost my friend to the charms of Rudra and it seemed Anil was the only sane unaffected person left.

"Did you like it?" I asked Anil smiling softly at him, trying to disperse their fight.

"Yes, it was beautiful... but it would have been even more beautiful with you ... I mean you explain things so beautifully and with your kind of knowledge inanimate things come alive" he smiled back.

"Ooo... you flatter me " I said giving him a friendly nudge.

"We are getting late " came Rudra's cold voice out of the blue.

I found him staring at my hand on Anil's shoulders, which I hastily removed. Here we go again, I thought as I rolled my eyes.



Writing the next part will be difficult :) Too many explanations for too many questions from too many nosy relatives ... coming soon. Then there is the family who at least has genuine concern. I actually pity Lekha.

So guys hopefully see you soon :)