Miracle of Love - Avyukt Manasa

6. Liar

[The Royal Palace | The North]

"Apne bete Abhay ko Yuvraj kab goshith karenge?" (When are you going to announce our son Abhay as the crown prince?) The queen of North, Revathi, asked her husband as she peeled an apple for him. 

Her question immediately stressed out the king. He took a deep breathe before replying to his wife. "Jaldi kya hai? Dekhenge baadme." (What's the hurry? Let's see about it later)

The queen got displeased hearing the same answer for the nth time. Her son was the eldest, with pure royal blood flowing in his veins. Why the hell was this old man hesitating to make him the crown prince?

"But Abhay is the rightful heir to the throne. What's wrong in announcing him as th.."

"SHUT UP YOU USELESS WOMAN.. SHUT UP" The king yelled and slammed the table so hard that the ink bottle resting on it's top fell to the floor. His angry outburst shocked the queen too, making the apple fall to ground and the knife cut into her hand.

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME? YOU ARE THE USELESS ONE. Fearing a concubine's son. Don't you feel ashame.. SLAP.. SLAP.. SLAP.."

The room fell silent, and then muffled whimpers were heard as the queen held her swollen cheek and bloodied hand. This wasn't new to her, but the years of abuse didn't decrease the pain at all.

"That concubine's son you are talking about has a smart brain, unlike your son, who doesn't even know that he has a brain. That concubine's son has the General and army by his side, while your son doesn't even know how the army recruits people. If I make your son the crown prince, that concubine's son will come for my head you brainless woman."

The king yelled and left the room. The queen fell to the floor, shivering at the king's anger. She understood that sweet talking or fighting with the king would be of no use. She needs to find a powerful backup for her son. Something that the king would think twice before provoking.

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[The South]

"Thank You for waiting sir." Manasa said as she got onto the boat. Avyukt too followed her into the boat.

"Here" Avyukt said and passed a neat blanket to her. The night was cold, and her shawl got wet during that awkward moment a few hours ago.

Manasa took it after a moment of consideration. She was indeed feeling cold, and falling ill wouldn't help her.

"Thank You sir."

"Krishna.. Please call me Krishna." Avyukt said as he started the boat. Manasa looked at the young man. She no more covered her face since Avyukt had already seen it in a close up view before.

"Wouldn't it be impolite?" Manasa asked, hesitating. As a princess, she had been brought up in a strict environment where each and every etiquette should be followed without fail. Avyukt softly smiled hearing her question.

"I am new here. And my uncle just left me alone with this boat. I don't have any friends. It would be nice if I could have a friend who I can talk too." Avyukt said gently, fully getting the character of the poor boatman's nephew. And the innocent princess believed his lies again.

Manasa smiled softly, and that pure smile formed on her now bow curved lips shot a love arrow straight to Avyukt's heart.

"Krishna... Though I know that it is not your real name, I will call you Krishna since you asked" Manasa said, snapping the prince out of his pink hearts world. His lips parted in surprise and his eyes widened slightly when he heard her.

How did she guess? Did she see know him?

Avyukt had many thoughts running his head when Manasa broke the silence again.

"Don't worry. I don't have to tell me your name if you don't want to. I happen to know a little about your uncle. All the men in his family are named starting with 'R'." Manasa replied. Avyukt was impressed how she managed to act as if she hadn't caught his lie while he thought he had successfully impressed her. 

What a shame. Tchh Tchh Tchh..

'She must be thinking of me as a liar.' Avyukt thought

"I am sorry" Avyukt sincerely apologized and Manasa simply shook her head, saying that it was okay.

"Tell me about North. What kind of place is it?" Manasa started the conversation. Avyukt answered all the questions she asked. He remembered reading in her diary that she always wanted to visit North, but when finally did, she ended up hating it.

As the boat neared the opposite bank Avyukt realized that Manasa was not a timid and shy girl. She was an extrovert, unlike him and was curious about many things.

Truth be told, he didn't expect that it would be this easy to get Manasa talk. But he was very happy at how things were progressing. Happy that he was getting to know the woman who he fell in love with after reading her words.

The boat finally came to an halt, and Manasa got down, making the prince sad. "Thank You. Here." Manasa again paid two copper coins to the boat prince. "Oh yes.. This too." The girl said and started removing the blanket around her but Avyukt immediately stopped her.

"Its okay. The night is cold. You can return it to me tomorrow." Avyukt said, trying to score another point in her records. "I have another blanket with me. Don't worry" Avyukt assured again, making Manasa finally pull over the blanket again.

Manasa smiled and left. "See you tomorrow... Manasa." Avyukt whispered knowing that Manasa didn't hear him. He didn't want her to leave his sight, but this was okay for now. He didn't want to creep her out.

He just need some patience and the right way to express himself when the time comes. Thinking that, he reversed the boat to go and take a look at his whistling batch. Now that two days after his rebirth has passed, he needed to think about what to do next.

He had already seen and lived one possible future. But now there were many other possibilities. He wasn't going to lose himself in revenge. The prince's eyes turned sharp as he remembered the course of events in the next six months.