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bells - I

Hey. This one is a bit different from the usual, hopefully you'll like it. The paragraphs in bold are flashbacks. Enjoy!

Padmavati steps down from her palanquin with her bare feet, her thighs aching from sitting in the same position for so long. The moment her feet meets the warm sand, she sighs with relief and walks to Alauddin's side, stretching her legs.
Khilji was talking to Kafur when he heard the tinkling of Padmavati's jewelry. He turned back to see her walking towards him, her feet digging into the sand with every step,the golden light from the sunset breaking on her dark, thick eyelashes. 
Alauddin immideatly reacts to her uncovered beauty, moving in front of her to keep her away from the soldiers' gaze.
"Go back to the palanquin." He orders, looking down at her feet and then the locks of hair that escaped her scarf.
 Padmavati's confused gaze meets with Kafur's curious one. He used every little chance to look at her, inspect her in  some way. Alauddin knew it, but he never considered Malik as a man, he excused his curiosity because it was born out of the passion of pleasing him. By excused, it only meant that he could serve them food while Khilji's having meals with Padmavati, because he didn't trust anyone else with his food during war and road.

"What are you doing here?" Khilji whispers between his clenched teeth.

Padmavati looked around to check if there is an inappropriate condition, finding nothing but an endless desert, the soldiers setting up their tents quite far away from them. "I am taking a walk?"

"Go back to the palanquin." Khilji says barely audible compared to his usual tone. Padmavati can't read his intentions as he leads her back to the palanquin, pressing his palm kindly to her back.

"Don't come out without my permission." He says, sounding like himself again once Padmavati is in her room.

Rani eyes him, her eyes furrowed with confusion. "I wasn't told to seek permission."

"Yes. Now you've been told, by me." He ends the discussion, pulling the curtain to hide her from the world's eye. Before leaving, he stops to look at her.

"I don't want anyone to see you. I am a jealous man." He says in a warning tone. However, it sounds rather vulnerable and shy, as if he just exposed a side of him she wasn't supposed to know.

Padmavati nods and adjusts the curtains, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. Ila was right, he was uncovering, taking off the layers that hid his weaknesses everyday; one by one. This jealousy which made his hands the most gentle she has ever experienced, was one.

He smiles too, and it is one of those rare, cheerful smiles which doesn't wake disgust in Padmavati's heart. "I'll see you after sunset."

***

Mehrunisa carried all signs of a young girl in love on her face, her skin and the way she walked. Alauddin's longing had ignited her once, and she was burning like a candle, burning incessantly, the winds of union never blew and her flame never trembled. She was melting day by day.

Rules of the palace stole her favourite friend three years ago, when she had her first period, her freedom to have any interaction with males who are not family diminished from little to non-existent. Mehrunisa always knew who she was and understood why she had to carry herself in a certain way, but this separation hit her unexpected and left her wondering for so long, if Alauddin was okay.

She's always been a compassionate child, as her mother would say whenever Mehrunisa mentioned her worries about him, but this was a way of ignoring her questions rather than a compliment. She couldn't stand the idea of her daughter having any interest in this boy, who is now basically equal to a unfortunate bastard in her eyes. Born from an ordinary slave and a weak minded man, he was nowhere near her daughter's worth and she made sure Alauddin felt that way.