The king's first wife

Common man

Slowly, with her hand tangled in her husband's, she began walking inside. She was nervous, excited, curious, scared and terrified of what could be inside the rather small house. But she was pleasantly surprised by the homely vibes that the house set off on her. She didn't understand how but it just felt like she had been to that place even before that. Her pregnancy news suddenly came out of her mind when she tried to remember when she had been in that house but she couldn't remember. As it is, since her birth, she hadn't been in that house.

The house was definitely smaller than the palace. It was made of bricks and had a strong built to it but it was also old looking. And just when the princess thought that she could relax, a female hand swept through her eyesight and another female dragged her away from her husband. When she had hoped that she would be with her husband all day long or at least understand what they were planning at, she was instead dragged by someone she knew to a different room altogether.

" Wh-who?"
" Pari di! It's me! Don't tell me that you forgot about me!"
" Huh? Suha?" Seeing her old best friend take off her ghunghat inside a room full of women and smile at her made her really feel at home.
" Yes. Me. Suha. Now take that off. I haven't see you in years!" And hence, her ghunghat was taken off. Her eyes weren't swollen or red or teary anymore. She just had a soft smile over her face as she hugged her best friend.

" I missed you so much!"
" Me too! Di! I still can't believe that Ajji let you go,"
" Me neither," both the old friends giggled in the hug softly before they were disturbed by someone clearing their throat

" Bhabhi," it was a... Very very irritating voice to hear but it definitely interrupted the girls and their little get together
" Right. Right. Sorry Prachi... Bhabhi. That is Prachi... She's Pranav's younger sister," outside the palace, girl children weren't milked once they were born. Outside the palace, women didn't lose their status just because they birthed a girl. Only inside the palace did that toxic tradition go on only due to Rani ma's stubborn beliefs. Outside though, every daughter wad treated like a princess in herself and Prachi was one such princess.

" Oh... Ok,"
" Yeah. I know she's irritating but I can't do anything about it," Suhani quickly whispered into her ears and that made the crown princess to giggle softly
" Amma!!" But Prachi was a insecure complaint-box and she didn't like it when someone saw or picked out the bad points in her
" Pch... Prachi, leave her alone for today. Don't cause trouble. She is a real princess unlike you," and this time, Pari saw a woman who looked exactly like her, just older look back at her with a soft expression over her face. The same blue eyes, the same long black hair and the same facial structure. It was like looking at her mirror reflection... She was shocked and so was the other woman.

" Amma... This is Pari bhabhi. Sohit bhai's wife," the woman got tears in her eyes when she heard that. Pari? That was the name of the first child that was snatched away from her at birth by the evil Rani ma. That woman hated that old hag for doing that to her and above that, never even letting her see her child ever again had made her feel even more resentment. She had never even thought that she would ever be able to see her daughter before dying.

" Pari?" She asked softly and when the other girl nodded her head innocently, she put her hands over her cheeks and began crying softly.
" How were you, baby? Did they keep you well? I missed you," you can't imagine the amount of shock the young princess felt at that moment. She just immediately backed off because she had no clue as to why that woman would act that way with her. The thought that she could be her mother never crossed her mind because Pari had a mother. She had her ma who had helped her and guided her all throughout her life... She didn't know about any other mothers...

" Huh?"
" N-no. Don't be scared. I'm your mother," she tried to explain as she held Pari's cheeks again but Pari only arched her eyebrows as she kept looking at the older woman. No one else even said anything against it because they all knew the truth. All except Pari who was so damn confused at that moment...
" N-no. I have a mother... Ma... Sohit's Amma. I have a mother," she tried to argue back but the old woman just didn't seem to want to let go of her
" Did they tell you that? Oh my God. Baby," she just hugged Pari tightly as she cried softly like a baby. It was the first time since she fell unconscious that day that she was able to hold her baby in her arms. Whether she had grown up or not, she was still her baby and that mother had terribly missed her...

" For now, I think that there is something wrong in the tax collection department of the city. They have somehow been collecting more than prescribed by the king. For now, I have managed to get both of you jobs in that department... Prince Sohit, you will help in the accounts and Prince Shaurya... You'll be a clerk," elsewhere, Sohit was discussing all the issues in the common man's life with his father, brother, father-in-law and brother-in-law. Everyone there knew the truth about Pari's parentage too. It was only her who was clueless but Sohit wasn't worried about her. She had his sister and he hoped that Suhani would be capable enough to handle him till his political discussion came to an end.

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Really sorry for the late updates. But I just managed to write a few more chapters so updates will be more regular going forth.

Also, I want to take out my time and thank everyone who reads my story. It means a lot.
Please vote and comment. Also, if you have any plots that you might want to read in this story, please feel free to message me.

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