Madhuri

late night talking

It was midnight and midnight screamed the name of Salim in Madhuri's heart. She kept on thinking about him and his words the other day,
" I can fight the world for you"
" I will take you away from this"
" I love you Madhu!"
" I can leave everything for you."
She kept blushing every time these words echoed in head. She stayed awake hoping for him to come .
As soon as she heard the knock on the window, she snuck out of her house leaving her husband who was sleeping.
" Hey! How are you doing?" She said.
" Wait , come with me." Salim held her hand.
He took her to the river bank of Madhubani.
" Come, sit here with me."
She sat besides him.
" This is called as peace , right now, everything is a mess but this, this feels so worth it after all this unfortunate things."
" I know right? "
" Madhu I have something for you."
" What?"
" Close your eyes."
As she did , he took her hand in his, and placed something in her hands.
" Now open!"
" Oh my god! Where did you get this? This is so beautiful! It doesn't grow in the palace anymore!" He gave her a blue Lotus.
" I can get anything for you. You just ask."
" Really?" She asked sarcastically.
" Yes , you can ask anything. " He looked here and there and thought for a while.
" You want the moon?"
" What?!" She laughed.
" No I am serious, tell me you want it?"
" You are going to get it ?" She raised her eyebrows.
"Yes!"
" Okay, I want the moon."
" Fine , now once again close your eyes. "
He kept his hands on her eyes . And faced took her a little bit near to the water.
" Now open your eyes."
She saw her face in the water and then Salim's smiling face besides her.
" Look!"
" What? "
" The moon ." He pointed at her face and then she looked at him.
" Madhu! The moon in the sky is pretty no doubt, but you , you are always one step ahead of it. If you want the moon, just look at our face in the mirror. "
She gave him a big gaint smile and fell into his arms.
" Salim, I wish I could stay like this forever."
" I will make sure about that."
" I want to run away with you."
" Madhu what?" Salim said with a laugh.
She smiled.
" Okay get up!"
" What?! "
" Lets run away."
" Salim, I was joking!"
" I am not, let's go "
" Salim" She was laughing.
And he was looking at her fondly.
" Don't you worry, I won't do anything like that, I will take you with me as my queen through the royal doors with all the celebration!"
" Okay." She smiled.
" It's gonna be morning soon."
" I don't want to go!"
" It's okay , Salim , we are going to see each other again."
" But , you know "
" I don't want to go too , I have lots of work to do ."
" He makes you work a lot ?"
" Lets not talk about about him. "
" As you wish my queen."
" Stop!" She blushed.
" Come on , give me your hand " He left her safely at her house and went to the palace.

She put the blue Lotus in a vase and as she was doing that Hamzal was looking at her as she was smiling.
" What is this Radhika ?!"
" A blue Lotus" she said in a low voice
" I can see that, how did you get this?"
" Outside, I got it from there, near the river."
" Wait , let me reframe the question.
Who got you this?"
" No, I got it myself."
" When?"
" In the - the morning." She was stammering.
He grabbed her jaw forcely trying to hurt her.
" Don't lie to me ! "
She tried to get his hands off her.
" No I am not lying, please spare me." She was requesting him .
" Don't make me be bad, you understand, if I ever catch you doing something wrong, I will not spare you !" He yelled at her face and let her go . She started breathing louder and harder.
" Throw that damn lotus."

Just a bit later, there was a soldier on the doors of Hamzal .
" What happened?" Hamzal asked.
" Prince Salim is coming in a few minutes!"
" What ? Why ?"
" He has some work here , with you."
" With me ?"
" Radhika, do some preparations."
" Yes"
She wondered why he was coming to her house to talk to Hamzal.
Salim arrived at the door. Hamzal welcomed him.
" Radhika bring some water."
She came with a glass of water trying not to look at him. She served him water . Salim was trying to look at her but her dupatta was on her head hiding her face .
" I have an important thing to talk to you about."
" Yes your honour, please."
" We have an important and a difficult war upcoming. The kingdom of Hansi has challenged us and we need to work on our army for that."
" Yes I am aware of that."
" But our army is not at all ready for such a exhausting war yet, being the army leader you should train them properly. I am not at all happy with this."
" I am so sorry for this."
" That's all then , please work up this , I need a well trained army very soon to take for this war. Work day and night for it. I will keep the palace gates open today at night. Practice."
" Sure, you won't be disappointed once again."
" Okay then , I will take your leave."
As he got up , and walked towards the door , Madhuri was just standing there and listening them .

Suddenly the wind blows and Madhuri 's dupatta falls off her head. This is when Salim notices something on her face.
" What's that ?" He pointed at her jaw and asked her.
" Nothing it's just -"
" It's red . It has nail marks . What happened Madhuri?" He looked at Hamzal while talking to her.
" Nothing I scratched it , nothing to worry."
" Yes , prince Salim, it's nothing. " Hamzal said.
" You are lying Madhu"
" Her name is Radhika, prince."
" No she is My Madhuri! I mean my childhood best friend , Madhuri!"
" I am her husband and she is my wife ! Radhika!"
" I will take your leave then ! " Salim looked at Madhuri in anger and left the house.