AJ massaged his head exasperated. What was the destiny plotting? There were no seats in flight from Jaisalmer to Indore for the next two days, due to holiday season and as of right now, all hotels he had searched were house full. And thus, he was going to the hotel, his mother has booked for them.
On the other side, Guddan was totally enjoying the royal feels of her room. She has long forgotten AJ uncle and was absolutely immersed in her Rani Padmavati fantasies. The room was a mix of Mughal and Rajput architecture, decorated with artefacts from 18th century. The ambience due to lantern lighting was altogether exotic and the manner in which Guards were standing at the entrance with spears crossed, totally gave a fairy tale feel.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Where the hell are you taking me?!" AJ enquired troubled, seeing that the Jeep was going deeper and deeper into the desert, where there were no signs of civilization and the vegetation was becoming even sparse.
"Banna sa, aapka hotel, Desert Luxury, Thar ke beechon beech hai...thane bero koni ke?!" The jeep driver asked in his local dialect, making AJ's eyes furrow in confusion.
"Bero...what?!" AJ repeated, not getting the point.
"Pardon the inconvenience sir but it's hard to let go of your mother tongue...what I meant was that your hotel Desert Luxury is situated in the midst of Thar desert, don't you know that?!" The driver repeated.
"Ohh!" AJ exclaimed and sat quite. He was not going to say that his wife has left him stranded on the airport and had run off leaving him clueless.
As soon as AJ got down the Jeep, his eyes almost popped out. Has he travelled back in time? Because the guards standing at entrance with their spears and heavy moustaches, seemed to have appeared right out of history books.
"Khamagani sa!" The guards greeted in unison, folding their hands in front of him as a mark of respect for the guest.
AJ nodded, not getting what they meant and entered inside. The hotel was of a palatial setting with big chandeliers hanging over his head whilst tiger skin and swords and armours graced the white marble walls. He was certainly impressed with the grace of the palace and approached the reception.
The duo at the reception were unlike the ones he had ever seen. Both were decked up in traditional nomadic attire. The woman was decorated head to toe from jewellery including maangtika, necklace and bangles that went beyond her elbow. The man had turban over his head while big piercing graced his ears.
"Khamagani sa! Welcome to Desert Luxury, How can we help you?" The woman greeted Akshat folding her hands to which he only nodded.
"I have a room booked here in the name of Akshat Jindal..."
"Sure sir, let me check", the woman replied and checked her computer.
"Yes sir, Suite 003 is booked in your name and your wife is already here...Thakkar singh, please help sir to his suite.."
And at her call, a middle aged man with magnanimous moustache appeared, though Akshat had no luggage to be taken care off.
As they walked through the cool sand, Akshat looked around. It was 9 pm and the dark spell of night was being beautifully dissipated by mashaals. The air felt cool and refreshing with slight smell of the sand.
As AJ reached the suite, his eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell? It was a freaking tent where men with big burly moustaches were standing guard. The suite was absolutely isolated from the palace, save for two other tents he could make out in the distance.
"Is this the suite?" He asked incredulously and continued, "Is it even safe?! I don't see any doors and without doors, there can be no bolts!"
"No need to worry sir, the tent setting is a cover up, we do have solid walls and doors in there", A man showed up and replied.
YOU ARE READING
Bonded by Fate *Completed*
FanfictionAkshat Jindal lost the love of his life years back to a tragedy. He is 40 now, father in law of three women and the best chef in Indore. A letter of his late wife came knocking urging him to get married and he did get married, to the wrong girl. Gud...
