The Alliance

The Alliance

She sat in the corner seat of the restaurant away from the stares of the people. She had heard about the return of the eldest Punwar and ever since she had been fearful. It took her a lot of courage to message him to meet her.

“Ma’am” the waiter placed a glass of water in front of her, “what can I get for you?”

“I’m expecting someone” she replied. The waiter nodded his head and walked away. 

She stared at the wall clock and realised she was 15minutes early. Being on time was a lesson ingrained into her as a baby and repeated in all of her grooming classes. She glanced outside and saw his Mercedes parked in its usual spot. Dressed in formal wear his presence demanded attention from the people. 

She saw the waiter guide him towards the place she was seated,

“Hi Kunwarsa” she stood up as they both shook their hands. He smiled, “You can call me Pratap. There is no need to be formal, Phool Baisa.”

Kunwar Shakti Singh Solankhini sighed as he closed the file and placed it on the pile. The office had become his refuge from daily life, tensions, heartache and Heer. Their wedding was a business alliance that was done to safeguard the interests of both the Punwars and Solankhinis. He had been livid with everyone when it was brought up because for him, marriage was a life-long commitment and it shouldn’t be treated as a business deal. He had known Heer for a short while, meeting her at public events, family gatherings or Rao ji’s office when he would visit him for work. The first time he had seen her, he had fallen for her hard and fast. Every time she spoke to him all he could do was listen, her voice was music to his ears, and he loved to watch her dance. All he wanted was to make her smile and fill her world with happiness, but fate had other plans. The wedding had taken place after her elder sister Ajabde had left, a couple of months later Hansabai ji had walked out from the family. Dheerbai Bhatiyani declared herself as the lady-in-charge, and she had changed his Heer and their lives forever. The vibrations on his cell made him come out of the thoughts and back to reality. A reality where he and Heer went about performing their responsibilities and duties, taking care of their families, fulfiling their roles in the family and keeping up the promises they made to them.

At the restaurant, Pratap looked at the young woman in front of him. Rajkumari Phool Kanwar Rathore was a well-known figure in the city as well as the community. Grand-daughter of Rao Maldev Rathore, the patriarch of the royal Rathore family she had grown up in front of the public eye.

“Rajkumarisa” he began only to see her shaking her head. “If I’m going to call you Pratap then you should call me by my first name- Phool” she replied with a smile.

“Phool” he looked at her, “I know you are concerned but I assure you the situation is under control. It is true that Ajab…” he stopped and took a deep breath, “she is back, but that does not change anything. The alliance has been decided by the elders, and I.’m a man of my word- I will keep my promises.”

As they both exited the restaurant, the paparazzi had already arrived to get the scoop about the couple. He stayed back till she had safely entered her car and then he left in his Mercedes. As the vehicle drove past the city, Phool couldn’t help but sigh. It was right, the elders of both families were thinking of an alliance. Her grandmother Uma Devi had given her the news along with DheerBai Bhatiyani who had asked her to call her mausi. 

She had known about Pratap Singh Sisodia and admired him too. He was a hard-working young man who was loved by the people, passionate about his work and protective of his loved ones. When she had heard about the alliance, she had done some background research and was surprised to see that there was no record of any relationship or love affair. They had met a couple of times, and it was during their very first visit he had informed her about Ajabde Punwar. Unable to hold back her curiosity she opened her Instagram account and went to the search tab, Ajabde Punwar, but quickly deleted it.

“She doesn’t concern me,” Phool told herself sternly. An image of a decorated palace caught her eye. It was the Bijolia palace- all decked up and the hashtags surprised her, #Bijoliapalace #destinationwedding #shaadiwaalaghar #royalwedding #celebrations #AjabdePunwar #royalfamily #royalty.

“Whose wedding could it be?” Phool wondered.