Palace Of Chittaurgarh, India
In evening -
Every nook and corner of the palace was decorated like a bride. Impressive white marbles on the floors looked marvellous and were in contrast to the dark walls.Expensive chandeliers were illuminating the palace and were like cluster of stars tied together to enlighten the sky. Aristocratic paintings enhanced the beauty of the walls. After all it was the first time for the palace to host their guests from Florence and in Indian culture guests are considered as God.
A look of awe was graced on the faces of noblemen of Florence and they were in complete daze. Though their palace back in Florence was epitome of perfection but Indian art was totally new for them as more vibrant colours were used in decoration. Their was a very homely and welcoming vibe around the palace which embraced them.
Everyone was welcomed with 'teeka' on their foreheads and aarti (rituals to welcome guests). It was completely a culture shock for them. Many got scared when teeka was put on their foreheads which was amusing to watch but once they were explained the meaning and reason behind it, they found it quite fascinating.
Maharaj Vikram Singh Rajput himself welcomed his friend and his noble men. They were able to have a conversation through translator. Both of the Rajkumars ,Rudransh Singh Rajput and Shauryaveer Singh Rajput played perfect host alongside their father. The young princes had charismatic aura in them. Rithambara and Rukmini were also present to welcome their guests from overseas.
Augustus's eyes did a quick scan of the surrounding and though he was not able to understand everything, he was highly impressed. After taking in the beauty of the palace, his eyes settled on a girl who was wrapped in a yellow fabric about which he didn't know about. Ornaments were around her forehead and neck . Colourful bangles adorned and increased the beauty of her hands and her waist length charcoal hair was open flowing subtly with wind.
He was intrigued because he had never seen a lady like her. Back in Florence, ladies didn't wear heavy jewelries and wore gown with corset around their torso. Mainly peach, white and other soft colours were the main composure of their wardrobe.
Looking into the eyes of the lady , something hooked him up. There was softness yet determination filled in them but she was looking a bit impatient. Suddenly he felt a pinch on his forearm and he turned to see his father giving him glares.
Bewildered, he turned his head to see the same girl with clenched jaws. Then his attention drifted to her lips which were moving. After two minutes ,he came back into his senses to hear her welcoming him in his language. He was quite surprised because he never thought that she could speak Roman.
King Atticus was also surprised. She was the same girl whom he saw in the morning. At that time, she didn't have even a single jewelry on her and had a very fierce look. Right now, she was so composed though she looked in hurry as if she has to complete some task. For Augustus ,her voice was like a magic which could even turn jumble into symphony. Soon Augustus regained his position and introduced himself to everyone and courteously thanked Rithambara. King Atticus asked Maharaj with the help of the translator to ask who she was and how did she know Roman language.
After hearing this, Maharaj Vikram had a proud smile playing on his lips. He told that she was her daughter and a Roman noble man Cato, who helped his ship to return on the port when they were struck in sea storm taught his daughter about Roman language as she was interested in learning foreign languages.Cato had no family of his own so Maharaj decided to take him to Chittaurgarh. King Atticus's eyes twinkled immediately and he had a look of complete felicity on his face.
Rithambara was highly irritated and wanted to leave as soon as possible because she had to deal with the robbers which she caught last night. She had learnt few things about Roman royal families and men through Cato. When she first saw Augustus , he was exact replica of her imagination. It was a surprise for her because she somewhat had his image in her mind when she thought about Roman men. After getting no reply from him for her welcome , her anger
was slowly rising. In her eyes, he was an arrogant man who didn't even bother to reply. She clenched her jaws but one look from her mother set her straight. She again welcomed him. This time he replied courteously after a minute or two. She found his behavior very strange. Everyone was welcomed inside. Unknown to Rithambara, alongwith Roman noble men, storm was also welcomed in her life.After savouring the authentic Indian food, it was time for guests to rest. When everyone retired to their room,a calm serenity took over palace after day full of hubbub. But Augustus was not able to find his peace of mind. Looking at the stars above in the sky, he wished his beloved Valentina was one amongst them. He silently asked her to forgive him and bless their son. He knew, it was his fault. She told him, she was not ready for the responsibility of being a mother but he was eager to take next step in their relationship. A tear trickled down his eyes when he remembered her last words. His Valentina was such a selfless lady, she always thought about his happiness before her. Even being in immense and unbearable pain, she thought about their son. She told him to take care of his son . Not once did she complain about her pain and misery. He never knew the day when their sunshine was born would turn out into dark and
City of Chittaurgarh was now covered in a veil of sunlight. It was time for the noble men of Florence to take a tour around the city. Firstly they visited to Chittaurgarh's army training place. The army and fighting skills were completely different from the army of Florence. In Maharaj's army there were even elephants which was not the case with army of Florence. Romans were not very fond of elephants in the battle. They were mainly kept as spectacles but in India, elephants played important roles in battles. Augustus was observing everything with keen interest. Suddenly he heard melodious laugh of a woman. It was music to his ears. He recognised that voice. The same voice who welcomed him in the palace. The voice belonged to the one who dared to glare at him and clench her jaws.Back in Florence even warriors with skills, rough and tough body didn't even dare to look in his eyes. Somehow, after listening to her laughter , a wave of emotion ran through his body which he did
The moment translater converted the words of King Atticus, swords were drawn out. Rudraksh and Shauryaveer were like a raging bull ready to kill. They said in unison, "our Rithambara won't marry your son".Vikram Singh was astonished. He would have gladly given his head but king Atticus asked for his heart. He was in no position to speak. Rukmini started crying. She didn't know how to react to such a situation.If looks could kill then King Atticus would have died instantly. Rithambara was beyond furious. Her whole body started shaking with rage.Before Vikram Singh Rajput could utter anything Rukmini said, "No! I wont let my daughter marry your son. Your kingdom is in completely other part of world. I will not know about her whereabouts . Our faiths are completely different, she will not be able to cope up with the differences. Ask for anything, we will happily give it to you. Take all the jewels, silk for free, we don't need anything in exchange. You can tak
Hurt. Pain. Anger. Betrayal. All these emotions were swirling in his head. Being the eldest son of king Atticus came with a price. Even a single flaw in him raised questions directly on his father and his upbringing . He was supposed to be well composed even if a storm of emotions was destroying his heart. He was supposed to be caring towards people even if there was no one to take care of him. He was supposed to be strong and firm even if loneliness inside him was scratching him. On top of it, he was legally the heir of throne of Florence which made his own blood brothers hate him. He could have happily given the throne to his brothers but none of them were worthy enough. They all were selfish and to think about the kingdom was last thing on their mind. Well, Marcus was different a different case. He was more prone towards arts and music and had no interest in ruling and becoming a king.
A loud fist of laughter echoed in the room. Aurelius wasn't able to contain his laughter when Augustus told him about the morning incident. Augustus was giving death glares to Aurelius but he ignored them."I'm going break all your teeth . Here I'm discussing something serious with you and you are laughing. "Aurelius controlled his laughter with much difficulty and said, "your highness, I forgot to add adjective strong in the description of the beautiful lady Ri,Rit..." He was not able to pronounce her name properly." it's Rithambara " said Augustus in his thick Roman accent. Aurelius looked at him with wide eyes. He was thinking how did he pronounce such a foreign name and that also with accuracy. Though Augustus was his best friend, he didn't dare to tease him anymore because he was already in horrible mood.Augustus's voice broke his reverie when he asked what is he thinking. Now, talking about the se
Every head turned in the direction of the voice which belonged to none other than Aditya Singh. A huge smile broke on Rukmini's face after seeing her brother, Aditya Singh Rajput, king of Udaipur. It was not everyday when her brother visited.It was once in a while because being a king himself it was not easy to take out time to visit his sister. Shauryaveer, Rudraksh and Rithambara were so excited after seeing their uncle but Maharaj knew his brother in law's anger .He was prepared for the worst.Aditya Singh said, " what is this Rukmini? First invitation is given to maternal uncle and here you didn't tell me that Rithambara is getting married? I came to know about the marriage through other sources? "Hearing this, Rukmini burst into tears. Her helplessness got the worst out of her. She told the whole story to her brother. Fury was dancing in Aditya Singh's eyes. His hands turned into fist and jaws were tightly clenched. He glared very hard
Everyone's emotions were high and there was not even a single eye which was void of tears. Rithambara tried her best to not cry because her parents needed strength in this time. She couldn't afford to cry or else her mother's state would worsen and her father's guilt will increase to infinity. She hugged her mother who was not letting her go . Rukmini just wanted to hide her precious daughter, her state was so worse that she couldn't even speak. In most of the cases, it's the family members who console the daughter and assure her but here it was exactly opposite. Shauryaveer and Rudransh were so dissapointed at their father that they were not even talking to him because their baby sister had to pay such a big price for his promise. They hugged their sister and prince Rudransh said, "Ritha, you could be in a different land but if you ever need any sort of help, tell Khalifa Umar Osmain, we will know about that problem through him. ". &nbs
Little Justus was waiting for his father since morning as Marcus already informed him about his father's arrival. It was almost nine months since Justus last saw his father but everyday Marcus used to take him near Augustus's portrait so he remembered his father's face. Now he was two and half years and was able to speak properly. Marcus went away to do his music practice promising Justus to return as soon as possible.While Justus was looking at the entrance of the palace from his room, his cousins Romeo (six years old, son of Felix and Olivia), Lorenzo, Leonardo, ( five years old twins of Linus and Tatiana) and Francessco (four years old son of Magnus and Flavia) came and started teasing him."Is little Justus waiting for his father?" teased Romeo. All of them burst out laughing. Justus glared at them with his angry eyes. He hated his cousin brothers and was really irritated with their behavior but he didn't say anything to them because