It was late in the evening and sun was setting down as Chitra was taking a small walk around the royal gardens, to say she was worried would be an understatement, she was terrified about what Nandhini might do. Arjuna has actually sent Vikram to talk to Nandhini, he thought they were friends, but how come he never noticed the bond between them?

But if in case Vikram was really trying to talk to her into this marriage, Nandhini might do two things, either kill her love for Vikram and go with the marrige or drag Vikram to the royal court an announce her love for him and demand a marriage. The scariest part was she capable of doing the second one better.

Her thoughts came to a halt as a small boy crashed into her and fell to the ground crying. She immediately bent down to pick him up.

" Sridhar!" A man came shouting behind and his eyes turned dark seeing the scene.

" How dare you throw my child to the ground! " How can he accuse her of something which she never did?

Never once has this happened in her life, but Chitra was angered. How dare he shout at her?

" And how dare you enter royal private gardens without permission?" Chitra asked as she helped the boy clean his clothes.

After listening to her tone he understood that she might not be a commoner, he quickly adjusted his mood and replied, " I apologize, I lost control running behind my son. I am king Aditya of Devampura. "

Chitra's mouth was about to open hanging with shock but she quickly composed herself and replied with a Namaskar " I am Princess Chitralekha, " she replied with her full name as she remembered her mother-in-laws scolding's.

" Okay, it's just that I was in a hurry to attend a meeting and-"

" Don't worry king, I can look after your child for sometime. If only you are comfortable. "

" I will be grateful! Thank you," Saying he bent to the level of his son, " Be a good boy while I am gone okay? "

And in a few minutes king Aditya left, leaving the child in Chitra's care.

She took him to her chamber's and cleaned his hands from the dust.

" Can you tell me a story? " He asked, ducking his head down as Chitra was cleaning his face.

" Sure! " She said smiling, pulling him close as they say on the windowsill.

He looked at her expectantly, with wide eyes as Chitra thought for a story.

" What kind of story would you like for me to tell, little prince?"

" Um, " he tapped his chin as he thought, " A story about a king!"

Chitra laughed and pulled him into her lap. And she told him a story,

" Once upon a time, there lived a great king. One evening he decided to hunt in their kingdom's forest but even after long hours of searching he couldn't find any animal to hunt. The sun was setting and he was lost in the forest, his stomach growled with hunger as he made his way out the forest. But to his terror he walked out on the wrong side and then like a miracle he saw a small hut. "

Sridhar immediately clutched Chitra's arm, " Does that hut belongs to a ghost or a witch? " He asked, as he looked scared.

" No prince, stop interrupting and listen like a good boy." she laughed at his expression, "So the king walked to the hut in hope of getting some food. As he got closer he could see an old woman sitting outside her hut with a long stick in her hand."

" Tell him to run! That is definitely a ghost!" Sridhar screamed as he hid his face in a pillow. Laughing, Chitra pulled the pillow out and made him sit straight.

" The king asked the old woman, Avva, Avva, do you have some food for me? The old woman was moved by the state in which the king looked but she had no food at her hut, she immediately got inside and made some stew with the grass in her garden. "

" Ewwe! Stew with grass? " Shridhar mocked a gag. Rolling her eyes she continued the story.

" The king happily had the stew and rice and slept there for the night. But early in the morning he left the hut thanking the old Avva for her kindness and left for his kingdom. Days passed by but the king could never forget her help so he went back to look for her, to repay her kindness. When he found her he asked her to come with him so that he could provide her a happy life in her Last days. But she refused to leave her hut."

" See! I told you" the little prince screamed, " She is a ghost!!" He dragged his words as she fell in her lap dramatically.

" No prince, she was not a ghost but a cursed fairy. She thanked the king for coming back to repay her kindness as her curse was lifted by the gods and she gave him three boons. "

" What are they?" He asked

" First, his kingdom would flourish with wealth as he was a good king and came back to her hut to repay the help he received from her, not caring about his status. "

" Two, his kingdom would never Starve for food as he didn't care for what his status was and didn't complain while he slept on the hard cold floor or when he ate a tasteless stew."

" And what is the third one?" Shridhar asked with curiousness lacing his adorable cute face.

" That, when he looks at a full moon he would see that Avva, for his impartial love and caring nature." Saying Chitra pointed towards the moon outside, " Look prince, you will see the old woman with a stick in hand. "

He looked outside at the moon and then screamed loudly with excitement, " I can see her!" He laughed.

" Yes, only good people can see her in the moon, a king should always be rightful and should never care about his status, should always be loving towards his people so that he would understand their problems. And most important of all, when someone helps you in your hardships you should repay their help at any cost." She said ruffling his hair.

" So, did you ever see such a king? Who is rightful and loves impartially?" He asked looking at her, his eyes twinkled as he spoke.

" Of course I did, The great king of Abhiras, King Arjuna Prathap Verma, son of a elegant Queen Padmaja."

The boy was more than happy with story as he started to throw a small pillow at her asking her to play with him, She laughed as she continued playing with him.

And Rajamatha Padmaja and king Arjuna stood near the entrance awed by what they just saw.

A small thought started to eat Rajmata's brain, was she wrong about hating this princess?

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