The entire fort was lit up. It was their little princess' wedding today and after today she too would be gone forever. She would visit annually but not stay here as she did when she had not been married. Sona, who was approaching her seventeen, was a beautiful, shy and patient girl, unlike her elder sister. Jodha too had many qualities but it was patience she lacked somewhere. As the groom kept waiting at the stage for the bride to arrive and other guests kept chit-chatting, the bride was getting ready in her room, all anxious.

It was truly a beautiful and momentous day. Jodha had decided to be friends with Jalal. He was happy with it as long as it meant he was one step closer to her forgiving him.

"Jiji, how do I look?" Sona asked, her hands trembling and her voice shaky. Jodha put her veil properly in place and gave her a smile. "Just as you are, the most beautiful woman in the world."

"You are just saying this because you are my sister." Sona scoffed. Jodha looked at her, raising an eyebrow as she kneeled down in front of her little sister. Lifting her chin up, she made her look into her eyes directly.

"Always chin up, okay?"

Sona nodded. "Jiji, what will happen tonight? I don't know exactly what happens after marriage and even Maasaa didn't tell me much. She just asked me to smile and be happy with whatever happens. But I don't really know how to fake happiness. I mean if I am not happy how can I pretend that I am?" Jodha looked at her little sister fondly. Sona's eyes were glittering. She was surely too innocent.

"I have already told you many times that it is nothing to worry about. I am sure Yuvraj Aditya is a good man and he will keep you happy. Remember one thing for all your marriage life: fight for yourself when it is important and try to adjust. Along the way, there will be many hurdles, but you can't always give up. Learn to forgive and forget."

Sona nodded and then stood up. "I am ready now, Jiji." Jodha passed her a smile as she suppressed her tears. It was so easy for her to advise Sona, but when it came to her own life, she rarely took to her own advice.

She had been holding her ground for so long now that even though it satisfied her ego, she was killing herself from inside, every day. She had asked Jalal to be friends first, but it had already been a week now and she wasn't able to control her emotions whenever she saw him. Now that she knew he loved her, and he was truly sorry, it was becoming difficult for her to hold back every single time. She would pass him a few smiles and greetings every now and then, but most of the nights she spent with Sona, who had a lot of doubts as to how to impress her husband and about her own self.

Today, Sona would be wed off and tomorrow she would leave Amber forever just like she had almost a year ago. And soon, all guests would go away too. Would Jalal leave then too? She knew he would not stay for a day more even if her parents asked him too. He was busy sure, but he had a lot of self-respect too.

Brushing away the thoughts from her mind, she took Sona's hand in hers as they descended down the stairs towards the hall.

As they approached the stage, Jodha let go of Sona who sat beside her to-be husband, Yuvraj Aditya Rathore. He was a young boy, a year older than Sona and was very fond of her to-be wife since the day he had seen her painting, and since the time they had met in secret. She passed him a smile as he squeezed her hand. The priest started chanting the mantras and the wedding ceremony began. All guests quietened and Jodha looked around for Jalal, but she couldn't spot him.

"Are you looking for Shehenshah?" She turned around at the familiar voice and saw her mother standing there, smiling at her.

"I....I..."

"I saw him near the verandah to your room. Maybe he is upset about something. Did you two have a fight?"

"What are you trying to do right now?"

"I am telling you where I saw him..."

"NO!" Some people looked in their direction and Jodha grabbed her mother's hand leading them both to a more secluded area. "You have grown up so much, beta!" Champavati said lovingly patting Jodha's head as a tear escaped her kohl filled eyes. "Save these crocodile tears for something better; they have no influence on me." She turned around to leave but her mother grabbed her hand as she whispered, "Forgive me, my child. You know I always loved you."

"And yet I was dead for you the day I married Shehenshah!" Jodha spoke through tears as she removed her hand from her grip and walked towards the stage.

~

Later that night, after Sona's wedding was finished and all the guests were allotted their rooms, Jodha made her way to her room. Her mind wasn't working properly. She had had too much for a day. All this while her mother never cared for, didn't even congratulate her when she was pregnant and now all of a sudden, she wants to reconcile.

Why do people think it's so easy to just ruin someone's life and then pretend as though they never did it, try to start afresh. All throughout the wedding, she couldn't spot Jalal. Where in the world was, he? Then, as she kept walking, her mind elsewhere, her eyes cast on the ground, she collided with him and swung around but he held her in place.

"Are you alright?" She nodded as she straightened herself. "Where were you? You didn't attend the ceremony."

"I did. Initially, I did, but then I had to leave for something important."

"What? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, there was a little issue but I took care of it. What happened to you? You seem a little distressed."

"I am fine." She said looking down.

"Chin up. Always chin up, okay?" he said and as she looked at him, a beautiful smirk was playing on his lips. She missed that smirk of his; it always made her blush beet red.

"You were eavesdropping?"

"Well, I can reframe it. I came to meet Sona, to gift her a wedding present, and I heard you two talking."

She simply nodded and he smiled. "Was it true, what you said?"

"What?"

"The forgive and forget part." She looked at him as she chewed her lips to control herself, from breaking down any moment now.

"Yeah, my mother..." she stopped speaking as soon as she realised who taught her this. Her tears which were by now at bay, she couldn't stop them anymore, as they cascaded down her soft cheeks. She let go of her lips and more tears flowed. She was crying now.

"Hey, are you okay? What happened? Did I say something wrong..?" she simply moved forward as she buried her head in his chest, her hands on either side of his arms as she clung up to him, hot tears flooding her vision and burning her cheeks.

"What does she want from me now? Why does she want to reconcile now? I don't want her back. I can live with......"

"Who are you talking about? What happened?"

"Maasaa. She left me....she said she would never even look at me again..that...that I was dead for her the day I married you...and now...she wants to reconcile. But why? Because she thinks it's too much? Because she wants to be happy now? She didn't even talk to me last time even when she knew I was pregnant." Jalal wrapped his arms around her as he calmed her down. "You'll be alright. Come, come inside the room."

~

The moonlight penetrated through the shattered window of the room. The wind was blowing softly. It was a pleasant winter night. They sat near the window on the divan, her head on his shoulder, as they looked at the dark sky outside. The scene in front of her was enough to calm her down. She breathed slowly, her mind at ease now.

"I was two years old when my mother and father left me in the care of wet nurses and the chief of the army," Jalal spoke slowly. Jodha looked at her and he smiled as he continued, "For the next ten years I grew up with them. My parents would come whenever they could, or whenever they wanted to, and I spent my first ten years with people with whom I had no blood relations. I...never liked them, my parents. My Abbu, Badshah Humayun was exiled from Hindustan by Sher Shah Suri, and it took him ten years to gain it back from the Surs. But my life was not fortunate even when my father gained back Hindustan from him, as I could not live my life as that of a Shehzada. All these ten years I never got to be a royal prince, as my father was no king, but they treated me like one, the people who I was left with, who then became my family."

Jodha looked at the man in front of her. He seemed so strong, rough, and emotionless from out, but the fact that he had suffered so much, was something she could never have thought of. And here she was thinking that her problems were the biggest, her life, the worst.

She put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, smiling, although she could notice his glistening eyes. He took her hand in his as he squeezed it. She looked at him, her own eyes puffy because of all the crying, as he was on the urge of breaking down. He squeezed on her hand harder as he continued. "And then, when finally, my life was getting somewhat back on track, my father died, and Hemu captured the crown. Khan Baba was always by my side through all this. He helped me fight, learn battle skills, and as we won back Delhi and Agra, I was crowned Badshah at the mere age of thirteen. All my life I have spent on battlefields. I do not know what a home feels like. When I come back from war, my harem waits for me, but I don't feel like they wait for Jalal, they wait for their Badshah, for I never once got to be loved as Jalal. All people praise me, love me, but only because I am the king, not because I am Jalal. No one loves me for who I truly am..." he said breaking down in the last sentence. Jodha's heart clenched at the sight of her crying husband.

"Shehenshah....." she spoke softly, "I have no one, Jodha...I am all alone." She got up and stood before him, as she took his face in her hands. "You have me." She whispered and he looked up at her. They were both in tears now.

He cupped her face and then pulled her towards himself, such that she landed on his lap. "Do you love me?" he asked and she cried as she nodded. "I never stopped loving you." She said and he kissed her. She let him, as her hands wrapped around his neck. His arms held her in place as she moaned in his mouth, earning a growl from him. But she broke the kiss in between. He looked at her. His eyes were filled with love and desire. He didn't want to stop now.

"Do you love me?" she asked gathering all her courage, looking into his eyes directly. He looked at her in surprise. What did she just ask him? Did someone tell her how he felt? Did Ruqqayah...? No, she wouldn't know. He didn't tell this anyone. Did he make it that obvious? He looked at her as she kept looking at him. He wanted to confess to her in a more romantic way to make up for all he did wrong. But here she was, demanding an answer from him. Surely, he had known she was stubborn, but he never knew she could be so demanding as well.

"Jodha....!" He spoke but she was not interested in anything else. "Tell me, do you love me, Jalal?" and he stopped, as whatever excuse he had come up with could go to hell. Nothing and no other moment could be more romantic than this. He pulled her closer, and slowly planted a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Jodha."