"Your highness, keep steady. Yes! Don't put pressure on the wheel. Now what we learned about changing gears.

Break!

Break!

Not the accelerator, I said BREAK or you are going ram into the walls of the palace." A sweating Bhawani Singh, Vasundhara's personal chauffeur yowled when Gauri accidentally pressed the wrong peddle. She grumbled under her breath and bit her lower lip. Bhawani Singh pulls out a kerchief and wipes his forehead before filling his lungs with a deep breath while trying not to panic. He was already cursing himself for even considering her request. The poor fellow was busy cleaning the Royal masterpiece early in the morning when she sneaked upon him and asked sweetly to learn. Even God can't refuse such innocence, Bhawani Singh was but a mortal.

As soon as they started, the long bushy-bearded man realized his mistake. The princess lacked patience. She was too eager, willing to learn it all in a single day, overlooking the basics and experiencing the real thing. She was grinning goofily, slightly confused but full of enthusiasm. If somehow the word reached high in commands, they will have his head.

"Bhawani brother, if I will keep pressing breaks after every step, how the hell I will learn to drive? Let the car move forward for just a bit." Gauri gritted before adjusting the sari on her head. Bhawani's eyes almost popped out of his skull.

"Keep both your hands on the wheel, princess."

"Oh, hush. I've got this!"

"Then let me step out, young lady. I have two daughters at home who love me dearly."

"Really? What are their names." And this was her biggest problem. Nothing can keep her interest for longer and if someone starts a conversation, she has the power to eat their ears off. Gauri faced him again and he passed a constipated look.

"Jaya and Vijaya."

"How sweet! How old are they?" Gauri inquired as she changed gears once again and maintained a speed of 20." Bhawani Singh cleared his throat, contemplating if he should discuss his personal life with his employee or not. Since the talk has started, he can't back out now.

"Jaya is 16 and Vijaya is 12."

"Great. What are they studying?" She poked further and he sighed. She reminded him so much of his little sister at that moment. Clever and annoying.

"Vijaya is in 8th standard and Jaya is done with her school. I am looking for a well-mannered and stable boy for her. She has reached the right age to marry." Bhawani Singh mulled with a smile on his face, which lasted long enough to see the light of a passing meteor over the surface of the earth. Because in the next instance, Gauri pressed the brakes so hard, his head collided with the windshield and put a crack over the pristine glass. She didn't let the shock grip her bones and decided to speak her mind.

"Your older daughter is only 16. Why are you considering the prospect of marriage now? You seem like someone who makes a decent living, it means you can easily afford higher education for both of your girls. Do you not know the law? Marrying children at a tender age is not only illegal but also against our culture.

I know what practices our ancestors followed. They married young girls to well-to-do men. But do you know why?

According to Chanakya's writings, when our country wasn't invaded by foreigners, girls were married after 21, once they are old enough to understand their role as a woman who are physically and mentally healthy to carry children and settle well in the new household. But the introduction of invaders ruined our thousands of years old culture. Girls were married off early out of fear. Parents dreaded if the young ones will get defiled or kidnapped by sick-minded since they were unable to oppose the monarchy. Nobody touched women who belonged lawfully to their men. It was a reign of terror that destroyed our civilization.

When the British came into power, they tried to stop it, but by that time it became a norm because young girls and widows were being pushed into prostitution. Later, Raja Ram Mohan Roy fought a war against these malpractices. He tried to stop Sati Pratha and child marriages. This worked only where people were educated but the uneducated backward continued this, destroying the lives of innocent girls.

They started getting abused for dowry and forced into having kids, especially a boy even before reaching 16. This made 85% of underage married females prey to malnutrition, depression, and suicide. The children born from their wombs were mentally unstable and malnourished. They were either killed or often send to work as garbage pickers."

Gauri stated and Bhawani Singh could only gawk open-mouthed while cupping his bruised forehead or possibly bruised ego. She was relentless when it came to matters as such.

"Think about this. What if Jaya is given a chance to study further and work hard for her dreams? What if she turns out to be a renowned lawyer, teacher, banker, or even someone high in command- a government official? Wouldn't it bring more pride to your house than had her married at such a young age?

When your daughters will be successful, you won't have to go out searching for grooms. They will come to you. If Jaya and Vijaya will earn their own money and become independent, they don't have to wait for others' permission to take big decisions in life. Nobody can force them. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Gauri asked with a smile and Bhawani Singh gulped.

"Now why are you staring at me like a dumbfounded goose? Are you convinced or shall I share a little more of my wisdom?"

The poor man nodded and cleared his throat.

"Change your view, brother. There is more to life than getting married and committing to an idiot for the rest of your life. You only get to live once, why waste it by fulfilling the expectations of society? Do what hasn't been done before. Think big."

In the next moment, the door to her side opened and big fingers curled around her elbow in a harsh grip. She was pulled out of the stationary vehicle with a jerk and thrown into a solid chest.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Yagya roared and everybody working in the close vicinity froze. Gauri winced at his unforgiving grip and gasped feeling his nails digging into her flesh. She looked him in the eye and started struggling.

"What are you doing? Let go of my hand, everyone's watching." Her whisper failed to penetrate the furious fog vibrating off his bulky frame. He simply dragged her towards the Palace's stairs. The maids lowered their eyes, cowering away from the raging thunderstorm wrecking the silence with his dominating prowess.

"Yagya..."

"Not a word." He warned through gritted teeth. Tears fell from Gauri's eyes and she fell on her knees when her feet got tangled in the carpet. She lost one of her footwear.

Vasundhara, who was talking to Ambika in the foyer, froze.

"Mother, help!" Gauri bellowed watching the older woman looking at them enthralled.

"Yagya, what are you doing? Leave the poor girl alone!" Vasundhara croaked, unable to find her voice on watching the bloodshot eyes of her son. Something has provoked him to behave like this or is it, someone?

Gauri punched his arm when his hold didn't loosen. He was probably blocking her circulation.

"Stay out of this, ma."

The warning earned desired response as the Queen mother didn't move an inch.

"No! Stop it! What is the meaning of this, you oversized brute." Gauri screamed as she turned red in anger and tried to pull away from him.

"That's it." He grumbled before throwing her into the nearest room and locking it after him.

Gauri saves her fall and turns to glare at him.

"What is the meaning of this? How dare you force me like that?" She asked while massaging her sore elbow. With some god's grace, it didn't fall off. He stared at her with anger swirling in his eyes and breathed hard from his nostrils.

"ENOUGH!" she jumped back when the baritone of an animal strike her ears. "Pray tell what were you doing with that man in the car. Alone! Have you lost qualms about your dignity? I was on my way to have breakfast and guess whose whispers ruined my morning? Those retarded, envious, and good-for-nothing maids were gossiping about how the young princess is getting cozy with the driver, conversing with him as if she knows him for a long time. If you have no regard for yourself, bloody think about me. I won't tolerate such an attitude from now onwards. Consider it the last warning."

"But.."

"One more word and you'd be locked in your room till all your hair turns grey and you forfeit your teeth!"

Heartbreaking sobs escaped her as she settled on a chair and hid her face in her hands. Her shoulders bobbed with each cry and he showed her his back. His anger simmered before the guilt perched on his shoulders.

"But... But I was... learning to drive..." She said between hiccups. "I wanted to do something.... I am... I'm sorry..." her whispers rang with her sobs. "And you... you proved their theories right by dragging me inside like a caveman!" His jaw clenched. "In place of... defending my honor, you got angry at me, not them..."

He sighed. He was aware that he was wrong. But the ridiculing words spun by those low-breed women against his wife boiled his blood and he failed to be sensible. Every time someone mentions her, he loses his rationality. He had no idea what to call it. Pride or possessiveness.

"Gauri..." He calls out, looking at her from afar.

"No. I won't... talk to you."

A tired sigh eluded his lips. Unbuttoning the coat, he removes it and drapes it on a nearby chair, and rolls the sleeves of his shirt to elbows. Approaching her quietly, he hauls her sniffing self from the chair and settles her on his lap over the plush couch. Gauri froze and her eyes turn blank. She didn't move for a moment then tried to wriggle out of his grip, but his hold was firm, not punishing like before.

"What are you doing?" she posed the question for the umpteenth time and he cupped her jaw, squishing her round cheeks in the way.

"Listen to me carefully. I am aware your intentions are right. You were simply educating him. But the palace staff has a brood mentality. They've got a habit of whispering behind our backs, making false accusations, believing them, and spreading them like a piece of news. Sometimes, the news reaches outside the palace walls and creates an image that might affect our reputation. Since you are my wife, you are my business. Anything wrong said about you is a direct insult to me.

How would you react when someone tries to badmouth your people?"

"I will dump their face in burning coal," Gauri announced with conviction and Yagya chuckled.

"Don't you think that's a little extreme? Anyways, you'd be furious. You'll go and tackle them. I would have done the same if they were males. But the female staff isn't of my interest. Usually, mother deals with them. This time, I want you to set things right."

"What should I do?" Gauri asked and tried to brush his hold off her jaw but he simply held her hands down.

"Fire them, suspend them, or hire new people. I don't care. From now onwards, do not pay much attention to staff and talk to them. They are jealous of you and would do anything obtuse to satisfy their irrational minds, even if that means tarnishing your image.

Now if you want to learn to drive, I will appoint a trainer from outside. You would be able to handle a car on your own within 15 days. Okay?"

Gauri nodded. Yagya had to fight his screaming thoughts of kissing her pouty lips. Every muscle of his body yearned to do so. He knew it wasn't him. He tried to explain to himself that it is the doing of a territorial beast who wants nothing more than to devour her.

"I get it but I disapprove of the way you handled it. You dragged me here forcefully. What would that portray about us?"

"That I am madly in love with my wife and couldn't watch her conversing with another man. She has wrapped me around her fingers and God knows what she did to calm me down so soon and leave the room with a shy smile."

Crimson flooded her cheeks and he nodded in approval.

"Now go and tell mother you want to hire new help and replace the old one. Loudly. I want them to fear you, know that you have the same power as me in this house. They must accept it as soon as possible that you are my wife, not formality."