Chapter:1

It was just a normal afternoon for Shivantika when she was playing with her little brother, Yuvraj, the crown prince, in the royal gardens under the tree of Bougainvillea flowers, which were her favorite.

"You can't catch me, sister! You can't catch me!", the prince mocks her sister, Shivantika.

"Wait till I catch you brother, then I will ask the royal mother to do justice for me....", says princess, while trying to catch him.

"Princess! Princess! Stop what you are doing, have some manners and shame. What example are you trying to put in front of all servants? Is this how a princess behaves in front of everybody", Chhoti Rani (the royal concubine) enters the scene and scolds Shivantika.

Then Chhoti rani grabs her by her wrist and drags her to her chambers.

"Now you will stay here until you realize your mistakes. You won't get any food, but will just repent on your mistakes..." says Chhoti Rani and leaves angrily.

After a day of a forced fast, when Shivantika was about to pass out from hunger, she heard footsteps. At first, she thought it might be a servant passing by; however, those were some kinds of manly footsteps. Moreover, she was on a house arrest like situation, though who would visit her at the oddest hour of the night. Then, she wondered it might be an assassin. A mysterious man enters her chamber. She took out a dagger, turns to see who it was, "the man" grabs her and put his hand on her mouth, so she doesn't shout.

"Shh...! Shh...! It's me your royal highness, Veer" the man whispered. When she heard the name, she calmed down.

Veer was her elder brother's personal guard. They met two years ago, when Shivantika was 16 years old and was kidnapped by some bandits on her way back from the mandir (temple) after her prayers with her grandmother. It was Veer who protected her and brought her back safe and sound.

From that moment onwards, she fell in love with him, her savior. She would always try to peek a look of him when he would practice. Once, when he was practicing his sword ship skills, and Shivantika was trying to peek a look, she climbed up a wall, and when she was about to look, her younger brother (the crown prince) called out her name from below. She lost her balance, directly fell on the ground, resulting in breaking her legs, having injuries and couldn't walk for months after that incident.

Even when she broke her legs, she was not upset, instead was happy as she at least could look at him and even both of their eyes' glare met. She would just jump with joy, when she imagined that scene of him. Shirtless body, six pack abs, body with sweat, dazzling eyes, sword in his hands and sharp facial features made him incomparable to other men in the entire world.

After this incident, even Veer realized something was off with the princess, as he too now saw Shivantika peeking at him.

Months later, when her legs recovered and she was able to move them and walk, she moved out of her chamber and tried to walk with the help of her maidservant, Radhika. She lost her balance, as she was about to fall, Veer grabbed her and saved her from falling.

"Thank you again for saving me, my savior...," she thanked him, "... earlier I didn't get a chance to properly thank you, so now I do it properly. Thank you for saving me."

"It was my duty to do so, your highness. And earlier when you fell..."

She stopped him from speaking any further, grabbed his hand, took him to a place where nobody else was (her chambers).

"Shh...! You can't say that."

"I'm sorry, Princess Shivantika. I understand your intentions, but it is not appropriate for someone like you of a higher supremacy, to have such feelings for someone so inferior like me", says Veer.

"Okay, I understand. But my feelings for you are not just a fetish but genuine, I really do love you and they cannot be just removed or uprooted from my heart just like that, and I don't care about my or your status, I just love you.", says Shivantika.

Even after when Shivantika tried to convince of her pure feelings for him, he wasn't convinced at all and he leaves.

Shivantika couldn't get hold of this kind of rejection and starts to weep in her room.

Her elder brother notices her cries far from her room to his chamber, and enters the room to calm her down. "Why are you crying so much Shivantika? Just because Veer refused your love for him, but that doesn't mean you would just cry here like a coward."

She, in a shocked and surprised look, asks him, "So you knew everything, brother. Please don't tell anything to royal father or he would just kill him, you know father's temper. But..., when and how did you got to know about it?"

"It has been quite a long time since I knew it....,", says her elder brother, "...and I also know that Veer too likes you but he doesn't profess it. I know I am Chhoti Rani's (Imperial Concubine's) son and not your biological brother from the mother's side, despite that, I am still your brother so, I will help you, and beside Veer came to me and told me about your indifferent behavior recently. But I noticed some kind of love and malaise in his voice and eyes for you."

She weeps with joy and hugs her brother.

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(The Present Day)

Veer enters her room and puts his hand's palm on her mouth.

Shivantika's foot slipped and they leaned towards the wall, resulting in them getting close. Veer slowly removes his hand from her mouth, and they came close, and their peak of the noses touched and their lips were about to meet and she closes her eyes tightly, when Shivantika sniffed and said "Is it food?". She left, and Veer smirked sweetly at Shivantika's innocence.

Seeing food in front of her, she got overjoyed and took the plate from his hands and started to eat the food without minding any manners.

Seeing this new side of the most elegant and respected royal princess, Veer smiled. "I did not know that the princess has this side, too."

Shivantika doesn't give a damn to his words and just focuses on eating the food, like it was her one and only priority at the moment.

When she finishes her meal, she thanks Veer for delivering her the delicious meal.

"I'm sorry princess that I said those words earlier, but I do understand your feelings for me and I would like to say I accept your feelings and I wish you can too, accept my feelings for you too" says Veer romantically, but in an apologetic manner.

Shivantika did not have a clue at first what he was talking about. When he leaves her chambers and asks her to take care of herself, she then actually understands what he meant. He, too, was saying that he loved her dearly. She was on cloud nine and jumped in joy and couldn't sleep the entire night, which resulted in her having the dark circles.

The next day, she was in her chambers when she received the news that her marriage alliance is now broken, as the Kingdom in which she was about to marry started a war against her parent kingdom and her elder brother, Sidharth, and Veer with along the King, went to fight and protect the motherland.

After a few days, the King returned with the news that many of the soldiers of their kingdom are either wounded or are dead. It took a very long turn when Prince Sidharth returned alone with only the King. Shivantika thought Veer might have stayed back and was still protecting the kingdom.

"Shivantika, I need to talk to you, alone! Come with me for a second", says Sidharth.

Shivantika did as she was told so. She picked up her gorgeous silk pink lehenga of the same color as the bougainvillea flowers from the royal garden with her left hand (Shivantika was a left-handed), which she wore specially for Veer to celebrate his and everybody's safe return, but it didn't turn out as she expected. She wondered her brother might have answers; thus, she follows her brother to his chamber.

"Brother, how is Veer? Why didn't he return with you? Did he miss me?" Shivantika questions her brother with tears of worry and an unsettling heart.

Her brother, Sidharth, replies with great disappointment in his eyes, "Shivantika, Veer...., Veer..., HE... IS... NO... MORE..., he is now a martyred. Even in his last breaths, he only took your name and cared for you."

She could not handle those words, tears covering her cheek continuously, her dupatta fell from her head, which was pinned in her open black hair, and fainted the moment she heard this. Seeing this, Sidharth hurriedly carries her to her room and calling everyone and informed them. Rani Maa (her mother, the queen) and the King ran towards her room upon listening this.

"What happened to Shivantika? Why did she pass out like that?", the King to the Queen.

"I too don't know, Your Majesty. Well, she was worried that something huge happened and had a trauma, but she didn't show any kind of signs regarding this," says Rani Maa, both hurrying to Shivantika's chambers.

On the other hand, Shivantika in her room on the bed with her elder brother, Sidharth, and Radha beside her, gained her consciousness.

Shivantika slowly regains consciousness and wakes up. "My daughter Shivantika, what happened to you? Why did you pass out like that? Please don't scare your father like that."

The King, with both of his wives, the Queen and the Imperial Concubine, and the Badi Rani Maa (King's Mother) enters her room. All of them covered her bed, stands beside her bed. Badi Rani Maa sits on the bed, and hugs Shivantika, "My dear princess, what happened to you? Why did you faint like that?"

"Faint? Me?", Shivantika asks doubtingly, "What happened to me? I don't remember anything."

The royal physician enters the room and advises everyone to leave and let her rest. As advised, everyone leaves except Rani Maa, the queen.

"I want to talk to Shivantika for some time. Your Majesty and Badi Rani Maa please have some rest, I will stay here with the princess", says the queen, assuring everyone else present in the room.

After everyone leaves, she takes out a dagger in front of Shivantika. With dagger in one hand and the other hand taking it to her cheek. She touches it softly with the tip of her finger, instead of her full hand.

"Now tell me, from how long has this been going on?" Rani Maa asks Shivantika angrily, "Did you think I won't notice what has been going on and why were you so happy even after breaking your bones? Tell me what happened between you both?"

Shivantika was confused. How did her mother find out about this? She always tried to keep this a secret from her mother, but still she found out about this.

"Why are you quiet? Answer me! Did you think I was stupid enough that I won't notice your childish plays? You are so immature, Shivantika. Do you even realize that? You were just a chess pawn in the process of Sidharth becoming the king. It was all a masterpiece stage play of your dear elder brother and the Chhoti Rani Maa. Everyone close to you was involved in this, even that maid of yours, Radha, which I never approved of.", says Rani Maa angrily, but trying to explain everything clearly.

She then explains the whole planning behind this to Shivantika and who was behind this.

Shivantika could not believe her ears. She declined to believe whatever she was told by her mother. She broke down and cried her heart out. Rani Maa throws the dagger on the ground.

"I know you would never believe me. So here is the dagger, pick it up and keep it for safety, and go ask that brother of yours. You'll understand, when and what to do with it"

In a fit of rage, she enters Sidharth's room. Upon entering, she sees him enjoying with a wineglass in his hand.

"Shivantika, what are you doing here?", asks Sidharth with fear in his mind that she might have seen what he was doing. He quickly hides the wineglass and changes his face's emotion from happy to sad. "Don't misunderstand me. I'll tell you the truth now, actually Veer is no more. It wasn't a dream, it was all true, it was real."

She breaks down in front of him and cries her heart out to the full context. It wasn't already enough when she heard about all that stuff, and now this. Sidharth, upon seeing this, quickly pours a glass of water and offers it to Shivantika. She takes the glass, had some water, which she should never had accepted.

As soon as she takes the sip of the water offered by him, she suddenly felt dizzy, fell on the ground. "Why do I feel dizzy, bhaiya?"

"You feel dizzy, because.... I added something in that water you just had."

"Bhaiya, what do you mean? Why did... you... do... this...?"

"Because I already know what Rani Maa told you.", says Sidharth, "So sorry about what that queen told you. Now I can't put up with this act anymore of being a super supportive and understanding brother anymore. Yes, that queen, your mother, was right. Me and my mother arranged everything. My mother was supposed to be the queen, but out of nowhere, your mother arrived with you in her belly. But that was okay for me, but later I wasn't crowned as the crown prince but that little scum of that witch. The King, father, never acknowledged me as their rightful son and my mother as the rightful queen and his wife, instead we were treated like outcasts, outsiders from both the King and the Badi Rani Maa. We were never treated with respect. So, I wanted revenge, for obvious reasons."

"Yes, and that's why he needed support and I did as he told me.", a mysterious, but familiar to Shivantika, voice from the back and behind the long flowy curtains. IT WAS RADHA, HER MAIDSERVANT. "I was named Radha by my parents, and I would never allow my fate to let me meet the same fate as the real Radha met, and that's why I wrote my own destiny. He wanted to know about your every move and thus I helped him and also, we loved each other, he promised to marry me after everything is over. And my prince, will you tell her about Veer, or should I tell him?"

"Yes, I totally forgot about him. Shivantika, do you think anybody can enter the palace and meet you? That was too arranged by me. He was actually Radhika's brother, and he was too involved in this. He never loved you, he just did as I commanded him. But with time, he too developed feelings for you and I couldn't afford that, so I killed him. And let me tell you one more thing, do you know why did this war breakout suddenly? You can thank me for that too. I actually sent a letter to Braheshwat and offered them a deal of them attacking Ampranam and helping me in becoming the King instead of marriage alliance. As expected, the king agreed. Tonight, it will be a great show for every one. The soldiers of Braheshwat will attack the palace at midnight. Goodbye dear sister," says Sidharth mockingly with an evil laughter.

Upon hearing this, she couldn't believe that the brother who she loved and respected the most had such venom in his heart and hated her so much. She instantly collapses and passes out.

Seeing this condition of Shivantika, he and Radha, both left her there and went out.

Radha went to Chhoti Rani to inform her about everything that had happened, and Sidharth went out to signal the Braheshwat's soldiers.

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It was past the midnight, Shivantika regains her consciousness slowly. Tries to stand up, but still she felt dizzy and vision was still vague and unclear.

After regaining her consciousness, she somehow managed to stand up and strolled towards her mother's chambers.

After coming out of Sidharth's chamber, she saw a horrifying scene in front of her. Blood everywhere, dead soldiers' bodies, and also her parents', grandmother's and younger brother's dead bodies in the royal courtyard, where she used to play with her younger brother under the bougainvillea flower tree.

It was heartbreaking for her to see her family lying dead like that, because of those people who she trusted the most. She fell onto the ground, swore that she will for sure have revenge for whatever they did.

"Shivantika...! Shivantika....! My daughter...", it was her mother, Rani Maa in her last breaths, "... I told you to be careful. Listen, I won't be able to make it alive, so you please take my ring and this letter and go to your aunt, she will protect you. As you know already, she is the Empress Dowager of the Shi State. Go now...! Find a physician in a village on the outskirts of our kingdom. He will recognize the moment he sees you and will help you. Now go!". She stopped breathing after saying these words. In her last words too, she only wished her daughter could be safe and sound and could run away from all the blood shedding.

She, too, guided her to take a secret passage, which is in her room. For making it open, she must rotate a vase in a golden color. She too asked Shivantika to take that dagger and vial of poison, which her mother took out from her back for her safety.

She ran away at the very moment, sobbed, but had to survive in this lonely world now, by herself. She managed to not to grab any soldiers' attention and somehow, escaped. But still she had the urge of revenge from deep within her heart to take from that Sidharth(the so called brother), that Radha and the mastermind, Chhoti Rani.