“Maharani-sa, Maharaj is awake.”
As soon as the words left the soldier’s mouth, Katha’s heart skipped a beat. She held her lehenga and ran as fast as possible, passing various galleries and the entire north wing, without caring that the dupatta fell from her head, leaving it uncovered.
Katha finally reached their chamber and saw that both Ratan and Rajmata were already there, and Mrityunjay was sitting on the bed with his back resting on the headrest.
Everyone’s eyes went to Katha when they heard her anklets. Katha timidly looked down and adjusted her dupatta over her head while breathing heavily due to running.
She heard Ratan saying, “We’re glad that you are awake now, Bhai-sa. Now, finally, Maa-sa can eat properly and stop taking tension. As for Bhabhi-sa, she can finally rest. You know, ever since you were hurt, she took care of all the political matters, we’ve had a lot of better things in the kingdom now, and as for Neelgarh, it’s stable ever since we amended Bhabhi-sa’s laws there.”
A soft smile came on Mrityunjay’s lips as he felt proud of Katha. He nodded at Ratan and, holding Rajmata’s hand, said, “Now that you know that I am fine. Rest peacefully, Maa-sa. Don’t stress yourself, okay?”
Rajmata smiled and said, “I’m so glad that you’re fine now. As you wish, son, I will go and rest now. You talk with Katha, we’ll come later.”
Mrityunjay nodded, and both Ratan and Rajmata left after that. Just like it has been happening for the past week, Rajmata did not say anything to Katha, whereas Ratan greeted her and left.
She looked at Mrityunjay and slowly went to him. She sat beside him, and before she could say anything, Mrityunjay said, “Leave everyone. No one should be allowed inside until we allow.”
As soon as everyone left, leaving only Katha and Mrityunjay there, he looked at her. Ten minutes passed, and no one said anything until Mrityunjay decided to break the silence,
“Won’t you say anything? Not happy that I am awake?”
Katha looked up in his direction, and Mrityunjay’s gaze softened, seeing her eyes filled with tears. He held her hand, and before he could say anything, she moved closer to him and hugged him. Keeping her head on his chest, Katha let the tears out that she had been keeping inside for the past week.
Mrityunjay hugged her and said, “I am fine now, Katha. It’s okay.”
His words didn’t have any effect on her as she kept crying, letting all her emotions out. While crying, she said, “Hum bahot dar gaye the, Hukum. Humein kuch bhi samajh mein nahi aa raha tha. Akele ho gye the hum, aapko itna yaad kiya humne jitna kabhi kisiko nhi kiya.”
“I was so scared, Hukum. I couldn’t understand anything. I became lonely, I missed you so much, more than I have ever missed anyone.”
Mrityunjay could swear that his heart somersaulted when he heard that Katha missed him. A small smile graced his lips, and he asked, “Aapne humein yaad kiya?”
“You missed me?”
Katha nodded, and Mrityunjay held her tightly, wrapping his arm around her.
After a while when Katha finally stopped crying and sobbing. She backed away a bit and sat straight.
“Calm down now, I am fine.”, Mrityunjay said while caressing Katha’s cheek to wipe the tears, and she nodded. He said again, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.
“Can you tell me why my mouth feels so… bitter?”
“It might be because of the soup. It had herbs in it to cure your wound.”
Mrityunjay nodded but made a face as the taste was getting the best of him.
“Well, can’t I get something sweet?”
“Since your health was affected due to the poison, I don’t think you can eat anything sweet for some time, as it directly reacts with the poison.”
Mrityunjay nodded, “Well, since I can’t eat anything sweet, do you mind me kissing you?”
Katha’s eyes widened at that, even though she didn’t know why. Mrityunjay raised his eyebrows and pulled Katha a little closer. She put her hands on his chest and leaned a little forward. Tilting her head a little, she touched her soft lips to his.
She opened her mouth and started sucking on his lips, but that wasn’t enough to calm her down. She liked this moment and the feeling.
A moan escaped her mouth when Mrityunjay pinched her on the waist. She started sucking harder on his lips like she had been hungry for ages. Mrityunjay smiled a little in return and kissed her back with equal passion. They parted when both of them felt out of breath.
Katha kept her head on Mrityunjay’s chest, but before they could say anything, they heard an attendee,
“Maharaj, RajGuru Prakashanand wants to meet you, and the physicians are also here to meet Maharani-sa.”
Katha sat straight and adjusted her dupatta over her head. “Tell him to come in.”
She moved away from the bed, and Raj Guru came in. The moment he entered, Katha greeted him, and he blessed her. He came forward and sat on the chair beside the bed while Katha went out to meet the physicians.
She asked them to sit, and sat on the couch opposite them.
“What is it?”
The physicians shared a look and said, “Maharani-sa, the herbs we’ve been giving Maharaj to heal his wound, one of the herbs is not only used for healing but for…”
Katha nodded, asking him to continue, but when he didn’t, the female physician said, “Maharani-sa, that herb won’t allow Maharaj’s body to react to… We mean to say that he won’t be able to feel or do any sexual activity till the herbs are in his body. But, as soon as the herb leaves Maharaj’s body, he will have his sexual senses heightened.”
The elder physician continued, “The herbs have their effect only for a few hours. You fed him the herb-filled soup this morning, so the effect might wear off till tonight. He does not need the herbs anymore.”
Katha nodded, and the physicians left. She sighed and stood up the moment she saw RajGuru leaving. He went away without glancing in her direction, and she went inside. She looked at Mrityunjay, who was standing and trying to wear his kurta.
Katha went near him, stopped him, and asked, “What are you doing, Hukum? Don’t wear the Kurta yet.”
He looked at her and said in a teasing tone, “Why? Do you like my body?”
Katha gulped and realized that even after cleaning his body daily, she had never noticed it.
“No Hukum, that’s not the thing. I was just saying that since you’re able to walk now, you should take a bath first, then wear fresh clothes.”
Mrityunjay nodded and, holding Katha by her waist, pulled her closer. She was shocked for a second, and Mrityunjay said, “So, are you telling me that you don’t like my body?”
Katha gulped again, but before she could say anything, Mrityunjay continued,
“Well, can you tell me who cleansed my body when I was… sleeping?”
“Me.”
“Then are you telling me that whilst cleaning me, you didn’t notice my muscles or drooled over them?”
Blood rushed to Katha’s cheeks. She slapped his arm and said,
“Stop teasing me like that. Here’s the thing: I cleaned you, but I never really drooled over your muscles because I never noticed them. I was constantly praying for your health instead of thinking about se-“
Katha stopped abruptly when she realized what words were gonna slip out of her mouth. Mrityunjay raised his eyebrows and said,
“You’ve no idea how much I loved listening to the fact that you missed me.”
Katha smiled, and Mrityunjay continued after leaving her and backing away a little,
“But, since now I am awake, drool over me as much as you want to. I am yours, yours to see, yours to tease, yours to play, yours to drool over, yours to seduce, and yours to love.”
Katha felt butterflies in her stomach listening to Mrityunjay’s words. She went forward and hugged him by wrapping her arms around his neck because a part of her knew that even though she loved him, but wasn’t able to say it.
He hugged her back tightly. After a while, Mrityunjay held her cheeks and left a peck on her lips. Whilst looking into Mrityunjay’s eyes, Katha moved her hands a little lower and touched his chest.
She looked down at his chest and torso. He had a muscular body, there were lines all over indicating the hours of exercise that he spent daily. She looked up again and said,
“I will drool over your body, but not outside the bed.”
His eyes widened at her boldness. She continued, “Now go and take a bath, I have to go look into some matters. You rest, as it might take me much time, and I won’t be able to come before evening.”
Mrityunjay pouted, “I woke up today, and you don’t even want to sit and talk with me.”
“I don’t want to leave your side, Hukum, but some matters need assistance, and I have to look into them as I don’t want to burden you with them. Besides, Maa-sa would love to talk to you, she has been praying day and night for your health. Call her here and talk to her. About talking to you, we’ve got an entire night to talk. You can give your daytime to your family because nights are reserved for me.”
She kissed his cheeks one by one and left from there. Mrityunjay chuckled at her antics.
