The day of the royal union dawned, and the palace bustled with preparations—silken drapes adorned the halls, sacred fires were set ablaze, and the grandest welcome was readied for Maharaj Mrityunjay. Amidst it all, Rajkumari Katha, veiled in the hues of destiny, awaited the moment that would seal her fate.
Today is the day everyone has been eagerly anticipating, except for me.
Today, I will be married off to a man I have never met before.
Today, I will become Queen of one of the most prosperous kingdoms of Hind.
Today I will have to leave my brother.
Everyone is busy preparing for the day, but here I am preparing for my future.
By that, I mean making sure I get everything from this marriage that my mother never could from hers: respect from my future husband, a promise that he won’t marry any other woman except me, and the title of the eldest and only wife. I have been in this world for 21 years, I have seen my maids and my friend get married, and it is through them that I know that a man never respects a woman he can easily bed.
My mother suffered from this disrespect, my friend did too.
If a man gets tired of his wife this easily, then I am going to make sure my husband never gets tired of me; he should not have any other woman in his life.
I will make sure of that.
I have learned about all the things that happen between a couple, everything about intimacy, about how it starts and how it ends. What to do and what not to do. I know everything a woman can do to control a man.
To gain respect from Hukum, as I am calling my future husband, I know what I have to do. I have to make sure that I do everything in my power so that he can’t bed me, to gain respect, and to make sure he does what I want him to, I will have to make sure that he tempts me and the only way to do that is keeping him away from me but at the same time doing everything to make him lose control.
If Hukum is really the man who keeps his promises, then I will make sure that as a gift on our first night, he gives me a promise, a promise that he won’t make love to me unless and until I want him to.
This will be my first step towards gaining everything my mother never could and also a step towards a peaceful married life.
Today is the day I will be getting married in order to bring peace to my kingdom, but today is also the day I will get to see who my partner for eternity is going to be. There is still a long journey ahead before I reach the very kingdom where she awaits my arrival.
Wait…
Will she be eagerly awaiting my arrival, or is it just my hopeful imagination? All my questions will soon be answered when I finally reach her, marry her, and find ourselves alone in our room. It will be then that I can ask her whatever I want, and perhaps even make her promise to be my queen and accept me with all her heart, granting my every desire…
Maa-sa once told me that a man should respect the needs and desires of a woman. A husband should know what his wife wants, whether she is comfortable or not, and whether she is ready to give herself completely to her husband or not.
I may have my own desires to fulfill with my future wife, but I should know whether she is ready to satisfy those desires or is scared to have herself given to a man she doesn’t know anything about.
I cannot recall the last time I felt such anticipation to meet someone. It has been 29 years, and yet this is the first time I have felt this way. Countless questions swirl in my mind.
Is she waiting for me with the same eagerness?
Will she embody the qualities I expect her to possess – caring, kind, and intelligent?
Will she bring balance to my life, or perhaps unleash chaos I have never experienced before?
For now, all I can do is wait…
I wait patiently for her to be mine, eagerly wait for her to be by my side, and anxiously await the moment when we can finally speak and truly get to know each other, yearning for the connection that awaits us.
