AN: Hi guys! This is something I started some other site sometime ago, so I thought I will post it here also. ? Hope u all will like it too.
PREMISE OF THE STORY: It starts with Nandini acting as if she had married another person in Kaling and Chandra doesn’t find out about the fake husband.
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of pure fiction and is no way related to history.
NOT PROOF READ. Kindly excuse the errors.
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Special Note : Kindly imagine a really handsome person to be Nandhini’s fake husband.?
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THE FULL MOON TIDES
The Full moon tides,
No matter how far and distant the moon appears to be,
It can never resist the call of the crystal water…
No matter how unaffected and strong the water seems,
Pushing and rushing through the boulders littered on its way,
It still dances to the magnetic tunes of the subtle moonlight…
The full moon tides ebbs and flows,
Gently regaling us all of a love story
As old as the shining moon and the glittering ocean
As gentle as the moon and as powerful as its pull
And as tumultuous as its tides…*
-LzB
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Nandhini reached Magadh Palace as the daai maa as per the Royal Request. In other words, she decided to bear the humiliation of being the servant in the same palace she was born and brought up, as the favourite little princess of her doting father and was then the Mukhya maharani to the whole Kingdom… And all this because she knew that let there be 100 other servants to look after the little Prince Bindusaar; only she could give the motherly love the baby craved. She had a promise to fulfill too, a promise made to her soul sister, Dhurdhara.
Nandhini didn’t mind the humiliation she would face in front of the other palace people, but was surely afraid of the reactions on the faces of the people she loved…would they hate her? After all her innocence in the crime she was accused of and punished for, had not been proven yet. Will her dear dadima and Moora ma hate her? She worried about the hate she would see in their faces. She had genuinely come to love them as her own.
But then in all these bad things there was one good thing… and that was being able to meet her mother again and also introduce her to her grandson, her late brother’s and Gautami’s son to her. Also since one of the terms for coming to Magadh palace included bringing Gautami along with her, helped in the issue that Gautami wasn’t left alone in Kaling.
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Nandhini had put little Bindu to sleep in his crib. His stomach pain was improving but was far away from getting cured fully. She decided to take a walk in the corridor assigning a daasi to look after the baby and call her if he wakes up. She then started walking along the corridor lost in thoughts. Just when she was about to take a turn she collided with a solid body and saved promptly from hitting the floor by the same body. She looked up to meet the deep intense eyes of Chandragupt. For a moment she wondered how her destiny loved to play games with her and saw to that she always ended up colliding with him, sometimes in love and more times in hate… This time she knows she doesn’t hate him but Love? She doesn’t know anymore. She knows that he surely does hate her and what makes her more sad is not his hate but the despicable reason for it. He believed she was capable of such a heinous crime? He believed she could harm her soul sister and her unborn baby? He believed everybody else but her…
Time would have frozen in time again if not for a sound which came from behind the eye-locked couple; the sound of someone clearing their throat rather accusingly. Chandra immediately straightened both up and left hurried without a back glance. Nandhini then glared at the person who made the accusing sound, who in turn responded playfully with, ” Did I disturb you both?”
Nandhini still angry, ” Rudra what is the meaning of this? You know very well he hates me and I him! So what is the use of making such noises and creating akward situation for everyone?”
Rudra,” Arrey, I’m your husband and I was jealous looking at such an intense eye lock. From here it looked like Love but if you say I will believe it was Hate.”
Nandhini,” Rudra, you very well know we aren’t married for real, so please stop interfering in my things.”
Rudra playfully, “Hmm this why they say don’t help anybody! It was you who made me your husband! ” Seeing Nandhini’s glare he modified,” Ok, your Fake husband, happy now? Anyways like I was saying I was happy in my life in Kaling then you begged me to come to Magadh and stay here to help you with your drama, which God knows will go for how long! And I so chivalrously accepted thinking a poor abla nari is asking for my help and I should help her… But here you are showing me my place! If I was a lesser man than I am I would have threatened to leave you and go but since I am who I am I won’t.”
Rudra smirked good-naturedly seeing Nandhini’s change of expressions throughout his little speech ranging from anger to apology to fear of being exposed to gratitude. He smiled at her genuineness. He had met quite a few princess but none had been as genuine as Princess Nandhini. Of course he knew the turbulent story of princess Nandhini and Chandragupt Maurya, but only recently he came to know the beautiful princess in person. He knew his father the Vanga King, would be greatly happy about the choice of his future Patrani and Mukhya maharani ! Yes! He of course being the Vanga prince , Rudrendrasenadatta would inherit the Vanga throne next and was sure would restore the dignity of this fiery princess to her former or to say a greater glory than before… a glory she deserved and which she never got in this kingdom. He would make her the pride of his kingdom and that would teach Chandragupt how to treat a queen who in every way truly deserved to be called a queen more than anyone else ever!
Nandhini didn’t know Rudra was a prince who had been visiting Kaling just like Chandra had. He too had come in plain clothes to take part in the famed Shiv temple’s festivities that day. Gautami and she were desperately searching for somebody decent enough to act as her husband and had found this man who was helping an old lady with some logs. They had thought he was a woodcutter and a generous one at that as not only did he help her carry the goods to her house, he didn’t even charge her. He had accepted a glass of water as the cost of his labour. The impressed ladies had then approached him with their offer and after much protest, he had finally agreed seeing their pitiable faces.
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Amidst the conversation which lasted about five minutes, Nandhini remembered that Chandra was going towards Bindu’s room and wanted to stop him as no matter how quiet and stealthy Chandra tried to be, his clothes made such a rustle that it would surely wake up a sleeping lion let alone a very light sleeping Bindu! So Nandhini quickly gave a thankful nod to Rudra for everything. Then saying Chandra will wake up Bindu, she ran after Chandra instead.
Rudra saw Nandhini running after Chandra and thought that he would have to reveal his true identity to Nandhini soon. He knew she had soft corner to the Magadh King but he also knew Magadh didn’t deserve such a warrior queen. He would have to convince her about that. He had fallen in love at first sight, which had only deepened as the days went by watching many many facets of the same lady. He would woo her for sure. He was if not more at least as good looking as his love rival and equally powerful to say the least. He just wanted the right moment to break that truth to her. And in times like now when he saw her eye-locked with that Chandra, his heart burned… He certainly wasn’t lying when he said he was jealous… But he has faith that soon she would be his and his only.
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Here Nandhini reached Chandra just in time! She almost pulled Chandra back and both fell down in a heap on the floor! This time Chandra got up swiftly glaring at Nandhini for her audacious behavior. Nandhini who saw his anger realized that she was not behaving like a servant would in front of her maharaj. She said, ” Sorry, I just wanted to stop you fro.m entering Bindu’s room and ” Chandra angrily asked,” And?” She continued,” And wake him up” Chandra even more angrier, ” You seriously think I am such a useless dad that I will go and wake up my sleeping kid?”
Nandhini,” No maharaj, I know you wouldn’t intentionally but your clothes and jewellery make noise which would wake him!”
Chandra just glared at her and opened the door and enetered the room unheeding of her advise. Everything was clam but the moment he went near Bindu’s cradle, he could sense the baby’s discomfort and waking from his sleep! Which in mere moments became a waling sad cry the way only a baby could do. Immediately Nandhini rushed in and took the baby to pacify him, not forgetting to glare at the king himself for disturbing her baby! The king was sufficiently chastised and gave a silent apologetic look towards her, which she royally ignored. She may not be a queen by title anymore but no king would deny the royal attitude she bore with this much panache.
She started singing a beautiful lullaby to the little prince and the king of Magadh was mesmerized. Chandra then silently laughed at himself thinking whether there was anything of hers that wouldn’t mesmerize him. He was mesmerized by her serene smile, her musical laugh, her beautiful dancing, her knowledgeable brain, her swift sword fighting skills, her naughty antics – oh how me missed being called ‘vanaar’ by her… She mesmerized him, period.
He knew he shouldn’t be thinking this way about her… not only because she had killed Dhurdhara but now she also belonged to somebody else. That brought back his anger and ashamedly to his self discovery her realized his anger was more because of remembering the scenes of her with that new man rather than the scenes of Dhurdhara’s death which often played in his mind’s eye.
In fact just then when he almost shouted at her and walked in unheeding her caution, waking up poor Bindusaar in the process was not because he didn’t respect her, but it was because he was angry on that man and her too for what happened earlier… The fact that, he the King and her husband couldn’t do anything when the other man disturbed them, because the new man now had the right to disturb them being her new husband and he Chandragupt Maurya was suddenly nobody to Nandhini…
He didn’t know what to do with this sudden epiphany, and such an unpleasant one at that. Did he forget the injustice she did to Dhurdhara, his dearest friend and had again fallen prey to his heart? His silly heart which just can’t bear the sight of another man besides her, need alone touching her? His heart which mourns the death of Dhurdhara also is the one which weeps at lonely nights thinking that his Nandhini was with someonelse at those times and he had no right over her? It was traumatizing to think such things… to think that he was doing injustice to Dhurdhara’s memories in heart by thinking such things about her murderer…
He decided to move away from the root cause for all his life’s banes, one who was presently singing in the most beautiful voice, gently putting his son to sleep… But one movement from his side and the lioness safeguarding her cub was at his side again! She glared at him and pushed on the bed signaling him to be seated silently. He dutifully obliged, all conflicting thoughts vanishing away from his mind.
She then gestured him to remove his noise making ornaments and parts of his upper clothing, which he again did dutifully, for a moment smirking naughtily forgetting the present and transported right back to the good old days where they used to tease each other incessantly… Nandhini who in turn realized what his smirk meant also realized the whole awkward situation! She then just hit him playfully as hard as she could while balancing an almost asleep Bindu in her arms. She then silently mouthed a ‘vaanar’ at him, which made him laugh out loud suddenly, which he promptly closed off with his hands! His body shaking in laughter…
Chandra had tears in his eyes from laughing. He never knew he would ever laugh again… but now seeing Nandhini who was smilingly putting a sleeping Bindu into his cradle, he realized his heart was just waiting for its reason to be happy to return.
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TBC
AN: How was the first part? Don’t forget to post your comments! ? And I would like to add that the scene where Chandra disturbing Bindu and Nandini preventing it, was written and published on 18th April originally, that is much before a similar scene was actually shown in the show!! ? Now I dunno whether CVs were inspired by this or not as my friends in other forum said, but one thing I know for sure I wasn’t inspired by them! ?
* – BTW regarding that poem; I was actually thinking of a title for this story and this poem popped up in my head instead! Like instant noodles, instant poem! N thankfully Nandhini also means river Ganga, just my luck! Otherwise my instant poem could not have been used here and that would be sad, considering I(LzB) wrote it just for them… ?