In a union that was believed to be blessed by the Gandharvas themselves, Rudra and Lalita exchanged garlands. They performed a simple set of rituals that pronounced them as married according to the rituals of the tribe in Hemavati. It was a grand affair for the simple villagers – they built a small mandapam, decorated it beautifully and surrounded it with music and delicious food. Lalita was amazed at how they had managed to do all of this in such a short period of time. Perhaps it was their admiration for Rudra that fueled their energy even at that hour of the night. It was only until a long while after, very late into the night, that Rudra and Lalita got their alone time. 

“I’ll never get tired of calling you my wife,” Rudra murmured before he untied her stanapatta with ease.

“Me neither, husband…” Lalita uttered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

And finally, after their minds and hearts, their bodies too had united in the greatest expression of love.

“Lali,” Rudra shook her shoulder. “Lali, wake up. Wake up, my love.”

“What…?” Lalita groaned, unprepared for the brightness of the sky that was about to hit her. “Woah…!” she winced and closed her eyes.

“Lali, I have to go.”

“What…?” Lalita yawned as she began to rub her eyes and let them adjust to the light. “Rudra, what are you saying—”

“Hemavati is in danger, Lali. Listen to me!” He shook her by her shoulders.

At dawn, Rudra had heard people cry out in danger from many directions. When he went around town to investigate, he’d seen multiple injured people, in shock and unable to describe what had just happened. They were dragged into the woods – some beaten up, some undergoing near death experiences. And none of them had seen the attacker’s face, or heard any voice. He simply could not hold himself back from trying to figure out what exactly was happening to his people.

Lalita was startled. “What?!”

“Shh, listen to me. There’s something wrong. You need to go home.”

“Without you? I—I can’t do that, you don’t understand—” Lalita was scared to face all the reactions she was going to get at home, alone. More specifically, she was terrified of how Sivagami was going to behave towards her, although she did not want to admit it aloud.

“Yes, you can. Please, Lali. It is not safe for you here.”

Lalita frowned as anger blazed in her eyes. “How is it safe for you?!”

“It’s my duty,” Rudra cupped Lalita’s cheeks with his hands. “I need to fix things even if it puts me in danger.”

“Is it not my duty to be by your side, then?” Lalita pushed his hands away with force, tightly gripping the haaram around his neck. Some of the sharply cut stones on it scratched her delicate palms. “Did you marry me for namesake?!”

Rudra gently freed her hand and held it. “No… no,” he spoke with pain-filled eyes. “But how will I ever focus on the task at hand if I am constantly worried for your safety? And… it’s not like you have nothing to do back at Maahishmati. You have your own duties to fulfil. Your own people to care for.”

“We aren’t separate like that anymore…!” Lalita pleaded. “There’s no ‘your’ duty or ‘mine’. It’s all our duty, Rudra. I—”

“I understand, but there will be some situations where we are bound to go our separate ways. This is one of them.”

Lalita sighed as she tried to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.

“But it’s going to end well. We shall meet again, when this is all done,” he embraced her. “I promise.”

Lalita did not know how to argue against that. But this idea still did not sit well with her.

“I promise, Lali…” He nudged her shoulder with his own.. “I know what a promise means to a Rama bhakta,” Rudra chuckled nervously, trying to lighten up the mood. “I swear by all that my Guru has taught me, I shall do everything possible to keep my promise.”

“Come back victorious,” Lalita mumbled. The years of rigorous training she went through as a kshatriya would not let her abandon her duties. “I will be waiting for you.”

And soon, she was on a boat to Maahishmati. Rudra did not even get to see her off, as he had to rush and protect someone from yet another attack.

The few days after Lalita’s return were… tough, to say the very least. She had been sighted with Rudra the night they escaped to Hemavati. The royal family of Vidarbha left. Lalita lost count of how many times she thanked Rama that they did not take this to be an insult, or worse, wage a war against Maahishmati in anger. Prince Pradyumna was a good man.

Sivagami however, was not so nice. She hadn’t spoken a single word to Lalita since her return. She hadn’t even looked at her face. She stopped showing up to the dining hall for meals, avoided her gaze in court, and chose not to enter the same gardens as Lalita did during leisure time. This had caused some problems for some noblemen, advisors and other members of several councils who hoped to meet Sivagami in common areas and discuss their concerns. So, Lalita herself began appearing less and less in these places, and eventually, the only contact she maintained with the outside world was through Kattappa or Vidya. Rudra and Baahubali’s absence made the loneliness far worse. Lalita hoped this was just a phase. She prayed silently for Sivagami’s anger to melt away soon. For no matter what happened, she was still the woman who raised and protected her. Lalita was not ready to lose such an important relationship.

Not yet.

But unbeknownst to her, a storm was brewing. A storm whose seed was laid by Bijjaladeva’s hate. A storm that was being sustained by Bhallaladeva’s ambition. One that Sivagami was unintentionally supporting with her ego. The storm that would absolutely crush her. The storm that would create the kind of damage nobody ever completely recovers from.

“We must eliminate her soon, Bhalla,” Bijjaladeva whispered to his son, his piercing gaze fixed on Lalita during one of her rare appearances in the royal council that discussed the Empire’s overall development. He looked at her in disgust, with no intention of hiding it; so blatantly hateful, even Lalita had noticed on multiple occasions during the short meeting. Her instincts screamed at her to run away. But she ignored it, as she shifted uncomfortably, assuming that it was just her tendency to overthink.

“I have everything planned,” Bhalla discreetly whispered back. “It will take some time, but it will be done. Please don’t ruin it in your haste, Father.”

Bijjaladeva scoffed, impatient. But his son’s instructions were clear. He had to wait.

To Lalita, it was almost suffocating. She practically leapt to the door the second they declared the meeting as complete, and headed straight to her chambers.

She quickly scribbled a short message on a small piece of parchment. ‘Rudra has left me alone here. I don’t feel safe. I need you, Baahu. Come soon.’

But she shook her head. The last thing Baahu needed on a tricky mission was additional pressure. She threw the parchment into the fire of a large torch nearby.

She thought she could just wait it out, hoping her anxiety would dissipate on its own. That by the time she had to face any real risk—that is, if there was going to be any at all—Baahubali would return. 

That she just had to be patient.

Oh, how wrong she was.

Sorry for the short chapter 😭, but the next one is going to make up for this, both in length and emotion.

Hope you enjoyed <3

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