Author's POV:
Another two decades of Nandini's life passed blissfully with immense love from both her parents, and all her brothers, and she grew up to be a beautiful, young and kind-hearted Princess, alongside having a profound knowledge of administration, and trained in vaious martial arts including archery, horse-riding and sword-fighting.
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The scene opens with 7 brothers lined up, one beside the other, facing the target, an apple, ready with their bows and arrows. Starting from the eldest brother, one by one, they try to pierce the apple, as MahaPadmaNand (their father), and MahaAmatya (their guru), watches them in disappointment, since none of the brothers are successful.
After the youngest brother misses the shot as well, an arrow from behind pierces the apple right from the middle, cutting the apple into two equal halves, and the apple falls down on the floor. The 7 brothers and MahaAmatya watch the scene in astonishment as a proud smile forms on MahaPadmaNanda's face. The brothers turn back to look at the origin of the arrow, and they see Nandini, their little sister, walking towards them with a bow in her hand. She keeps the bow down on a nearby table, and touches the MahaAmatya's feet, followed by giving her father a tight hug. Nand reciprocates and pecks his daughter's forehead. They break the hug, and Nand exclaims,
'Dekha MahaAmatya, hamari putri ne wo kar dikhaya jo tumhare ye saat shishya itne varshon m naa kar paaye!'
'Did you see, MahaAmatya, my daughter did what your 7 students couldn't do in so many years!'
MahaAmatya nods with a small smile, and one could see the pride in the eyes of the brothers as well, for their young sister. Despite the fact that they all had failed miserably, there was not a tint of jealousy on their faces. Everyone in the family loved Nandini immensely, and being the youngest in the family, and a sister to 7 brothers, she was the most pampered one.
'Hamare Guru bhi toh aap hain na, Pitashree!'
'That's because you are my Guru, Father!'
Nandini exclaims, as she bends down to touch her father's feet.
'Par putri, tumne bina dekhe, piche se nishaana lagaya kaise?'
'But daughter, how did you target the shot from behind without looking at it?'
'Woh isiliye, kyuki hamne yahan se nhi (pointing at her eyes), yahan se nishaana lagaya (pointing at her heart)'.
'That's because I did not use my eyes to see the shot, I listened to my heart'.
Says Nandini, with a broad smile on her face.
'Yadi kabhi avashyata padi, toh itne komal hridya k saath apne desh k liye kaise lad paaogi, putri?'
'If needed, how would you enter the battlefield to fight for your kingdom with such a soft heart, my daughter?'
Asks Nand, keeping the smile on his face intact.
'Yadi Desh k liye ladna hai, toh uske liye hridya m Desh k liye prem bhi toh hona chahiye na, Pitashree!'
'One needs to have love for the country in their heart, to fight for the sake of it, father!'
Says Nandini, and Nand's heart fills with pride and admiration for his daughter.
'Toh issi baat par, hamare beech talwaarbaazi ki ek pratiyogita ho jaaye?'
'So shall we have a sword-fight among ourselves, on that word?'
Asks Nand, and Nandini nods enthusiastically, followed by picking up two swords from the chamber and giving one to her father.
The sword fight starts, and Nandini ducks the first attack by her father. She then attacks, and Nand defends. After a fierce competition from both sides which lasts a few minutes, Nandini attacks on Nand's wrist, and he is unable to defend, which results in a deep wound, and blood starts dripping from there, followed by the sword slipping out of his hands and falling on the floor with a clanking sound.
Nandini keeps her sword on the table and runs to her father, worry etched on her forehead,
'Pitashree!'
'Father!'
She exclaims, tears pooling in her eyes out of guilt for wounding her dearest Father and Guru. She runs to the place where the medicines are kept, and prepares everything needed to band-aid the wound, and comes back to the chamber where the sword-fight had taken place.
Nand watches the whole scene with a smile adorned on his face, and just as Nandini tries to pour water on the wound to wash off the blood and clean the wound, he stops her, saying,
'Hamari putri ka diya hua pehla ghaav hai ye, isse aise hi rehne do'.
'This is the first wound given by my daughter, let it be as it is'.
Nand grunted, leaving his daughter shocked.
'Yadi isse aise hi chodh diya, toh ghaav bhad jaayega aur bharne m atyadhik samay lagega'.
'If it is left in this state, the wound deepen and take even more time to heal'.
Says Nandini, tears flowing from her eyes, as she speaks softly.
'Ye ghaav toh bhar jaayega putri, kitnu tum hame ye batao ki bhaviya m, yadi koi din aisa aajaaye, jab tumhe apne Pitashee k virudh khada hona pade, tab tum kya karogi?'
'This wound would eventually heal, my daughter, but what would you do if you have to go against your father someday in the future?'
Gently cupping her cheeks, Nand asks, who had also become teary-eyed, seeing the amount of love his little daughter had for him.
'Aisa din kabhi nhi aayega, Pitashree!'
'Such a day would never come, Father!'
Says Nandini, gently taking her father's hand in hers, washing off the blood which had dried by now, followed by cleaning off the wound with a cloth, and applying the ointment on the area, lastly bandaging it, with a small smile on her face.
Everyone present in the room had become emotional, including the 7 brothers and the MahaAmatya, watching the father-daughter duo and their precious bond.
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Little did Nandini know, that the time had come, when she will soon have to stand against her own father and face him in the battlefield!
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Author's Corner:
Uff! The father-daughter bond is just so pure! šš
Even I am a Daddy's Little Princess for my Father! ā¤ļø (Not the Papa ki Pari one, though! šš)
Okay, I don't even know how I am going to make Nand the villain in their story, but well, it is needed for the plot and the story to move forward. š
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Umm, well, you can consider this as the introduction of the female lead of the story, Princess RajNandini! ā¤ļøā¤ļø
If you like my story, do not forget to vote, comment, and follow for further updates! ā¤ļøā¤ļø
To be continued... šš š
Until next time, lovelies! āš»āš»
Tadaaaa šš»šš»... Take Care! ā¤ļøā¤ļø
Your Author loves you all a lotttt! Muahhhh! šš¤©šā¤ļøš«š¤š»
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