The wind over Salwa that night was unlike any other, howling through the darkness like a fierce warning. The palace flambeaus wavered uneasily, their flames bending low in a quiet gesture of submission.
Princess Shalmali stood alone on the highest balcony of the citadel; her fingers wrapped around the cold marble railing, she had always loved the wind, but this was different. This wind whispered, not in words she understood, but in feelings, unease, urgency and a strange pull toward the horizon where the dunes swallowed the sky.
"Your highness." A soft voice called from behind.
Shalmali did not turn immediately, her gaze remained fixed on the darkness beyond Salwa's golden walls.
"Bhanu, do you feel it too?" She asked.
"I only feel the cold." Bhanu answered.
Of course, she didn't, no one ever did. Shalmali finally turned, her deep eyes reflecting flame, but carrying something far more ancient than her years, "That's because the wind isn't meant for you."
A distant rumble echoed across the desert, not thunder, something else, something alive and in that moment, Shalmali knew, though she could not explain how, that the life she had known inside these walls was already over.
"Alert the guards." Shalmali felt afraid for the first time; she had been seeing visions since the moment she took her first breath, always sensing problems before they arrived, but this was the first time those visions truly frightened her.
"Your Highness." Bhanu bowed and hurried off.
From the moment she was born to this very day, she could see things no one else could. She had a knack for foreseeing problems and warning others about them, but it often made people think she was inviting chaos or more precisely, the kind of chaos that seemed to follow her everywhere. She could catch glimpses of events that would soon unfold, but she couldn't make sense of them. She couldn't stop them, only offer vague warnings without clear guidance, which often left people resenting her.
"Shalmali..." A voice echoed from sky.
Shalmali stumbled and fell back in fear; she had heard this voice many times before, and each time it was followed by something cruel. She knew something terrible was about to happen to the people around her, and once again, they'd look at her as if she were the criminal.
"Bhan..." Shalmali tried to call for help, but her voice failed her, as though an unseen force was restraining it.
"Come to me, Shalmali." The voice echoed once more, and she saw a pair of eyes watching her in confusion. The man's arm was wrapped around her curvy figure, and then she lost consciousness.
"Shalmali, Shalmali, my daughter." Empress Malti was holding her hand when Shalmali regained consciousness.
"Mother!" Shalmali jumped up and hugged her, but the sight around her was shocking; her room looked like a warzone, as if a massive fight had erupted while she was unconscious.
"Do not look upon it, my dear daughter; it is not on your account." Malti gently caressed her hair.
"Who is that crying out? Why is my chamber in such a state? What calamity has befallen this place?" Shalmali realized that the danger she had been foreseeing had already occurred.
No one could say a word to her, as the king and queen had instructed them not to, but Shalmali wasn't willing to listen tonight. She followed the sound of screams, brushing past those who tried to stop her, until she reached the hallway and saw the injured guards. She looked at them, searching for the truth; their eyes held the same fear, only a little more intense. This attack was aimed at her once again, and they had all paid the price. She had to endure the stares, silent judgment, and whispered taunts again until things settled, only for another attack to begin the cycle anew. She would be targeted all her life for a power she never asked for, and that was just how life was for her.
"It is not by reason of you." Malti softly patted her daughter.
"How can it be, otherwise, Mother? All my life have I been assailed by fiends, who would claim me for the power I bear. The prophecy, that I am to behold the future and forestall it, has made of my existence a misery most profound. I glimpse what is to come, yet only through a glass darkly, and still I know not by what means it may be prevented." Shalmali, caught up in the moment, made a snap decision.
"I command you, send me away from this place to some distant realm, where no one from this world can reach me, to that sphere where I belong." she shouted at the sky.
The glasses shattered, the earth trembled, and Shalmali felt as if someone from the sky had vacuumed her away. It all happened in a split second, yet she felt the pain of a thousand years and when she opened her eyes, she found herself drowning in water. She didn't know how to swim, she was a princess of desert who had never seen such a vast body of water in her life.
"Help me, I command you!" Shalmali cried out but soon found herself sinking beneath the water. She thought it was her final moment as she went deeper, until two strong arms suddenly wrapped around her and pulled her above water.
"Who are you, sir?" Shalmali was startled to see a man carrying her as if he knew nothing of her title, her world, or anything about her. His very short, water soaked hair suited him, and his sharp features and calm composure felt otherworldly. She touched his face to confirm if he was real or just an illusion.
"What are you doing?" He questioned her.
She was shocked; she had heard this voice many times growing up and had seen blurry figures resembling this man, but before she could react, she felt tremendous pain in her ears.
He rushed her to the hospital as blood dripped from her ears and nose, she looked at him and his car with confusion, "How comes there to be water in this place? What attire have you seen fit to don? Are we, then, on our way to see a doctor?"
"Can you keep quiet so I can drive to the hospital?" Adhiraj asked, trying his best to keep his tone as gentle as possible.
"You are, I must confess, rather ill-mannered; yet, despite it, you prove yourself of considerable assistance." Shalmali, nevertheless, could not help but remark upon his discourtesy.
"What are you saying?" Adhiraj hit the brakes, glanced at her, and a thought crossed his mind, "If I take her to the hospital, media people might see us together and start rumors."
He punched the steering wheel; he had come to the beach to celebrate his biggest day when he suddenly heard a loud splash in the water, followed by a woman's desperate cry for help and now he found himself tending to a complete stranger.
"Do you wish to see me dead, pray tell?" Shalmali glared at him.
Adhiraj took a deep breath in frustration and drove to his house, having called his staff to leave before he arrived and urgently summoned doctors to his home. He carried Shalmali to the guest room and let the doctor attend to her when he arrived.
"Investigate how and why there was a random woman on my reserved property." He called his secretary, snapped as soon as she answered, and hung up before she could say a word.
Adhiraj was born with a silver spoon; his grandparents were wealthy, and his parents turned that fortune into one of the richest in the country. As the only son of the Rathore family, he was destined to rule this wealth. After being appointed CEO of the family business's new branch in a new city, he has consistently proven himself, and yesterday he landed the biggest deal in the company's history.
"Mr. Rathore, I have done the dressing and given her an injection to relieve the pain, but she still doesn't seem well. Her breathing is not normal, and her ears look damaged, you should get to the hospital as soon as you can." The doctor informed him about her condition.
"Can I take her to the hospital in the morning?" Adhiraj rubbed his chin.
"I am afraid not; she might lose her hearing." The doctor advised, urging her to rush to the hospital before leaving.
"Am I then destined to die? Take me to my mother at once." Shalmali looked at Adhiraj with fear.
"You're bleeding from your ears again, oh my god." Adhiraj quickly helped Shalmali up and rushed her to the car. Shalmali touched her ears and murmured, "I cannot endure this pain, make this bleeding stop and heal my wounds at this instant."
"Hold on, we're going to the hospital now." Adhiraj helped her into the passenger seat and then got into the driver's seat, but when he turned to her to fasten her seatbelt, there was no sign of bleeding at all.
"What are you, a witch?" Adhiraj cupped her face and examined both her ears, even slipping a finger inside to check for any signs of blood, but she wasn't bleeding at all.
"You shall not lay a hand upon me." Shalmali gently pulled his hand away from her face.
"I do not wish to." Adhiraj got off car and stormed in his house.
"I insist you see me returned to my palace without delay." Shalmali followed him, but after only a few steps she was out of breath and sat down on the stairs.
"I don't want to see you sent anywhere or better yet, I do not want see you, miss. You can stay in the guest room tonight, but I want you gone tomorrow morning before I open eyes." Adhiraj walked to his bedroom without looking back.
Shalmali glanced at his back and headed to the guest room after he closed the door. She sat on a chair by the window, gazing at the shining city. It was so different from her own, and in that moment, she remembered the wish she had made before being thrown into the water.
"Did I, brought a curse upon myself? And am I now confined to a realm not my own?" Shalmali wondered, fear gripping her as she realized she might have been cast out of her home, away from her mother and father, never to see them again.