Kingdom of Shrughna : 1000 Years Ago

"Netri, how many times have I told you not to sneak in here?" , Shaila Devi caught her daughter's arm and dragged her silently away.

"But Ma, I too want to go to pathshala (school) like brother." Netri nagged in.

"You are a girl Netri, this is not for you. Have you seen any girl to go to school in our community? The boys are the ones who will be earning anyway. Moreover you will be married off soon and you don't need to learn scriptures for doing household chores do you?"

"Ma if no one will attempt to teach us how they will know if we are too capable like the boys or maybe even better", Netri argued.

"That's enough Netri. Now come home and help me with the chores will you."

The sounds of the students practicing their lessons were gradually fading away while Netri kept staring at the direction of the pathshala while her mother dragged her away. Netri is the second child of Shaila Devi and her husband Pandit Girijapradhan who taught in the pathshala as a guru (teacher). But since Netri was a girl he never attempted to educate her like her brother.

But Netri was stubborn to learn. So after much contemplation and getting caught many times near the pathshalas, she somehow managed to agree her parents to learn only the basics of education. But unbeknownst to Shaila Devi and Girijapradan, Netri managed to get herself actually learn more by sneakily stealing books. Every day she used go to the nearby mountain forest on the pretext of finding medicinal herbs and in solitude used to study all the scriptures she stole before sneakily returning them back to their place. However as days passed by, pressure was mounting on her to get married off to a prospective suitor who was much older to her. And soon her parents informed her about the marriage which is about to take place in two months.

"Netri, we have found a perfect suitor for you. He is economically sound and have no problem in taking you in as his second wife" her father said in a rather calm determined voice.

The word 'second wife' came as a tight slap on Netri's face.

"Second wife??" She stuttered.

Her father explained that the merchant wants to marry again as his first wife is bed ridden and have very short time to live. The doctors have tried their best to cure her but they failed. The man needs a new wife to take care of his house. Her dreams came crashing down like a rock mountain being bombarded down. Upon hearing it she ran away to the forest as if she was running away from a swift approaching sinister. Huffing and panting she stopped among the forest. She dreamt of learning and going to school someday just like the boys in her village. Even she managed to agree her father who reluctantly allowed her to sit the primary exam which takes place once a year. But all these dreams got trampled and destroyed like delicate flowers under a rock. The thoughts created a violent riot in her mind. With tears rolling down her eyes and the quavering wet wet-lashes she let out a scream.

Suddenly a vast wave of psychic energy got released and rippled through the surroundings slicing off trees and bushes. Birds and animals nearby got thrown away due to its impact. The emotional buildup inside Netri's mind manifested into a violent outburst of psychic energy which knocked her unconscious. Hours later she was found by the villagers when her parents started getting worried whether she ran away.

Netri opened her eyes after one whole day of staying unconscious. Suddenly, she remembered what happened in the forest. The whole incident clearly replayed itself in her mind. She became restless yet had to hide it from her parents who are busy preparing for her marriage by consulting a horoscope expert. An auspicious date was fixed. With so little time left Netri geared up to know the mystery of here powers. She started to steal scriptures from the school library in the pretext of bringing food for her elder brother. This time she took books and scriptures from the section of the art of magic which was until now untouched by her. She started studying about it and found out that people like her, with magic are called auras. She became more submerged into learning about it and got her hands on the scriptures which states that there are a whole lot of spells and techniques of magic arts which auras can learn to control their magic and until the coming of age of seventeen the abilities will not fully manifest. Netri was fourteen and half years old, so she thought that it's still two years before her magic can fully manifest. But she will be married off in two months so how will that be possible. Suddenly, she grew strangely determined and decided that whatever happens she will learn it. And with that she stole a significant number of books and scriptures and hid them in her clothes given by her parents as a part of dowry gifts.

Netri was married off to the merchant two months later. With a heavy heart she left for the neighborhood province only to face a sinister later. Initially, her married life seemed normal as it should be. Her husband surprisingly never touched her to consummate the marriage as it was normal in marriages. Netri became an overnight mistress of the vast mansion. As for practicing magic it proved to be rather difficult with being the mistress of the household surrounded by so many people. Her husband normally stays away from the house travelling business trips.

The mansion is sprawled across almost two hundred acres with a huge gate built in the entrance followed by the flower garden in the front. The western side of the mansion was the fruit garden and the back side had the kitchen garden. There was an outhouse in the eastern side of the mansion, built a little far away from the main mansion and was kind of in a dilapidated condition. Allegedly, it was where the sick first wife of the merchant was kept. No one was allowed in that outhouse except for the family doctor, two senior maids and the merchant himself. Netri, being very sharp with her observation and wits came to know these facts the day she entered through the mansion. The man she married was rather well behaved with a layer of coldness in him. Not what she initially expected.

Dressed in maroon red wedding leghenga (Indian ethnic bridal wear) Nerti looked exceptionally ethereal. The vermillion smeared on her forehead made her complexion more prominent. With tinkling sound of the ornaments she stepped in the house after the rituals for a newlywed bride. Her feet were painted with red alta (red colour paint used to apply on feet by Indian women for auspicious occasions) and her hands were decorated with henna that has turned into a dark color. The veil on her head was dropped to cover her face as it is inauspicious to look upon the new bride as soon as she arrives without the proper rituals. Her husband will unveil her face on the first night and only after that the other people will get to look upon her face.

However, during the first night her husband did unveiled her face only to coldly state that he will not touch her. The declaration brought a relief in Netri but was also clouded with an uncertain future.

"Why does he do not want to consummate this marriage? It's good for now but what could possibly be the reason for man whose first wife is bed ridden and who has just wedded a much younger girl?" Netri kept thinking lying on the vast bed alone in her chambers. The next morning she was woken up by the head maid of the house.

"Mistress, it's time for you to wake up and become familiar with household rules and ways" she said with a bow. Four other maids accompanied her who immediately started preparing for Netri's bath before she will be taken to the main hall where all the house servants were present, to introduce themselves to the new mistress.

Adorned in expensive clothes and ornaments she was taken down to the great hall. As soon as she came down se could feel a heavy air of suspicion surrounding the place with the grim expressions of everyone.

She greeted them with folded hands and they responded with folding their hands and kneeling down. Then she was taken away by the head maid to show her the house around. While she was leaving she could hear a faint whisper.

"I heard this is the tenth new mistress in the last four years." A servant whispered to another.

"What?", the other one replied with a bewildered expression.

"Yes. That's what the rumor goes around. Periodically even the servants are replaced. Only the head maid is serving for over two decades now. The rest are replaced erratically." The servant chirped.

"Didn't you think it's a little funny that we are recruited on a short-term basis? That's how servants are being recruited here. I don't know how long we will be here. But what to do we need money so as long we are working all is good."

Both servants kept whispering to each other which Netri managed to hear with a chill running down her spine.

"What does that mean? How many girls did the merchant marry? What exactly is going on?"

A thousand questions shot Netri's mind. Suddenly she was jerked back to reality with a light tapping on her shoulder.

"My lady….are you alright?" the heads maid asked.

"Ahhh..yes yes I am alright. I just got lost seeing all these large halls and corridors." Netri quickly composed herself.

In the next hour, she was shown every part of the mansion ending with the kitchen garden. While returning Netri suddenly stopped and asked the head maid.

"You didn't show me the outhouse yet", Netri asked pointing out at the eastern outhouse.

The head maid got jolted with surprise. Never happened before that a newly wedded mistress could talk back to her and that too in tone hinted as if it was an order to explain why the outhouse was left out to be shown to her. The head maid replied with a tone mixed with surprise and annoyance at the seeming audacity of the new mistress.

"The outhouse is prohibited to enter as per Master's orders. Mistress doesn't need to concern herself with the outhouse as it's abandoned for many years."

"Let me take the Mistress up to her chambers as you must be tired from touring the house for so long", said the head maid taking Netri back.

Unknown to Netri all these were being watched by two pair of eyes from the window slit of a room in the outhouse. The eyes turned a slight tinge of green while its pupils became like that of a lizard.

As they were coming back they met with the merchant standing beside one of the huge pillars in the outer hallway.

"There you are." He said with a bright smile on his face rendering Netri confused that this was the man who coldly refused to stay with her on their wedding night.

"Let's go to the temple to offer our prayers to the local deity. It is the custom for a newly wedded woman" the merchant said taking her by the hand. For some reason, Netri felt a feeling of loving gesture in his actions. She complied yet could not completely shake off the weirdness she encountered so far regarding the mansion and her husband's shocking declaration last night. The next few days her husband made everything a loving husband does much to Netri's surprise. It was like a blooming love affair between two people. Even what followed next were pecks of kisses and holding hands and sharing all the romantic gestures. The weird feeling and strange incidents that happened as soon as she came here her suspicions started to subside from her mind and she gradually found herself falling for her husband. A year passed and this one day she finally mustered up the courage to ask her husband after sharing a passionate kiss.

"Can I ask you something Ji (a phrase to call someone with respect, especially someone who is older or respected in a relation)" Netri looked up to her husband's face while in his embrace.

"Yes, what is it dear?" her husband said sweeping his fingers through her hair gently.

"The thing you said during our wedding night…I mean why can't you? Am I not beautiful enough for you or do you really don't love me or think that I might not love you?"

The merchant's expression was shocked by the question but quickly he managed to put up a smile on his face hiding his awkwardness.

"No dear it's nothing like that. I love you with all my heart. And you are very beautiful. But right now you are too young. And I don't want to hurt you. Not till you are properly prepared. Don't worry we will have our moment soon." Saying this he cupped Netri's cheeks with both of his hands and planted another kiss on her soft lips.

Netri assumed the role of the Mistress of the house as she was expected to. Her husband announced that he has to leave for a business trip for a year and a half. Netri felt a stone weighing down her heart as she was now so in love with her husband. The moment she heard the news she ran away to the roof with tears flowing down her eyes. Her husband followed her running and finally caught her by the hand pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Don't cry, please. I know it's a long time but I promise I will be back to you. I will write letters to you every now and then whenever I will get time. If I don't go the business will suffer a blow." Her husband lovingly patted her head while Netri kept crying with muffled sounds.

The rooftop was illuminated with lamps and with the gentle breeze blowing and stars glittering in the sky like a thousand stars. They sat together for a long time with Netri falling asleep with her head on his shoulders. The tears have dried leaving a salty trail on her both cheeks. Her husband scooped her up from sleeping and went to her bed laying her gently and covering her with a quilt before silently leaving the room. Once out of the room his eyes welled up suddenly. He never once expected to fall for this girl. Running back to his chamber and shutting the door he felt like a thousand arrows piercing his heart. This never happened before with the other girls he married before. While all of them were prettier than this one there is something about her that intrigues him beyond comprehension. He never fully understood what exactly kept him drawing towards her. Is it those black deep eyes of hers or the invisible aura she emits or is it the bold confidence with which she carries herself? Strangely he found that Netri was obedient yet not submissive, a trait that the other girls lacked before.

The merchant realized dawn was breaking in and he has to leave shortly. A strange feeling crept into his mind like shapeless pain making him feel surprisingly reluctant to leave. It had been years since he last felt this way for his first wife, who now lays in a vegetative state and for whom he went to this extent only to feel trapped in it for the first time. In a few hours, the horse carriage left the mansion premises with Netri standing on the huge entry stairs tears rolling down her eyes and a broken heart. As the trotting sound of the horses of the carriage faded away in a distance Netri spoke in her mind.

"I will wait for your return."