Bargain

Summary: Things around them are falling apart and they are falling into place.

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Gone were the Chaar kadam, her soft curls press against his shoulder. He'd never seen her so close without a frown marring her brow or the look of condescending pity coloring her eyes.

Veer swallows and tries to tear his eyes from her face.

One of her sandles slips from her feet and falls as he carries her up the stairs. One of the servants had picked it up, but Veer does not stop for him to reach them. He wants to put her down as soon as possible. And looking at her condition it is apparent that she wouldn't need her sandles anytime soon.

The partition door to her room is unlocked and he carries her in. The room smells like her; deceptively sweet with the scent of crushed Jasmin and faint traces of sandalwood. It makes his head reel, with memories of his childhood before he became a persona non grata for his mother and bringing a fresh - burning bout of longing.

He wants to throttle that thought. He will not associate his mother with this woman. No - nothing about them is similar. Except perhaps that scent of crushed jasmin.

He places her on her bed, glad to be rid of the proximity. The hand he kept behind her head to support her neck comes off stained with blood. For a beat or two Veer stares at his hand in horror. Hands trembling he removes the earring. It comes off bloodied, staining his hand further.

Oh he knows who is responsible for this. He knows her penchant to draw blood of her enemies well enough.

It feels like a reminder of sorts. His hand fists around the offending piece of jewellery and he throws it away. Trying to even his breathing, trying but failing to keep those memories at bay.

Veer knows from experience that only actions will keep away those thoughts. So instead he moves to clean her wounds, wash away the blood that had caked on her earlobes and neck. There are angry lines left behind by the choker piece which cut into her throat. He wipes along them with a wet cloth. All the while haunted by ghosts of yore.

Amrit shivers when the damp cloth touches her raw skin. Tips of his fingers brush against her throat and Veer realises she is running a mild fever. Behind their lids her eyes move and she mutters something incoherent.

"Oh what's wrong with her now?"

His mother has the gale to stride in unannounced again. There is a crooked half smile on her lips, the kind that she thinks doesn't appear on her face for the world to see.

"Will your wife create scenes where you fail to now Veer? Am I supposed to answer the press on her behalf now? Kaha se dhoond liya apne jaisa hi ek aur-"

He steps up to her, takes her hands in his blood stained ones. Rani sahiba's words trail off. She stares at her own stained hands in horror before shaking Veer's hold off with a little gasp.

"What are you doing?"

"Jo khoon aapne bahaya hai aapki hi haatho mein shoba deti hai Ma sahab. Aap bachpanse bolti aayi hai na you must bear the weight of your actions or should you not?"

"What have I done now?" Rani sahiba huffs. "Has the girl been tattling about me? Jaanthe the hum, aap ke tharah aapke patni se bhi kuch ummeed nahi ki jaa sakthe. Jaanthe the hum ke -"

"Mat kijiye na!" The sudden rise in Veer's tone draws Rani sahiba to a blank. "Mat kijiye ummeed. Mat kijiye koshish! Your efforts towards me leave a trail of blood Ma Sahab."

"Aaj kuch zada bol rahe ho aap Veer..."

"Why? Are you annoyed? Why are you annoyed? Why do you have a problem with everyone who loves me? Do you want me to suffer like you do? Is that it? I haven't forgotten what you did to the man who brought me up like a father - who loved me like a son. You send him to his death! You send him to fight and die on somebody else's war in some other country! I haven't forgotten Ma Sahab. Every time I see Katham Singh I'm reminded of what you did to his father. Hum hathiyare hai na - toh phir aap kya hai? Aap kya hai? Yeh sab jo aap karti ho kya hai?"

"Veer!"

The resounding slap jerks Amrit awake, she wakes up with a scream on her lips, some last traces of a nightmare that involved Farook and the general destruction of the partition. Veer grits his teeth and remain unmoving, staring at his mother while behind him Amrit tried to scramble to her feet.

Veer holds out a hand to stop her from approaching them. His eyes remain on his mother.

"My wife is ill. Either we will take this argument elsewhere or if you are feeling generous enough please let me take care of her in peace."

Rani sahiba blinks, looking flustered. Yet before turning to leave she does not forget to throw a dark look at Amrit.

"Kya jadoo kiya hai iss pe?" She asks with a sarcastic smile. "Whatever seduction you did you've done a damned good job."

"Jadoo nahi, shaadi kiya hai humse." Veer replies tersely. "Haq diya hai hume inne apna samajhne ka. Jo aap ne toh kabhi nahi diya."

He steps ahead of her and opens the door for her. Rani sahiba clenches her fists, swallowing the insult without a word.

There is something threatening in the way Veer seems to talk back. There is something volatile in his eyes. Something that seems to scream a line that shouldn't have been crossed was crossed and he no longer cares who got the burnt of his wrath.

"Kuwar Veer Pratap Singh ko apne cheeso ki kyaal rakhna aata hai. So be a little careful hence forth." His lips crack into a knife edge of a smile.

"She's my wife. My own person. Inki har zakam hamari hai. Aur humein zakam dene walon ko hum baar baar maaf nahi karte."

With that he shuts the door on her face. The snap of it makes Amrit jerk, she sits up on her bed watching Veer cautiously.

Veer undoes his cuffs distractedly and plops himself on the same armchair sitting on which Amrit had earlier kept a watch on him.

"What are you looking at? Sleep!" He snaps at her.

"Why aren't you going back to your room?" She asks him, clutching at her blankets. She couldn't throw him out could she? How could she possibly sleep when he was sitting right there as if -"

"I don't bite," Veer says with a sigh. "You have a fever Amrit. So jaao. Your argument can wait -"

"But -"

"Are you going to shut up and sleep here? Or shall I take you to my room and make you sleep there?"

Amrit bulks. Veer looks rather satisfied with himself. "Sleep." He repeats. "Abhi!"

"Sleep is not a switch that you flip it and fall asleep," Amrit mumbles, but lies back nevertheless.

She stares up at the ceiling, going over her day. Tears prick her eyes as she remembers the betrayed look in Randheer's eyes. She blinks furiously. What was she doing? Wasn't this what she expected from Veer in the first place? Hadn't he warned her that it was going to be like this?

"He was there - wasn't he?" Veer asks suddenly. She jumps at his voice having forgotten he was there for one blessed moment. "Tumhara aashiq?"

With a trembling hand Amrit touches her forehead. The generous line of Sindoor he drew had smudged, and her fingers come off stained.

"You did it deliberately - didn't you Kuwar sahab?" She asks bitterly. "Kush ho aap? Sukoon mila?"

She hears him standing, hears his approaching steps. But she doesn't tear her eyes from the ceiling. Her eyes barely contain the salt brimming in them - she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of seeing her break apart.

"When you said you won't leave - did you mean it?" Veer asks her. "Did you mean it or did you lie ?"

"Of cause I mean it. Of cause I -"

"Then I meant it too," he cuts her off. "You asked if I did it deliberately. Yes. I did."

Her eyes brim and tears drain over sides of her face into her hair.

Their salt prick against her wounded ears. Amrit makes no sound while her heart breaks into pieces. This she wished to have with Randheer - that wish is now lost forever.

"Amrit, look at me."

Her eyes turn to him on their own accord. He was standing there, half shadowed half lit. Leaning against a post of her bed.

"Ehesaan ki aadat nahi hai Humein," Veer continues. "Jab tak tum hamare saat rahongi - tumahri kasam tume kuch nahi hone denge. "  His hand brushes her hair in a faint, spontaneous touch when he swears upon her.

Her head throbs in a feverish headache. Her eyes flutter close, pressing away tears.

"So jaao. " she hears him say, softer than she had ever heard, or perhaps she is already half asleep.

**
So this Katham Singh's father who Rani Sahiba send to WW II is my own creation. Katham Singh is cute, hence I decided he needs a tragic backstory of his own.