Girl: it's raining!

She said, laughing as she ran out of the building and from the village. She smiled and twirled around in the rain. She didn't know that she caught the eyes of the most desired man, the prince as she had her little moment in the rain.

The Prince was on his horse, trying to seek shelter from the storm and on his quest to find shelter, his eyes found the girl twirling in the rain, her anklets making their jingling sound.

The girl stopped twirling when she saw the man on the horse.

Girl: do you need shelter?

Man: ji, I am in need of shelter.

Girl: theek hai Phir. Chalo mere saath. I'll take you to my place.

The man smiled as he made his horse start walking again and followed the young girl.

Man: do you want to sit on the horse?

Girl: nahi it's fine. My village is not far. We will be home soon. Waise what's your horse's name?

Man: Vanraj.

Girl: waah! What a royal-like name! Vanraj! Aur tumhara naam?

Man: Ruhaan. What's your name?

Girl: my name is Janhvi.

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After so much summer heat, the heavens broke to release a torrent of rain. The parched soil wicked it away to the distant water table below, the only puddles forming on the impervious tarmac sidewalk. It was a gift to the dehydrated flora and the animals who grieved over the dry stream beds.

The downpour was so heavy that to be caught unawares meant being drenched to the skin. Each drop was as large as a cartoon tear and they fell like gravity had been turned up a notch. Every person able to run picked up their pace holding futile hands skyward to fend off the worst and the world was cast into more sombre tones.

A man entered his room and took off his suit blazer, throwing it on his bed before making his way to his terrace that had a shelter over it. He looked at the dazzling city of Jaipur and extended forward his hand to feel the droplets of rain on the palm of his hand.

A smile crept on his face as he watched the rain fall from the sky. He was always memorised when it started raining in India. He didn't know why. He was just memorised by the sudden change in nature.

As the man watched the rain fall, he suddenly saw a flash of lightning. The moment the lightning came, he saw some scenario of him picking up a woman and twirling her around as she laughed. Once the lightning disappeared, the scenario disappeared.

If there was one thing that left him confused about rain, it was that every time it rained, he ended up seeing some scenario in front of his eyes. It was never him alone in this scenario. It was him with a woman who always had the same laugh. That's how he knew that it was always the same woman in the scenarios. By her laugh. But never once has he seen the face of the woman.

Sometimes he'd see himself chasing a woman who just laughed. Sometimes he'd see himself dancing with her as she giggled. There were so many scenarios that occurred when it rained but in all those scenarios, he never saw the woman's face.

The man decided to leave his terrace and see how his family was doing. He knew they would be in the living room. He left his room and walked down the marble staircase of the palace. He walked into the grand living room where he saw his Dadi, sisters Priyanka and Anika, and Dadaji all sipping on tea. He smiled and proceeded to sit next to his Dadaji when a palace help rushed into the living room, drenched in rain, desperate to pass some information to the family.

Man: what happened Rohan?

Rohan: Yuvraj Omkara, someone has fallen unconscious at the gates of the Mahal.

The man a.k.a Omkara a.k.a Om: kya?

Dadi: unconscious? Rohan, why are you even here? Get that person inside. It is raining so lovely, they will fall sick. Jaldi, jao na.

No one knew why, but all of a sudden Om decided to leave the room and go outside the palace.

Dadi: Omki, where are you doing? It's raining. Rohan will get the person. Omkara, stay na.

Dadi asked her grandson to stay inside but Om didn't listen. He went outside and saw at the gates of the Mahal a girl on the floor. She was unconscious on the wet ground. He could not see her face as her long hair hid it.

Rohan was about to pick the girl up, but Om didn't even let him touch her. He scooped the girl in his arms and started walking.

Rohan: Yuvraj, I'll ask the guards to carry her. You are getting drenched.

He was about to hold her but Om swept his hand away.

Om: don't touch her! I will carry her inside!

Saying this, he rushed inside the gates and rushed towards the entrance of the palace.

What no one knew yet was that this girl was going to change the lives of the Oberoi Royals forever.

Especially Om's life.

...

Om didn't know what made him feel protective over someone he had never met till now. All he knew was that he had to make sure this girl was okay. She was cold and wet. The entire Oberoi family saw him carry the girl as he crossed the living room. They all followed him and found themselves in one of the many guest rooms.

Om kept this girl down and gently removed the hair covering her face...revealing a face that was the colour of pearls, the face that carried heart-shaped lips. Om looked at the girl for a second or two, thinking of something before snapping out of his thought.

Om: I am going to call the doctor. Anika didi, Prinku, get some clothes for her.

Anika went to get some clothes for the unconscious girl whilst Om immediately called the family doctor. Dadi looked at her grandson as he kept the phone near his ear and started talking to the doctor. She had never seen this much concern and panic in Om's face since....well she had never seen this much concern and panic on his face ever. This was the first time.

Dadi, Priyanka, Dadaji and Om left the room when Anika came back with some dry clothes and requested the family to leave.

Dadi: Omki, change your clothes or else you will catch a cold.

Om: I'm fine Dadi, Dr Rahul is on his way.

Priyanka: what was that girl doing here?

Dadi: maybe she was just passing by and fell unconscious.

Priyanka: in the heavy rain though?

Priyanka made a good point. No one in their right mind would go out in the heavy rain, especially late at night. Why would this mystery girl walk in the heavy rain?

Dadaji: Om puttar, we don't want you to catch a cold. Change your clothes.

Om: theek hai Dadaji.

He only agreed because he did not want Anika to come out and yell at him to change his clothes. He went to his room to change, he was still thinking about that girl. It was a bit weird that out of all the places in Jaipur, she fell unconscious in front of the gates of the Lal Mahal, home to one of the most prestigious Royal families of Asia. Was it simply a mere coincidence or fate?

Om picked up his light grey t-shirt and dark grey tracksuit pants and changed into them. Once he changed into dry clothes, he picked up a towel and began to wipe his head.

He heard a knock on his door and said: come in, door's open.

Anika opened the door and saw her brother wiping his head with a towel. He looked like a child when he wiped his head. Anika smiled and came up to her brother.

Anika: let me wipe your head.

She said, about to take the towel from Om, but Om replied back with: nahi di, it's fine. I'll do it myself. Besides, you should be with that mystery girl. Waise, how is she?

Anika: she seems to have a really high fever, she was shivering so I kept two warm blankets on her but she is still shivering. 

Om: has Dr Rahul came yet?

Anika: yeah he came. He is just checking up on her. 

Om nodded as he kept the towel to a side and walked out of the room with his sister. As they walked back to the guest room, Anika got a text on her phone and stopped walking.

Om: kya hua di? Did Vikram text you?

Anika: hmmm, yeah he texted me. You go, I'll come in a couple of minutes. 

Om: are you sure?

Anika: yeah I'm sure. 

Om nodded as he walked to the guest room, whilst Anika checked her messages. When Om reached the guest room, the family doctor Dr Rahul came out of the room.

Dadaji: how is the girl Doctor?

Rahul: she has high fever, I have injected some sedatives into her, and hopefully by tomorrow morning she will be fine. She is still unconscious, but when she wakes up, make sure she doesn't eat anything cold until the fever is gone. 

Om: accha, thank you Dr. 

Priyanka: accha, doctor I'll escort you outside.

Dadaji: and I'll arrange the driver to take you home.

Rahul nodded as Priyanka and Dadaji went with Rahul. Dadi looked at her grandson and said with a smile: is there something on your mind Omki?

Om: hmm?

Dadi: what's on your mind baccha?

Om: nothing...I just don't know if I have seen that girl before. 

Dadi: she isn't royalty, you haven't seen her before. 

Om didn't say anything. He felt like he had seen that girl before...maybe in the past, maybe in a different life....a different life, reincarnation wasn't real. It only existed in movies. Maybe Dadi was right. Maybe he hadn't seen her before, till now. 

If only he knew the history of the Lal Mahal and of a late prince that no one ever spoke of. If only he knew the love story of the forgotten late crowned prince of the Lal Mahal. But he didn't even know that there was once an Oberoi prince whose love story was left incomplete. 

But who knew that now that the ancient love story wasn't meant to be left incomplete? 

.

.

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Janhvi: we have reached my home. Let me take Vanraj's reins, I will take him to my family's stable. 

Ruhaan: I will take him, it's fine. 

Janhvi: you do not even know where the stable is. Give him to me. 

Ruhaan only nodded as she took Vanraj's reins and led him to the stable. Ruhaan didn't know where to go so he went with Janhvi.

Janhvi: hi Talulah. 

She said to one of the horses in the stables as she kept Vanraj in an empty stable and stroked Talulah.

Janhvi: I will take you inside now, Ruhaan. My house is a little small because there are 5 of us in one house, but hopefully it will be fine. Come on.

Ruhaan followed the young girl. He figured that she didn't know who he was, since if she knew that he was the prince, she would be like every other young maiden and start to obsess over him like other maidens he's met....although all the maidens that he's met were all of royal blood.

Here is the first chapter after a long wait. I am slowly getting out of my writer's block. This is short for now but I hope you all like it :)

If the response is good, I'll continue :)