In the gentle morning light of the following day, the lofty gateways and decorated balconies of the Junagadh Royal Palace assumed a serene and majestic charm. The sweet chirping of birds drifted through the air. Since early morning, Princess Prabhasa had been restless with an overwhelming, celestial joy. Her innocent heart could no longer contain this secret bliss of love within its quiet chambers.
Walking with slow, languid steps, Prabhasa came and stood before Snigdha's lavishly decorated bedchamber. Knocking softly on the door, she stepped past the silk curtains and approached her sister Snigdha. A blush of shy, rosy radiance illuminated Prabhasa's sweet and innocent face.
Twirling the pallu of her blue silk saree with nervous, timid fingers, Prabhasa spoke in an exceptionally gentle voice, "Didi... oh Didi, listen! I wanted to share a very secret and joyful piece of news with you... I... I have fallen in love with Rupanjan, the newly crowned supreme ruler of Rupnagar! And do you know, Didi? Rupanjan loves me deeply too! We both wish to tie the knot and become each other's life partner. You are my elder sister... are you happy for our love from the bottom of your heart, Didi?"
The moment this simple yet explosive truth escaped Prabhasa's lips, it felt as though a thousand lethal bolts of lightning struck Princess Snigdha's brain at once! Her eyes bulged as if they would pop out of their sockets, and the blood ran cold in her veins!
She stared at Prabha with her mouth agape like a lunatic. Suppressing the violent eruption of jealousy and rage inside her, Snigdha spewed venom in her thoughts, "WHAT! What is this wretched, shameless wench saying? She loves Rupanjan, and Rupanjan wants to marry her too? Why, that wretched creature! I had planned that after seizing this Jishnu's estate, I would poison that old king, kill him, and become the supreme, glorious Queen of Rupnagar alongside Rupanjan! And standing right here, this filthy snake of a lower-caste girl comes and boasts to my face that they are in love? Is Rupanjan such a massive fraud and deceiver? Tricking me to flirt with my own step-sister? Though I didn't trick that bastard any less! Good thing I deceived him and whipped him away yesterday! Why should Snigdha marry a penniless, homeless beggar of a farmer's son with a ruined destiny? I thought he would spend his entire life tilling land like a beast, shoveling cow dung in barns, and taking beatings from people! That is why I kicked him away! But how could I know that the cunning devil was secretly plotting to sit as the absolute King of a vast empire? Never mind, let me first hear everything this miserable creature has to say! Then I'll skin her alive and throw her to the dogs!"
Veiling the raging inferno of envy and wrath within her, Snigdha masterfully slapped on a fiendish, artificial smile.
Pouting her lips in a dramatic flair, she said, "Oh... yes, Prabha! Why wouldn't I be happy? It's a matter of great joy! But didn't you feel even a shred of shame or embarrassment, you shameless girl? You cast your hook and trapped my ex-lover—the man I spent so much time with—right into your love trap? What is wrong with you? Why are you so desperate?"
Hearing such rude and vulgar words from Snigdha, Prabhasa felt somewhat taken aback. Nevertheless, trying to soothe Snigdha, she said with utmost humility and a shy expression, "For shame, Didi! Don't lose your temper unnecessarily! Who asked you to speak so harshly? I intended to tell you this a long time ago, Didi... but circumstances and opportunity never allowed me to open up to you! I have loved Rupanjan with deep devotion and affection for a very long time. But even then, I didn't know he was your lover! And even if I had known, I never had the courage to tell you, because I thought he was meant to be yours! But now, knowing everything, you are going to marry the zamindar's son Jishnu! And over there... when returning from the royal palace a few days ago, Rupanjan directly proposed marriage to me on a quiet forest trail with great respect! I have loved him from the deepest core of my heart, so I couldn't reject his proposal of love, Didi..."
"W-What! A m-marriage p-proposal?"—the moment those words hit her ears, every nerve in Snigdha's head snapped into a toxic frenzy!
Hearing about Rupanjan's direct proposal of marriage from Prabhasa's mouth, Snigdha could no longer control herself! She roared in her mind, "Does this stepmother's daughter have such nerve that she is secretly drowning in love? And did that devil Rupanjan get so emboldened that finding my sister alone, he offered her a marriage proposal in a silk palanquin?"
Like a wild, savage beast, Snigdha let out a bloodcurdling, shrieking scream—"AAAAAHHHH!"
Snigdha's horrifying scream pierced through the high walls of the royal palace, echoing all around! Hearing that terrifying noise, King Aditya, Queen Arohi, and Prince Prafulla rushed over from the adjacent room in a panic!
All three burst into the room in severe terror and asked anxiously, "What happened, Snigdha? What's wrong with you? Why are you screaming like a wild animal in the middle of the morning?"
Seeing her parents and brother suddenly before her, Snigdha instantly flipped her facade to hide her venomous jealousy and scheme!
Holding her tongue with one hand, she put on a frantic act and said, "Agh! Why did you all come running like a herd of goats? Can't you see I accidentally bit my own tongue horribly with my teeth? It's bleeding and hurts terribly! Ugh! Get out of here, all of you! Go away!"—saying this, Snigdha practically shoved Aditya, Arohi, and Prafulla out of the room and slammed the door shut with a loud bang!
The moment the bedroom door slammed shut, Snigdha's dramatic act vanished instantly. Hissing like a venomous viper, she advanced toward Prabha.
Claw-gripping Prabhasa's chin tightly with her curved nails, Snigdha began, "Listen to me, Prabha! Everything you're saying is making my blood boil! The very Rupanjan who once lay at my feet like a dog, who loved me... that man supposedly calls you aside in secret and proposes marriage to you today? What a shocking, dramatic turn of events! Whatever, I am not saying anything more to you right now because I have my wedding with this wretched Jishnu! Otherwise, I would have buried you so deep in the dirt that no one would ever find even a splinter of your bones! Come... come see for yourself!"
Saying this, in a burst of savage fury, Snigdha fiercely clawed into Prabhasa's hair and neck, dragging her violently toward the high hanging balcony attached to the room!
Bending Prabha over the balcony railing, she pointed a sharp finger down toward the magnificent royal garden below and said, "Look, you miserable wretched girl! Do you see that red rose bush in the garden down there? Look at how beautifully those clusters of flowers have bloomed!"
Seeing Snigdha's wild behavior, Prabhasa had naively thought that her elder sister had genuinely forgotten all malice and reformed her ways. Since Didi was getting married to Jishnu, perhaps she was calming down and showing sisterly affection!
Prabhasa offered a sweet smile and said, "Yes, Didi! It's a very beautiful garden and flower bush! The flowers look as sweet and beautiful as you!"
Baring her venomous teeth, Snigdha snarled, "Ha! Of course they'll be as beautiful as me! I was born to be the most beautiful Queen in this world! Now listen, you child of a devil... do you see that beautiful flower rooted in the dirt down there? If I didn't have the hassle of my wedding with Jishnu today, I would have dug up that earth and buried you alive in it! Then all your beauty, your pride, and your romantic games with Rupanjan would have ended once and for all! Get out of here! Get out of my sight, you wretched fishwife!"
The moment she finished her sentence, Snigdha grabbed Prabhasa by the neck with a cruel, violent shove, threw open the room's door, and kicked her out onto the floor before slamming the door shut with a furious crash once more!
Lying on the floor outside, Prabhasa stood up in complete shock and disbelief. She could not believe her own eyes—how a human being could change into such a hideous form and venomous character in a split second like a chameleon! In Prabha's innocent eyes descended a strange sense of bewilderment and the melancholy of an ominous dark cloud looming ahead!