Chapter 10

Everyone's emotions were high and there was not even a single eye which was void of tears. Rithambara tried her best to not cry because her parents needed strength in this time. She  couldn't afford to cry or else her mother's state would worsen and her father's guilt will increase to infinity.

  She hugged her mother who was not letting her go . Rukmini just wanted to hide her precious daughter, her state was so worse that she couldn't even speak. In most of the cases, it's the family members who console the daughter and assure her but here it was exactly opposite. Shauryaveer and Rudransh were so dissapointed at their father that they were not even talking to him because their baby sister had to pay such a big price for his promise. They hugged their sister and prince Rudransh said, "Ritha, you could be in a different land but if you ever need any sort of help, tell Khalifa Umar Osmain, we will know about that problem through him. ".

   Since Khalifa had good relations with Romans and Indians  it was a plus point for Maharaj. Rithambara nodded and told them to take care of their mother. Then Ritha went to Maharaj and engulfed him in hug. He didn't want to cry infront of his people, so he just pressed his lips tightly but still a tear leaked out of his eyes. It was a heartbreaking site to witness.

  Atticus somewhat felt a pang of guilt in his heart but he promised Maharaj Vikram Singh that he will take care of Rithambara just like his daughter. Maharaj just nodded and didn't speak because he knew that now getting angry on King Atticus would not help the situation. Cato also kept assuring Maharani Rukmini that he will take care of Rithambara but she kept sobbing, afterall she was the mother. Her heart was aching with unbearable pain.

For Augustus everything was happening very fast. He was furious at his father as he was the sole reason for everyone's tears but he couldn't yell at him. He was really paranoid about the safety of this girl because his own life was at risk. After their encounter, not even a single word was  exchanged between them. How were they supposed to live each other till eternity . So many things were going in his head which made him feel a bit dizzy. He really wanted to go back to Florence as soon as possible because he was craving to take little Justus in his arms and listen to his giggle to forget everything .

Common people of Chittaurgarh were also crying seeing their beloved Ritha departing. A lot of jewels, sarees, ornaments were being loaded for Ritha . Finally, after taking a last look at her palace, she left with a heavy heart.

Journey from India to Florence was not at all easy. If they would have directly taken the sea route from India to Florence then almost eleven months would have been wasted. So, they decided to cross Afghanistan and Persia through land route and the remaining portion of the journey with sea route. Cato explained each and everything in detail about the sea routes to Rithambara as it was her first time on the ship. Though she was a bit scared but didn't allow to see anyone it through her expressions. Augustus knew that whenever  sea roared in the night time, his wife used to get scared .

One day he went near her smirking and said, "what happened brave girl? Scared even before reaching Florence . Now you will not use choke throat technique? "

Rithambara's blood boiled at his smirk but she controlled herself and returned his smirk and said ,"being afraid and scared is something I'm not taught. I feel like it's you who is scared of me because you remember my 'choke throat technique' advice till date and  I've strength like Neptune (sea of God) so you need not to be worried about me. " She went away leaving a shocked Augustus. He was shocked after seeing her knowledge but at the same time he was burning with rage because of her words. He just flared his nostrils when he found Rithambara giving him a mocking smile from afar.

After tiresome journey of four months  they reached Florence. The vibe, climate and culture was completely different for Rithambara .

She was mentally prepared for the changes as Cato already had taught her many things but witnessing it with her own eyes was still overwhelming for her. She was drinking all the beauty of Florence through her eyes. Undoubtedly, it was  beautiful . People were wearing different types of clothes .Ladies were in gown which she had seen in books which were related to Roman culture.

They reached palace and to say that it was beautiful would be understatement. It was an amazing pierce of art of Roman culture. Rithambara was intrigued by its beauty and was busy admiring the beauty when suddenly a small child of around two or three years wrapped  his arms around her legs.