Iti turned the pages and tried to find the ones which she felt were missing.

How can the story reach its mid so soon?

There surely has to be some missing chapters.

How can the author write such a book?

She turned the whole book but couldn't find the missing chapters.

Grudgingly she read the next chapters but still was not satisfied as she felt as if she was missing on some parts of the story.

"Ranisa,Ranima aapko khane ke liye bula rahi h"The house help informed Iti who nodded and went out of the library leaving the book.

Nanisa Hukum was already seated on her chair and was waiting for Iti as the two were only going to have their lunch together as Shiv and Gauravi were at their work places.

Iti sat down on her seat and very uninterestedly served herself some dal rice,a constant frown etched on her face as she stared into nothingness.

Nanisa Hukum who sat across from her saw her and herself frowned at her expressions.

Did something happen?

Why did Iti seem so bothered?

Iti never seemed irritated or bothered with anything or anyone,she always had a normal expression on her face, always listening to what everyone had to say.

But today she seemed to have an issue with something,her face clearly gave it away.

"Iti,aap thik h na?"Nanisa Hukum asked and Iti just nodded her head at that,her expressions still not changing.

"Kisi ne aapse kuch kaha h kya?"She further asked but Iti shook her head in denial at that.

"Pratap se behes hui kisi cheez ko lekr?"Nanisa Hukum again asked.

"Nhi Nanisa Hukum"Iti verbally answered this time as the elderly lady kept on asking her questions.

"Toh phir aapke mathe pr yeh shikan kis cheez ne laayi h?"Nanisa Hukum asked and Iti sighed but decided to tell her.

"Hame lagta h library acche se maintain nhi ki jaa rahi h Nanisa Hukum"Iti said and the elderly lady frowned deeper hearing that.

"Aur aapko aisa kyu lagta h?"Nanisa Hukum asked and Iti immediately answered her.

"Hum ek kitaab padh rahe the Nanisa Hukum,aur usmein kuch pages missing lag rahe h hame kyuki bina uss part ke woh kitab adhuri lag rahi h hame,humne bht dhoonda pr hame nhi mile woh pages,shayad humse pehle jo books padhta tha usne bht laparwahi se kitabon ko rakha hoga!"Iti said and Nanisa Hukum was amazed hearing her concern regarding the library books.

"Aisa kuch nhi h,aapse pehle Pratap ki maa,yaani hamari beti Diya hi library use krti thi aur unse pehle Pratap ke Nanosa Hukum,yaani hamare pati aur woh dono hi kitabon ko sambhalkr rakha krte the"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti frowned deeper hearing that.

"Pr uss kitab mein se pages missing h Nanisa Hukum,humne puri kitab padh li pr uska sense nhi bann raha,aisa lag raha h kuch missing h"Iti said frustratedly.

"Konsi kitab ki baat kr rahi h aap?"Nanisa Hukum asked when she saw the younger woman deeply worried about it.

"Hum abhi lekr aate h"Iti said but Nanisa Hukum stopped her from leaving while she had started eating.

"Aise beech mein uthke aanna ka apmaan nhi krte Iti,baadmein dikha dijiyega hame"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti pouted but nodded and sat and continued having her meal uninterestedly.

Till she doesn't finds the missing parts of the books she can't sit in peace,it will constantly nag her to know what she had missed.

Iti waited patiently for Nanisa Hukum to get done with her meal so that she can show her the book and ask her about it.Maybe she would know where the missing pages are,or if the book was like this only.

Once the lunch was done Iti immediately ran towards the library and took the book and came back to the living room but pouted when she didn't saw Nanisa Hukum there.

"Nanisa Hukum kaha h?"Iti asked to one of the staff who was cleaning the table.

"Ji Ranisa,Ranima toh apne kamre mein h"The staff said.

Should she got to her room?

What if she doesn't likes her entering her personal space?

Till she doesn't solved this matter she can't proceed with another book also!

Iti knocked on Nanisa Hukum's bedroom door and waited for her to give her permission to enter inside.

"Kya hua Iti?"Nanisa Hukum asked as Iti entered the room once she asked whoever it was to get in.

"Ji..wo..woh aapne humse uss kitna ke baare mein pucha tha na?yeh h woh kitab Nanisa Hukum,iske kuch pages missing h"Iti said s she walked towards the elderly lady and stood beside her bed.

"Bethiye"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti hesistantly sat on the edge of the bed, passing her the book.

"Yeh kitab padh rahi thi aap?"Nanisa Hukum asked as a look of familiarity passed through her eyes.

"Ji,yeh woh history section se li thi humne library ke"Iti said as she has been reading historical books now a days out of interest.

"Yeh original nhi h,yeh toh bas agar koi aa jaaye toh unhe dikhane ke liye h,yeh toh copy h,shayad isliye pages missing honge ismein se"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti wanted to know where the original book was then.

Maybe she can just ask about the orginal one and leave?

She wasn't going to damage the book anyway.

Also she badly wanted to know what happened in the parts that were not in this book.

"Original kaha milegi hame?"Iti asked eagerly.

Nanisa Hukum stared at her and saw hunger in her eyes,hunger to know what happened in the book.

It was something she had not seen in anyone of her grand children.

Shiv hated reading.

Gauravi wasn't fond of it too.

And Veer too like his siblings didn't prefer reading.

But Iti was different.

Surely she had heard from the staff and from Shiv that Iti spends her whole day in the library,but she had yet not seen the girl reading.

Also the fact that for the first time she had seen some emotions surge through Iti and they were because of a book.

"Hamare paas h"Nanisa Hukum said as she stood up from the bed and went towards a cabinet which had some books stored in it.

"Yeh pura collection,Pratap ke par Nana ka h,Maharaja Bhanu Pratap Singh Rathod ko kitabon ka bht shauk tha"Nanisa Hukum said as she removed a thick,old,hard bound book and moved towards Iti.

"Unke baad hamare Pati padha krte the,aur uske baad Diya,unke baad yeh kitabe aise hi padhi h, koi padhta nhi inhe"Nanisa Hukum said as she kept the book in Iti's hand.

Iti's eyes widened as she saw the old historical book.It surely looked old and was nothing less than a treasure.

"Hum isse padhne ke liye le sakte h??sahi salamat aapko wapas kr denge aaj ke aaj Nanisa Hukum,pakka!wese bhi hum jab padhte h toh kitabon ko bht dhyan se rakhte h,ek page bhi nhi modenge iss kitab ka,bas padhkr lauta denge aapko,please hame de dijiye yeh"Iti said and at last pleaded to the elderly lady.

It was a family heirloom,Iti thought she won't give it to her.

But she just wanted to read it.

She wasn't going to damage it in any way,she knew the value of books after all.

"Le jaiye"Nanisa Hukum said with a smile and Iti gave her a 440 Volt smile in return.

"Hum aaj sham tak aapko wapas kr denge yeh,pakka!"Iti said.

"Rakh lijiye,wapas krne ki zarurat nhi h,aaj se yeh aapki"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti sat in front of her with her mouth wide open.

She was giving these precious books to her for forever!!!!!!

"Aap..hu..th ak....thankyou so much Nanisa Hukum!!!!!!hum inhe bht sambhal kr rakhenge,bilkul kuch nhi hone denge inn kitabon ko!!!!thank you so much Nanisa Hukum!!!"Iti kept on thanking her for making the elderly lady chuckle at her antics.

"Jaiye ab"Nanisa Hukum said patting her head and Iti went out of the room with a bright smile.

This was the happiest she had seen Iti.

This girl was something else!

Evening,

Living room,

Shiv arrived a lil early today and as he walked in he was surprised to see the scene in front of him.

His wife was talking not just talking,blabbering something to his Nanisa Hukum.

Okay.

What just happened in his absence?

How can Iti chat so much with Nanisa Hukum?

She is always so quiet and conscious in front of her.

"Pr woh wesa nhi tha jesa unhone dikhaya tha,woh sab ek trap tha,taaki woh Raja apne dushmano ko hara sake!.........aur phir yudh ke baad woh Raja jeet gaye the aur unhone apne Mahal aur Kingdom ko bacha liya"Iti said and Shiv heard her as he walked towards them.

"Aapne yudh ke baare mein toh bataya hi nhi hame?"Nanisa Hukum asked.

"Hame yudh ke baare mein padhna pasand nhi h,bht zyada khoon kharaba hota h usmein,phir jab padhte h toh woh sab imagine krne lagte h hum,isliye violent scenes nhi padhte hum kisi bhi book mein"Iti said and Nanisa Hukum nodded her head at that.

"Aapko pata h,uss yudh ke doran woh Raja marr jaate agar unke godhe unke saath nhi hote,aakhiri dam tak unke godhe ne unka saath nibhaya tha aur unhe woh ghati paar karwayi thi wrna woh Raja bandhi ban jaatein Mughal ke haathon"Nanisa Hukum said and Shiv knew whom she was talking about.

"Toh Maharana Pratap ke baare mein baat kr rahi h aap dono"Shiv said and that is when they saw him.

"Ji,Iti ne unke baare mein ek kitab padhi h aaj,ussi ke baare mein bata rahi thi woh hame"Nanisa Hukum said and Shiv raised his eyebrows at that.

Iti was telling a story to Nanisa Hukum.

Has the sun risen from the west today?

"Unke godhe ne kese bachaya unhe Nanisa Hukum?"Iti asked curiously.

"Unke godhe ka naam Chetak tha,toh aisa kaha jaata h ki jab Akbar ke saath Maharana Pratap ka yudh ho raha tha Haldighati mein tab Chetak buri tarah se ghayal ho gaya tha,unka ek pair lag bhag unke shareer se alag ho gaya tha pr phir bhi unhone apne baaki ke 3 pairon ke sahare se Maharana Pratap ko 22 m lambi Haldighati ki ek choti se dusri choti tak pochaya woh bhi ek challang mein,halaki uske baad unki mrityu ho gayi thi,pr unhone aakhiri dam tak Maharana Pratap ko bachaya, Haldighati mein aaj bhi Chetak ki samadhi h"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti was in awe after hearing that.

Such loyalty,people can't even expect from people and here this horse was so loyal that he till his last breath served its master.

"Sach mein?"Iti asked like a lil child and Nanisa Hukum nodded her head at that.

"Aaj bhi Maharana Pratap ke bht saare hathiyaar sambhal kr rakhe huye h mahal mein"Nanisa Hukum asked.

"Konse Mahal mein Nanisa Hukum?"Iti asked.

"Hamare mahal mein!woh Udaipur ke Maharana the aakhir, Mahal ke museum mein kayi purani cheezein sambhal kr rakhi hui h"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti widened her eyes hearing that the palace had a museum as well.

"Mahal mein ek museum bhi h?"Iti asked and Nanisa Hukum nodded her head at that.

"Isliye aapse kaha tha acche se Mahal dekh lijiye,pr aap toh din bhar library mein hi bethi rehti h"Nanisa Hukum said and Iti pouted hearing that.

"Hame nhi pata tha Nanisa Hukum"Iti said.

"Aap hame lekr chalengi waha?"Iti asked hopefully.

The thought of seeing everything about which she has read in books was too fascinating to let go.

"Hum nhi jaa sakte,ab hum buddhe ho chuke h,apne pati se kahiye,unhe wese bhi sab pata h waha ke baare mein,woh lekr jayenge aapko"Nanisa Hukum said.

Shiv just stared at the two ladies interacting amongst each other as if they have known each other for a long time now.

Suddenly Nanisa Hukum's phone rang and Iti pouted seeing that.

She wanted to hear more about Maharana Pratap, everything that she had not read in the books.

Nanisa Hukum seems to know a lot about history.

Shiv got up and left towards his bedroom to freshen up.Iti followed him like a lost puppy.

She waited till he freshened up and changed.

"Shiv"Iti called him and he stared at her.

"Hame bhi museum dekhna h,aap hame lekr chaliye na please!"Iti requested him.

"Achanak se aapko kyu jaana h museum mein?"Shiv couldn't help but ask.

"Woh humne ek book padhi h aaj,toh Nanisa Hukum ne kaha ki uss book mein mention kiye huye bht saare artifacts yaha palace ke museum mein rakhe huye h, isliye hame dekhne h woh"Iti said with a slight hint of excitement in her voice.

"Nanisa Hukum ne bataya aapko?"He couldn't help but ask and she nodded her head at that.

"Aur aapko pata h unhone hame kya diya aaj?"She asked eagerly waiting for him to guess.

Shiv shook his head in denial at that.

"Yeh kitab!aapko pata h yeh kitni century purani h?yeh original copy h!!Nanisa Hukum ne kaha hum isse rakh sakte h!!!!"Iti said eagerly as she showed him the book Nanisa Hukum had given her as if it was a fortune.

"Kitab ke liye itni khush ho rahi h aap?!"Shiv couldn't help but voice it out.

He had thought Nanisa Hukum might have given her some jewellery or something precious but his wife was thrilled to receive a book.

But then books are the only thing that makes Iti happy.

"Aapko pata bhi h iski keemat kitni h aaj ke time mein?woh chodiye aapko yeh pata h iske ander kya kya likha hua h? Maharana Pratap ki puri history h iske ander!!!"Iti said seriously and Shiv just nodded at that.

"Aapko bhi padhni chahiye yeh kitab,aakhir Maharana Pratap ke vanshaj h aap,aapko unke baare mein pata hona chahiye!"Iti said and Shiv chuckled hearing that.

"Don't worry,hamare Nanosa Hukum aur mumma ne bachpan se hame inhi ki kahaniya sunayi h,bhale humne aapki tarah kitab na padhi ho unke upar pr hame unke baare mein sab pata h"Shiv said and Iti nodded her head then.

"Phir aap hame lekr jaayenge museum?"Iti again asked and Shiv sighed but nodded.

"Pr pehele hame ek cup chai peene dijiye"He said and Iti pouted but nodded and sat on the bed waiting for his tea to get finished which the house help had got for him.

"Aapne bataya kyu nhi hame ki yaha ek museum bhi h?"She asked him curiously.

"Aapne kabhi pucha hi nhi"Shiv stated and Iti frowned hearing that.

"Pr hame kese pata hoga?aapko batana chahiye tha na!"She said blaming him now.

"Iti,hame laga aapne pura Mahal dekh liya h,aur aap h jo pure din library se bahar nhi nikalti,kese dikhaye aapko aur kuch?"He asked and she didn't want to agree but agreed with him.

She hadn't explored the whole palace yet,she had seen just a few parts of it and after visiting the library she never got enough of it and so spends most of her time there.

She waited like a child tapping her foot against the floor as he sipped his tea.

"Pair mat hilaye aise Iti"Shiv said as her anklets created sound as she tapped her foot against the ground.

Iti pouted but stopped because even her papa scolds her for doing it yet she couldn't stop doing it when she is nervous or impatient.

"Chaliye"Shiv said and Iti smiled brightly hearing that and immediately stood up.

The two made their way towards the palace museum, Gauravi saw them and joined them mid way as she had nothing else to do.

"Aapne kabhi museum kese nhi dekha bhabhisa?Mahal ka hissa hi toh h yeh!"Gauravi exclaimed as she got to know that in the past 1.5 months Iti hadn't seen the palace museum.

"Aapki bhabhisa ko unki kitabon se fursat mile toh kuch aur dekhengi na woh"Shiv stated and Iti pouted hearing that.

Shiv stared at her pouty face and a small smile graced his lips.

She makes the most adorable pout whenever she is sulking, irritated or when she knows she is at fault.

As soon as they entered the small museum which was just exclusively made for the royal family,none of the visitors were allowed here as it had some personal belongings of the previous King's and Queen's.

"Wow"Iti's mouth was hung open as she saw the antique artifacts placed there.









A lot of stuff were kept there,from the royal outfits of the rulers to the war armour they wore.

Their swords, knives,bows and arrows and a lot of more weapons.

"Yaha koi aur nhi aa sakta kya?"Iti asked as she gazed at all of them.

"Sirf royal family aur kuch Important log hi aa sakte h yaha,baaki logo ke liye Udaipur mein ek aur museum bana hua h"Shiv said and Iti nodded her head at that.

Whatever she had read in those books was in front of her,those heavy swords,armors, arrows,war weapons and a lot more things.

History was such a fascinating thing,it tells us about the past when we weren't even born.

"Hum chhu sakte h isse?"Iti asked as they stopped in front of a sword.

Shiv nodded his head at that.

Nobody was allowed to touch these things except for the royal family members and the staff who took care of all these things.

Iti slowly forwarded her hand to lift the sword but it was too heavy for her,she knew it would be weighing tons but she just wanted to try holding it once.

"Yeh kitna bhari h?kese utha lete the pehele ke raja isse?"Iti said as she gave up and looked at Shiv who chuckled hearing her.

He went forward and lifted the sword easily and Iti's eyes widened in shock.

She tried to lift it,it was impossible for her,how did he do it so easily?

"Aapne kese utha li isse?bht bhaari h yeh!"Iti asked in surprise.

"Bhaisa ko toh chalani bhi aati h,aap uthane ki baat kr rahi h bhabhisa!"Gauravi said and Iti's eyes widened in surprise hearing that.

He could even use a sword?

"Aapko talvar chalani aati h?"She asked and he nodded his head as he kept the sword back in its place as it was.

"Kese?"Iti asked.

"Hame sikhaya gaya tha bachapan mein,hamare Nanosa Hukum chahte the hum bhi woh sab seekhe jo unhe aata h"Shiv said and Iti nodded her head at that as they walked ahead and saw the other things kept there.

"Normal cheezein aapko nhi krni aati,ek shoelace nhi bandhti aapse aur talvarbaazi krni aati h, normal chess aapse khela nhi jaata aur polo khelte h aap!"Iti stared in surprise and Shiv chuckled hearing that.

"Ek jagah pr bethkr krne wale kaam humse nhi hote,jaha zyada hi dimag aur concentration lage woh humse nhi hota"Shiv said and Iti no

dded her head at that then.

"Phir toh hum dono perfect couple h,aap ek jagah bethkr kuch nhi kr sakte aur humse ek jagah bethkr hi kaam hota h"Iti said as her eyes glanced at the things kept there while Shiv's eyes focused on her hearing her statement.

Phir toh hum dono perfect couple h

Indeed they were perfect then.