That night—

She was dreaming.

But it wasn’t a normal dream.

A circle.

Her friends stood at different places, surrounding it.

And then—

they all looked at her.

“Mat kudo… please, mat kudo!” she screamed.

But no one listened.

As if her voice never reached them.

One by one—

they stepped ahead.

And jumped.

She jolted awake.

Her breath uneven, her body covered in sweat.

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.

She rushed to the balcony.

The cold air brushed against her face—

but it didn’t help.

She needed to find her friends.

But how?

Morning arrived too soon.

She couldn’t sleep after that dream.

Getting ready silently, she walked downstairs.

As she glanced at her own portrait—

She stopped mid-step.

Something felt… off.

Something she couldn’t explain.

The eyes.

Yes—

the eyes were different.

Yeh aankhein alag hai… par phir bhi yeh main hi hoon? Phir main yahan kyun hoon?

A maid came,

handed her a letter,

bowed, and left.

She slowly opened it.

Priy Krittika,

Kaisi ho? Tumne mere khat ka jawab nahi diya? Bahut din ho gaye tumhe dekhe hue. Kya tum abhi bhi mujhse naraz ho?Maine tumhe kitne khat likhe…par tumne ek ka bhi jawab nahi diya. Maaf kar do, jaan. Aise baat band mat karo. Mujhe aaj raat Raj Darbar mein milna.Main aaunga.

— Tumhara,

Yuvraj Vihaan

She blinked.

A small grin appeared on her face.

Waah… rajkumari ki life kaafi interesting hai. “Jaan”? Seriously? Hayeee Kya pyaar hai . Ise kehte hai Mohabbat . Vihaan… kaun hai yeh? Jo bhi hai… abhi ke liye mera hi hai Rajkumari ji abhi apka vihaan mera

She walked down and took her place for breakfast.

As she started eating, the maid came to serve tea.

“Mujhe kuch poochna hai,” she said.

The maid nodded.

“Yeh Yuvraj Vihaan kaun hai? Mera matlab… unka poora naam?”

The maid looked shocked.

For a moment, it felt like she was staring at someone else—not the princess.

“Rajkumari… aap Yuvraj Vihaan Chauhan ki baat kar rahi hai?” she said. “Woh bahut khatarnak hai, aapko pata hai?” She continued— “Maharaj Rudra Pratap Chauhan aur Maharani Kaveri Chauhan ke putra hai woh. Veer yoddha hai… aur unka roop itna akarshak hai ki kai rajkumariyan unpe fida hai.” She lowered her voice—“Par aaj tak kisi ko nahi pata…unki woh gupt rajkumari kaun hai.”

Krittika paused.

Matlab… woh secret rajkumari… yeh wali hai? Ya ab main hoon?Aur yeh Vihaan… dangerous bhi hai… powerful bhi… Isko Rajkumari se Pyaar hai? Kyaaa? Ye sach nikala to? Bhai kidhar phas jaugi mai

She nodded slightly, signalling the maid to leave.

Left alone, her thoughts raced again—

Nahi… mujhe yeh sab nahi sochna chahiye…Mujhe bas apne friends ko dhundhna hai… kuch bhi karke.Mujhe unhe signal dena hoga… ki main bhi yahan hoon.

Something wasn’t right.

Not the dream.

Not this place.

Not her identity.

Will she be able to find her friends?