His Prisoner, The Palace’s Princess / Chapter 2: Duty and Disgrace
His Prisoner, The Palace’s Princess

His Prisoner, The Palace’s Princess

Author: Rohan Singh


Chapter 2: Duty and Disgrace

I am the eldest princess. Since birth, my life has been measured by court whispers and Ma’s expectations. Even before I could braid my parandi, people would say, "She’ll carry the family’s honour one day." That weight pressed on me like layers of gold at a cousin’s wedding—shining, but always heavy.

When the state sent supplies twice and rations still ran low at the border, I volunteered as ration officer, determined to personally escort the grains to the front.

The heat was relentless as we journeyed, passing chai stalls and boys flying kites. My choice raised eyebrows—some admired, others scoffed. Ma fussed over my health, but I’d made up my mind. Someone had to prove royal blood meant more than silk and silver spoons.

For practicality, I packed only men’s kurta-pajamas. Aunty scolded, "Ladki ho ke, yeh sab pehnogi?" I shrugged, folding crisp white kurtas myself. They scratched, nothing like my soft home cottons, but at least I could move. I tied my hair in a stern plait, tucking stray strands away. The palace tailor looked scandalised but obeyed. "Shabaash," I told myself. "Do what you must."

But then, a hundred kilometres from the border, a thick fog rolled in—and one by one, everyone collapsed. It was like the omens Dadi warned about, muttering her prayers. The fog was oily, stinking of burnt amla and incense. Men swayed, feet dragging. I remembered Dadi’s stories—nights when even the wind seemed to carry malice.

Someone had drugged us. My heart thudded like the tabla at Holi. Limbs ached. Panic, muffled shouts, then a falling away—like the lights going out mid-cricket match.

I woke to stabbing pain in my palm and the jolting of a horse. Everything spun like the ceiling fan in Dadi’s room during a power cut. My palm throbbed with blood, body swinging like a rice sack, head spinning with every hoofbeat.

Before passing out, I’d tried to stay awake by slicing my palm—a trick Dadaji taught me: "Pain is proof you’re still in the fight." But the drug was too strong. The taste of dust was the last thing I remembered.

A mocking voice rang out above me: “Didn’t expect capital people to be so useless—all knocked out by a little sleeping powder.” Each word snapped like a cane. Another soldier muttered, “If these really were dacoits, we’d be starving.”

I realised it was the man riding with me—boots caked in mud, sweat and leather in the air. Humiliation prickled my skin, but I grit my teeth, refusing to show it.

Another soldier’s voice, uneasy: “Major Arjun, this time it’s a royal. If the capital blames us…” The air vibrated with tension. The name echoed: Major Arjun Singh. I remembered palace gossip—Singhs, the border wallahs, tough as neem, always trouble and triumph. His reputation was a mix of awe and warning.

The rations were meant to arrive in days, but Arjun had knocked us out and brought them himself, wary of corruption. His mistrust stung, but I understood the logic. With each mile, the grain for hungry soldiers vanished bit by bit. Still, being treated like a suspect hurt.

But I was the one escorting them. Did he really think a princess would steal?

My pride bristled. Ma’s words echoed: "Never let them think you’re weak." I gripped the saddle, rehearsing a retort sharper than my ceremonial sword.

Arjun laughed above me, voice full of contempt: “That bunch of useless eaters in the palace are nothing to be afraid of.” I muttered, "Kuch bhi bolta hai," under my breath. His words itched under my skin—impossible to ignore.

“You have some nerve,” I snapped. He was openly insulting His Majesty and the Crown Prince. Even stubborn generals wouldn’t dare. I forced my voice steady, jaw tight.

I pushed myself upright, glaring at him. Pain shot through my shoulder but I met his eyes, cold and proud—the look that sent lesser men running at court.

“Oh, you’re awake now.” Arjun’s tone was bored, as if I was just another problem. The others shifted, unsure. A temple bell rang in the distance, echoing my outrage.

You may also like

Broken Prince, Eunuch’s Revenge
Broken Prince, Eunuch’s Revenge
4.8
Once the beloved prince of Rajpur, I now kneel before the very servant I once humiliated—Amit, the eunuch who rules my fate. Stripped of my power and pride, I am forced to beg him for my mother’s life, trading my dignity for her survival. But Amit’s revenge is cruel and intimate: he torments me with the same cold hands I once scorned, making me his captive in the palace I once ruled—where every caress is both punishment and reminder that even a prince can be broken.
The Fake Princess’s Husband Defied the Crown
The Fake Princess’s Husband Defied the Crown
4.8
Raised as a royal decoy, Ishaan was cast out by the cold-hearted king she once called brother. Years later, hiding as the lowly wife of a loyal civil servant, she’s dragged back to the palace—where her secret marriage is exposed, and the princess herself demands her husband. When the palace orders her death, only Amit’s love stands between her and the fate the royals decreed. Will her true identity destroy them both, or can love defy a kingdom’s betrayal?
The Crown Prince’s Forbidden Bride
The Crown Prince’s Forbidden Bride
4.9
Betrayed by her own mother and forced into a life of palace intrigue, Princess Shreya becomes the silent pawn in a deadly game of power and desire. When her forbidden love with her stepbrother, the Crown Prince, is exposed, she faces humiliation, torture, and a fate worse than death at the hands of the ruthless Maharaj. But carrying the Crown Prince’s secret child, Shreya must choose: surrender to her tormentors, or ignite a rebellion that will avenge her fallen kingdom—and destroy everyone who ever used her.
Chained to the Villain Princess
Chained to the Villain Princess
4.9
Feared as the ruthless Eldest Princess, I claim the defeated desert prince as my chained servant, humiliating him before my trembling, saintly sister. But the blood on my whip cannot erase his burning gaze—or the prophecy that he will rise, reclaim his crown, and raze my kingdom to ashes. Tonight, only one of us will survive the desires and betrayals that bind us tighter than any chain.
Sold to the Enemy Prince for Revenge
Sold to the Enemy Prince for Revenge
4.8
After her kingdom is shattered and her beloved sister sacrifices everything to save her, Ananya is forced into the palace as a lowly concubine—her only hope, a marriage to the enemy crown prince she secretly drugged. But behind her innocent face burns a relentless hunger for vengeance, and every step she takes in the Singh dynasty’s golden halls is a step toward their ruin. Will her forbidden love for the prince destroy her revenge, or will she bury her heart to avenge her family’s blood?
The Attendant Who Betrayed My Heart
The Attendant Who Betrayed My Heart
4.8
Banished to the palace’s coldest shadows, I poured my secret longing into Arjun, the gentle attendant who soothed my loneliness—never guessing he was hiding a king’s ambition and another woman in his heart. When palace whispers revealed his true loyalty to the Maharani, my love turned to bitter dread, knowing my family’s fate now hung on the whim of a man I could never truly possess. In a world where even kindness is a weapon, I must decide: expose his secret, or risk my bloodline for a love that was never mine.
Swapped at Birth: The Tyrant’s Cursed Princess
Swapped at Birth: The Tyrant’s Cursed Princess
4.9
Born into royal splendor, baby Pari survives a deadly birth only to be betrayed by her own mother and cast aside for a cousin. Saved by her ruthless father, the infamous Maharaja, she grows up in a palace rife with poison, exile, and palace intrigue—her true identity a ticking time bomb. But as the kingdom’s only heir, every step she takes is shadowed by jealous rivals and the threat of another cruel betrayal.
Abandoned Princess: Chained in the Cattle Shed
Abandoned Princess: Chained in the Cattle Shed
4.9
Once the pride of Kaveripur, the Rajkumari is now a blind, broken captive—her daughter, scorned as a 'two-legged calf,' is all she has left. Betrayed by her own blood and hunted by enemies, Niranjan must survive a world that wants her dead, even as her mother’s love turns to hatred. But when the kingdom’s lost heir faces her twin brother across enemy lines, secrets of blood, loyalty, and survival threaten to shatter what little hope remains.
Stolen Bride: Reborn to Break the Palace Chains
Stolen Bride: Reborn to Break the Palace Chains
4.9
Ananya was the Maharani, betrayed by her own blood and forced to watch her love stolen by her half-sister. Now reborn, she refuses to let palace politics and Dadi’s schemes dictate her fate—choosing a forbidden prince and vowing never to be a pawn again. But as her wedding chunari is ripped away and flown like a kite by the man she once loved, she faces a cruel twist: her rival sister has also returned from the dead, determined to snatch everything she holds dear.
Married to the Palace Tigress
Married to the Palace Tigress
4.7
All of Rajasthan calls Arjun the useless prince—ignored by his father, invisible to the palace, and content to nap through royal dramas. But when his arranged bride, a motherless beauty, turns out to be a cunning survivor with claws sharper than any queen, Arjun is thrust into a web of betrayal, harem wars, and secrets that threaten everything he holds dear. Can the quiet prince survive his ferocious wife and the deadly palace games, or will love become just another casualty of the crown?
Reborn as the Rajput Prince
Reborn as the Rajput Prince
4.7
Rohan wakes in a royal palace, trapped in the body of a prince whose father and brother are dead by palace intrigue. With the fate of Rajputana on his shoulders and enemies at every turn, he must hide his true identity while outwitting scheming courtiers and ruthless generals. Can a commoner’s soul survive the deadly games of the throne—or will his secret be his undoing?
Illegitimate Bride to the Prince’s Father
Illegitimate Bride to the Prince’s Father
4.8
Born a shadow in the Malhotra mansion, Asha is bartered as a second wife to the Second Prince—only for her secret affair with the Maharaja to explode in the palace’s sacred halls. Betrayed by her own blood and denied a title, she’s forced to bow before the man who once called her by another woman’s name. When her forbidden marriage is revealed, will Asha destroy the royal bloodline—or finally seize the power denied to her since birth?