10
I opened my eyes as the sunrays fell on my face. I could see the king at a distance sitting on the table reading something.
"Where were you last night?" I asked still a little drowsy, but immediately regretted as it sounded harsher than I intended to but the king seems to be unbothered.
"I went to the borders to meet the soldiers," he replied casually, "Just came back."
"oh..." I acknowledged.
"I was reading your book," the king said lifting the book up a little, "Looks like you've made some changes, Vaishnavi Adinath!"
I started panicking. Perhaps he was offended that I included his name.
"I could....change it back if you don't like it," I said.
"I do like it," said the king, "Infact I am surprised that you even know my name."
"Of course I know your name, your highness," I said.
"Then why are you not addressing me as such?" the king asked.
I was plesantly surprised. That is very progressive of him! I have no problem addressing him by his name. As a matter of fact, I would actually prefer it and am glad that he took the initiative....but Meihu's warnings came to my head. Don't fly too high and get your wings chopped off.
"That's...uh...disrepectful," I said hesitantly.
"Not if I am explicitly asking you to," the king countered.
"I've...never seen a women call her husband by name," I said.
"You've never seen a women read either but that didn't stop you," replied the king.
I didn't know what to do. I am running out of excuses. Thankfully someone knocked the door.
"I'll just..." I tried to walk past the king to open the door but he held my hand and gently pulled me back.
"Call me Adi," he said.
"Someone's knocking on the door," I tried to make an excuse.
"They can wait," the king stated, "I am not letting you go until you call me by my name."
I remained silent.
"Come on Vaishnavi," the king insisted.
I didn't respond and looked down and away.
"Come on Vaishu," he changed his statement and I looked into his eyes surprised.
I liked it! I really liked it when he called me Vaishu! It felt more intimate and lovely.
"Your turn," the king whispered.
"Let me go....Adi..." I said hesitantly and a light smile erupted on the king's face.
"See, not that hard," he said and let go of my hand. I went and opened the door. It was Pallu.
"Your highness, the king is at the borders," she said excited, "You know what that means...."
"It means you got your information wrong," Adi interrupted stepping into the limelight and Pallu once again dropped everything and ran away.
Sruthi took her place. "Your highness, we've arranged for your bath," she stated.
"Thank you," I said and followed her outside. Adi followed us too.
"I will see you later Vaishu," he said before parting ways.
"Yes...see you later," I said purposefully leaving out his name. Adi raised his eyebrows and looked into my eyes insisting that I continue.
I signalled that we are around people. He shrugged and shook his head signalling that he does not care.
"See you later....Adi," I said a little nervous and I could immediately feel the tension in the hallway. All the soldiers heads turning towards me. Sruthi seems to be the only one who was happy and smiling with content. Everyone else is just shocked or maybe even offended or scared.
However, Adi's immediate chuckle seems to put everyone at ease and lifted away all the tension in the room. "See you," he said for one last time before bidding me farewell and walking in the opposite direction.
For some reason, I still continued to look as he walked away until Sruthi gently nudged on my arm.
"Is the queen finding it difficult to take her eyes off of the king?" she taunted.
I smiled and blushed a little before turning around and going on my way.
"Hey, how's everything going?" Meihu asked me while I was studying in the library.
"Uh...okay...normal..." I said not wanting to give her any further information.
I know she means good, but after a very long time, I am actually having some nice moments in life and I do not want to constantly question if they are real or fake.
Even if it's a lie, I'd rather just believe it to be the truth instead of encouraging her questions and ruining it.
"What do you mean by normal?" Meihu asked, "Give me details."
"Well..I..." I tried to search for excuses.
"Your highness, the general wants to meet you," Naina interrupted our conversation. Pallu immediately went into hiding and Sruthi surprisingly came running out of the book lanes. It looks like she is even blushing a little?
That's new!
"Let him in," I said. This is the perfect excuse to get away from Meihu.
"Greetings, your highness," the general smiled as he walked in.
"Greetings general," I smiled back. "This is Sruthi," I introduced, you know, in case Sruthi is actually in love with the general.
"Greetings Ms. Sruthi," the general smiled at her.
"Huh?" Sruthi said flabergasted. "Sweetings....I mean greetings..." she stuttered, "Kanda...no general Kanda...no...Nanda...I mean General Nanda...I am so sorry..."
I smiled for I've never seen Sruthi like this before. Usually she is very calm and confident. Does she like the general? Naina who was standing behind the general probably noticed it too, cause I could see her smiling.
"Kanda also seems to be a nice name," the general joked to ease the awkwardness.
"Hehehehehehe," Sruthi nervously smiled and employed the highly elusive conflict resolution stratergy mastered by Pallavi.
Drop everything and run away.
"Did I say something inappropriate?"the general asked outloud confused.
"No general, you are good," Naina answered, "Sruthi is very work oriented. She might've remembered something important."
"Yes, she is a very hardworking, just like you general," I chimed in to hype up my friend, "and smart too."
"Good to know," the general smiled. "Your highness, I got something for you," he said and gave me a small wooden box in his hand.
I opened it to find a sacred thread inside.
"It's customary for the white knight to give a gift to the queen," he explained, "What else could I give the queen other that the god's blessings."
"A devil's curse," Meihu answered, "What guarantee do we have that this thread is from a temple and not from a black magician?"
I looked at Meihu surprised. Why can't she just appreciate the nice gesture?
"As a witch, it's natural for you to have that question Ms. Meihu," the general stated and I could feel the tension in the room raising.
Naina who is usually less interactive also looked at me to confirm that she heard it right.
"But I assure you," the general continued, "It is from a temple. "
"I wasn't introduced yet. How do you know my name?" Meihu asked.
"It's not that hard to distinguish demons," the general answered.
This is getting too far.
"I would like to speak with the general in private," I immediately said to avoid further conflict.
"But your highness..." Meihu tried to oppose.
"What the queen says goes," the general said in a calm but very commanding voice. He even placed his hand on his sword to emphasize that he is serious and with no further questions Naina and Meihu left the room.