14
"If you want me to let go of you, fight for it."
"No," was my immediate response.
"Are you defying the king?" Adi said frowning his eyebrows.
"I...do not intend to...Adi," I replied, "But I really cannot fight. I am not skilled. This is unfair."
"Why should I believe you?" he said raising his eyebrow, "You said the same about reading."
"Because the consequences of you not believing would involve me getting hurt," I answered.
Adi thought for a moment before speaking.
"Alright, I believe you," he said taking the sword from my hand and walked past me to place both the swords in their respective positions, "But I cannot take my word back."
"How about I teach you how to wield a sword?" he asked turning around, "And then we can have a battle."
"I do not intend to learn sword fights," I said.
"I do not intend to solely focus on teaching either," Adi said. "You sneaked in to have a glimpse at me, did you not?" he asked.
"Perhaps..." I answered.
"Perhaps is not an acceptable answer, Vaishu," Adi said, "Yes or no?"
"...Yes?" I replied a little hesitant.
"Yes," Adi nodded, "So now you have the perfect reason to spend more time with me everyday." "Would you not like that?" he asked just to be sure we are on the same page.
I smile. "I would very much like that," I replied, "But, is it not against the law for me to -"
"I am the king, Vaishu," Adi interrupted, "I make the laws and I declare that from now on, no law shall prevent my wife from being with me."
"We will start from tomorrow," he declared. "Same time, my private chambers, do not be late," he smiled before opening the door.
We all rushed to the door the moment we heard the footsteps. We were expecting the queen, but it was.....the general....as evident by Pallu running away like a sneaky rat.
Guess, I should prepare myself for another round of yelling.
"Greetings general," Naina greeted on all our behalf.
"Hey Naina," the general said. "Does this belong to one of you ladies?" he asked showing an earring, "I found it in the weapons chambers."
"Yes...it is mine," I said.
"Miss. Sruthi, you again," exclaimed the general. "Rule 1 of crime is to not get caught, be careful," he said calmly and gave the earring to Naina and left.
"Here," Naina said giving me the earring.
"Phew, thought he was going to yell again," I said relieved.
"He yelled at you?" Naina asked surprised.
"Yes," I nodded, "This morning....for abandoning the queen."
"Oh," said Naina, "Perhaps it's because had you been there, they could've used your statement to permenantly suspend Meihu."
"But you were there," I said, "Did you not make a statement?"
"Uh...no," Naina said hesitantly, "I got scared. "I was yelled at too," she added, "By both the king and the general. Do not take it personally."
"So I am not the only one," I said relieved, "That does make me feel better."
"This way your highness," the general said opening the door to the king's private chambers. "I need you to know," he said before closing the doors, "I will be right outside incase you need my assistance."
That is very sweet! I smiled and proceeded to walk inside as the door closed behind me.
So, these are the king's private chambers.
It looked very similar to my private chambers but a lot bigger. A sitting area, and two closed doors leading to two different rooms.
On the wall to the right was a huge painting.....of me....picking up jwellery from the floor in a violet dress with my hair open, just like how he might've seen me for the first time.
"You like it?" the king said coming out of one of the rooms.
"Yes," I said, "It looks beautiful."
"The artist did not do justice," the king said, "It does not completely capture the beauty of what I saw which is why I got the artist beheaded."
"You did what?" I asked alarmed. The king smiled.
"That was a joke," he said, "I cannot behead the artist even if I wanted to. I am that artist."
"You can paint?" I asked clearly impressed.
"Uh huh," the king nodded, "We can use that as our next excuse-" "I mean opportunity to interact," he corrected.
I smiled.
"Do you...intend to battle in that constume?" he asked pointing out that I am in my usual dress and jwellery.
I signed. "I tried to fight it," I said, "But they said I have to be presentable at all times."
Adi chuckled.
"Vaishu, you are the queen," he said, "You do not have to fight for anything. Youdemand it." "Anyway, I did think through this scenario," he said and got a box from the shelf, "So I got a comfortable dress designed for you."
That is a very thoughtful gesture! I am impressed!
"You can change in my bedroom," he said pointing to one of the rooms. "Call a maid for help if you need and I shall wait for you in my recreation room," he said pointing to another room.
KNOCK KNOCK
Alright, that is her.
Okay, Adinath, calm down. You can do this. You will not make her uncomfortable. She hugged you. So, she should be okay with you holding her....if she is not, you will figure it out.
Give it a try!
I took a deep breath adjusted my hair and opened the door.
She is wearing the same white costume that I wearing. A few tweaks here and there to make it more feminine but everything else remained the same.
"As always, you look gorgeous," I said stepping aside to let her enter.
She stepped in and perhaps was amazed at how big the room is. She slowly twirled around looking at the cealing, chandler, and paintings on the walls.
"Did you paint these too, Adi?" she asked.
"I wish," I replied. "Here," I said giving her a sword.
"The sword looks quite dangerous," she said a little concerned.
"It is blunt," I said making her drag the sword across my palm to prove it, "You have nothing to worry."
"That is a relief," Vaishu said. "So, how do we do this, Adi" she asked playfully swinging the sword left and right.
"Well, first we learn how to hold it," I said as I stood behind her and held her hand at the wrist. I was standing very close to her, so I looked at her for any signs of discomfort but I really couldn't contemplate if is uncomfortable or just nervousness in a good way.
"Is this alright?" I asked to be sure.
"Yes," she answered while locking eyes with me and I became incapable of looking anywhere else. It took me a while to realize that I am getting too lost.
"Right," I said diverting my attention back to her hand. "So you are supossed to hold it a little higher," I said readjusting the sword's position, "and firmer," I said wrapping her fingers around the sword properly.
"The strength of the strike comes from the energy with which you swing the sword so..." I said looking forward. "Hold it tight....and strike..." I said I held her hand and taught her how to do it.
Vaishu chuckled. "This is fun," she said. "Will I be to practice on one of those?" she asked pointing to one of the wooden mannequins.
"Of course," I said and she ran to stand infront of the mannequin.
How cute!
She turned back and noticed that I did not follow her.
"Uh...you want me to do it on my own?" she asked confused.
"Why not? You can try," I replied.
"Alright," she said a little disappointed.
"Or maybe I should teach you more," I suggested and her face immediately lit up.
So we continued our....lesson