36
The day after the confinement....I thought the Queen would be delighted to see us again.
..but she wasn't. Usually she would talk to us, laugh, ask about our day or at the very least smile at the stupid things Pallu does but today is different.
She just sat down blankly staring into one of her books.
I would assume she is missing the king, but the fact that she has not made any attempt to see him conveyed otherwise.
Something is certainly not right!
"Everything alright, your highness?" I finally asked after exchaging concerning looks with Naina for almost an hour.
The Queen slightly shook her head.
"I..." she hesitated, "I...might..need some help from Meihu."
The library fell completely silent. Pallu who was dancing around immediately stopped and ran away. A concerned Naina went and closed the doors to make sure no one outside the three of us hears our the conversation.
"Your highness, the king would be furious if...."
"I do not intend to meet her," the queen interrupted. "I....know the negative impact she would have on me and my marriage," she slowly added. "So...I am thinking..." she continued while Naina and I patiently listened, "If I should ask the general to speak with Meihu on my behalf."
I couldn't think of a better idea!
"But then..." she paused for a while before continuing, "that would require me to be vulnerable with him....reveal things that I would rather keep a secret....."
What secrets could she possibly have?
I feel silent before I heard her voice again. "Should I do it?" she innoncently asked.
I smiled. "I couldn't think of a better person to ask for help, your highness," I genuinely replied.
The Queen nodded still contemplating on her decisions.
Naina and I looked at each and instantly came to an unspoken conclusion that we need to hurry up and get the general involved before the Queen decides to change her decision.
"Do you wish for me to go inform the general, your highness?" Naina asked. The Queen slightly nodded and Naina immediately left.
"Your highness, would you like to have your evening bath in the meantime?" I asked just to prevent her from thinking further.
The Queen smiled. "Are you offering me a distraction so that I do not change my mind?" she asked.
I remained silent.
"Sure," the Queen continued and little did I know the danger lurking in the corner.
"Your highness, look whom I got to meet you!" Pallu excitedly shouted the moment we opened the door to the bath chambers and like a devil coming out of the darkness Meihu emerged. She has a warm smile on her face but somehow the mere presence of this women tensed me up. She radiates evil energy.
"How are you, Vaishu?" she said taking a step forward. The Queen immediately stepped back, the fear of meeting her clearly evident on her face.
"Vaishu, what's wrong with you?" Meihu asked slightly worried.
"Meihu, please leave," the Queen replied calmly and Meihu looked at her completely surprised.
"Vaishu...your husband threatened to burn me alive if I ever meet you....yet I am here because Pallu said you need my help...." Meihu said, "and yet....you are looking at me...as if I am your enemy...."
"I do not see you as an enemy Meihu," the queen explained, "It is just that....our interactions never lead to positive outcomes."
"I just want to help," Meihu said heartbroken and I could sense that the Queen is about to give up. So I held onto her hand to stop her.
"Talk to the general," I told Meihu and was about to take the Queen away with me when Meihu shouted, "When did you get so selfish, Vaishu?" and the Queen stopped in her feet and turned back.
Meihu came forward and held onto her other hand.
"Talk to me, please," she begged in tears. The Queen gave in and hesitantly turned to me as she freed her hand from my grip.
"Please give us a moment, Sruthi," she said.
'All the tortures of hell paralelly running at once' would be the best way to describe the state of my mind right now. The Queen spoke with Meihu a few hours before sunset and it has been almost 5 hours since, and the Queen is still in solitude.
In a way it is lucky that the king went on a visit to the borders but he should be back any moment now and even thinking about what could potentially happen made me extremely nervous and as fortune would have it, I saw the king walking towards the chambers that I am standing guard with Nanda beside him.
"Your highness," I stopped the king right outside, "The Queen requested to be left alone."
"Left alone?" the king asked confused, "Why?"
I remained silent. I expected, almost hoped, he would just open the door and go in but he stayed outside honouring the queen's wishes.
"Did something happen, Sruthi?" he asked me again.
I did not know what to respond and I could sense that the king is getting increasingly agitated by my silence.
"How long has it been?" he asked trying hard to remain calm.
"...5 hours..." I hesitantly replied.
"And when was the last assurance check done?" the king asked again.
"Assurace check....your highness?" I asked confused.
"You do not even know what that means?" the king asked anger radiating through his voice.
It was so scary that I almost thought this is the day I would die but thankfully the general came to my rescue.
"Technical terms can be confusing, your highness," he said holding onto the king's shoulder as a way to calm him down.
"Sruthi, when a royal requests to be left alone, protocol states that we check every two hours to make sure they are alright. That is what an assurace check means," the general explained calmly as if talking to a child, "What the king is asking for is when did you last do that check?"
I simply looked at him and perhaps the fear in my face was so evident that even the general's expression went from neutral to concerning.
"Unbelievable," I heard the king murmur under his breath as he went and knocked on the queen's door. She did not open even after knocking for 3 times so he quickly pushed open the door without wasting any time.
I expected the general to follow him and save the Queen from his anger but instead he stayed with me.
"You should leave," he told me.
"Go protect the..."
"The Queen does not need protection from her hus...." the general paused when we heard the footsteps of the king storming out of the chambers.
If death had a face, this is probably what it would look like.
Having only interacted with him around the Queen, I almost forgot that he is 'The King Adinath' and today the furiousness in his eyes, the intimidating walk, and ruthless demeanor came out as a strong reminder of who he really is.
..and the fact that he is walking towards me.
..made me realize that this is probably the day I am going to die until.
...the general stepped infront me....acting as a barier between me and the king.
"What's wrong, your highness?" he carefully asked.
"The Queen ran away," the king said gritting his teeth in anger and my heart stopped beating. "Thanks to the ignorance of Sruthi," he said taking a step forward but the general stopped him placing a hand on his chest while I took a few steps back in fear.
"Your highness, let us focus on finding the queen first," he suggested as he struggled to prevent the king from moving forward. The king did not even divert his attention from me. I doubt he even heard the general's words.
"Step back, general," he said angrily.
"Your high..." the general paused and corrected himself. "Adi," he said and the king turned his attention to the general, still angry but atleast he is listening, "Focus on what is important, please."
The king did not respond to the general and turned towards me. The general still held his position for safety. I am surprised at what gave him the courage because I don't think any human would ever be capable of going anywhere near the angry king.
"What happened before the Queen reqested to be left alone?" the king asked me.
"We..." I gulpled, "We met Meihu..."
"Meihu.." The king nodded tightening his fists and stormed off grabbing a sword from the wall on his way out. This time even the general wasn't able to stop him and simply decided to follow.
"Take Naina and Pallavi and hide in my work chambers," he told me as he made his way to follow the king and hopefully prevent Meihu's death!