Chapter 20 #2
He exhaled in frustration. “Trisha,” he called. “Trisha, they’re crying.” He called even louder when I saw his wife running to him.
“Pranaam, Rani-sa,” I bowed slightly, and she nodded.
“Ji, pranaam,” she replied.
“Take them away for a bit,” he muttered, annoyed, and her reaction didn’t go unnoticed by me; it sounded like, ‘Want more babies?’ I struggled to suppress my laughter and glanced at Abhinandan’s flushed face as she took the babies away with the attendant’s help.
“So, yes, where were we?” he said, scratching his brow and replied, “Yes, canons; these are called canons. My cousin in the Sultanate of Darmiyan, Kainat, and one more—I forgot the name—owns them; I think it’s Hamid Sultanate,” he continued, and I furrowed my brow in confusion.
“So, is there a chance they could be the same people?” I asked, and he shook his head, confused.
“No, but the area they cover is vast, and they own the northern Arab region with no clue about what’s in the south. It could be them, or it might be someone else, or it could be someone we’ve never heard of,” he explained, and I bit my lip.
“Well, we can surely find out, but Mehrangarh needs to open his mouth wide,” I said, and he nodded.
“And we can’t just wage war based solely on what we know about Mehrangarh; we don’t know how many kingdoms have already changed hands.
These people look sharp; they’re not coming through the door directly; they’re brainwashing our people against us.
We can stop Mehrangarh, but what if they have another kingdom as backup? ” he said, and my head ached.
It was too much in one day.
“I’m getting it,” I said.
“I think we should alert the other kings, too,” Abhinandan said, and I looked up at him, scratching my head.
“You just said that we are unaware of which kings are already compromised, and now you propose telling them? Don’t you think spreading the word will draw Mehrangarh's attention? I’m not informing my Bhabhi-sa yet because we need a plan for execution that doesn’t put any lives at risk,” I said, and he inhaled deeply, intertwining his fingers in his lap.
“Lives are already at stake, whether or not they know, Kunwar Agastya.” His words made me lower my gaze.
“I know,” I said, adding, “By the way, when are you leaving?”
He furrowed his brows. “Today,”
I pressed my lips together.
“Let me set up a quick meeting. At least Pratapgarh, Mahabaleshgarh, and Suryagarh should stay ahead in the plan,” I proposed, and he nodded in agreement.
I rose from my seat. “Alright, I’ll send someone to bring you to the meeting hall, King Abhinandan,” I said, joining my hands.
He stood up as well. “Ji,”
From there, I walked to Ranvijay Bhai-sa’s chamber.
“Agastya,” Bhai-sa acknowledged, noticing my presence in his chamber. “What happened? Everything okay?” he asked, and I sat beside him.
“Yes, everything’s fine,” I assured him and saw Aishwarya Bhabhi-sa approaching us.
“Pranaam, Bhabhi-sa,” I said, and she joined her hands, placing the breakfast plate on the table before sitting on the couch across from us.
“Pranaam, Devar-sa, how are you?” she asked, then added, “Where did you go after the ceremony?”
I chuckled and replied, “Nowhere, you know me.”
She laughed. “Of course, of course, but you know your fiancée was here; you should have been with her,” she said, and I smiled, trying to appear flushed.
“Ji, Bhabhi-sa,” I said, unable to come up with anything else.
Suddenly, I felt Bhai-sa’s hand on my shoulder and looked at him.
He smiled and said, “Aishwarya, I think I left my books open; would you check?”
“Ji, Hukum,” Bhabhi-sa smiled and walked away.
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking at me.
“It’s getting serious,” I said.
He gulped, understanding what I meant, already knowing where I had been. “To what extent?”
“Very serious. They have cannons, and they’re planning to use them against us. Abhinandan mentioned that more kingdoms could be involved in this,” I explained, and he inhaled deeply.
“Maybe,” I nodded, listening to him, and he asked, “What's a cannon?”
I inhaled sharply and briefly explained everything I had seen, causing him to lower his gaze.
“I believe it’s time to take this matter to Bhai-sa,” he said, and I nodded.
“Yes, it’s time.”
We both stood up and walked towards Bhai-sa’s chamber. My gaze fell on Suman with the baby, strolling with her in the sunlight.
As soon as she saw me, she averted her eyes. I walked closer to Bhai-sa.
“Oh, Rahu-Ketu38 together today?” he asked as he sat on the couch.
“Suman, where’s my princess?” he said, looking at Suman as she walked closer and handed him the sleeping baby in his arms.
He sat in the sunlight, and we sat across from him on the couch.
“Pranaam, Bhai-sa,” I said, looking at him as he freed the princess’s small hands from the fabric, allowing her to swing.
I smiled as he caressed her cheek to wake her up.
“Rudraja, my princess, look who’s here to meet you? Both your Kaako-sa,” he said, and she yawned, opened her big eyes, and smiled at him.
She cooed at him, and her sweet voice filled my ears. I didn’t know why, but seeing her, I felt she didn’t deserve this. She shouldn’t have to lose any of her family to these senseless wars, nor should any child.
She began playing with Bhai-sa’s neckpiece, and he turned his attention to us.
“So, what brings you here this morning?” he asked, and I inhaled sharply.
“Bhai-sa, we need to tell you something,” I said, and he furrowed his brows.
“Is Mehrangarh planning against us?” he asked, and my eyes widened in shock.
“How do you know?” I questioned, and he chuckled slightly.
“So you think I’m too busy to know where, what, and how my brothers are doing?” he replied, and I bit my lip.
“But it’s more dangerous than we think,” I asserted, and he nodded.
“Tell me everything,” he urged, playing with the princess’s little fingers as she yawned, sleeping again.
“Bhai-sa, they have something called cannons, and we won’t be able to fight them with just soldiers,” I said when Abhinandan suddenly caught our attention.
“Rudra,” he called, walking toward us, and sat beside Bhai-sa.
“Come, Abhi, we have something to discuss,” Rudra Bhai-sa said, and he smiled, looking at the princess.
“Aw, our little niece is enjoying her sunbath,” he said, touching her fingers before looking back at Rudra Bhai-sa.
“Well, I’m quite aware of it,” he said, and Bhai-sa nodded.
“So what do you suggest, Agastya?” he asked, his tone a little serious, and I inhaled deeply.
“We should prevent them from coming this way across the mountains. No contacts, no war, no problem,” I said, and Ranvijay Bhai-sa added.
“I agree with that. Why don’t we stop them from invading in the first place so their powers weaken before they enter?” he suggested, and Abhinandan asked.
“How will we do that exactly?” he asked.
I inhaled sharply and began, “The first state near the mountains is Mehrangarh, which is already compromised as they are helping them out. The first kingdom they would come across is Pratapgarh, and we cannot overlook that Pratapgarh is under the watch of a subedar39, not a king. It would be easy for them to take that; it could become a weak point for us. Because if one falls, two wouldn’t be much of an effort.
We cannot let them win even one,” I paused momentarily.
“We should keep an army on standby in Pratapgarh. Even if our plan fails, that would be the first point of contact for the fight. Plus, no women and children stay in Pratapgarh, so it will be safer to lead a fight from there,” I added, and Rudra Bhai-sa agreed.
“But, Agastya, moving heavy troops could alert Mehrangarh. Plus, Princess Rashmika and their army chief are in Suryagarh now,” he cautioned.
Suddenly, Abhinandan interrupted. “Well, that’s a good thing.
We can keep them busy, and at least Mahabaleshgarh should start moving the troops.
Also, no one would suspect anything because both kingdoms are under my rule, and I could easily say that we’re renovating that kingdom,” he concluded, and Ranvijay Bhai-sa nodded.
“Exactly, and we should not move our soldiers because they have cannons, and we cannot place all our army in front of them in plain sight. The more we attack at small intervals, the better. They will get tired; this way, we can see how much gunpowder they have left to blast,” he said, and I immediately interrupted.
“They have a lot, Bhai-sa. And by a lot, I mean a lot. Mehrangarh has been buying yellow sand from Songarh for the past four years and has taken most of it. Mehrangarh is rich in other minerals as well. They have over a hundred cannons in their possession, so you can guess how much they have,” I informed him, and Rudra Bhai-sa inhaled deeply.
Suddenly, my attention was drawn to Suman bringing breakfast to the table, and I realised I had lost my mind before; I had lost my sanity right then.
“Ranaji, breakfast, shall I serve?” she asked, and I inhaled deeply, trying to clench my fingers tightly.
“Suman,” we noticed Bhabhi-sa walking in, and she turned to look at her.
“Leave it; Reva will do it. You come with me,” she instructed, and Bhabhi-sa glanced at me momentarily.
A hint of apology appeared on her face, and I watched Suman silently walk away.
“That’s okay, Bhabhi-sa, I’ll serve,” I said, watching her leave with Suman.
“So, we should plan something to stop them before they enter,” Abhinandan suggested. That’s when something struck my mind.
“Bhai-sa, let me lead,” I said, looking at Rudra Bhai-sa.
He stared at me for a moment and nodded.
“Since you figured this out, you lead,” he replied, and I stood up from the couch.
“Then Mahabaleshgarh will keep the army on standby, and I’ll be the head commander,” I declared, and they all stood up too.
“Alright, then, let us know more; I’ll lead the army of Suryagarh,” Rudra Bhai-sa said, smiling at his princess and Ranvijay Bhai-sa.
“I’ll try to contact the other states and ask the people to shift to the outskirts of the kingdom for their safety,” I nodded.
“Alright, I’ll see you later,” I said, leaving them to walk into Bhabhi-sa’s chamber.
The moment I entered, I saw Suman and Bhabhi-sa talking.
“Agastya,” Bhabhi-sa noticed me.
I ran my fingers through my hair and said, “Suman, we need to talk.” I tried to keep my cool, but she frowned lightly.
“Yes,” she replied, and I glanced at Bhabhi-sa watching me.
“In my chamber,” I added, and she gulped nervously.
“Agastya, be calm,” Bhabhi-sa advised, and I nodded.
“I’m calm, Bhabhi-sa,” I assured her, and she nodded back.
“Okay, I’m coming,” she said.
“I’ll be waiting,” I replied, and looked in Bhabhi-sa’s direction. “Also, she is going out with me,” I added, and Suman’s eyes widened.
“Um… actually, just to go around,” she explained, and Bhabhi-sa smiled.
“That's fine, I don’t need to know. You deserve a life; if he gives it to you, I couldn’t be happier,” she said, patting her hand.
“You should go now,” she instructed, looking at me.
“Agastya, we need to talk,” Bhabhi-sa said, and I nodded, watching her, leaving us alone.
I walked toward her and sat beside her on the couch.
She smiled weakly and said, “It’s in her blood, Agastya. It will take her time to understand the line between a prince’s wife and a royal servant.”
I nodded and inhaled deeply. “I don’t want her to do anything. Not anyone’s, not even yours,” I said, and she smiled at me.
“I know. I’ll talk to her,” she assured.
“No, I will talk to her; it’s our responsibility to understand this,” I insisted.
She nodded. “It couldn't be better than this,” she said, inhaling deeply before continuing. “Agastya, she had a difficult past. I’m not sure how much you know, but as a woman, I can tell she has experienced the worst. And no matter how much time has passed, it still affects her. Be humble, kind, and understanding towards her. Just don’t do anything that might awaken her past. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen her smile effortlessly like that.
And protect that smile, because while it's easy for a child to smile, it's hard for a wounded soul to do so,” she said, and I nodded.
“I understand, Bhabhi-sa, don’t worry; I know what I’m doing,” I replied with a smile. “Also, thank you for earlier.”
“You’re my brother-in-law. That’s the least I could do,” she replied as I stood up from the couch.
“I should head out now.”
Suddenly, Bhai-sa walked in with the princess.
“Agastya, you still don’t want to hold your niece?” he asked softly.
I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m not ready yet, Bhai-sa. She’s so fragile,” I said, moving toward him and admiring the beautiful sleeping charm in his arms.
“By the way, what happened to your lips?” he asked, and suddenly, Bhabhi-sa chuckled.
“Aa jao, Rudra, main karke bataati hu kya hua hai,”
(Come in, Rudra, I’ll show you what happened.)
My eyes widened in shock, and Bhai-sa’s brows thinned.
“Don’t you dare get Rashmika pregnant before the wedding. I’ll kill you,” he gritted, and I shook my head.
“Not even in my dreams, Bhai-sa,” I said, gulping, but Bhabhi-sa interrupted.
“Rudra, your warning should be, ‘Don’t you dare get any woman pregnant before the wedding,’” My head whipped toward her.
“Bhabhi-sa!” I glared at her, and she raised her hands.
“Fine, I’ll be quiet now,” she said, and I turned to Bhai-sa.
“Okay, Bhai-sa, I’m leaving,” I said, leaving for my chamber.
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