Chapter 8 A Dressing So Richly Served
“What was that about?” Shota demanded once they had a free moment after all the “respects” paid by their hosts. “This wasn’t what we had discussed. We agreed on negotiation, not intimidation or making threats. I had to make profuse apologies on your behalf.”
Veer watched with consternation as Shota removed his turban and set it on the dressing table. His movements were short and choppy from his anger. Unlike others, Shota never threw stuff around, even when he was obviously angry.
They were given as many spacious rooms as the austere surroundings could spare in the royal quarters of the temple complex.
In the distance, Veer heard the peal of the temple bell echoing across the wooded hills.
The dwellings were built with kilned-dried bricks and red clay mortar.
White limestone paste was drawn in a decorative border two inches from the ground along the four walls.
The ceiling was made of clay tiles and wooden beams. Plain but sturdy furniture occupied the rooms.
Billadev reclined against the silk-patterned cushions and stuffed a handful of jujubes in his mouth. “There is no use crying over spilled milk,” he said in a muffled voice. Veer ignored him as usual.
“You wouldn’t be in the position you are, Shota, as the chief spy-master, if you can’t handle being thrown into hot water like that. Stop complaining. We have achieved what we came for. The princess will come with us,” said Veer, crossing his arms.
“Oh, really, what bird whispered that in your ear?” said Shota sarcastically, throwing himself into a chair, arms folded.
Despite being stuck in what must have been exhausting meetings, Shota didn’t appear to relax.
Sometimes Veer wondered if Shota ever relaxed or if he slept like he had logs trapped on either side of his body.
“Because I was trapped in negotiations after you had to leave and I can tell you, right now, that Queen Padmavathi Devi isn’t willing to send her daughter with a brute like you. ”
“Queen Padmavathi?” Veer wondered why that name seemed familiar.
“Yes, Chandrasena’s birth mother.” Shota informed him with exaggerated patience.
“We don’t need her approval,” dismissed Veer, moving toward the window. Bright greenery bathed in sunlight greeted him. “All we need is the ruling triumvirate’s agreement and she will come with us.”
Shota put his head into his hands. “It’s not quite that simple,” he said, his words indistinct. “A daughter can’t leave the household without permission from her elders. Including her parents.”
“I thought she could, if her husband commanded her to,” argued Veer, glancing back at Shota.
“Normally yes. But you haven’t claimed her as your wife yet. You left immediately after the marriage ceremony, leaving some rituals incomplete, which, well…doesn’t give you the right unless you get permission from her parents again. And with the way things are, Padmavathi Devi refuses to do that.”
“But Queen Rathi Devi is her parent too. She is her stepmother. She will allow Chandrasena to come with us.” Veer was starting to understand why Shota seemed so panicky. He himself felt the beginnings of anxiety in his gut.
His mission in Thianvelli to find another person who could work the lotus key proved to be fruitless. Here, Prince Bhupathi was missing. Which left Chandra as the only possible alternative. They needed to get the princess to come with them or there was going to be no answer to Meru’s problem.
The fingers of his hand tapped against the windowsill, and he made himself stop the nervous tic.
“True, but Padmavathi Devi is her birth mother, and she can override decisions of the triumvirate and Queen Rathi Devi when it concerns her daughter’s well-being,” said Shota.
“Stupid, infernal rules,” swore Veer. “Why do they have to make them so bloody complicated?”
“They may be complicated, but people here are bound by them. I think this time you might have overplayed your hand.” Shota massaged his temples.
“So, the way I see it, I must convince Queen Padmavathi Devi, then everything will be set?” asked Veer, rubbing his clean-shaven jaw. “Do you think we can ask Chandrasena to convince her mother?”
“After the way you behaved, why would she want to do that?” asked Shota, brows raised.
“You can lead the horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” said Billadev sagely.
“Would you keep your mouth shut while eating?” Shota voiced his irritation. Billadev spat out the seeds and grinned. Veer knew Billadev took special pleasure in tormenting Shota. For him, every day he made the V appear on Shota’s forehead was a day well spent in meaningful activities.
“I believe I have a way.” Veer recounted the incident where he had unexpectedly met the princess that night when he was fleeing from Thianvelli’s guards.
“A princess working in secret? It sounds preposterous. Are you sure? It was really dark then,” said Shota. “I must admit, I hadn’t seen the commander’s face clearly.”
“I wasn’t completely certain then. But after seeing her today, there is no doubt in my mind.
It was her. And what’s more interesting is it seemed like she wanted me to keep it a secret.
I figured if the negotiations break down, I can always use this as leverage to make her agree to come with me,” said Veer.
Shota rubbed his finger in the groove between his lower lip and chin and regarded his friend. “Are you saying that you threw that knife deliberately? It wasn’t because you lost your cool?”
“I was angry, yes, but I’m not stupid,” said Veer.
Shota snorted. “Could’ve fooled me. Couldn’t you have found something besides a knife to throw at her?”
“It was all I had in my hand,” Veer deadpanned. “Why are you upset? My actions made the triumvirate back away from asking for Kalpeet again. They’ll be thinking we’re not as desperate if I can afford to make an attempt on the life of the person I have the most need for.”
“True, but don’t you think you could’ve done it in a more subtle way? This isn’t going to do your reputation any good,” said Shota.
“I don’t care about that,” Veer said, glancing out the window again.
He was aware that people here still called him “the barbarian of the desert horde” and “scourge of the north” behind his back.
Choice epithets coined for him during the war between their two kingdoms. “These people best understand tactics like arm twisting,” he said grimly.
Seven years ago, after Amaravathi had questioned the sanctity of their rajasuya yagna, Rajgarh had no choice but to engage in a battle with Amaravathi to prove their superior prowess.
“Well, I hope you know what you are doing,” said a resigned Shota. “I don’t know if the princess would be willing to travel with a man who is openly hostile toward her, even if you do threaten to reveal her secret.”
“Chandrasena will come,” said Veer, more confidently than he felt.
“Make hay while the sun shines,” came Billadev’s unneeded opinion.
“I swear, Billadev. If you don’t stop quoting inane sayings…” Shota advanced on him and there were some sounds of scuffling.
Veer gazed out the window and ignored them. He didn’t notice that his fingers had started tapping again.
* * *
Sometime later…
A knock sounded on the door. Shota went to open it.
A woman stood at the threshold, heavily in disguise, with multiple veils covering her face.
“Who’re you?” he asked.
“I’ve been called.” She reached her hands up to pull down the veils.
“Hold it,” said Shota. “Keep your hands where I can see them. We haven’t called anyone. Who sent you? How did you get past the guards?”
Veer placed a conciliatory hand on Shota’s shoulder. “It’s all right. I called her. She is our spy here.”
“What spy? We don’t have female spies here. I wouldn’t allow one in my employ—” Shota stopped suddenly, and his face cleared of confusion. “Ah. I see… Your mother must’ve appointed her.”
The queen of Rajgarh had built their spy network from the ground up before handing over the reins to Shota.
The woman took off her veils. She was young, in her late twenties, and the look she directed toward Shota was both challenging and disdainful.
“I would’ve thought you might have learned by now that women are just as capable in espionage.” Her words dripped with scorn.
Shota gritted his teeth as he recognized his longtime adversary. “You!”
Billadev looked between them. “You two know each other?”
“Sameera was a contender for the same position as Shota, but my mother had other plans for her,” explained Veer.
“Obviously, she preferred me for the more challenging task,” said Sameera. Her smug tone was wasted on Shota, who didn’t even deign to answer her. He turned to Veer.
“Why have you called her?” he asked irritably.
“So that she can tell us more about the princess.” Veer turned toward Sameera. “What exactly has the princess been doing? I found her in disguise, roaming with a bunch of soldiers. What has she involved herself in?”
“Are you asking out of concern, Prince Veer?” she asked, a hint of curiosity in her calm voice.
“Hardly,” said Veer, slashing an arm through the air in negation.
“Obviously, I won’t be pleased to know my wife is mixed up in something unsavory that is going to be a problem in the future.
On the other hand, if she is in something that has a potential for, er…
let’s say convincing her to come with us, I expect you to tell me. ”
Sameera’s expression changed subtly. He got the impression she was disappointed with his request.
“I was sent to keep an eye on the princess, to make sure she comes to no further harm. I won’t divulge anything that puts her in more danger,” she said, her eyes guarded, even as she set her mouth in an obstinate line.
Veer was baffled at her answer. As a crown prince he wasn’t in the habit of hearing no. Especially from one of his own subjects. “You are under the employ of Rajgarh,” he said, a touch sternly. “Your first loyalty, though admirable, should belong to us.”
“With all due respect, Prince Veer, I am specifically under the employ of the queen of Rajgarh, and you don’t have the authority to question my actions,” she said, bowing her head and clasping her hands together, her actions directly contradicting her words.
Shota gave a scathing laugh. “If you hadn’t been so hasty, Veer, I’d have told you it was useless to call her. She has higher illusions of authority than her current position grants her.”
Shota and Sameera abandoned all graces of civility and openly glared at each other.
“I’ll tell you this much, Prince,” said Sameera, dragging her gaze away from Shota.
“Because I suspect you can learn this from other sources as well. After you left, King Chandraketu declared the princess a pariah and had her banished from the capital. Chandra’s mother took on a vow of silence in retaliation and spoke to no one for the past seven years.
She and Chandra are estranged from the rest of the family.
To be abandoned by a husband is the worst kind of shame a woman can invite.
Chandra has carried that smear and the guilt that came with it all these years.
Now how she chooses to assuage that guilt, I’ll leave it to your imagination.
But the situation that she is in? It is partly your doing, and if you want her to come with you, I suggest you stay away from your knives and your ultimatums and try asking her…
politely. Who knows, she might surprise you. ”
She closed the door with a slam of finality on her way out.
“Is it just me, or do I feel like we have just been put in our place?” asked Billadev, slinging his arms across the shoulders of his two friends.
Veer noticed Shota was about as pleased as he was with Billadev’s observation.