Chapter 20 Sameera
“Here are all the manuscripts you requested about King Amarendra. I had to break into the royal library to make copies of them. I hope it’s worth it,” said Sameera.
Shota was already nose-deep in the palm-leafed documents she had fished out from a drawstring bag at her feet.
Sameera watched him for a while before plucking out the nuts and dried fruit from her own share of the prasad and passing them over silently, knowing he liked them.
They sat on the stone steps together, two acquaintances ostensibly sharing the offering but really exchanging information.
“Why did you ask for them?” Sameera’s eyes moved over him, noting the changes of six years, since she last saw him.
He seemed thinner. Perhaps it was because of the rigors of the journey, but then, unlike the prince and his other friends, Shota’s physique had always run more toward a lithe and sinewy strength.
“I thought Amaravathi had already provided you with everything.”
“I just like to make sure they aren’t withholding any information,” said Shota absently, turning the leaves, popping the cashews into his mouth.
“If you notice, there is a significant lack of details regarding the matter of the lotus key.” She frowned, noticing something different about him. He had hung a towel around his neck, and she spied the edges of a mark on his chest.
“What do you mean?” Shota frowned, turning a page.
“King Amarendra is a legend and a founding father of the royal families of both Thianvelli and Amaravathi,” said Sameera.
She tilted her head trying to get a better look at the mark without being too obvious about it.
It almost gave the appearance of a nondescript scar with puckered skin, but there was also some type of green dye that had seeped into the skin, giving it a unique appearance.
“There is no dearth of information regarding his exploits,” she continued.
“Some of them have been relegated to the realm of myth. But although there is plenty of word-of-mouth knowledge about Meru and the lotus key, there isn’t much written information I could find.
I inquired with some trusted people in Amaravathi, and they concluded it was likely lost in the great fire decades ago. ”
Shota nodded at intervals. Sameera paused, waiting for him to speak, and resumed when he didn’t. “I know you asked me to search for communications between kings of Amaravathi and Rajgarh going back two generations. But it would help if you were a bit more specific than that,” she said.
“It is very simple,” he said, turning a page. “I wish to know why King Bheesmala’s grandsire built his castle and the main city of Rajgarh right in the path of the volcano. Since the knowledge of Meru appears to be common around these parts, someone should’ve warned him against it.”
He set aside the manuscript and looked up. “King Bheesmala remembers his grandsire inquiring about the chosen location when he built the castle. Of course, this memory is from when he was four years old, so it is not exactly accurate.”
“Very well,” said Sameera, playing with the strings of her bag. “I’ll try to see what I can find out. But this may be my last trip to Amaravathi. My disguise is wearing thin, anyway. I think it’s time I make myself scarce.”
“If it’s too dangerous, then I don’t want you doing it,” said Shota quickly.
“I’ll be all right,” said Sameera, waving away his concern.
“I’ve lasted this long mostly because, though Guruji knows who I am, he approves the reason why I was sent.
But Guruji’s motives are never very clear or straightforward.
Now that the princess isn’t there, I am superfluous to his purposes, whatever those might be. ”
“You’re right. Amaravathi seems to have given us everything necessary,” said Shota, bundling up the manuscripts with a rope. “I already know all of this information.”
Sameera watched with a trace of envy as Shota carefully wrapped the tied manuscripts with a cloth. She never could assimilate so much information as quickly as he could. She briefly pondered what Shota would say if she asked him about the mark on his chest.
“I also took the liberty of making inquiries via my contacts at the great library in Nalanda,” she said slowly, wondering how to put across the next bit of information.
She wasn’t tasked with it, and Shota tended to be particular about staying within the scope of a mission and not taking unnecessary risks.
But she needed to follow her instincts too.
Shota’s face reflected only a mild reproach. “You didn’t need to do that. Someone from Rajgarh is already looking into it. If there is anything important there, King Bheesmala would communicate with Veer.”
“I wonder if the people who were sent there thought this matter would be worth mentioning to the king. Aren’t they all scholars?” she asked, tilting her head.
“What do you mean?” He abandoned the manuscripts to give her his complete attention. “Yes, the plan was to send learned men there to find more about the legend behind Meru.”
“There was someone else there in the great library who was searching for information about Meru and the lotus key,” she said.
“How do you know this?” asked Shota urgently, finally understanding the significance of this information. “Are you sure?”
“I have my sources. And yes, I am sure. I wouldn’t mention this otherwise,” she said with some asperity.
Shota fell into thinking, running a hand through his hair. Sameera waited patiently until he reached the same conclusion as her. The learned men who were sent were not spies or politicians—they would have thought nothing of having another person looking into this matter.
“I would’ve thought you had enough sense to have a little more trust in my capabilities after all these years,” she muttered under her breath.
Shota’s eyes flicked toward her, but he said nothing in response to that.
“If it is true, then we need to be extra careful. Keep your eyes and ears open and let us know if you come across anything significant,” he instructed Sameera.
“I always do,” she said dryly as she got up and dusted her saree. She didn’t trust the glint in his eyes and was proved right when he smiled at her.
Sameera blinked. Was she seeing things?
“Veer asked me something before we left Amaravathi,” he said, still smiling.
“Oh?”
“Yes. He asked me to find more information about the night that Virat died.”
Sameera remained quiet.
“You can make my job easier, you know,” he coaxed. “Tell me what happened.”
“It’s not my secret to reveal,” she said, hiding her disappointment. Of course, he was being nice to her. He wanted something from her. This seemed to be his way of dealing with her: either treat her with icy courtesy and thin-veiled attempts to get her to quit her job or this fake camaraderie.
She liked neither of his personas. Because once upon a time, he had shown her a different side to his personality. She was still in love with that person, but he seemed to have moved on.
“You are a spy. It is your job to eke out secrets and collect information,” he chided.
“Thank you for reminding me how to do my job,” she said, her tone acerbic. “You are not the person who I shall be revealing those secrets to.”
Shota’s smile morphed into a genuine grin. “It was worth a try anyway,” he said, admitting defeat.
Sameera hoped that the longing she felt in her heart wasn’t reflected on her face. He smiled so rarely, and hardly ever in her presence.
Shota caught her look, and his mirth disappeared, as if it never existed. Awkwardness took its place.
“By the way, how is Chandra doing?” asked Sameera, scrambling to hide how she felt. To hide the painful throb of long-forgotten dreams.
Six years ago, she had accepted the queen’s offer to be a spy for Rajgarh, to stay close to Princess Chandrasena and find the truth. She did so gladly, as it allowed her to escape from Rajgarh, from him, to heal her broken heart. But it seemed that even time didn’t heal some wounds.
“She is fine,” said Shota, his attention returning once again to the bound manuscripts he had read through.
“Could you give me something a little more than ‘she is fine’”? she persisted, trying to stay a little longer in his presence. “I heard stories about monsters in the caves—”
“You can go ask her yourself,” he said brusquely, when it became apparent he couldn’t use the manuscripts as an excuse to avoid talking to her. “Surely you were planning to see her before you left. And you’ve given me what you came here to deliver. So, why are you bothering me?”
Sameera drew back as if he had slapped her. She turned away in affront, even though she heard his quick curse directed at himself.
“Sameera, I didn’t mean…” he began. She faced him again and found his hand raised toward her, although he didn’t touch her like he obviously meant to.
“Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Shota,” she said, angrily turning to face him once again. “I am not an idiot, no matter how much you pretend I am. I can see what you are doing. You are so afraid of yourself that you are pushing me away. Well, you know what, you will get your wish soon.”
She took a deep breath, trying to rein in her emotions. “That mark on your chest, it’s because of her, isn’t it?” she asked.
Shota’s face fell into an inscrutable mask, and in his silence, she read the answer. Her eyes prickled and his mask of indifference dropped for a moment at her tears, but it wasn’t enough to give her hope. “It’s been six years since she died. When are you going to let go?”