Chapter 41 Choices #2
A dam was built to restrain the exuberance of the Narmada.
The only structure constructed with the cooperation of the two warring kingdoms. One bank belonged to Amaravathi, while the other was under the control of Rajgarh.
With tacit agreement, no one was allowed to travel across the dam itself or use it for military purposes.
And while the dam protected the road from the occasional floods from the Narmada, it altered its course downstream and left several villages of Amaravathi without water.
A temporary solution was reached, with the surrounding villages providing water for essential needs, but it meant their crops depended more on the weather and rainfall.
It meant their women had to travel miles to get water.
With the end of war in sight, many people were eagerly awaiting the day the dam would be dismantled.
In the discussions of truce between the two kingdoms, the problem of the dam was a hotly debated topic. While both agreed to destroy the dam, both parties wanted the other kingdom to take the first step.
The subject ballooned, until it became a matter of pride and principle to wait until the other capitulated. The advisors and courtiers who were part of the peace talks were unwilling to compromise, even if it was for the common good.
Veer walked along the timber logs that shored up the embankment on Rajgarh’s side of the river late one evening.
He was pondering about the meeting he had just finished with one of his father’s advisors and an emissary sent by Amaravathi. After many days of trying to escape the meeting, they had finally cornered him, and he was forced to present his choice of bride.
Shota was present there, too, and the faint pity in his friend’s eyes didn’t help.
Veer hated being forced to choose a wife, but he would never go against his father’s decree in a million years. He may drag his feet and prolong the choice as much as possible, but he couldn’t run forever.
The advisor and emissary had begun by extolling the virtues of each of the princesses of Amaravathi, and when Veer tried to dodge them, by saying he needed more time, they obliquely referenced the issue with the dam and how it was a pity it wasn’t going forward because the prince of Rajgarh was unable to make a choice.
Exasperated with their antics, Veer finally gave them a random name so they would leave him alone, then stormed out of the meeting to get some air. He hadn’t planned to head to the dam.
He waved off the guards standing sentry at the entrance of the dam bridge. Oftentimes, when he needed a quiet place to think, Veer would climb down from the bridge across the dam and sit on one of the huge logs that supported the wooden bridge.
It was cool there, under the shade of the bridge, with spray from the fast river and the turbulence drowning his chaotic thoughts. As an added bonus, he was hidden from everyone’s sight, so no one would bother him.
It was a pity, but today would be the last day he could enjoy the solitude here.
The dam had existed for a long time, but tonight he planned to destroy the main supports that held it together on Rajgarh’s side.
He hoped someone on Amaravathi’s side cared enough or got vexed enough, like him, to do the same.
But it didn’t matter. The dam had seen its last days, and if he had to sit through one more round of negotiations detailing its demise, heads were going to roll.
Veer cushioned his hands behind his head and leaned back against the log, preparing for a short nap, but the usual peace evaded him.
He had the vague sense he had made the wrong choice earlier but couldn’t figure out why, and when he thought too deeply about the matter, he saw her face.
The princess he had forced to stay with him that night. Chandrasena.
He found his mind dwelling too much on her, which was precisely why he didn’t name her as his preferred choice for wife. He liked her a bit too much, and he didn’t want to give the daughter of an enemy that much power over him.
Contrary to her fears about sullied reputations, his men were circumspect, and the news of her forced stay came out only as rumors instead of confirmation.
Rumors that Amaravathi was quick enough to crush.
Her honor was unscathed, and Veer got what he wanted—a reminder to King Chandraketu, to bring him down a peg or two, that his family was once at his mercy, and he had released them out of the goodness of his heart.
Veer didn’t like Raja Chandraketu. He thought he was too proud and too set in his dislike for people he considered different from them. He was polite in his words, but there was no denying he looked down on “foreigners” and considered them beneath his own prestigious background.
If his own father hadn’t more or less commanded him, Veer would have preferred not to do anything with him, but there was another meeting coming up in two days where Veer was going to officially ask King Chandraketu for one his daughters’ hand in marriage, cementing the bond between the kingdoms. All so the truce could proceed.
The restlessness returned and Veer sat up, thinking about leaving and coming back under the cover of night to finish his job.
But at that moment, he heard voices from the other side of the Narmada.
The river was the narrowest at this point, so voices from the other bank carried easily.
“Are you sure about this, Princess?”
“Quiet, Kalpana. You’ll bring the guards’ notice,” said a voice that haunted his dreams. What is Princess Chandrasena doing here?
“That’s unavoidable once you start chopping the wood here,” replied Kalpana, who Veer assumed was her companion or maid.
“I just need to weaken some joints here and the river will do the rest.” The air filled with the sounds of chopping. Someone seemed to be using an axe to hew the wood.
Veer was astonished. Not that someone had the same idea as him, but that it was her. What were the odds of running into her when he was just thinking about her? The ennui and restlessness that plagued him earlier disappeared completely to be replaced by interest.
Veer heard a long yawn.
“Had a long night, huh, Kalpana?” The princess sounded amused. “When are you going to tell me who he is?”
“He? What are you talking about, Princess?” Mild panic flared in the maid’s voice.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you disappear in the evenings. Were you meeting someone outside the city?”
“Umm…”
“It’s all right if you don’t want to tell me,” said the princess, panting slightly.
“It’s not that I want to keep it a secret. But I don’t know how you will take this—”
“Why do you say that?” said the princess, her words interspersed with the chopping sounds. “Is he someone unsuitable?” chop “Already married with two kids?” chop “A criminal?” chop “Or is he—”
“He is from Rajgarh,” interrupted Kalpana.
There was a pause as the sounds stopped. “From Rajgarh?” Veer waited to hear the censure in the princess’s tone but could detect nothing but curiosity. “Huh! How did that come about?”
“I thought you’d be angry, Princess,” said Kalpana.
“Why would I be angry?” she said.
“Well…they are Amaravathi’s enemies and…”
“They are…also people,” she said, resuming her chopping, grunting with exertion. “You didn’t tell me…how you met? And what…does he do?”
“His name is Hyadrik. He is a soldier in the army, but back home he is a farmer. He saved me from a snakebite. Remember when I came back from visiting a fair a few months back? I’d stayed too late, and it was dark by the time I was returning.
Didn’t see where I was going and stepped on a snake by mistake.
“Well, Hyadrik was passing through and helped me leech the venom out. I was a little scared when he told me who he was, but he assured me that he would never harm a woman and, for some reason, I believed him. And even though it was risky for him, he accompanied me all the way to the city gates that night.”
“That was nice of him.”
“Yes, and he waited for me every day just past the city gates to see when I’d visit the fair again. We have met several times since and…he is kind and gentle and I think I really like him.”
Chandra didn’t speak immediately, and Veer wondered what she was thinking.
“I’m glad you found someone you like, Kalpana. And I’m glad it’s someone who’s nice to you.”
There was a touch of wistfulness in her voice, enough to rouse his curiosity.
“Are you really not upset, Princess? I thought after the prince of Rajgarh kept you captive with him for a day, you would hate everything that has to do with those foreigners.”
“Oh…that. Father told me never to speak of it.” A short silence fell. Then she continued. “I admit I’m still angry with the prince for his actions. But your Hyadrik isn’t like him. He sounds like a good man, and if you like him, I’ve no objection to your union.”
“Thank you, Chandra. It means a lot to me that you’re all right with this. I wasn’t sure how you’d respond.”
“I want you to be happy, Kalpana.”
There was a sudden sawing sound as she switched to a different implement. It seemed like she had come well prepared.
“I know the king forbade you to speak of it,” said Kalpana sounding curious. “But did the prince really treat you well that night?”
“Well enough, I suppose, given the circumstances. His men were very courteous. He, of course, skirts the line, but never steps over it.”
Veer could practically hear the maid’s nosiness. “He burned the Navari Woods days later?”
There was a pause in all sound and Veer wished he could see her if only to know what she was thinking.
“Yes,” she said finally. “He has his reasons for that.”
“But everyone hates him for what he has done. The tribal people who live there curse his name because he destroyed their livelihood.”
The princess’s voice turned sharp. “He’s not to blame. I told you there is a reason behind that and if only people would listen to me…” Her words faded to grumbles.