Princess of the dawn

Chapter 28

Amer

Jodha squirmed restlessly in her sleep. She dreamed of dark eyes that smiled at her. She was in a space without a contour, everything was in a diffuse fog. Slowly Jalal's face formed out of the fog and smiled at her. She reached out for him but couldn't reach him. Then everything disappeared again in the fog and Jodha woke up with a pounding heart. What a dream! She sat up and put her fingers to her temples. Lightly she shook her head. His face had been so real. She slowly calmed down. In the dim light of the single candle in her chamber, she saw the gems flashing on Jalal's ring. Relaxed, she lay down again. What did this dream mean? Jodha was at a loss. With these thoughts she fell asleep again.

She woke up before sunrise. The black of the night had already given way to the dark gray of dawn. The horizon was slowly starting to turn orange. She got up quickly and after a prayer she put on simple robes. She wrapped herself in a turban and covered her face. She quickly grabbed an apple. She came out of the living quarters of the palace through a secret passage. From there she ran to the stable. Lathika greeted her joyous and sniffed at her robe. Jodha caressed her neck and held out the apple for her. Lathika took it carefully with her soft lips and chewed it with relish. "Well my pretty, do we want to go for a little ride?" Jodha whispered in her mare's ear. She threw her head up and snorted in agreement. Jodha put the bridle on her and led her out of the stable. The horse boy looked at her sleepily and nodded friendly to her. They knew who she was and didn't stop her. Outside she climbed on the fountain and mounted on Lathika's back. The guards let her pass through a small gate and as soon as she left the palace she pressed her heels into Lathika's flanks and stormed away with her. Jodha loved the dawn. The mood when nature awoke to a new day was so peaceful. In the meantime it had become a little lighter and the contours of trees and bushes were visible in the light gray of the morning. She rode to her favorite place on a hill. From there she could watch the sun rise over the palace. When she reached the hill, the horizon shone in all shades of purple and orange and the orange sun ball slowly began to rise from its dark bed. The higher it rose, the brighter the light became. The light replaced the black and gray of the night. The yellow sandstone palace shone like liquid gold in the rising sun. Jodha sat on her horse and was in awe of nature. She folded her hands and began to sing:

Suryaye svāhā, suryaye idam na mama;
prajāpataye svāhā, prajāpataye idam na mama

She looked proudly over the palace and the surrounding countryside. Amer ... How she loved the country! She wanted to do everything for the safety and well-being of her people. In the meantime the sun had fully risen. It promised to be a nice warm day. After one last look at the sunlit palace, she turned Lathika around and rode back again. Unnoticed, she slipped through the little gate and brought Lathika back into the stable. She quickly ran back through the secret passage to her chamber. Nobody had noticed her absence. She called Moti and took a bath.

"Moti, help me with my clothes. Give me the yellow Lehenga and a matching half-sleeved Choli. With an orange Dupatta."

Moti helped Jodha get dressed. Then she brushed her long hair until it fell down her back in shiny strands and braided it into a long, thick braid. Jodha put on her jewelry and Moti draped the dupatta.

"You look adorable, Jodha! If the emperor could see you like that, he would be delighted" she teased Jodha and giggled. Jodha's cheeks turned a slight blush

"Moti, stop it! We have...!"

"Yes, yes, I know, you only talked well to each other!" Moti interrupted her with a giggle. "By the way, what kind of ring is that? The one with the green emerald!" Moti asked curiously.

Jodha got hot! She had forgotten to take the ring off! Oh Kanha! What should she tell Moti ... She had chosen the truth. In the long run she couldn't hide anything from Moti anyway.

"Uh, I got that from Jalal," she said softly, her cheeks burning, and she bowed her head.

Moti was shocked!

"What?? How does the ring get to you? "She was speechless.

"It was in the box with the pigeons that he sent me shortly before we left Delhi."

"Oh.... Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"Because I didn't really want to accept the ring and because you always tease me with Jalal. I do not like that."

"Why do you still have the ring? You can't keep it! "

"That's what I thought at first too and I wrote him that I cannot accept the ring and that I will return it at the next opportunity. He wrote back to me disappointed and explained why I should keep the ring because ... " She fell silent and she blushed again.

"What because?" Moti exclaimed excitedly.

"Only if you stop teasing me and you don't tell it to anyone!" said Jodha seriously.
"Otherwise I won't tell you anything!"

"All right, I won't tease you about it anymore." Moti promised. "Now tell me!"

Jodha told her about the inner connection to Jalal and that she kept the ring because Jalal had written to her that he felt the same. She told of the restlessness and the warmth that emanated from the ring and how at some point the deep calm had spread within her. Moti listened with wide eyes.

"I think the ring actually weaves an invisible ribbon," Jodha concluded

Moti remained silent for a moment and then said "That's unbelievable what you're talking about!"

"But it is true!"

"Who knows what the gods are up to us humans on earth" said Moti lost in thought. "Let us put our fate in their hands. Did he write you back?"

"No not yet. I'm curious if he'll write back!"

"If he actually feels like that, as he wrote, he will surely write back to you, Jodha!"

"If you say so ... who knows if we will ever meet again! He is the ruler of the Mughals. Who knows what time will bring us. Everything is changing. The Rajputs disagree among themselves. Will Jalals regent take advantage of the situation? Will he want to make more conquests? We do not know it. Yesterday a messenger came to my father. I don't think it was good news. I will to see if I can find out anything about it today. And you, you will not divulge my secret! To no one! And don't tease me anymore either!"

"No, Jodha, I won't tell anything and I won't annoy you anymore. Promised! It is a nice thought that the ring connects two people from afar. No matter what the future will bring!"

To be continued...