Dhruva Nakshathra - The Game of Alliance ✔

S E V E N T E E N

Mahina, capital city of Durja

Agitated, mad, apprehensive and doubtful; she had been in all of these mental states for the past few months. She received no news from Ranganathan since he left to Shoolin and every day of wait seemed like decades. Alli anxiously marched back and forth in her chamber, her heartbeat raced every time her mind diverts to Shoolin. She feared if the Shoolin king had killed Ranganathan. No, not that she worried of her partner in crime but all her thoughts were on the army she had spent sixteen years assembling them for her future plan through the help of Shijay. If he had killed Ranganathan or wasn't happy with her offer, she would lose the sole strength she relies on to fight against her nemesis.

She stared at her reflection on the mirror, inspecting the thin aging line on her forehead. "Growing old and accomplished nothing," she commented and dropped herself on a settee facing the balcony.

From agitation, her mental state fell into boredom. There was no news from anywhere to inspire her spirit and get things done. Almost every day it has been mundane. Neither did she get any news from Ranganathan nor from her spy planted in Kavish.

"Oh, God! Please give me some enthusiasm to keep going or I might just loose interest on it." Alli slumped into the settee and settle for a quick nap.

Hours later, the cooing noises of pigeons woke her up from her nap. She groggily rubbed her eyes and searched for the source of the noise. One of the pigeons sat on the headrest of her bed and the other on a table she hardly uses.

"Surprise visitors. Well, hello!" Delighted, she jumped on her feet instantly.

Alli reached for the nearest one sat on the table and untied the note from its leg. She skimmed through the note and nodded. A sense of relief washed her anxious mind. It was a message from Ranganathan, a message of his well-being and that everything under control. He had also asked her to keep him informed of any important news in Durja. With a side note that said, Maharaja Shijay wanted to know of Durja's state of events.

"Always keen to know about other kingdom's affairs," she huffed and burnt the note at the nearest lamp. Her eyes darted to the other pigeon, curious she dropped the half burning note on the floor and reached for the other one.

The note was a pleasant surprise which doubled her spirit. "God, I asked for one but you sent me two news that I badly wanted to hear from. Thank you, I shall come to your temple and break nine coconuts in your name." Alli vowed and kissed the pigeon that carried the news before throwing it up in the air. It fluttered away as it cooed.

She felt her heart beat rapidly against her chest. It was for the joy from the note that overwhelmed her. She read the note repeatedly to her heart's content.

Greetings, Devi.

Prince Dhruva was seen in the heart of Kavish with few of his guards. The reason however, is unknown. More news will be shared.

"Good news! Good news! My plan is going on floor even without my knowledge, things are happening in my favour. Oh, I should do something to elevate things there!" She clapped in merry.

Although her plan to get the daughter of the royal family was still far from done but with Dhruva being there made things much better for her. Alli sighed with contentment, faith has its way to get its work done, she thought as she laid on her bed. Tonight, sleep came at ease for Alli as she believed the events to unfold on its own.

***---****---***

Sikva, capital city of Kavish

Arunya forcefully fed the princess who had wanted to skip her dinner for the night and only let her rest after she had finished everything on the plate. Nakshathra laid her tired and limp body on the soft mattress after a long day contemplating on getting freshened up.