Akshaya Keerthi~The Rise of Rajat Kumari[✓]

08| The Tales of Past

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Characters
Anandhani: Queen of Kapilvastu.
Satyayini: Queen mother.
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The soft wind caressed the body of Satyayani, she stood still next to the floral balcony, her gaze persisted stuck on the metal ring in her hands. Clad in white robes Anandhani stepped forward close to her mother-in-law, the edge corner of her saree brushed the dust particles on the floor.

"Shvashruh" Anandhani positioned her hand on Satyayani's shoulder in a manifestation to comfort her.

Satyayani grabbed her hands tightly, "It is indeed heartbreaking to speak of the past, that can never be forgotten anymore"

Anandhani nodded her head, "Anything troubling you Shvashruh?" 

The scrambling marks of worry, bounding her face, portrayed the concern hidden on the surface of the bags beneath her eyes. Not everyone is perfect in hiding emotions but yet God has blessed a few with the infinite virtue to remain calm and still in the toughest situations too. Satyayani was one of them, calm and still in each dilemma.

Satyayani took little steps forward, her gaze pointing at the ground. Her lips parted with bother, "Do you remember the ring that you found while brushing your fingers amidst Cheeranjeevi's ashes?" 

"Indeed--" Satyayani interrupted Anandhani while her grip on the cotton white draping around her tightened "The ring is a royal ornament, it was given to Maharaj Somadeva's first and vaishya wife." 

"First wife? And that too vaishya?" Anandhani's voice showed the immense amount of questions peeping up into her mind.

Unfolding the secrets of the past brings forward dust and grief. Dust, in the form of old reminiscing melodies that couldn't be spun into a beautiful tale and grief, gets its desired position through the corner of negative feelings that acquire our consciousness. 

"Years ago, the king of Kapilvastu, Maharaj Somdeva had married a maiden belonging to the merchant caste. His mother Rājmātā Iravathi didn't agree to the alliance and tied his knot with the princess of Chedi" the queen-mother of Kapilvastu was ready to loosen her grip on the chains that held the dark secrets as their prisoner.

Blood rushed through Anandhani's veins, and her cheeks flushed red, "Wasn't this unfair maa? If swargiya rājmātā{1} wasn't ready to accept a maiden from another caste as her daughter-in-law, then it was her wish but who is she to decide the fate of someone else" the authoritative glory of Rajat Kumari glimmered with the radiance of the Moon. "What happened to his first wife maa?"

A profound sigh evaded satyayani's lips while her fingers ran fondly on her rims, which depicted the numerous thoughts in her mind "Maharaj Somadeva was condemned to forget her. She fled away from the state with her only child, who carried the golden blood in his veins. He was a royal, her son through my late father-in-law."

Laying her head in Satyayani's lap anandhani persuaded her lips to speak "I won't interrupt you, until and unless this story comes to its end." 

The words of Anandhani were ample to give a proper jerk to Satyayani, condemning her to pronounce the story until her heart may not agonise to continue speaking. She moved her hands on the mahogany table, grabbing a tumbler replenished with water. Her fingers abruptly dragged the tumbler close to her lips. The colourless liquid passed her throat, giving her enough energy to continue narrating the story.

Satyayani strode her fingers in her daughter-in-law's hairs, ruffling them smoothly, her hand entangled with those soft locks that adorned Anandhani's forehead. "Years after Maharaj Somadeva's marriage he was blessed with a son, it was none other than Cheeranjeevi's father, Maharaj Sivananda. Somadeva's eldest son also grew up on the outskirts of Kapilvastu; the age gap between the two half brothers was thirteen years. Once his eldest son was revealed of his blood, he couldn't denounce himself from demanding the throne for himself."