ENCHANTED- BY LOVE (completed)

5

*** Vaishnavi ***

I woke up the next morning to again find the same curtain and the king sleeping beside me. To my left, I noticed a book on the dressing table. The same book I was eyeing the night before "Peace at war".

I went to have a look and turned to the first page. It said that the book was written by general Nanda. I turned to the next page.

'They say war and peace can never be together. A warrior is always seen a fierce hero, aggressively swaying swords, who would stop at nothing. That is a myth. The reality is, for a man to stand in the middle of a battle ground, inches away from death, surrounded by men who wish to kill him and still be able to swing a sword, he needs peace, not aggression. For only calmness can solve chaos.'

The introduction was intruging. The general surely knows how to gain the audience attention and I found myself inadvertly turning to the next page.

"What are you doing?" the king's sudden voice interrupted me. I flinched and immediately turned back to find the king standing right behind.

"Do you not know," he said as he leaned by my side to pick the sindhoor box from the dressing table. "That lying to the king is a crime?" he continued as he applied the sindhoor on my hairline.

"Only within the scope of court or state affairs," I said but immediately regretted. I should've been careful with my choice of words. I could see the king being visibly surprised.

"Those are the exact words we used in the book of law," he said, "How do you know that?"

I was left with no choice but to tell the truth.

"I was in the room all day yesterday.....didn't know what to do...so I read the books on your side," I confessed.

"Which ones?" he asked.

"All of them," I replied. The king looked back to his table.

"All four?" he asked again to confirm. I nodded.

"What is the most recently modifed law?" he asked to test me.

"The law that allows tribals to claim the forest resources," I answered, "It was modifed 7 months ago."

I looked up to see the king's reaction. He looked angry.

"Why did you lie about being an illiterate?" he asked.

"Because I didn't know how you would react," I answered.

"Now you will," said the king and grabbed my hand. He stormed into the corridor. taking me with him, and the soldiers immediately stepped back a little for he looked intimidating. I struggled to keep pace and perhaps he noticed it too. He immediately slowed down to my pace.

We walked across our palace, through the conencting corridors into another palace and then up the stairs and along another huge corridor before we eventually passed through a huge door where he let go of my hand and what I saw on the other side made my jaw drop.

It was a huge library with books all around.

"Lying to the king might not always be a crime," the king stated, "but do you know what will always be a crime?" he asked.

I looked at him and shook my head.

"Not using god's blessings for the greater good," he answered.

"Vaishnavi, I don't know if you are aware, but your ability to read and retain information is beyond normal human capabilities," he stated.

I remained blank. I really did not know that and probably the king figured that out too from my expression.

"Now..." he signed and looked back at the library, "I don't know what interests you but this library has a copy of every book ever written in the nine kingdoms. "Find what you like and start learning," he said taking me by surprise.

I looked at him confused. He really wants me to read?

"Consider it the king's direct orders," he added and gave me the 'Peace at war' book confirming his statement before walking away.

Meihu and the other women immediately rushed in.

"Everything okay, your highness?" Pallu asked concerned, "the king looked very angry."

"Pallu pick a book," I said as a genuine smile errupted on my face, "Any book."

"I'd love to," said Pallu excited and ran across the shelves.

"You can read, your highness?" asked Sruthi.

"I can," I said confidently perhaps for the first time in my life.

*************

"Vaishu, what are you doing?" Meihu whispered to me while I was reading. Pallu and Sruthi are playing hide and seek in the library while Naina is looking at the pictures in some random book.

"Reading, Meihu," I answered.

"What happened yesterday?" asked Meihu.

"Nothing," I answered.

"Are you serious?" Meihu asked surprised, "Did you sleep again?"

"Calm down Meihu," I said, "The king is fine with it. Perhaps he wants to wait."

"Or maybe he knows he has another day," said Meihu. I stopped reading and looked at her, scared.

"Just because something hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it will not happened," she said, "Don't let the good times fool you."

Just at the right moment, I heard the sound of footsteps and I immediately knew who it was.

"Leave us alone," the king said the moment he entered the library and everyone except for me quickly left.

"For security reasons, you can't stay here after sunset," he told me, "You need to be back in the palace.".I looked out of the window. The sun is almost about to set

"I will put these books back and we can leave," I said and started to close the books.

"I am sorry I didn't spend much time with you the past two days," he stated, "I had some important work to attend."

"I understand your highness," I said putting the books back on the shelves, "No apologies needed."

"I shall not ignore you today," he said and my heart skipped a beat. I stopped arranging the books and looked at him waiting for him to continue. I desperately hoped it is not what I think it is.

"Today will be the day we will unite as one," he continued. I immediately froze, the books dropped out of my hands, and my heart started to beat faster.

Hey guys, how was the chapter?