Dhruva Nakshathra - The Game of Alliance ✔

SIXTY

MAHINA, DURJA

The SuryaKanthi Sabha was in complete thunderstruck by Kumudhavalli's real image behind her sweet and loving demeanour all these years. Murmurs and chatters began to take lead from the queen's palace, slowly it will spread throughout the city and a little beyond the border of Mahina. A juicy topic that will quench the people's thirst for royal gossips but for those living in the palace, nothing will remain the same again. Not for the king nor the young prince and princesses.

Yogathepan sank to the ground broken and distorted. He had not seen his father lament when his mother died but betrayal was more painful than separation of a loved one, he guessed. Parthiban stepped out of the room to give the family some privacy. While Dhruva stayed rooted at the same spot, it was Prithvi who reached out to his father to comfort him.

At the corner of the room, Ramani remained kneeled with her head hung low. Dhruva wiped off his tear-stained face and walked up to her. "Rise," he ordered.

"As for you, your punishment for working with her will be to ...," he paused for a bit, "stay by Nakshathra's side and take care of her until she wakes up. Whether to keep you with or not, she will decide then."

Ramani stared at him, waited for him to say he wasn't serious but when he said nothing else, she asked. "But I have committed a mistake. I have worked with a woman who sabotaged many lives. I don't think it is right for me to take the responsibility of Yuvarani, Your Highness."

"If you were to be punished, Nakshathra would have mentioned your name the day she found out about you long back. That was not what she wanted and so I might have someone watching you constantly but I believe she has her reasons," he said and clasp his hands behind him. "About your father... we will try to extract every possible information from her and retrieve him. Go now." Dhruva dismissed her.

He waited until the door was closed, leaving the three in the chamber. Dhruva fetched a cup of water and brought it to his father. "Appa, here have this." He handed him the cup.

Yogathepan shook his head and pushed the cup. "How I did not know I was being deceived?" he cried, louder.

"Let's us all agree, she was a great actress," Prithvi slumped next to his father and hugged his knees. "She never cared about any of us. All she wanted was revenge and some treasure from Kavish."

The heartbroken Yogathepan and Prithvi vented out their anger and sorrow while Dhruva simply sat with them. listening. To his surprise, Dhruva had nothing to share. Although it twisted his heart to know he had been living with his mother's murderer for so many years, he felt sorry for Kumudhavalli. For being used by Ranganathan and blinded her with only revenge in her mind. She might have loved her children but she cared more for her revenge and greed to worry for them. Her two daughters especially who had left their husbands' house and hasn't return yet, she did not even try to fix their problems.

Parthiban pushed the door open a while later, behind him stood two of his wailing sisters. They ran and fell next to their father, babbling as they cried. Dhruva made out through the gibberish; they have already learnt about their mother's arrest. He read Parthiban's lips from a far, I told them all. Are you alright? Dhruva nodded once.

*-*-*-*-*

Five of them remained in SuryaKanthi for a long while before each one left to retire to their respective chambers. It was only after sunset; he had returned to Utpala.

The guards outside Nakshathra's chamber peep through the ajar door. They were still frightened with Achi and her craft. Dhruva realised they needed exposure to Varmohin communities, he made sure to work on it in the future and sent them to off for the day.