The Story of Agyeya

12. Arrival

Laughter could be heard from a distance, slowly the sound became clearer and louder, the laughter sounded Pleasant but at this moment it became particularly harsh for the queen who was taking a rest on her swing in the middle of the garden.

The group of women approached where the queen was resting without any reservation.

The woman leading them to the front was dressed richly; gold ornaments adorned her body, wearing rich silk garments, and her hair was styled with fragrant jasmine flowers. The woman was undoubtedly gorgeous.

All this would have been a beautiful sight if this woman wasn't the second wife of the queen's husband.

The queen remained motionless in her seat, neither denying nor welcoming the second wife of her husband. it was her maid and attendants who quickly stood up from the ground to salute her.

"Are you enjoying the weather, Maharani?" Asked Rumbika the second wife of the king.

"As you can see I'm counting the stars Rumbika." replied the queen, in a sarcastic tone.

"That's a good joke, Maharani," replied Rumbika. ignoring the sarcasm in the queen's tone.

"By the way Maharani I'm here to tell you that Manav's birthday will be celebrated in a few days I hope that Maharani can be generous enough to let me be in charge of this celebration." Rumbika talked as he walked to the seat beside the swing and sat down waiting for the queen's response.

"The second prince's birthday naturally should be handled by his mother, I have no objection. you can ask my attendant Lila for any help you need, as for the rituals I will be there with the king." replied the queen without any hesitation.

For a moment Rumbika almost could not maintain her expression, it's her son's birthday why can't she stand beside the king? does she still have to stand on the side? why can't she be the queen when her son is still alive and the other people don't even have the shadow of a son in their life? the king is unfair. anyway, sooner or later her son will become the king.

"Thank you for your kindness Maharani, I will remember your kindness." Replied Rumbika.

"Well, you should after all I'm not that generous." Replied the queen looking sideways at Rumbika.

"Sure, Maharani." Replied Rumbika and left the garden with her attendants.

"She came here laughing as if it was the greatest joy to celebrate her son's birthday without knowing her position. It's been years since she came here, by now she should be aware of current affairs and play tricks with Maharani." Expressed Lila the middle-aged attendant of the queen.

"It is indeed the greatest joy to celebrate the birthday of one's children Lila however, you are right she is ignorant of the current affairs in the palace, my son is missing, not dead and it's too soon to make any decision." Said the queen coldly glancing at the direction of where Rumbika left.

At this moment a secret guard came forward to deliver a letter to the queen.

"Maharani the general has sent this letter asking you to read and respond as soon as possible." Said the secret guard while kneeling on one knee in front of the queen and handing over the scroll to her attendant.

The attendant placed the scroll before the queen on the side table.

The queen took the letter and read it carefully. Soon, her expression changed as she read the letter.

"Lila bring me some paper and ink, I have to reply as soon as possible." Said the queen while clutching the letter tightly in her hand.

Soon, Lila brought out paper and ink and played them on the side table beside the queen without any delay.

The queen quickly wrote down her reply without delaying any time and handed the letter to the secret guard urging him to deliver the letter as fast as he could. The secret guard replied yes and left the palace.

"Maharani, what happened to the general?" asked Lila with concern. Although the queen's reaction was a mix of joy and worry she couldn't guess the reason for it and asked the queen.

"They found Siddharth." Replied the queen with a trembling voice.

"Maharani? That's a great news to celebrate." Said Lila excitedly, almost jumping up and down out of joy.

"Don't inform anybody about this matter not even the king, we have to be alert before his safety is ensured we have to stay alert and avoid attention as much as possible during this period. As long as my brother comes in contact with Siddharth we don't have to worry about hiding this news until then we have to wait quietly for him to return to the palace. Well, you should be looking for accommodation starting now after all he did not come alone." Instructed the queen to her attendants and maid.

"We will obey Maharani's order." Replied Lila with a calm voice.

..................

At this time Siddharth along with his brothers and Mina has already set foot into the capital.

As soon as Siddharth and his party left the ship, Siddharth felt the gaze of several people falling on him and his group.

These people were dressed ordinarily but their gaze was different from the curiosity of citizens for the foreigner but it wasn't malicious either, so ignoring the gaze of several people Siddharth went forward to book the best inn for his brothers and Mina, after all, money was least of his concerned now.

Siddharth noticed the people following him but he didn't take any action.

Like Siddharth, many of his brothers also noticed the people following behind and asked Siddharth if they were being targeted by this group of people. To which Siddharth replied that they don't have to worry about them for the time being. He had already guessed this people might be sent by his uncle, if it were his father's people I'm afraid he would have been fighting with them by now.

Those bandits were not only there to rob people but also to guard against him and work as informants for the king. His portrait and mention of his belongings on those scrolls confirmed his doubts that someone doesn't want him to return to the capital or does not want to let him live at all.

"Well, I am going to disappoint some people with great pleasure. " Said Siddharth with a slight grin.

A/N:

Maharani- the queen.