THE RULERS OF RISHABHAPRIYA

1

Surabhi's POV(Two years after the great war of Akhandadesh)

             The sound of the metal doors being opened woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked at the dungeon-keeper who had been feeding me for four years now. "Get up! Your food is here", he yelled. I sat up and walked forward ignoring the pain in my wrist and ankle. I extended my hand to take it from him but he dropped it on the floor and started laughing. I saw how my only meal for the day was now on the floor covered in dirt. "Oh! Sorry, my hand was covered in butter that Maharaj had sent for our lunch today. You know why?", he grabbed my hair and growled," It was a reward for making you starve all week". He laughed while pushing me on the ground and stomped his feet on my ankle covered in iron chains making pain shoot up my leg. His laugh echoed through the dungeon where the only prisoner was me. 

             I pulled myself up from the ground and looked at the food that was on the floor. I dragged myself towards it unable to stand up. The roti was cold and smelt like it was made a few days ago. I tore a piece and place it in my mouth. Even if my body rejected the food by gagging, I swallowed my food with water and went back to sit on the hard stone which was my only place to rest. I laid on it, supporting my head with my hand and sighed. I looked up to see the same huge rock that I saw every night as I fell asleep for four years now. 

             It was crazy how my life had changed so drastically. I was a princess who had servants at every beck and call. I always wore the most beautiful clothes in the palace. Oh, and I lived in a palace too. I rested on the softest bed and ate the tastiest food. I had nothing to worry about. But then, after a war, everything changed. I was kidnapped and thrown in the dungeon for a reason unknown to me. 

             I heard loud footsteps of many men and I picked myself up to prepare for the worst part of living here. The doors opened widely this time showing the king of Rishabhapriya who walked in with his guards. He had a smug look on his face as he walked closer and stood right in front of me. "What is wrong, Rajkumari? Is there any problem with the hospitality?", he asked sarcastically. My hands were itching to fist and punch him to death but I had to keep my calm this time. "Why am I here?", I asked. He looked away annoyed and just as expected, a hard slap landed on my right cheek which made me fall on the ground. 

             He fisted my hair bringing me closer to his face, "How many more slaps do you need to understand that I shouldn't be questioned?", his grip made me wince in pain. "Don't feed her for two more days. She still thinks she is a princess", he said as he moved away. "Just tell me what mistake my kingdom has done that you are punishing me for. You were supposed to fight with my kingdom in the war. Not against us-", he cut me off. "You want to know why you are here? Huh? You want to know?", he came back towards me and kicked me in my stomach. I saw the red liquid flow out of my mouth as another kick landed right on my lower abdomen. "Then listen. I am not here to support someone. I am here to become the man who rules Akhandadesh. Your father was an idiot. He thought that the peace treaty in between our ancestors meant something to me. Even in the war, my army killed everyone irrespective of whose side they were on", his words made no sense but it was funny how he said that his men killed everyone. That was such a stupid move. I started laughing fueling his anger. He slapped me across my face again but my laughter didn't die. He called me names, punched me until he bruised my face and walked away with his guards leaving me all alone while huffing and cussing like a mad man. 

             My laughter turned into sobs after the pain kicked in. Tears flowed down my cheeks which were already covered in blood. And that had become my life. "What have I done in my previous lives, Krishna? Why are you making me go through all this? If you really had to snatch away everything I had from me, why did you give it to me in the first place?", I sobbed as my voice resonated in the empty dungeons. I screamed and cried. But nothing could bring me out of this misery. And I don't know when I had passed out like that. 

             I woke up to stinging pain on my forehead and saw Janaki, who had treated all my wounds all these years. "He came again today?", she asked. "No, I was bored so I banged my head onto the wall because it was fun", I replied. She looked at me with fake anger for a second but continued to treat my wounds. 

"Did you ask him why-"

"He gave me these wounds because I asked him that", she sighed but continued her work. She stood up, cleaned her hands and came back to throw some stuff from her bag onto the rock. "I have brought new clothes for you. And some for your periods. You will be getting it soon. I managed to bring some fruits for you. Eat these right now and give me the seeds. If they see it I'm dead. Also, I have treated your wounds. Don't let any....", my eyes welled up as I remembered Padmini who took care of me just like that. I picked myself up and hugged her tightly making her words halt. 

             Slowly her arms wrapped around me and she whispered," Your freedom is near, Rajkumari. There is a monster waiting out there to wipe out the king's existence. I'm not supposed to say anything right now. Just wait", she said and pulled away. I watched her as she walked out of the metallic doors but my mind was going to this monster that she talked about. I was sure it was my brother she was talking about. He had always been my guardian angel. He would never leave me to suffer like this. Hope that he would come here grew in my heart as I slept on the rock to give myself some rest. 

             It was in the middle of the night and it was raining when I heard some commotion from outside. I woke up and slowly walked towards the iron bars which kept me locked up and saw the guards here and there. I then saw a man and, maybe, his wife being dragged into the dungeons. He was thrown inside the metallic cage along with his wife. The guards were laughing and celebrating as another little girl and a woman was dragged in. After they were near enough to see their faces, I saw that the woman was Janaki. They were thrown in too and the guards went away. "We'll see what your son will do now. He has went against Maharaj. Think what might happen to him now", he said and walked away happily.

             "Hey Govinda! Why is all this happening? What sins have we done that you are punishing us like this?", the old man cried as he sat on the ground.

             "Your mistake is that you never believed in him. He was right all this time", Janaki replied.

             "You keep quiet, Janaki. Don't come here supporting your brother. He is the reason we are here today. He made us prisoners without our fault. I will never forgive him-"

             "FOR ONCE ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU WERE WRONG!!! EVEN NOW HE IS OUT THERE FIGHTING FOR US. WHO KNOWS WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM?", Janaki yelled.

              She looked at me and said," If you don't believe me, look at her. See how she is being treated. Do you still think he is a good emperor?", the couple looked at me from head to toe with doubt and the wife muttered," Who knows what she has done to be a prisoner here?", Janaki looked at me with hopelessness and said," Don't know what black magic he has on these people", I sat on the stone and said," He'll come here tomorrow. Let them see how he treats me. Then they'll know", it was quiet except for the rain and thundering for a minute until I heard someone's footsteps and a bright lightening struck showing me a silhouette of a man holding a sword. I stood up and limped towards the metal bars and waited until I could see him properly. A man bathed in blood from head to toe looked back at me ferociously as he growled," Move out of my way".

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