THE RULERS OF RISHABHAPRIYA

20

Surabhi's POV

"I will never forget this kindness of yours, mam. You have saved my life. You have saved me", Meera cried in my arms. After her villagers left her in the palace all alone, I requested Maharaj to summon them back to the palace and order them to take her back. But he believed that her living away would be better as they would never accept her and treat her right or fair even if it was proven that she was not guilty. He thought it was the time for her to start a new life here but she wanted to stay away from the palace for some reason and we made arrangements for her stay in Guruji's Ashram. She was leaving to the Ashram with the other female students of Guruji and was thanking me for our help. 

"If you have any needs, just let me know somehow. And especially, if the villagers hurt you in any way, you should immediately come to me. OK? Take care, Meera", I patted her back and she walked away with the others. I walked back in and made my way to my chamber. It was almost dark and the weekly Friday celebrations would start in a few seconds and the ladies were getting prepared for it. "Oh, look who is still here looking like a man", I turned around to see Janaki who was looking at me with her hands on her hips. She walked to me and said," The events are about to start, Rajkumari. Hurry up!!", I nodded and said," Janaki, I have asked the guards to stay with you this time. I need some time alone. It has been a hectic day today".

"Just because you actually look tired, I'm letting you go this time too. Next week, you should be there singing and dancing with us", I nodded and walked away after she left. I never had danced or sung here and did not plan on doing it anytime soon. The corridors were decorated like every Friday, with colorful flowers and ghee lamps making the whole palace look like a piece of heaven. I walked into my chamber and locked it after all the attendees had left. I started to remove all the clothing on me one by one and then walked into the bathing area. The water was mildly warm and the aroma of different herb pastes and oils relaxed me. I sat in the pool of water and sighed loudly feeling the warmth take over each cell on my skin. 

I relaxed against the backrest of the pool and closed my eyes for a moment. I felt utter peace and serenity seep into me each second as the music of the celebrations resonated lowly in the small room. I opened my eyes and the view of Rishabhapriya from the large windows took my breath away. I stood up and moved towards the windows and sat in the water while placing my chin on my hands which were rested on the platform of the pool. If what Guruji had told me was true, then this kingdom used to be under my rule many centuries ago. The ancestors of the people who lived here now might have been my people back then.

I had to convince Maharaj somehow and leave to go to the pink palace. I was thinking of what I could do when an attendee came running to me and informed me about an emergency. I immediately jumped out of the pool and wore my other fresh pair of uniform that I hadn't planned on stop wearing as they were the only cloths I had owned. I walked with her to the royal garden and saw some people gather around looking at something. I walked past the people and asked them what was wrong when they showed me an arrow and two birds stuck to it along with a note on it. Thankfully, the note wasn't opened by anyone before and I asked them to get back to their works as I would take this to investigate myself. 

I walked towards Maharaj's chamber and knocked on it after he asked me to and showed him the arrow. He slowly opened the note with confusion all over his face and his expressions were creating worry within myself. I peaked a little to see what was written.

          You will have to pay the price for fooling me, Bhargav. You have killed the man I was involved with. Say good bye to the people you love.

There was no name, no address or anything else that could show us who had written it. But we were pretty sure it was Mrinalini who had written that. She maybe had found out that her little love affair had to end as the evil man was dead. I looked at Bhargav who was looking a little worried. I placed my hand on his shoulder and made him look at me," It has been months since the day you took over the kingdom. You haven't seen your parents in all these days. This will be a good opportunity to see them once", he sighed and walked away to sit on his bed. He ran his hands in his hair in frustration. 

"I don't know, Surabhi. I really don't think they will accept me or even just let me step into their house anymore", he said in a low voice as if he was really tired of everything. "You never know that. Yes, they were angry at you for going against their king who they worshipped but after his death a lot of his misdoings have come into light. People have started to realize that you were right all along. Remember the riots in the kingdom? Do you get reported about it anymore? No. Because they are slowly understanding that you are right for their kingdom. Your parents too have changed their minds. Trust me"

He looked very uncertain and I sat down on the couch facing his bed like always and started," Maharaj, people change. Their opinions too. It can be changed in no time. You have lived away from them for so many months. This distance has definitely taught them well. Just go there once and if you still think they haven't changed or that you aren't welcome there, come back and never return", I stood up and said, "Just to be on the safer side, I'll appoint a few guards to their house", I turned around and decided to go back to my chamber. 

"Will you come with me?", I halted my steps and slowly turned around. "Will you come with me if I decided to go see them?", I crossed my hands against my chest and said," They are your parents, Maharaj. What is so bad about going alone?", he shrugged and stood up," I thought, as you and Janaki are very good friends, you both could help me out. Put in a few good words for me", I thought about it for a second. If it meant he would finally gather courage to face his parents, I had no problems with accompanying him. 

"Ok. I'll go with you. But convince them to live in the palace for the time being at least until the threat is taken care of. You can't just ask them to shift here. They would never agree. Just invite them here for a few days", he nodded and called Chetan who was now his personal guard. "Make arrangements for tomorrow. We will be visiting my parents", he ordered and Chetan immediately left. 

"I still can't believe you made me watch him do all that to her that night", Maharaj said and sat down to do some paperwork.

"It's not like you haven't done or seen it before", I said as I sat down to help him out a little as I wasn't very sleepy at that moment. 

"I haven't", I snapped up my eyes to look at him looking at me already. Suddenly, the moment we had that night came back to my mind. I gulped remembering how he had pulled me to sit against his hips and let his hands roam all over my back. Even if it was just for a few seconds, it made me feel so much more than I ever had. 

"Oh, yes. Right. I forget you were not a prince", it was awfully quiet for a few moments until he broke the silence.

"Is it very common for princes to-"

"Yes. They call it grooming"

He nodded and looked back at his papers.

"The princesses do-"

"NO!!", I cut him off," Only the princes".

He nodded but did not look at me. 

"Why? And how? Isn't it considered to be wrong? Doing it with someone else before their wives?"

I facepalmed myself and sighed. I couldn't believe I was having that conversation with him. 

"They don't do it with anyone, Maharaj. Well, most of them don't. Most princes are made to see it for educational purposes when they reach puberty", I said embarrassment dripping in my voice.

"So that was my educational session?", we looked at each other for a second and broke out into loud laughter.  

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