The Royal Redemption

5.

Kabir had lost the number of corridors he had walked by. After fifteen minutes of just walking around he was sure that Aditya was toying with him taking him around in circles.

"The last turn I promise." Aditya said before turning right and entering into a smaller inner courtyard.

"You are here finally." The sweet famine voice greeted them.

Kabir watched as Aditya gravitated towards the woman sitting on the sofa reading a book.

She looked at him and smiled, her eyes twinkled as she saw him walk towards her.

"'Mahi meet the King of Srinagar, Amir Kabir Mirza." Aditya said introduction queen of Awadh to Kabir.

"Assalam Walekum Amir Mirza." Maheen said greeting the Amir with a salam.

"Walekum Salam Maharani."

"Oh Maheen will do, nobody calls me Maharani here." Maheen said with a smile.

"Then you must call me Kabir as well." He said returning her smile.

"Of course." She replied. "Please have a seat." She said gesturing for him to take a seat.

"Gulbano." Maheen called out. "Please send some refreshments for the kings and ask the khansama to send us lunch here."

The servant who had camouflage with the background bowed her head and took her leave.

"My sons told me about you Kabir, sorry about Vayu's behaviour, he takes it upon me, I was the same when I was the Mughal princess but shouldering the responsibility of a queen and my husbands love changed me, Vayu will change his ways too."

"Vayu does take up on his mother, the temper and even in the way he loves, he loves so fearlessly that sometimes he may cross a few boundaries." Aditya added.

"We all keep learning at every point."
Kabir said with a small smile. "Maybe if I was in his place I would react in the same manner."

"Maybe." Maheen shrugged. "Your visit was quite a bit of surprise to us, on usual days my son isn't as hostile I promise."

"Yes and I'm really sorry about coming so unannounced and in such a manner, but time is something I didn't have and I .."

"Ah Khatri Ji please come." Maheen interrupted Kabir.

"Sorry to interrupt you Kabir but please meet our Prime Minister, Krishna Dev Khatri."

"Krishna Dev ? But .. I met someone earlier with the same name."

"Krishna Dev ? But we don't hav-."

"You would have met my other son." Maheen said with a chuckle interrupting Aditya. "Prithvi."

"Prithvi." Kabir repeated and nodded his head.

"Sorry I'm sure his motive wasn't to deceive you but he-."

"I understand."

"So Kabir you were telling us about your visit."

"Yes." He said with a small tight lipped smile. He prayed to all the gods for the next few minutes were crucial and would carve his future.

"My father, Amir Farhad Mirza, should have been the rightful King of Samarkand. Yet, tragedy struck when he was just thirteen—his father, my Dada abbu, was assassinated by the Bantoor tribe. Their leader seized power, forcing my father and our family into exile in India, where he lived as a king without a kingdom." He said looking at the three sitting in front of him.

"Despite the hardships, fate smiled upon him as he met and married my mother, Yamuna Jadhav, a Maratha woman. However the summer I turned three, his untimely death left me his heir but to no land. Thankfully, my uncles taught me the art of fighting and my own ambitions led me to annex Srinagar, finally granting me a realm to govern." he concluded.

"Your mother must be proud." Maheen said with a smile.

"I hope as well."

"Apologies for the directness, but how does your personal history relate to our current situation? Why the sudden show of force, with an entire army now at our gates?" Krishna Dev said looking at Kabir straight in the eyes.

"It is because I wish to remind the King of Awadh that he owes me a favour." Kabir replied.

"I don't remember ever meeting you Amir Mirza, how would I owe you anything." Aditya let out a humourless chuckle.

"Seven decades ago, your grandfather Shivraj Suryavanshi was promised to my maternal grandmother Dwarka Holkar but, he met your grandmother and fell in love with her breaking off years of their engagement right on the day of their wedding." Kabir said. "The shame my great grandmother had to face of being rejected by her betrothed was compensated by a Raghuvanshi promise that whenever someone from her bloodline wanted to wed someone from his, the answer would always be a yes from the Raghuvanshi's."

"You should stop right there Amir Mirza." Aditya said a dangerous growl in his voice.

"I'm here to excise on that promise, I want to marry the princess Awadh." Kabir stated.

"Impossible." Aditya roared. He got up from his seat and started daggers at Kabir, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Adi please." Maheen interjected.

"Our daughter is to marry Balabgadh's king in the next seven days, this union which you speak of isn't possible Amir Mirza." Maheen said holding her husband by his arm.

"There is still a week to call off the wedding." Kabir stated.

"You have crossed the line Kabir Mirza." Aditya seethed.

"Raghukul reet sada chali aayi praan jaye par wachan nah jaye." Kabir said.

Aditya let out a roar and picked up the lamp kept on the side of the table flinging it across the room, shattering it into pieces.

"It would be better if you head to the room prepared for you. We shall talk about this later." Maheen said holding her husband who had in a very long while lost his temper.

"Follow me." A women said appearing from the shadows. Kabir nodded at maheen and followed the woman out.

"I'm going to kill him." Aditya muttered. "I don't care about him being a guest at our house, he has the audacity to ask for my daughter, how dare he." He bellowed.

"Aditya calm down, Lekha is in her own house, with us, please relax." Maheen said. "We don't even know if his words hold any weight. For all we may know he may be lying."

"You are right Mahi." Aditya said. "Khatri Ji please dig deep, find out if my grand father had really made any such promises."

"Ji huzoor." Krishna Dev replied and left.

"What if it's true Maheen, what then ?"

"We'll figure something out." Maheen said kissing Aditya's forehead.