Across the chamber, Rana's advisors gathered, murmuring amongst themselves. They exchanged glances, some concealing smiles, others wearied sighs.
"The succession cannot fall to a woman, rana-sa,"
Voiced Thakur Karan, a nobleman known for his rigid shackles to tradition, his eyes narrowed.
"It's not too late, I'm sure in the years to come a proper heir to the throne must be born"
Whispered another.
Rajveer gulped in his seat as he watched Eshant glaring bluntly at the ones who spoke.
Yes, the advisors do have the exceptional right to advise and at times overrule the King but Eshant is not one of those who would listen against his will especially not in matters as rigid as these... Rajveer thought to himself as he glanced to the curtains on the side behind which sat the mother queen and the tired queen herself.
If the matter wasn't so serious she wouldn't have been called into the court just after three days of giving birth.
But Shefali was more prone to be present here to know of the dealings in the court.
She must speak when it requires her to: Shefali had that in her mind.
From behind the silken curtains of her corner, Shefali listened to the heated discussions with her heart racing.
She cradled little Eashwara, her precious child, covered in rich fabric.
She knew tradition dictated that girls were to marry and yield their loyalty elsewhere, but her resolve was final, the only promise she asked Eshant to make before they walked around the fire of vows—one that cautioned against surrendering their family's legacy.
"Why should my daughter be judged by her gender?"
She whispered to the baby.
Her Dadu taught her what gender discrimination meant and she learned it by heart through her own life afterward but Eashwara's life would be different... Shefali must pave the way for that.
She must walk for Eashwara to run.
"You will be more than a pawn in some royal game. You will be a force."
She mumbled.
"I have already set my mind to it. Indulging ourselves deep into this conversation is meaningless"
Eshant said in his attempt to dismiss the court.
"But can you overlook the matter about the thrown, Rana? It is a very important decision, something that involves the future of the land we reside in"
Cried a kingsman.
Eshant was caught off guard.
"May I speak?"
Sensing the unforeseen silence, Shefali spoke unprepared.
The baby cried in her arms, yet she spoke.
The court fell silent.
"Today, I stand before you not merely as your queen but as a mother—a protector of our lineage"
She spoke, words flowing out calmly putting it all together.
Sighs meandered through the crowd.
"I will not deny that tradition binds us tightly, but do we not have the spirit and freedom to make a change?"
She asked.
"The matter of the crown remains unanswered"
A rigid courtman spoke shocking all with an idealistic ego in his tone.
YOU ARE READING
𝟏𝟓𝟐𝟗: 𝐀 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚| Indian Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 Ⅰ 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐀𝐉𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐈-𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 Shefali Roy had lost her parents in a pandemic when she was just one year old. That was the first time she was orphaned. The next time she was orphaned was when she was seventeen. The army of...
