Daughter of the Naga | Lesbian Story|

Chapter 56

After we washed our hands in a bowl of water, I looked at the myriad of dishes and fruit that I couldn't recognize. The delicious smell of cooked river fish and roasted goat meat with steamed rice made my stomach growl.

The fair princess moved over to my side, and with her delicate hand, she picked a small ball of rice and held it to my lips. It wasn't my intention, but it reminded me of Kesar. They both loved me with all their hearts. My feelings with Amarisa were always a sweet longing tenderness I could barely stand. With Kesar, there was always a strong hint of lust and pity mixed like poison in my veins.

Did Kama use his wicked arrows on us all? How could I recover from this madness when I was struck unknowingly?

I had to shove the thought to the back of my mind. With a smile, I opened my mouth and nibbled the rice off Amarisa's hand.

I hand-fed her back. We laughed as we ate in merriment. After we were full, the servants cleared the table. I suggested we toured around the temple one last time before we got back to the palace.

I was determined to learn everything about this world as much as I could. Amarisa had become a great source of all my unsaid questions.

On the south side of the tower, we found a lintel of Lord Yama, the God of Death. He was on his steed, a water buffalo, passing his judgments in the Underworld.

At the west tower, we saw Varuna, God of the Sea, riding a crocodile. The northern tower was God of the North, Kubera, sitting on a throne supported by Simhas, the kings of lions. There were too many gods to keep count.

But as I listened to Amarisa, my eyes traced over a carving of a demon swallowing a round-shaped object.

"What is that demon doing?" I pointed to the wall.

"His name is Rahu," Amarisa told me. "He was a serpentine Asura who stole and drank the divine Amrita during the Samudra Manthan."

"You mean when the gods and demons churned the Ocean of Milk?" I said.

"Indeed," she said with a nod. "But before the Elixir of Immortality could go pass his throat, Mohini, the female avatar of Vishnu chopped off his head. The head though remains immortal and still powerful. Rahu was furious at two planetary deities who had informed the other gods of his act of thieving. He swore to devour them for revenge."

I looked at the details of the carvings. The bug-eyed demon had sharp buck-teeth and fangs. His enormous mouth went half way through the round object.

"So that is Rahu swallowing a god?" I said.

"Yes, either the sun or the moon," she said, turning her face to look at me. "For countless ages, the two are consumed by Rahu, yet they would always pass through the opening of Rahu's throat. This causes the eclipse as we know it, but luckily, it never lasts."

Suddenly, I remembered what the sun god had said to me.

"Lord Surya blessed me as the next conqueror of Rahu," I told her. "I wonder why he said that."

Amarisa looked back at me. Her glittering eyes stirred with unsettling emotions. It seemed as though she knew an omen of the god's blessing. Then she came to hold me in her arms.

"Sometimes I wish the gods would leave you alone," she whispered.

"It is alright, Amarisa," I said to change the subject. "Maybe it's just the way old gods talk. They make up riddles to confuse your mind."

I put my arm around her shoulder and steered us away.

Before we left, I stole a glance back at the fierce demon. I just couldn't imagine anything so powerful that could devour a planet whole.

Until the evening drew close, we left the beautiful temple together. This time, the guards accompanied us in an oxcart out of the small city. We arrived at the place where we left Pisey.

At first, we didn't find her inside the resthouse. I was utterly worried that we might have left the Ashva alone far too long, and she had decided to fly back to heaven.

Then Amarisa beckoned to me and pointed to a tall tree nearby. Pisey was snoring on a tree branch with drool oozing from the corner of her mouth.

It took some calling and yelling to wake her. The winged-horse was quite annoyed for the disturbance. She neighed and snorted, but she did fly down to us at last.

After a while, we mounted on our beloved yet grumpy Ashva and flew back to the Royal Palace.

The memory of our conversations still lingered in my mind.

Twilight had deepened into the beginning of the night when we landed.

We stood at the outskirt of the Asoak Garden with a smile still marred our faces. I told Pisey to go back to her stable. She bobbed her head and shook her mane before bursting her wings open and flew away.

I took Amarisa's hand in mine, and we started walking out of the garden together. We had nothing to say, but neither of us was bothered by the silence. I was contented just to walk by her side as she was by mine. When I smiled, Amarisa also smiled.

A pale moon started to show itself from behind a pack of the darkening cloud. We passed through a fragrant hedge of plants and flowering trees.

When we almost reached the palace ground, we stopped. It was obvious that none of us wanted to part way. Then I leaned towards Amarisa and kissed her again.

She returned the kiss instantly. We stood kissing and listening to our thumping hearts. After a while, our lips separated wetly, still throbbing with needs.

"Thank you for today. I had a very pleasant time with you," Amarisa spoke in a whisper.

"No, thank you," I said and traced my fingers over her face. "We will do it again when occasions arise."

Amarisa smiled, leaning up to kiss me but only briefly.

"I must go," she said. "Tomorrow my parents are back to the city. I will have to curb my desire to see you for a while."

I pouted, which made her laughed. Then when we turned to leave, we found the presence of palace maidens and royal guards. They stood a few yards away from us. What startled us, even more, was the sight of Queen Jayara. She was sitting inside an open-air palanquin. Her eyes looked directly at us.

"Mother," Amarisa let out a gasp of surprise. Regardless of the shock, our hands still remained holding. It was too late to hide anything now.

"Your Majesty," I said with an awkward bow at the older Queen.

Queen Jayara didn't say a word. Her eyes never left us. After a silent moment, she got out of the golden palanquin with the help of the maids and made her way towards us. Amarisa's face lowered to the ground. I could feel her anxiety as Queen Jayara stood a few steps away.

"Amarisa dear, would you mind returning to your chamber first?" she spoke to her daughter. Her tone was soft but held a firm edge that left no room for refusal.

Amarisa bowed to her mother in agreement. She glanced at me with a conflicted look before she released my hand and walked off with the maids. Several royal guards brought out another palanquin for her. The princess climbed in and they took her away from my sight.

I looked back at Queen Jayara, who was still so much alike to my birth mother. She kept staring at my face, but her expression was unreadable.

"I would like you to accompany me back to my ashram tonight, my holy one," she said. "Would you mind joining me?"

The way she said it held the same effect as it did to her daughter. I couldn't guess what she was planning to do with me, but I had to obey whatever she said.

"No, Your Majesty," I said with a bow.

The Queen then turned to the guards.

"Ready our procession to Rajavihara temple."