Author's Note : Kindly DO NOT read the comments while reading the chapter. They are full of spoilers. This is my humble request.

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The King of Narula Dynasty peered down through the window of his personal chamber.

The village, his village, the huts of which were tall and cone-shaped, colorful and symmetrical, an entirely classy establishment. Free of the beasts, unlike the other dynasties. Even from a distance, he exuded self-righteous, the sort of pretentious smug attitude. How well he controlled every move of his villagers. How well he inflicted fear of consequences if disobeyed his demands. Gaining their respect that lacked independence must be a sheer pleasure. They were the dolls in his doll-house, the dolls born to serve him. Men were supposed to sweat all day long, work more than their caliber to meet the expected revenues. And the role of women was to drain blood for the men born in his family, their only job was to give them sensual gratification.

The one God he feared, whose methods he followed without any judgments. There shall never be remorse to revere the human turned beast this country was forever terrified of- Almourah.

"Your Majesty," his minister said, standing in the middle of the chamber accompanied by a knight, "The requests from the other Kings are pouring in. We already suffering from overcapacity. Are we willing to open extra spaces for the other dynasties?"

Bhupathi scoffed pathetically. "Yes, we are."

The minister stood silent, affected with great wonder. "We are?"

The king turned around and nodded, his beady eyes gleaming with cruel intelligence. "For our own good, that is. In return to give them shelter, they have to work for me, and only me. I don't want the involvement of the other kings. Tell them they are off the hook. I'm very much pleased to be responsible for the whole country."

"But that will cost us. We have to set wages and salaries..."

"The amount of money we have been spending has always been a third of the revenues we gain. Now with the addition of people, I ain't spending a paise more than I do."

"But...how?"

The king smiled. "Cut down the wages. Divide the amount equally among everyone. The more the villagers join, the lessers the salaries they shall get. I know, the Kings will question. They will raise an argument. Wouldn't I question if I were one of them?" He walked up front, his smile fading away and face flashing greed as that of a wolf. "Before they dare to question me...create more distress among the poor. Destroy their lands and their businesses. It shall be slow and daily, but burn everything down. That will make every piece of bread they earn worth a crore. Let them be grateful for whatever they get and we'll remain gracious to them as ever. But make sure, I make more money. If there is none, take away their inventory and crops they cultivate. More people, more goods. It shall be a mutually beneficial situation, where I stand more beneficial."

"Understood," said the minister, "So should I send a word out to the Kings?"

"Yes. Let the money start rolling in from tonight."

The minister bowed at the decision of the King and began walking outside. The knight followed. Bhupathi snapped his fingers in front of his face, making the knight stop. "Listen, if you see a woman, send her to me, would you?"

An hour passed in solitary...

The wind chimes tinkling with the soft breeze in the silence...

Bhupathi Garg still waiting for a woman...

H laid sprawled on the chair, half asleep. His fingers tapping on his study table in rhythm with the muffled music thumping from the vintage music system placed in a far corner of the chamber.

King of Narula Dynasty's personal chamber was one lavish great room whose ceiling was a golden dome, whose floor was a shiny blanket of marble stone, thick concrete walls were covered with silky colorful curtains. The Garg family portrait added the extravagance. Torches were hung at every corner of the walls, making the chamber illuminated enough at this time of the nightfall. There was an artificial floor-standing fountain beneath the portrait, with a slight sound of trickling water.

The door, beside the arched glass-block window, banged opened letting a person in, and automatically closed behind. The aroma of tea and the tinkling sound of the anklets pervaded throughout the room. 

Chham...

Chham...

Chham...

Bhupathi twitched his half-lidded eyes and ran his hand across his bald head. He inhaled heavily sitting upright, finally getting a good look of the person bustling in. He must be expecting some poor woman with no self-respect, which she wasn't. His face lit up with delight though, watching the person walking inside ever dressed in prim ethnic wear.

"Ah, daughter-in-law," he said, raising his upturned chin, "Welcome back! I hope you had a great time back at your home."

Princess Lithika Garg swaggered in, holding a tray with tea full porcelain set.

"This is my home," she said, putting the tray on the table, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Archit informed me about gifts and sovereigns you've already bought for the unborn child."

Bhupathi nodded at her, said nothing but gestured her to take a seat placed on the other side of the table. Lithika sat slowly taking the support of the arms of the chair. She leaned forward, making herself comfortable and poured the tea into the cup.

"I'm honestly glad to be back," she said, mixing creamer and then adding two cubes of sugar to the tea, "I was already experiencing baby blues and would have gone absolutely insane had I lived another day with my grandfather, watching my sister becoming the favorite one. Whew! Now that I'm back, I'll finally have some peace of mind. "

"As you should," said Bhupathi, leering oddly at her, "Why did you take the trouble of bringing in the refreshments? Where are the servants? And why is it so quiet outside?"

"Oh, I sent everyone away. It was the right opportunity to say hello to my father-like," she said curling her lips to smile alluringly, passing on the glass to him.

Bhupathi grinned at her. He took a sip without once taking his eyes off her.

"I could never understand why you chose to stay with your grandfather," he asked, "We can provide better provisions for you and the child here. Archit says you were forced? I want you to tell me if that's true. I would love to have a spat with Aghasthya ..."

"Oh, it was my sister," Lithika said, "She likes to poke her nose in the places where it doesn't belong. She insisted my grandfather make me do what she thinks is best. Somehow according to her, I'm not safe living here with you and my husband. I know - she's so out of her mind."

He erupted in a fit of laughter. "Where does that come from? Such a disgrace to my family's name if the word ever spreads out."

"I'd be careful about it."

"In what sense, exactly?" he asked, sounding a tad-bit curious, "What did you hear?"

Likitha shrugged. "Just nonsense. She claims you are one of those who honor Almourah and follow his practices."

Bhupathi stared at her, color in his face fading. "Seems like the mute bitch barked aloud," he said, through his gritted teeth.

Likitha raised her eyebrows. "Sorry?"

"I believe you wouldn't consider this accusation as a valid one, would you?"

"Oh, of course not, Your Majesty," she said, leaning back and gently caressing on her pouted belly, "I accepted to move back because I wanted to console my grandfather. Poor him, he lost his only friend. But I think my sister is jealous of me. She can't marry that guy she wants to or anyone in that case. Whereas I am already experiencing this best phase of my life."

"Samagraha," he said, twisting his lips, his voice full of disdain, "The lovely euphemism for a forced sacrifice and commitment. Their position in Panchayat is similar to the servant of street beggars. It was indeed surprising to hear a prince and a princess were chosen to serve the country. And women shouldn't be a Samagraha at all. Their lives are not even worth the gunk stuck in my shoes."

Lithika's smile faded.

"Except you, my dear!" Bhupathi added. "You are after all the mother of my grandson who I wish to see ruling the country!"

"I'd hope so too," Lithika said, bringing back the smile, "Oh, I heard about the notice you issued a few days ago. Hayden Mackay is gearing up to meet you next week. I have seen him having the talk with my grandfather about the upcoming trial in the Panchayat. It's something about the Codicil, is it not?"

"Lithika, my dear," he drawled, "Have you inherited your sister's traits, trying to poke your nose where it doesn't belong?"

"Apologies, Your Majesty," she said, "I was just trying to pass on the information I heard a few days ago. About his plans to sabotage you, I mean us, and our family for something presumably you'd done to Queen Premila and to the poor disabled girl. Anyway, you are right. It is none of my business. I should get going."

Lithika grunted a little trying to stand up, having her hand pressed against her abdomen.

"Wait," said Bhupathi, a mask of desperation made his veins around his temples swell, "Sit. We need to talk."

Lithika set her veil over her head straight and leaned back down, smiling.

"Tell me. What is he up to?" The king asked, "What are they planning? And beware, everything we talk must not go out of these walls. Understand?"

"I swear on my child."

"Speak up."

Lithika watched him for a few seconds mulling, having her face expressionless and then said, "Hayden Mackay is not worried about the Codicil. He believes that since he is the direct and only legal heir to the property, everything should be inherited by him. Money, land and the throne. He doesn't care about the Will that was made earlier." She looked down, playing with he bangles. "Also, he proudly says that he does have an upper hand in the case. That girl, Pruthvi Krishna's sister has accepted to come out and testify against you in the Panchayat. I heard him saying that she is the only living witness to have seen and been aware of everything that happened during her childhood under Late queen Premila's care."

"Yes, of course, she is the only witness. She has seen Queen Premila transferring all the property to me. That's why I need her on my side. And Hayden Mackay must be a fool to bring her forth. No word of an eye witness work against the Kings. Besides, this happened years ago. I bet there is no proof that the girl who claims to be living with Queen Premila is really her. High King shall at once dismiss the case. And I win hands down."

Lithika nodded. "But here is the catch. Since there is a rumor circulating in Sharad, the rumor that my nosy sister started, Hayden Mackay wants Nazira Khan to spice up the things for him. She is going to reveal the names of every man of your family who performs the process, Almourah. One such name, what was that, Varchas Garg? And yours too, Your Majesty. She is going to mention that you forcibly performed it on Queen Pramila..."

"I performed?" he asked, raising his brows.

"Yes, you. Yourself. I know that's preposterous, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that this is going to happen in the Panchayat. Hayden Mackay is doing his research. He knows that finding an eye witness strong enough to stand against a king is next to impossible, but he eventually found one who knows your deepest darkest secrets. And is it not true that a word of an eye- witness matters in abundance in a trial?"

"I told you already. A word of an eye-witness is not valued more than the King of Madhyakshetra's. He needs to do better research."

Lithika chuckled. "Anyway, he is not bothered much about it. He says he just wants to win the trial and donate all the money to the needy. After that, he would be off to look for something called-The Pride."

Bhupathi Garg coughed and gagged on the cup. Droplets of the tea splattered on the table. "The Pride of Haima-Endira? How did he know about that?"