Sikva, Kavish

The swiftness of which the palace workers accomplished their work in less than a day was commendable. Although the last-minute switch of the venue to the private event hall had stirred a little disturbance in the arrangement, the palace coordinator managed to pulled it off well. A platform had been set up for the princess of Kavish and prince of Pareen for the ceremony and the chairs for the guests arranged in a semi-circular arrangement. The hall was setup in a minimal decoration with only flowers adorning the entrance of the hall and allowed the sunlight to lit the space through the open windows.

Royal advisors, council members, ministers, noblemen and their families including prince Abhimanyu and his entourages filled the hall anticipating a flawless event and a celebration afterwards. The guests of the event were entertained with live performance of the string instruments, the veena and the yazh while they waited for the king and the queen's arrival who should have been at the hall long before.

However, the king's delay aroused questions whether they kept the prince of Pareen in waiting to show their upper hand in the alliance or simply because there were issues to be sorted. The foreign guests were shifting on their seats impatiently while they whispered to each other.

Nakshathra watched the unrest crowd from the top floor of the hall with least interest. "Pathetic," she commented under her breath. Being born as a royal doesn't always involve in praises and well wishes, she had seen and heard many who anticipates such a moment to speak ill of one. These people do not give the benefits of doubts even a little and go on to pass unfavourable comments. They should be cut off from crowd like one does when they spot dry leaves on plants.

Nakshathra was well aware of the reason for the delay of the king and queen. Her brothers were trying to pull the last straw to stop the so-called engagement and she knew well it was not going to happen. Not until she pulls her weapons out. "Come on, anna. Quit convincing the king and let this begin," she murmured as she plucked one petal after the other from the strand of flowers adorned her hair. Nakshathra was made to clad a sky-blue silk saree Abhimanyu had brought from Pareen for her and was heavily ornated with golds. "Next time, maybe try everything in gold instead. From saree, jewellery to flowers," Nakshathra had grumbled as her sisters-in-law worked on her.

The royal herald at the entrance of the hall officiated the event by announcing the entry of the king, the queen and the crown prince of Kavish. From the expression of her brothers, Nakshathra had deciphered their plan had failed. None of them appeared happy nor calm. Told you it won't work.

As soon as the herald finished acknowledging the guests in hall, the Rajaguru of Kavish, a revered and almost a century old sage, took over to commence the ceremony for the day. "First and foremost, we would like to apologies for the delay in our arrival. We had an issue which needed our attention." The Rajaguru bowed just a little as a mark of respect to their guests. "It is with immense delight I, Rajaguru Varadamuni have been given an opportunity to commence this auspicious event. I, on behalf of the Heramba family would like to officially announce the engagement of Rajakumari Nakshathra and Yuvaraja—"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Rajaguru." Nakshathra's appealing tone made heads turned to her direction as she made her way majestically to the platform. Many eyebrows raised and murmured curiosity to her uncalled appearance at the time.

She took a moment to register everyone in the hall from the disturbed and angry king to the smirking prince Abhimanyu and her brothers who reached to the stage one after the other for her unaccepted conduct. Their distress and questioning gaze fell on her as she scanned the hall simultaneously calming her pounding heart with much needed pause.

"I would like take over the stage for the day, Rajaguru. It's going to be long," she requested as she held the Rajaguru's hand in hers in hope he would not question her further.

"But..." he thought for a moment and agreed to her without seeking the king's approval for him to do so.

"Thank you, revered one. I know it's a bit off to have myself here at the moment but I have a question and I need to ask all of you. Can you tell me when did you know about this event?" She started, not as bombastic as she had practiced in her head but it was manageable, she thought.

"Is this the time to ask our guests about this details, Rajakumari Nakshathra?" hissed Bavaneswaran. He struggled to keep himself control and not to burst in anger.

Nakshathra reflected the same as Bavaneswaran, nevertheless she forced herself to keep in check not to question him on his way of arranging the events of her life.

"It is the right time, Your Majesty. I have been thinking a lot for the past few days and even just now. On how do I approach this problem of mine... Two. I had two points in my head to speak that would defend myself today but... one of it would not be appropriate before the guests. Nonetheless, the other would certainly do the trick."

"What nonsense it this, Nakshathra?" her mother barked at her.

"Please be calm, Your Majesty. I am about to speak of my rights in this kingdom. For that—" Nakshathra paused as a man in his mid-fifties, dressed in silk tunic and sun coloured dhoti, the colour with the enforcement ministers were assigned, march to the front of the hall. Lord Bhuvanesh bowed to the king, the guest and to Nakshathra before following her gesture to get on the stage.

"Just what we needed. Thank you, Lord Bhuvanesh. As most of you would have known, I was not informed of this so-called engagement or alliance. In fact, every single arrangement has been done without my knowledge." Nakshathra set her eyes on Bavaneswaran for a bit too long making him uncomfortable.

"But as a citizen and a daughter of Kavish I have the right to decline this alliance at any given moment. Especially if this is conducted without my approval."

"Absurd!" The king spat. "What flippancy is this, Rajakumari? An insult to your father, the king of Kavish who had given his words to King Ayod to have you and prince Abhimanyu be tied in the matrimonial knot. Step aside now, let Rajaguru continue his given task." The king's thundered voice shocked many in the hall and many came forward from their seats.

"I am afraid I can't. Speaking about your promise to the king of Pareen, it needs to be addressed privately. For now, I would like Your Majesty and the rest of you to settle down." She waited until they returned to their seat. Her brothers still had their puzzled gaze on her as they watched the proceeding without interrupting.

"Lord Bhuvanesh, would you be kind enough to refer to the Women and Marriage Law script bundle number two, page seventeen. Please read point number five to all of us in the hall," she requested in a calm composure.

Bhuvanesh certainly did not expect the princess to request him to refer to the law scripts when he was asked to bring them to the hall. And having her precisely navigating him to the particular bundle, page and line, mesmerized him. Whatever the reason for him to recite the law, he was certain no one could have had the laws by heart more than Nakshathra and she was going to use it for herself. It's about time someone records this event for future, he affirmed to himself.

He cleared his throat, "Law script of the Women and Marriage under subtitle Concern and Clarity. A woman above the age of eighteen, the authorised age for marriage, should be in sound state of mind during the beginning of the talk of alliance and at the time of marriage. An alliance should be made with the approval of the woman in concern and not on any persuasion. Any forced, unaware or in no sound state of mind, the marriage alliance shall not be considered valid. The woman should be given enough details of the suitor in order for her to make her decision." Bhuvanesh recited the requested point and waited for Nakshathra for her next instruction.

"Now, please skip to point number... ten."

"If supposedly a confusion surfaces, the woman can perform her right to decline with no explanation given, she—"

"Sorry, point number twelve," she interjected.

"In any chances, the woman is unable to make her decision either to accept or decline, she can in her sound mind consult whomsoever she considers wise. The woman can also put forth a demand to the suitor to accomplish in order to convince her to accept the alliance."

Nakshathra clapped her hand, marking the end of the recital. She bowed a little to Lord Bhuvanesh and took the centre stage. "That's the one and... we have heard what we needed to hear and should I make it clear in simple words?" Her face glowed as she beamed at her brothers, who presumably understood her approach.

The hall was stuffed with tightness in its atmosphere and not a single soul spoke a word. Nakshathra took it as a cue and allowed herself to explain the law in simple language. She needed to get this done as quick as she could in order for her to be in peace once again and put this entire chapter to an end.

She rubbed her palms together and begin. "The law says, a women should be entitled to know the arrangements made in her life events. In this case, her marriage. She should be the sole person to accept or decline a marriage proposal. No entity not even her father should meddle in her decision. A woman can also make demand in case she has uncertainty in making decision." She paused to get a glimpse of the king. Bavaneswaran turned red, jaw and fist clenched as if ready to pounce.

"Well, for me. I wasn't informed and I am in no position to accept the prince of Pareen as my suitor. BUT... to honour my family name I would like to put forth a challenge to prince Abhimanyu."

"You are insulting us, Rajakumari!" Bavaneswaran roared, jumping out of his seat and stormed to the stage. He was held back by his wife and the crown prince.

"What challenge it is?" A voice from the crowd, raised. The prince of Pareen made his way to the front.

"A duel. Swordsmanship. Between you and I. Whoever wins makes the decision, in only one round." Despite the possibilities of her victory in the duel was half and half, she managed to speak confidently.

A gasp went up from the crowd. No one in the history had ever challenged their suitor for a duel to help them make a choice. Certainly, no women in the history ever went against the wishes of their parents but today when princess Nakshathra did the unthinkable, not many could accept it. They called it obduracy.

Was it really obduracy?

She fought with herself not to pass a look of disgust to the crowd.

"Challenge accepted. If I win, we solidify the alliance without any more arguments. Deal?"

"Deal."

The king stormed out of the hall with his wife tailing behind him sparing them not a single word. She knew he was hurt, his pride, his ego, his status everything has been bruised by whom? By his daughter who he wished to get her married off to his friend's son without her approval. Nakshathra would check on him later, for all she knew the upcoming duel and the alliance, all of it should come to an end by the end of the day. She stood determined while her brothers sorted out the confusion among the Pareen entourages.

**--**--**--**

The chamber was dully lit, no movement, no sound but only for an occasional exhale. The curtains were drawn closed, attendants were sent out and in the chamber were only two of them. The king and the queen sat in the latter's bedchamber.

"What have I done wrong? Was making sure our children get better life a mistake?" Bavaneswaran cried, his shoulder sagged and head bent down.

"I have been listening to you all these years, Bavanes. Loyal as a wife. Yesterday when I went to break the news to Nakshathra, she made me realise how much I have neglected my duties as a mother. How did I allow it to happen, my dear? I was the last person to tell her about the engagement. When the truth hit me, I couldn't gather myself. What we did was wrong, for her especially." Umayal had stopped crying a long time, her puffy eyes said as much.

"But Abhimanyu is a nice boy. Why would she not accept him?" Bavaneswaran protested.

"Maybe it's time we take the blindfold off our eyes. Many have told us about him, just because—" Umayal was interrupted with a loud knock on the door before it tore open. A guard let himself in, with an apology he handed a letter to the king.

Promises are not everything. Promises can make or break a bond. You fulfilling your promise might make your friend happy but your daughter... otherwise. Have you read the Code of Conduct of the King? It's in the law books you hold close to yourself like a survival kit. You might have missed a point, allow me to remind you.

- Words given or taken under the influence of intoxicant shall not be considered a promise.

I did not wish to expose this little secret in the open. Time had been quite favourable for me in the past few days for I happened to hear your conversation with the queen. A conversation of you admitting to have given the promise to king Ayod in an impulse of excitement and gratefulness for he had helped with Madhuvahini's wedding. Especially under the influence of alcohol.

I mean no harm to hurt you or your pride. I was simply defending myself from being thrown into some marital knot that will not make me happy. My choice of rebuke might have been harsh but don't be shocked, Your Majesty. This is the outcome of the punishments you had been giving me all these years for just being me. Your punishments had given me stronger weapons to keep in my arsenal than that of a woman's tears.

To be honest, today I am proud of my ancestors. They had foreseen a lot of events and made rules to keep things from going out of control. I am grateful to you for the punishments all these years.

Bavaneswaran crumpled the letter in his fist before throwing it away. The anger in his eyes showed his bruised ego, broken pride and... what was that, Nakshathra narrowed her eyes in the dimly lit room for a focused glimpse. A failed father? If it was, Bavaneswaran must have switched emotion in seconds. Umayal broke down in a corner leaning against the foot of her bed reading the letter.

Nakshathra felt the inside of her twist in sorrow. She had made them feel really bad of themselves, she thought. Pushing herself from the wall, she came under the light to be seen by them.

"I really mean not to hurt you." Nakshathra started.

Startled at her unannounced presences, her parents jumped out of their skin but the king quickly recovered. "You had said what you needed in the damn letter." Bavaneswaran spat turning his back to her.

"I did but saying it in person seemed better to me. I am not sorry for what I did, you must know that many have tried to stop this alliance before me and it didn't happen. I had to pull my best weapons to stop this fiasco of promises and wishes. Trust me, Your Majesty, you are not the only one who was holding onto this marriage alliance. They even had nastier plan to get this alliance solidified." Nakshathra stood close to one of the many available chairs across her weeping mother.

Bavaneswaran turned with an inquisitive look. He waited if she would say the name and perhaps get to them to find out their motive.

"What? I am not going to expose them to you. Don't even try, to get me speaking about it," emphasised Nakshathra with a small smile, as she got ready to leave. "Anyway, the duel is scheduled this afternoon at the training ground. You might not want to miss it," she winked, feeling lighter than she was in the beginning of the day.

Dear sword, here we come.

As Bavaneswaran's curious gaze followed her till she disappeared out of his sight, her mind screamed Ahalya's name. As she mentioned in her letter, she was truly fortunate to hear the king's conversation and later Ahalya dirtiest plan. Her plan was too disgusting, she pitied her brother for once. It took her a lot of self-control to keep her tongue in check and not barge into Ahalya's room back then.

Ahalya had tried to persuade Abhimanyu to sneak into Nakshathra's room and force himself on her—a solid plan, she called. A plan that would push Nakshathra to the end of the road with no option but to accept him. What surprised her the most was Abhimanyu's decline in involving in Ahalya's cheap plan.

"I respect woman and just because I bed different woman every day that doesn't mean I would force them to sleep with me. I did before but not anymore. And Nakshathra, she is your husband's sister have some respect to her, akka. Stop it, right now. I'm out of this," he had said when Ahalya shoved the plan down his throat.

Despite the sudden growth of hatred towards Ahalya, Abhimanyu might have earned a few points for him after he had turndown his sister's plan.

But don't lose your guard for that few points Nakshathra, remember you have a duel.

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