Early update, enjoy!
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Chapter 11
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"Up, higher!" she commanded.

Revati, not so subtly, expressed her displeasure in the form of a loud groan. She lowered her bruised hands from punching the stuffed dummy.

"You ought to get your ears checked by a healer. Are they not working?" she asked, with sarcasm dripping from every word. "I said punch HIGHER, not lower your hands in defeat!" She bellowed across the ground.

Revati snatched the dummy, spun around marched up to her, and dumped it onto her lap.

"Take it. Oh, was it too low? Should I dump it on you a little higher? Maybe on the head. Then the contents inside will come spilling out of the tear and then you'll realize what I've been ranting about for half an hour," she sassed placing hands on her hips.

"Five minutes." Her trainer corrected.

"A little dramatics never killed anybody, did it? Now, I can't very well punch this can I?"

"No," she simply answered after a glimpse at her exhausted, perspiring face.

"Then why were you asking me to punch it?"

"Ah..." she sighed. "Let me tell you a story. Once there lived a hermit and his student. The student too was told to attack a dummy. The student obediently, but aggressively, did. The dummy got torn. Now, when a dummy is torn, what should be done?"

"It should be patched up. In this case, it's too bad so it should be replaced,"

"Who is supposed to do that?"

"The stude- Oh..." She realized, her anger evaporating for a moment. Keyword being moment. "When you could've approached the tiger directly, why did you sneak up from behind?"

"So that I could teach the tiger a lesson."

"By wasting time?"

"No, by sneaking up behind it and taking it by surprise."

"Urgh, you're impossible!" she groaned.

"No, I'm possible." Suruchi countered with a grin.

The princess stomped away angrily to the storehouse to replace the dummy. Suruchi chuckled, The girl can lose all her wits when she's fired up. But can teach the greatest scholar a thing or two when she's at peace.

She turned her focus back to her student and bellowed once more, "Up and higher, Princess!"

Revati turned, and smiled, not sarcastically (!?) -

Ah, she must have realized.

- and went back to punching.

* * *

"Welcome, children!" the awestruck kids turned at the princess's voice and squealed a string of 'thank you's into her skirts. Revati picked the littlest one among them up and placed him on her hip. "Come on. Let me give you a tour of the castle."

One of them whispered to her, "I have always wanted to be a princess. You are a real princess, will you teach me how to be one?"

"Of course. I'll tell you all about it. How you should dress up, how you should eat, how you should greet someone. And how to be a princess!" she whispered back, winking at her.

The little girl giggled shyly and turned to her siblings. Something tugged at her skirts and she looked down at the little toddler covered in dirt and leaves. Revati bent down to his level and ruffled his hair. "Looks like someone found the garden's leaf dump. Go on, go get yourself cleaned up. You can't go around with an empty stomach can you?"

So this is how the day would pass. Playing with little toddlers, touring them around the palace, teaching them a thing or two about royal life, playing dress-up... shouldn't be hard at all. It should be fun, in fact. What can go wrong?

If only she knew. The princess would be in for a shock.

* * *

"Phew!" she breathed out, leaning against the pillar in her room. "Finally, a break from those nagging kids. Suruchi, get me a hot bath ready. Now!" she hollered.

Suruchi came out from the shadows, clutching her stomach while her shoulders shook. No, no, no... not with fear, but laughter.

Revati glared at her, arms crossed in all her glory, covered in mud and leaves. Her hair- a dark, tangled bird's nest. She had haystacks that stuck up in every direction possible from her hair. Her arms were covered in tiny mud handprints, her face a fuming red, and her dress... oh goodness that was a sight even the dirtiest street urchin would have run away screaming.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" The princess demanded, pouting her mud-stained lips.

Her friend couldn't hold it in her anymore and managed to get out: "Y-yes, R-raj-kum-mari!" in between fits of laughter.

Her best friend ducked, missing the flying cushion that would've smacked her face and hurried to get away.

"How come Suruchi of all is laughing so childishly? It's just a few flecks of mud on my dress and she's being overdramatic." She murmured, rolling her eyes.

Revati turned towards the mirror and immediately swallowed her words, "My my, those brats in disguise have toyed with my precious time and even my appearance!"

* * *

"Ah, now I feel better!" Revati exclaimed flopping down in her study chair and sorting the scrolls sprawled out on her desk.

"You look better too," Suruchi commented opening the curtains to let the light stream in. She turned to the princess, "And luckily for you, we don't have to worry much about any possible attacks or wars for this year."

"And why is that?"

"There is nothing serious going on. No droughts, no famines, as the crops have a better yield and more importantly, the strength of our kingdom has grown. All thanks to your new policy, is what I hear. No kingdom in their right mind would dare to attack us.

"And worry not, the case of Roopvalli sending secret messages is solved, I found a half-written letter about a request for wealth from her parents' kingdom for the donation and she had mentioned things about impressing the royal family. Turns out, she was in it for the bit of luxury and respect in the family.

I know, it sounds too suspicious to just leave it at that and unbelievable as well. But as much as I hate to say it, it's true. 

I myself have searched everything thoroughly and not a trace of anything big. Roopvalli might be cunning, but she is a new bride of this kingdom, and I think it is too presumptuous of us to accuse her of things she might not have done. Especially since I've gone through-" she paused for the briefest of moments, that escaped Revati's notice, to her relief. "- her letter."

Revati frowned, clearly not buying it. "But that doesn't explain why she would do that in secret. Why not openly tell the king about donating?"

"She doesn't want us to think that she is not a woman of status and is looting money from her maternal home. She wants us to think it's all her own, according to the letter. 

And I think it might be true, she does carry herself with arrogance and pride and it is not unsurprising for a royal woman, especially a woman like her, wanting to protect her standing."

And, it was not her in the secret meeting if you were wondering. It seems that she had gifted the bracelet to another maid in praise of her efficiency, months ago. Roopvalli had sent the same maidservant to gather information about the donation campaigns that you had discussed.

Besides, she knows little about political matters and we can see how she avoids them at all costs since they are too 'boring' for her as told by my fellow maidservants in the castle. We maids talk, and nearly nothing escapes our notice."

"Oh, and here I was jumping to... drastic conclusions," Revati said, forcing a smile. "Suruchi, can you fetch me some new ink bottles?" she asked, gesturing to the empty inkpots.

"Certainly, your highness. And its 'Goutami'." She reminded her and left her chambers with a smile.

Suruchi is fully convinced that Roopvalli is innocent, but I'm sure there's more to the story. It's irrational to argue the possibility of something more with Suruchi as she will dismiss it by showing the so-called evidence.

Or what if Roopvalli is not the person she wants you to believe? What if she is actually with good intentions? A traitorous voice in the back of her head spoke.

Revati pushed it down. She was firm in her decision and wouldn't let sympathy cloud her mind.

Between training me and her tiring work at the palace, I won't let her get caught up in this labyrinth. I can figure it out myself.

These few months will be mild but not in the least usual. She decided.

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Ooh, that's interesting. Is Revati really onto something or is it just a wild-goose chase? Hope you guys enjoyed it!
Vote and comment if you did!

Thank you for reading ❤️✨
- Chinmayi, 14.