Chapter 16
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"Up, down, left, right!" a voice in the distance rang out.

"Again. Up down left, right!" one of the chiefs shouted to the troops of soldiers as they wielded their swords in expertise accordingly. Their uniforms stood out brightly in contrast among the dull grey walls of the castle, paint upon a blank canvas. A sea of red and blue rose up and back down like waves.

Out of nowhere, wind waltzed in with its cold glare, clouds huddled together and intimidated the sun into hiding behind them. Every being in the castle stilled for a moment, not expecting the sudden change in weather. Fingers strummed over the edge of the stone window, a slow smirk spreading over the man's face.

"Even the weather welcomes me," he murmured, his spine-chilling voice sending tremors up the castle walls. 

Turning back to the training scene, he said, "If this is just an everyday practice, she has a lot to lose!" He chuckled, voice deeper than a canyon. "And she will, without a doubt. This will be no more than a lift of the finger, an entertaining show to watch."

A female voice spoke, "But you must not underestimate her, she might have access to the chamber with tons of treasu-"

"The chamber will provide nothing for her!" his powerful voice cut over the woman's. "She has no clue about it, her father died before he could share the secret with her. Even if she does find it, she will not be able to use any of the wealth. 

"No kingdom would dare to even look her way. If they do, they know the consequences of my wrath. Even if they do join her, they're fools, all of them! They are all doomed."

A moment of shudder-worthy silence reigned before her voice parted the curtains of silence, "Very well, Maharaja. But how will we get our hands on the treasure?"

"We bring down the palace."

She faltered in her step. "P-pardon, your highness?"

"You heard right, Rajkumari. We bring down the castle walls wherever it could possibly be hidden. We'll leave the foundation intact, we need a palace there after all for a monarch to rule over. Any valuable decorations studded on the walls will remain as it is."

"But Maharaja, I thought it would be me ruling over?" she questioned hesitantly, confused by his words. Is he bailing out on me?

"It will don't worry. I want to ensure the palace is not hiding any surprises or tragedies for the next ruler," he assured her, with other motives in mind. 

He spewed lies to her face - well, maybe to the air since he wasn't facing her -  with such smoothness that his puppet would have no further suspicions.

"I have given you my word. And you know how valuable an emperor-to-be's word means. Don't you?"

"Yes, Maharaja. I have no doubt that you will live up to it. Pranam." She agreed and left quietly.

He stroked his mustache. "You should know by now that I'm no ordinary emperor-to-be. You should know what my word means, yet you decided to fall into my trap. Suit yourself." His dark smile reappeared in a flash, his menacing chuckles vibrating throughout the walls.

* * *

"How are you holding up?" she asked, her smile smug. He silently glared at her.

"Oh move on, you can't still be upset about the fact that I deserted a being such as you, can you? I mean, it's not my fault that you are so gullible," she threw up her hands and shrugged.

"Oh? It isn't your fault that you made me believe your words, your acts, your schemes and you fed me to the wolves!?" Dipankar demanded, his voice inflating with every word.

She shook her head and let out a dramatic sigh. "This is the only thing that I've ever agreed with your family on: you are not fit to be king. If you were, you would've avoided me when we first met, at least you would've turned my proposal down when I presented it to you. 

"You were so naïve that you believed me without a trace of my kingdom, my family, my origin. Hell, even a desperate dying man wouldn't hand out his trust so easily. But you,"-she scoffed-"you handed it to me on a silver platter! Should I remind you of the time when in the tavern-"

"Don't!" he snapped, glaring at the ground as if that would make his sins evaporate.

"Trusting you was my biggest mistake." He atoned. He swallowed, not knowing whether to break down or vent his anger out. Instead, he remained still.

"No, it wasn't. What kind of a son are you? What kind of a brother? How could you abandon your own family who had raised you, taken care of all your needs, and provided everything for you? Therein lies your biggest mistake. 

"Trusting me was your second biggest. If you had trusted them and me you would've been saved from danger. But look at what you did!"

"Family is everything, Dipankar," she said fiercely, the fire in her eyes genuine. Her eyes were glazed over as if... as if she was looking into the past, he made a move to keep in mind but decided against it. He would not be deceived by her pretense.

"Don't think that you can convince me this time! I won't trust you anymore!" he declared.

His wife got up from her seat in front of her husband's cell. She stared down at him with an expression worthy of a ruler looking at a fool. "You won't need to. I have no use for you now that you're a pauper."

"I am still the Prince of Vaibhavgarh! I command-"

"-nothing." She finished before slipping out of the dungeon door.

His fists came down on the prison wall, yelling out in frustration and regret. He stared at his fists, blood smearing his knuckles.

"What kind of person have I been to my family?" he said in a broken whisper. Memories flashed past his eyes. His eyes watered, his throat went dry and his jaw clenched. 

His father - dead because of him. His mother - well, she had a monotone life anyway. His sister - oh god, he couldn't begin. He had betrayed her, hurt her, left her to die out on her own... he was an elder brother, he was supposed to protect his sister, to care for her, to look over her.

But what did he do?

Trusted someone he barely knew, was easily beguiled by her words and then turned his back on his family who had never wronged him in any way. And when they needed him the most. Dipankar felt thoroughly ashamed of himself for his behavior and actions. 

He loathed himself to the core. 

He vowed to get back to his only living family, his sister, and to make amends for all the crimes he had committed. 

The man wanted his sister to be safe, he wanted himself on good terms with her again. And never in a million years would he want to part with his family once he had been accepted!

IF he ever would manage to get out of this place, that is. But how? There were guards securing the perimeter of his cell and swarming everywhere in the dungeons. He couldn't see his family again, could he? Dipankar realized the horrifying truth belatedly. With determination he thought, I have to give it a try, that's the least I can do.

* * *

She shook her head to clear the thoughts cluttering her consciousness.

Thud!

She winced back into the present, rubbing her arm where it had hit the wall instead of a door. 

A wall..? 

She pivoted around. She had taken the wrong staircase to her study, there were paintings all around her instead of the windows. Revati stood in the Hall of Portraits. She walked past them, smiling at her ancestors' images upon the walls. Her feet halted at one particular woman's. 

Her maternal grandmother's.

"Maataamahi Yashoda," she whispered, tracing the edges of the gold frame with her fingers. "Brave, witty, eloquent,"

That was not all, her features were just as stunning as her qualities. Skin as dark as the moonless night, hair as silky as the rippling waters of Ganga, smile as beautiful as a godess's. She was beautiful in every way.

But her life had been unfair.

I wish I had the privilege to meet her, at least once in my lifetime, Revati sighed wistfully. 

She had died of an unknown cause. A disease of some sort, as she had gathered from the whispering mouths of servants. Born in the auspicious month of Shravana, the brave soul died in the same month.

Was Suruchi not born sometime then? I wonder-

"Your Highness?'

"Yes?" she answered, snapping her head to the side. The maidservant bowed.

"The Senapati is looking for you, milady,"

She nodded. "I will be there."

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Glossary:

Maatamahi - Maternal Grandmother

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Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Sorry for the delay, I had two of my exams pending and was busy studying.
No more irregular updates, they'll be every Sunday. My exams are over :)

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