Chapter 27 
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They arrived there once the Rajyābhishekha was done and she had been crowned queen lawfully. It had been a secluded and quick process as she only needed the power of a queen to crown Vaishaktinagara's new ruler or regent. There was to be a bigger coronation ceremony open to all when they got back.

The palace was huge and beautiful. More so when they entered. Silky drapes hung down the walls, the glinting gold decor was everywhere they turned, the carvings on the ceilings were marvelous and the view from the high towers, breathtaking. The castle looked as if it had been submerged in gold and risen, and the waves of light cascading down upon it.

But as she looked closely through the window, Revati focused her gaze on the dark patch of land. She gasped, the sound barely audible. 

It was the kingdom, the people's houses outside the fort. She couldn't see everything, but the queen could clearly make out that the cities were in poor condition and nothing was done to ensure the citizens' safety or comfort. Then she looked back inside to the grandeur. Sure, Ballaraja was very devoted and wanted the best for his family, but he clearly didn't want the same for his people.

Her eyebrows pulled together in disappointment. Anyone would expect such a wealthy ruler to have content people, but no. The late Senapati was right, the only ones with a life of comfort are the rich classes, ministers, courtiers, army nayakas, and military officers. The middle class's condition was not too bad, but even slightly lower ones had to struggle.

The sound of heavy footsteps broke Revati from her reverie. She turned to see an elderly officer of some sort stand before the trio. She faced him and nodded as the herald presented her. He bowed to them. He was a seemingly well-built man with a bushy silver mustache and a light dusting of a beard on his unnoticeable double chin.

"Your Majesty, your presence is greatly honorable and I, Officer Muniraja, humbly welcome you to the palace. The royal family is present in the darbar and would like to officially welcome you. Please, this way Your Highness."

He led them to a vast room that looked, you must have guessed by now, utterly rich and drenched in gold? Yes. Though not as much. Most things were kept minimal as this was a formal hall.

Her stomach did a nervous flip when her eyes landed on the two familiar women clad in white. Though they were dressed in white, their sarees did not miss the touch of luxury, a zari border did not fail to line the edges. 

Their faces no more held the facade of arrogance or superiority when she had last met them. In fact, she could see grief, respect for her, and probably... regret, swimming in the two pairs of pools.

They clasped their hands in a namaskara as she reciprocated the same. Queen Neelambika strode forward by a few steps. She was much shorter and a little plumper than the other wife. A mole sat on her right cheek. "We welcome you to our palace, valiant ruler of Vaibhavgarh. Rajkumaraha Dipankar and Royal Trainer." They nodded at the duo positioned on either side of their sister.

"Thank you," Although her expression was friendly, her behavior and tone were still formal. 

"Please do take a seat." They gestured towards the pairs of chairs on either side of the table.

Revati knew this would be an awkward conversation, to say the least, but was the first to break the silence after they settled into their places. "Our condolences for the demise of your husband and king."

"I... we don't know what to say. It is a highly admirable action of yours to step into our kingdom, which you could have claimed as your own, but instead chose to proclaim a ruler for the vacant ruling position."

Queen Rambha too spoke up, voicing her opinion, "Yes. And we are truly sorry for all that our husband has done to you, your family, and your people. He was an iron-fisted ruler, but he was not all vice and no virtue." She was taller than Neelambi by a few inches and her stance, though seated, was more regal. A withered rose, still standing up.

Their eyes were cast elsewhere when they spoke of him, far behind the present.

"He, er... fought and commanded the army like a true leader?" she supplied with the last few words almost a question.

The widows nodded sorrowfully. "He was an ardent devotee to the gods and... he loved his family dearly. Much like the king of Lanka, you could say." She let out a bitter, humorless laugh, looking away.

Revati raised an eyebrow slightly at this, not wanting to appear offending but at the same time letting them know that she wasn't falling for this.

"Sounds unbelievable, I know. He was a tyrant who was cruel and merciless," she admitted shamefully. "He had a few... 'friends' of the opposite gender, and we know what he did to you and your family. But you must know that he did not display affection or care for any of us in public only because he thought it made him look weak. But away from the public's eye, he was a normal man. A normal husband and a loving father."

A loving father? She had read reports of the son of Ballaraja but no one from her kingdom was entirely sure. 

After a few moments of silence, she approached them with a question, "I don't want to sound rude, but we have things, political things to discuss. Coming to the matter at hand, Your Majesties, does the late King have an heir? If he or she is not of age then perhaps a niece or nephew or a close relative with claim to the throne?" Her tone was a no-nonsense, curt one.

The queens glanced at each other. Neelambika spoke up, "Yes. My son. He is currently away at a gurukula, we had sent word to him as soon as we could. It seems that he departed from there at nightfall, but he might be delayed by a few hours."

A son, so the reports were right. Judging by Ballaraja's age his son should be older, but the reports said he was a young lad.

Rambha is the first queen and it seems like she was childless. So he must have conceived his son later on?  She did the math in her head. Tch, tch, tch, poor boy. Having to be crowned at the tender age of six or so.

Revati had barely noticed that the room had lapsed into silence if it weren't for the clearing of her brother's throat. The queens appeared startled but composed themselves.

"Until then, please take rest in our guest chambers." Rambha offered politely.

"Of course," she said, but continued hesitantly after a quick glance at Suruchi who had gently nudged her. "Uh, apologies for asking this out of nowhere, but would you please send a few provisions to our kingdom for immediate assistance right away? We are low on resources as of now and could use some help."

Revati knew she was being much too polite, but she couldn't keep the sliver of guilt out of her mind. Even though she abhorred him, his family had done nothing to her, and after all, she was responsible for the death of a husband and a father.

"Of course, that will be of no problem." Neelambika waved her hand, dismissing the matter. "It will be done right away." True to her word, she clapped for a guard and instructed him on it.

"So, to put forth the alliance matters," Revati began, " I understand that you might be under the impression that I will proclaim your kingdom a completely free, independent state. If that is the case, then no. You will be allowed to take decisions of your kingdom's welfare but all major decisions such as declaring war on another state, forming alliances with them, and others must be taken only after consulting with me and my kingdom. 

"This treaty between Vaibhavgargh and Vaishaktinagara will be based on non-violence, cooperation, and peaceful co-existence. Also, I expect complete loyalty and honesty from your kingdom regarding issues and subjects of the state. If you ever happen to violate this treaty in any way, I will not hesitate to declare war upon you. 

"These are my policies, agreed?"

She smiled secretly as she knew that her question was just for the sake of politeness, they would accept the policies. They had to if they wanted to keep their kingdom.

Suruchi and Dipankar had a hard time keeping the proud smirks off their faces at the growing firmness in her regal talk and at the duo's reactions. Suruchi kept her head down trying to hide it, whilst Dipankar turned away, pretending to be thinking.

"Y-yes, we do accept," Queen Neelambika stuttered, not sure if it was a young woman who'd just spoken or an empress. "Thank you, M-maharani. Do rest in our accommodating guestrooms, if anything isn't to your liking, please ring for a servant." 

She nodded to them gratefully and was escorted with her sister and brother to their rooms.

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Glossary:
Rajyābhishekha - Coronation

Nayakas - leaders/chieftans
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Yay, now Revati is officially queen! Also a sophisticated badass one at that! 

But there is a bigger ceremony that will follow.
Is this the happy ending to Revati's life? Or do I have a surprise/shock awaiting you?

Find out in the next chapters ;)

Take care,
-Chinmayi, 14.