Look out for two hidden snakes in the banner above!

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Chapter 6 

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Knock, knock, knock!

The knocks broke the resting Maharaja from his chain of thoughts. He paused, the raisin halfway to his mouth.

"Who is it?"

"Maharaja, would you like some... sweets?"

Instead of dismissing the servant, his head lifted in interest at what seemed like an ordinary, polite question one would ask his king.

He put it down and slowly rose to his feet, rolling his almost terrifyingly broad shoulders. He walked to the door, placed a fist on the right side, rested his forehead on the smooth surface, and asked, "What kind?"

"...Sandesh, Maharaja,"

"Ah, my favorite. What flavor?"

"None specific, Maharaja."

He pulled back, hands clasping behind his back.  "Yes, sounds good."

"When would you like to have them, my king?"

"Now would be alright."

"Yes, my king." 

His eyebrows narrowed as he heard the footsteps grow fainter and fainter until they were no more to his ears.

Who would want to approach me with a private message? No, it couldn't be Raja Maalav. He had sent a messenger just yesterday. It cannot be the time of war for there is no smoke whatsoever.

He pulled on a silk shawl to drape around his arms as he absent-mindedly walked towards the back of his chamber. He stopped in front of a statue of an apsara and turned the bangle on her right hand.

The wall before him slid to the side revealing a dark opening. The king grabbed a torch and slipped into the tunnel. He reached the other end of it, a huge underground hall reeking of evil. The 'underworld', or Patal Loka, as it was called and feared by many. It was where the king tortured his opposers, where he laid out his evil plans, where he received secret information, and his lair where he was the Yamaraja.

A timid messenger stood there, awkwardly in a corner, looking around. He started visibly shivering at the silhouette of the Maharaja as he walked up to his throne with a powerful stance. It felt as if the devil himself had arrived.

"Y-Your Maj-jesty, on behalf of a certain s-sender, I offer you my g-g-greetings. The p-person has sent- this letter to you, Maharaja," the man gabbled, bowing quickly.

He studied the messenger's clothes. Vaibhavgarh? That's the kingdom she is from. His teeth clenched, memories of his humiliating visit flashing by. He motioned the commander to give him the letter. The commander nodded, snatched the letter out of his hand, and presented it to him.

"Who has sent it?" the King demanded, his voice a growl that shook the poor fellow to his bones.

"M-maharaja, it w-was, Rajkumari R-ru-roopvalli," he replied, eyes downcast, afraid to behold the gaze of the creature before him. The Maharaja's eyes skimmed over the contents of the piece of paper and turned towards the messenger, tossing the letter aside carelessly. A servant in the corner of the room fumbled for it as he steadied himself.

"Interesting, tell her she is expected here tomorrow before noon, sharp. And be sure to tell her that she got lucky enough to get an audience with me. Also importantly," he leaned forward. "-that she should use this visit wisely, as she won't be getting another chance."

In the blink of an eye, the commander unsheathed his sword and held it against the messenger's neck. "Even if a word escapes, then your head will be first to escape from your body." He threatened. "Go!"

The poor man gulped, nodded in fear, bowed to the king, and scurried off.

Looking towards the commander, he spoke with a drag, "Things might change, Shravan, things finally might change."

* * *

The next morning, when Suruchi arrived, she was pleasantly surprised. 

Revati was lifting the rocks, and this time they were up higher than last time, they were nearly above her calves.

"Good morning Suruchi Adhyaapikaa!" Revati greeted her cheerfully. "I have completed all the tasks. The pots are filled up with water, from the lake in the valley. The flowers are offered to the goddess, also picked from the below valley's flower bed. You can even inspect them, I'm not lying. And I have made some progress on lifting the rocks."

Suruchi raised her eyebrows. Well someone has woken up on the right side of the bed. She opened her mouth to reply when Revati cut in. "This time I brought a new excuse. Few dresses to mend which are kept on the steps to the temple to your right."

"I-I uh... Well, that's great, amazing even. Keep up the good work. You keep lifting those rocks until you can lift them and move around freely." She said, making herself comfortable on the steps, settled with the embroidery threads.

"Move around freely?" Revati asked, dropping the rocks after a sly thought of distracting Suruchi to move to an easier task slid into her mind. "That's impossible! Unless you're a warrior or soldier of course."

Suruchi got up, took the handle from her, and lifted them effortlessly raising the handle above her head. Once the princess's eyes widened, she put them back down.

"I can do it, why can't you?" she asked sitting back down in her usual place.

Revati muttered a small 'okay' and began lifting the rocks. She sighed internally, And there goes my way of escape.

* * *

It was the next morning when Roopvalli received the news. She intended to convince the Maharaja completely. She walked over to the river where a soldier's horse grazed. She looked to the sides. No one was in sight. She hauled herself atop the creature, taking the reins in her hands. What about her absence? Roopvalli had informed a maid that she would be taking a walk along the river. She had a satchel with water and food, and an old cloak hid her appearance.

Roopvalli steadily galloped towards the bridge which was bustling with travelers. She instinctively pulled the cloak around her as tight as she could. The slow movement of people grated on her already tense nerves. But she finally trotted to the other side. 

She decided to take the route closest to the forest which would also be a shortcut instead of the busy main roads. After several hours she reached his palace. But she was wise enough to know not to come through the entrance gates but the back gates of the palace. She entered the 'underworld' where she met the Maharaja sitting in his chair, studying his nails.

"About time you arrived, Roopvalli..." he drawled out.

"Y-yes your Highness," she said, a slight tremble in her voice when she first spoke but regaining her usual haughty demeanor as she cleared her throat.

"In fact, a while earlier than expected," she spoke, this time a bit braver.

"Hmph," the King said, unimpressed. But turned to her, questioning, "How can I be of service to you...?"

"Rather, I wish to be of service, Maharaja," she replied. He motioned for her to continue. "You're not the only one who resents Raja Rama Verma."

His grip tightened around the armrest of his chair and his teeth ground together, subtle but an action well noticed by the snake before him.

Roopvalli continued, pacing around a little. "If a weed is an obstruction in a healthy plant's way, the weed is sure to deprive it of nutrients. What does the farmer do? Cutting the stem of the weed is not enough. Before it gets out of hand, he uproots it and solves the problem. If the weeds get out of hand, the farmer needs an ally, his fertilizer who will destroy the problem."

"What are you implying?"

"Simply that, Maharaja, we both have the same problem. Raja. Rama.Verma! And his daughter. They are the weeds, you are the healthy plant. As you know, they have deprived you of a few things already. A little bit of your honor, respect, status. By few factors- the false accusation, insulting you, banishment from his kingdom, you do remember, right Maharaja?"

"How could I forget?" he growled, furrowing his brows into a scowl to make it look like he was riled up by her plan.

"Exactly. By doing that he has already lowered your reputation, and the people respect Raja Rama Verma a lot. By him lashing at you, they now have bad opinions about you. They think you a weakling whom he can dismiss like a lowly servant. I propose you set that right. Show them who you are, what power you hold. And what happens to those who stand against you, the great, wealthy, merciless, powerful, Maharaja Ballaraja! The soon-to-be Samratah."

"You have a point there. And what is your purpose?"

"Mine is to take revenge from him too, apart from that, allying with you for his downfall. For you to be emperor! What better person to ally with than an insider of your enemy?" she asked, her eyebrows raising in question.

"You play well," he said, nodding to her. "A traitor to your own kingdom," he stated, leaning slightly towards her from his chair.

"Vaibhavgarh was never my kingdom, is not, and never will be! My kingdom is my birthplace. Where he killed my family. My sister, my mother," she spoke vehemently, her eyes burning with true hatred.

"You cannot influence people much, you are but just a mere wife of the princess's brother. We have declined many other wealthy sub-kings on their request to join my loyal ally council, why should we take you?"

"My fool of a husband will soon show you his support. He is still attached to his family by nothing but a thread. Don't worry Maharaja, the thread will be cut soon. Very soon. When that happens, you basically have almost half the kingdom's resources at your disposal."

"Very well," he said. "But you are a traitor, are you not? How should we know that you will not turn traitor to Vaishaktinagara if you join us?"

She fell silent for a moment before she met his eyes with an evil gleam. "Assign me a task. Such a task that I can prove my loyalty to you."

Ballaraja smirked wickedly at her.

* * *

"Suruchi?"

"Huh?" she asked Revati, not looking up from her embroidery.

"Look... here..." Revati said in a voice so strained, her trainer could have mistaken it for a donkey's bray.

Suruchi looked up at her and beamed. "Good! Almost up to your knees! Next time, the handle should be slightly above your shoulders, the rocks up to your thighs."

She immediately put it down and stretched. "Ahh... today's progress- done!"

"You're free to go."

"One last thing," Revati said, as she stalked closer to her. "I saw some suspicious behavior from Roopvalli. She received a message from the messenger, went to the stables, and rode out. Secretively. She arrived back really late, and I highly doubt 'a walk through the city' would've taken so long." She said with air quotes.

Suruchi nodded her head grimly. "Keep an eye on her. She is going out to check on things. But she could be going out to meet someone. Someone who will help her in her schemes. Know that she will never be a well-wisher of ou- the royal family and their power."

Revati said, "I fear for what is to come. For it will not be a small issue." She got up and picked up her bag. When she turned around, Suruchi was gone.

How does she do that?

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Two snakes make excellent allies.

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Glossary:

Sandesh - an Indian sweet, also means 'message' or 'missive' derived from Indian languages
Adhyaapikaa - female teacher/guru
Saamrataha - Emperor
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Ooh, that was interesting...
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Thank you for reading this❣️
-Chinmayi, neaaaarly 14.