Chapter 7
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She goes back to the palace quicker than me! And arrives late at the starting of the session, while I have to get up early and finish all the tasks.

Revati mulled over her 'plight' as she made her way down the stairs.

But wait a minute... she thought, her eyes landing on all the lit torches. They were lit when I came here in the morning, they are lit now. Who lights them?

"Suruchi," she whispered. Suruchi wakes up earlier than me, lights the torches, goes back to the palace, and returns late for my training in the morning, she realized.

I judged her lazy, too fast. She mused, slightly ashamed.

But I've got to ask her one thing: how does she get back so quickly?

She was about to push open the garden gate and step out when she heard voices. Hushed voices. Her round eyes frantically darted around to hide and crouched behind a nearby bush. They couldn't see past the overgrown vines covering the gate, but only she could. Revati peered from her hiding spot to see who the owners of those voices were.

To her surprise, not a pleasant one, it was Roopvalli's and a maid's. Revati could see her sister-in-law handing over a scroll to the maid and instructing her about something. The maid bowed and walked away. Revati frowned. 

A scroll? 

What for? And to whom?

Roopvalli stayed there, pacing around. Two newcomers arrived at the spot. They were the King and Queen. Roopvalli displayed another one of her practiced smiles and greeted them. A couple of servants laid out a royal carpet and placed breakfast and drinks.

"Where is Revati?" Roopvalli asked.

"I don't know," the Raja confessed, looking around for any sight of his daughter approaching them.

"I didn't see her from morning. I hope she hasn't forgotten about this..." Dipankar said.

"Forgetting such a simple, yet an important thing, is disgraceful for a princess!" his wife exclaimed. Her eyebrows raised and her mouth parted in a false expression of shock, practiced time and time again. Referring to it as if it were a great scandal.

Revati's eyes enlarged as she face-palmed quietly.

How could I have forgotten about it? But I can't go right now, they're right in front of me. They'll see me coming out of here and all sorts of questions will come pouring in. How do I go in now?

She worried her bottom lip, thinking of a way to get out of her mess and attend the picnic.

"It must've slipped her mind," the King said with a tight smile in her direction, eyes betraying his displeasure. Roopvalli simply nodded.

"He's covering up for her already. Even if she has made a mistake unbecoming of a princess. Who knows what'll happen if this 'problem' still persists," she mumbled to Dipankar as the King enquired a servant about the princess.

Revati bit back a scream when she felt the weight of a hand behind her. She whirled around. To her relief, it was her friend. This friend of mine does have a knack for scaring the daylights out of me. Suruchi was motioning her to get in the cave.

She led her under the stairs. Her forefinger rose up in the air, moving it as though she were counting something, and pushed in a specific brick. The stone wall made a set of peculiar noises - Are there gears that are turning, from within the walls? - and slowly gave way to a passage.

"This leads to the palace. Follow the path marked with white chalk," she said, handing the princess a lit torch.

"So this is how you manage to get out so quickly," she stated. "Smart."

"Yes. Strictly follow the white circles and not any other color. They lead to different paths and different places. The white one takes you to the palace kitchen. In case you end up in a stew again, use this to get in and out. Nobody will suspect your choice of route every early morning. Oh and seven bricks from the third column." Suruchi added, her finger pointing to them.

Revati smiled a 'thank you' her way before running into the passage. She did exactly as Suruchi had said and reached the palace kitchens. Thankfully there was no one there and Revati made a safe escape.

She ran back to the gardens and took a seat with the family. "Pranam Pitashree," she bowed. "Matashree, Bhratashree. Sister Roopvalli." She nodded to them in a wordless greeting.

"Welcome, Welcome, Rajkumari..." Roopvalli said, her sarcasm and pointed gaze not going unnoticed.

"Apologies for the delay, I was helping a friend with some work. It took longer than expected," she confessed sheepishly. Her gaze accidentally slid over to her mother, but she looked away as quickly as she could. She had donned a plain, grey saree. Quite elegant, but as dull as the person wearing it.

Revati hated to admit it, but she resembled her mother a lot more than her father. Jet black hair, darker than the coal mined in Vaibhavgarh. The princess was the identical younger version of her mother with that tall figure, the dusky complexion, and those cinnamon-brown eyes. The only thing that separated them, was the aged effect on the mother and the contrast of the so similar yet completely different, cold and warm eyes.

"Anyway, how is the charity fund going? I heard it's making some raises." The King inquired lightly.

And that was enough to send her babbling. "Oh father, yes. Many have made contributions willingly, and it's not a part of their tax. So I've decided to..."

The King, princess, and the prince went straight into the discussion. Mostly the princess talking, the king patiently listening and the prince struggling to fit in the conversation.

Roopvalli rolled her eyes, sipping her warm, herbal chai. She was on the watch for any important information that she pretended to ignore. Something that Revati was saying caught her attention,

"There are some courtiers who haven't paid their taxes for over three to four months! Hence, I have sent letters from the royal mail to them, but they haven't yet responded. You have also reminded them at past few..."

Ugh, just the tedious work of tax payments. She decided, rolling her eyes in an act of annoyance. But strained her ears well to what came a while later.

"Father, I have decided to come to the afternoon darbar meeting to present my views," Revati said.

The Raja opened his mouth but Roopvalli dived right in, "Oh but Revati, the meeting is not an open darbar. It's between the courtiers and the king. It's not a place for ladies, only men have the knowledge and...capability, to discuss such matters. We ladies can stay back." She said, her voice dripping with dramatics, with something else in mind. Something very specific.

"Actually, the meeting is for courtiers and members of the royal family who are well versed in politics," the King sided with his daughter.

"As you say, Your Majesty," she said.

Dipankar's face fell ever so slightly. He sided with his sister and not him. He is undermining me by siding with that greedy witch. The old fool thinks I won't notice this.

But what Dipankar did not notice, was the reason behind his father's partiality. When it had started and what influenced it. Ever since he had got married to Roopvalli, the King had started to play favorites. It was because of his son's actions that the king harbored hostility.

Sadly, Dipankar was a blind man to all of this. Trapped under his wife's spell and heeding only to her so-called pearls of wisdom.

And so, the morning passed.

* * *

I will have to go there this afternoon then. She thought, observing the curtains hanging lazily in the corridor. But how...? I cannot disguise myself, too few people. I cannot walk in as myself, it would be improper and suspicious.

She lifted her skirts absently with her right hand and walked up the stairs. I have to get that piece of information at the earliest, I have to prove myself. She felt her fingers push the rough surface of the door and carry herself in.

Her forefinger went up to rub her forehead as the left side of her body pressed against the tiled wall. She mumbled something intelligible, drawing the curtains shut.

She spun around, pulled open the doors of a wardrobe. She skimmed through the dresses and at a point, reached out and pulled out an outfit. The outfit of a maid. This might just do the trick. Lady servants in the meeting hall are to cover their faces, I can do it too. A slight smirk made its way onto her face.

She felt the simple yet comfortable fabric in her hands.

I have to dress like a maid.

Her face contorted into one of utter disgust. Those lowborn, dirty people! she thought, shaking her head.

But luckily, the bright side is too bright for me to notice the dark. Her arms lifted and fell back in a shrug, a feeling of success embracing her.

* * *

A flash of surprise passed through Suruchi's eyes but it was gone just as quickly. Revati smugly held the handle up, lifting the rocks up to thighs, and twirled. She walked up to the temple and back without lowering her hands.

"Now, we use weapons," Suruchi spoke.

"Finally, training!" Revati sighed in content.

Her trainer brought her to the temple and inside near the goddess rock idol. She went in, to the right side, and pulled open a wide cupboard made of... rock? Oh no, it wasn't rocking, it was wood. And she hadn't even noticed it in the shadows! She peeked in to see many shelves with weapons of different sorts in them, all organized neatly.

Suruchi gestured to the cupboard. "Bring a good sword, a bow and arrow, a dagger that fits your hand, and a pair of fighting swords."

"They all look so heavy. Much heavier than the rocks, I'm sure of it. How will I be able to bring them out alone?" She asked.

"You will," was all she said.

Revati picked them up altogether, they were heavy but surprisingly, she could lift them. She walked towards the training grounds, bringing them out with her. Then she let go, leaving them in a pile on the bench.

"Now, let's start with the sword," Suruchi said, cracking her knuckles, a glint of challenge in her eye.

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Glossary:
Matashree - a way of addressing one's mother in a formal manner.
Brathashree - addressing one's brother in a formal manner.
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Hey guys! Hope you liked the chapter.
I decided to publish this chapter today instead of on Sunday.
Guess why?:)

Thank you for reading this!❤️
Chinmayi, finally 14.