Chapter 13
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"Namo Namaho, Bhaginyaha." She greeted, folding her hands in a namaskaara as her head dipped.

"Suryakanti," her aunt spoke, "Sit down, for this will take a while."

She nodded, sitting cross-legged upon the low, wooden stool. The table was also low, but higher than the seats, the surface with the carving of a large dahlia flower. The carving wasn't deep at all, the ridges of the petals had become almost completely blunt in the middle. Surya suspected that it was not so much for decoration but for use.

Her eyes roamed over the room quickly before returning it to the women. There was a huge, wooden mandala made up of intricate wooden flowers, on the wall which Surya was facing, right opposite to the door. Two huge bookshelves sat on either side of the wall decor, dominating the room. There were no windows, expect notches in the walls for huge lanterns.

The head office was grand, but stripped of it's material luxury other than the carvings. It had been an old king's summer palace once. And that 'once' was a very very long time ago, decades or more before her birth.

"Bhagini Suruchi, what should we proceed with first? The sword or the scroll?" Uma Bhagini asked her, an eyebrow lifted in Surya's direction. She could clearly tell that the elder had an underlying question by the way she said it.

"Bhaginyaha, if I may speak," the question was permitted by curt collective nods. The synchronisation was so perfect it was almost scary. "I am not entirely sure what it is, but if it's about my sword... then I suggest we proceed with that first."

Uma's head which had been slightly turned to the side snapped in her direction. "If that is the case, we'll be here, Suruchi. You show her the sword."

Her aunt nodded slowly. "Yes... Come, Putri." She said, abruptly rising from her seat. Surya flinched slightly but followed her to the wooden decor piece. Suruchi gestured to it. "What is this?"

Surya's first instinct was to ask why would she know that, but bit back the reply. She studied it, but found nothing extraordinarily intriguing. "It symbolises something?" she finally guessed.

"Yes," Lady Suruchi confirmed. "The six flowers here represent god's and goddesses, their favorite flowers and herbs. I want you to match each one."

She's testing me, was her immediate thought. She pointed at the leaf with three laminas, a dominating one in the middle and the other two smaller, and of the same size. "We all know the Bilva Patre is a favorite of God Shiva." Suruchi nodded. One down, five to go.

"Then," her hand moved to the clusters of the tiny, wooden parijata that would otherwise be white and saffron-centered. "God Vishnu,"

Another nod.

"The lotus is most definitely Goddess Laxmi's favorite."

Check!

"Since the flowers do not have colors, I'm guessing that God Ganapati is fond of marigolds."

An eyebrow arched. "Guessing?"

Surya ran her tongue over her lips. "I'm sure,"

Yes! Another nod!

"What is this? I cannot distinguish the type of flower due to its plain color." At this, her aunt ran her fingers over it. "Palash?" she asked the other seated women. They confirmed.

"Palash... er, let's see... Goddess Saraswati!" she replied, her answer strong. Without waiting for a response, she moved to the next one. "Tulsi, loved by God Krishna,"

Her hand moved to the five-petaled hibiscus. "And finally, a beautiful red hibiscus for Goddess Kaali."

"Good start."

Surya stiffened. What? There's more?

"Can you possibly guess why this is here? It can have multiple responses, I know. But I want the vital thing, the most plausible one."

"One? Uh..." Surya frowned. What could be the correct answer? "This palace belonged to a king before and hence, a piece of symbolism and beauty? And a display of it's skilled craftsmanship?"

"Yes to all of those," the pause in her tone made Surya groan internally. I knew there was something I missed! "But, this is also, one more thing. I'll give you a vague hint: Shivishgan Vaalakaa."

This time the confusion broke through her mental boundaries and appeared on her face. What? "C-could you please repeat the words, Bhagini?"

A laugh threatened to spill off her aunt's lips, "Shivishgan Vaalakaa. I can just imagine how utterly absurd it might sound to you right now."

"Absurd..." Surya muttered, something going off in her head. If it supposed to sound absurd, which it does, then she doesn't expect me to know it. Meaning-

"It's not a word," she blurted out, finishing her thought. "Or at least not in any language that I am familiar with. That's all I can say for sure."

She noticed Suruchi's eyebrows shoot up, but the other three pairs of eyes that widened went unnoticed by her. "You're sharp," her aunt commented quite impressed.

"Thank you Bhagini, but not sharp enough to know the meaning of the code," she said.

"Ah, no matter, this just proves how strong the code is. It isn't easily decoded. Shi-vish-gan, Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha; Vaa-la-ka, Vaani, Lakshmi, Kaali. The order of the gods. That's all there is!"

"Oh," she thought aloud, "It makes sense now, but Bhagini, what purpose does it hold?"

"These carvings are not what they seem to be. Try to operate the gears if you can, with the code." She motioned to the grand piece with a sweep of her hands.

Gears? Her pulse quickened. Which means it's a mechanism of some kind that opens a door to something, perhaps a safe or a vault. Maybe.

Shi - Shiva, she pressed the Bilva Patre and it went back! Vish - Vishnu, the parijata. Gan - Ganesha or Ganapati... As she pressed each carved piece, she felt a sense of growing thrill in her belly. She took a step back as she finished with the last flower - the hibiscus.

She made sure to keep her jaw clenched as to not let it fall open as the wooden circle slowly turned and moved aside to reveal a dark hollow. "This was a vault used by us to keep records and scrolls of extreme importance. But then we discovered something else," Suruchi paused, motioning for her niece to fetch the lantern. "Hold the lantern such that you can see the whole safe clearly." Surya did so and saw the insides of the hollow. Jagged stone walls were curved in, encashing a few bags of gold coins, a few scrolls that must be of importance, and an amulet.

Her aunt moved her hands into the hollow, feeling the surface for something and her fingers spanned the inner walls. They stilled when they landed on something on the upper side.

"Now, I pull this stone lever and it makes a click," the sound echoed right after her spoken words. The loud sound of stone scraping stone vibrated throughout the room, making Suryakanti turn and look around. What is happening?

She waited for a few moments after the noise ended.

Nothing.

She went back to the hollow to check if it had revealed anything.

No, nothing.

She swept her gaze around the room for an opening of some sort.

Again, nothing.

She turned to the half-smiling elder woman. "A hint, please, Aunt?"

"Bookshelf." She let that single word pass through her lips, sending a boost of encouragement to Surya.

"Thank you, Bhagini," she muttered before reaching the bookshelf on her right. She knocked her forefinger over the spines of the numerous books on the shelf, dismissing each one as she passed by them. The peculiar knock on one book made her stop. This book is... too hard to be a book.

And her assumption was correct. She pulled out the book, which was actually a disguised wooden lever, and jumped back as the bookshelf swung open like a door. She tried and failed to keep the triumphant smile off her face as she spoke, "I have found it, Bhagini, I have found the tunnel."

* * *

"Good," was the word spoken, but it's tone dripped with 'impressive'. "Why didn't you go for the glass orbs? That was the most likely, wasn't it? Usually gears are triggered by moving something unique, and different, aren't they?"

"Yes, Bhagini. But if that was the case, in an invasion scenario, the invaders would most likely move precious pieces rather than books and may accidentally discover the tunnel. Also, if it is a special lever, completely different from the rest, then it would be of little use. This is supposed to be discreet and secretive, isn't it, Bhagini? Then it would be special but hidden in plain sight. These are what I thought initially..."

"Right answer, Putri."

Surya smiled, bowing her head a little. But her head rose up immediately after. "May I ask why this was designed-"

Lady Suruchi laughed. "Of course, Putri. This was the summer palace of a king who had no army here, only a few guards. If he was attacked, he would need a foolproof system to hide, to save his life. This tunnel takes one directly outside with no passageways to any of the building's rooms. If they did discover the vault, they would only find previous gems, gold and ornaments. Not the lever or the king. Now the tunnel is rarely used by us, only Bahula checks the structure from time to time. We wouldn't any cracks in this place, would we?"

"No, Bhagini." She agreed.

"What do you say to a walk in the tunnel?"

"Really, Bhagini? I would be delighted to!" the excitement bubbled in her words and visibly shone in her eyes though she didn't make jumpy movements to indicate it.

"Lead the way," Suruchi gestured.

Surya picked up the lantern and slowly stepped inside, her aunt followed the light. She moved further and took a step back when the stone sank underneath her feet. But it didn't fall completely, it was only for a moment before it rose again. She heard the opening slowly close with stone.

"W-was that a trigger of some sort Bhagini? To shut the door after one entered?"

"Yes, Putri. Brilliant, don't you think?"

"Indeed, aunt." She replied, looking around the tunnel. They walked further for a few moments then Suruchi asked her to stop.

"Let's not walk ahead anymore. Bahula says there are dense bushes when we reach the end and I don't want to... get stuck in them. I'm not familiar with this part of the building. It will prove difficult for me to walk more, especially in this dim light."

"Alright, Bhagini."

"There was a lot that..." she took in a deep breath as the atmosphere shifted. "There was a lot that happened before, after and around the time of your birth. After your mother was coronated, she crowned the King of Vaishaktinagara. Three years went by quite peacefully, not without a lot of tedious restoration of flourishing trade and alliances, but your mother reigned over Vaibhavgarh well. Then, Muditharaja, the king of Vaishaktinagara arrived at court. The same day, her mother, your grandmother... died.

"She was murdered, in a sense. A spy in disguise threatened to kill her if she couldn't provide her with some valuable information. She took the former choice, pierced herself with the poisoned dagger, and died. Revati was sad but also furious. Sad and not devastated because of the lack of connection between the mother and daughter through their lives. Furious because someone had breached through our security."

"Who was it, aunt?"

"Achalapati. Roopvalli's brother."

Her niece's forehead creased. "But I thought Roopvalli's brother was-"

Suruchi held a hand. Wait, let me continue,

"He wanted revenge, like the rest of his wretched family, for killing his sister. She fell off a cliff trying to escape from our soldiers after the war. He wanted to use the network of tunnels to usurp your mother's rule first, and then your father's.

"So, Muditharaja came with the proposal of marriage. The only way to unite both kingdoms: join forces before it was too late. Why was marriage the best option? It was a way to quash any hatred between the two families and ensure their future children don't get into conflicts with each other. Also..."

"Also what, Bhagini?"

"Your mother hated to admit it, but her power and hold over Vaibhavgarh and reputation would increase only if she had a king by her side. Society is patriarchal, after all. She was reluctant, but accepted it upon conditions that it would be a marriage in name only. Your mother was wary of him, afraid he would prove to be like his father."

"But aunt, if she was so repulsed to wed him, why not another prince from some other kingdom?"

"One, most of them were at least twenty years older than her. Two, many were already married, and being a second queen would be of no use to strengthen her powers. Three, her kingdom would lapse to whomever else she married, but Muditharaja vowed he would not take away her existing power. He was the best option at the time. Few months after the union, their policies changed, it become a marriage not just in name but in every sense.

"But behind all that, Achalapati's plans were brewing. They managed to stop not one but three of his planned assassinations. You were born within the same year. A month, only a month after your birth, the palace was set on fire. More specifically, your chambers and your parents'. But they managed to escape with you, and my brother and I found a location for them after we decided that the palace was not safe anymore."

"Why not-"

"Achalapati, the trusted commander of Vaibhavgarh, became king."

* * *

"Abalabāhu. That is what he prefers to hear. Not a complimentary name, but a unique one, one that reminds everyone of who he is. Abalabāhu means the 'one with a weak arm'. His right hand is crippled, but he still rules with an iron fist."

"So that's why he's known as Abalabāhu..." Surya muttered.

"Yes... Everyone thought-" she said, pausing to place a hand on the rocky wall. "-that your parents were dead and so were you in their eyes. But Abalabāhu knew you three were not. He ordered his men to search and capture us. We had to change our hideout every month or so to throw them off track. But it failed in the end."

Suruchi abruptly turned towards her, looking her in the eye even without her eyesight. "You were seven months when we sent you here, and that was when they struck. Using fire to bring back the trauma of that day," she shuddered, shutting her eyes close, pushing her tears back. "Uma found me blind and unconscious, slung across my horse. She recognized me from years ago when I had joined here and took me in. I raised you till you were four, but you were a keen child with lots of questions and unsatiated curiosity. I had to distance myself from you, for it would be dangerous if you knew of your origin then."

Surya entwined her hand with her aunt's, squeezing it in comfort. "The world thinks you three are dead, Abalabāhu knows your parents are not but he still thinks that you are no more. I do not know how, but I know that your parents are alive. Maybe not free, but alive. You have to put an end to his cruel reign. You have to save them."

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Phew! That was long!

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