Chapter 6
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"This way, Bhagini,"

The two girls walked through the wide corridors of the Shyamakund academy, with the youngest leading. Surya slowed her strides to push open a closed window. A gust of immediate air rushed to her face, cooling her down.

The girl turned back. "Chhaya Bhagini, you might want to rest first in your bed-chambers. For the midday lunch is not far away."

"Oh yes, do lead the way, Netra." She nodded.

After a few moments and a turn, Netra had pushed open the set of thick wooden doors to reveal a beautifully furnished bedroom. The walls were made from mud and coated with a pale, dull yellow layer of paint. It had a single bed in the corner but looked like the comfiest in the world. There was a vase in the other corner and a table beside it. A small wooden cupboard sat attached to the opposite wall to the bed.

The room wasn't very spacious, it was the size of any normal room. But much better than my tent. She concluded.

"This is beautiful!" she said.

Netra gave her a puzzled glance. "Bhagini, this is how it is normally. It's like any other ordinary room, isn't it?"

"Might be to you, but it's so much better than the cramped tent, to me. It's just as wonderful as last time I was here." Surya said, sitting down on the bed, her eyes roaming around.

"Alright Bhagini, rest for now," she giggled and went away.

Chhaya's feet carried her to the window. Her hands absently pushed them open. "No wonder it's so... urban in here. No fresh air, no normalcy." She spoke aloud but then made a quick spin around to check that no one had heard her speak to herself.

Now that would have been embarrassing. They'd think I'm a cracked nut, she smiled.

Her eyes landed on the bed. Now, how about that break Netra was talking about? Sounds good.

* * *

Knock!

"I'm up!" She shot awake at the loud, sharp sound. It could only be Bahula Bhagini who would do that. She hadn't forgotten what had happened last time when she didn't wake up at the same-

KNOCK!

Let's save that story for another time. Surya placed her feet on the ground and hurried to open the door to reveal a scowling trainer.

"You overslept. You missed your aunt's appearance. You'll have to wait till tonight." Her stern voice addressed her.

"Oh, I didn't realize, Bhagini. I must've lost track of time, I'm sorry," she sheepishly apologized.

"Yet again." Her sharp tone made her lower her head.

"Bhagini, where is the lunch-"

Her scowl deepened as she snapped, "I'm no servant of yours, young lady. Go get it yourself from the dining hall like everyone else. You might be of purer blood, but it means nothing here."

She brushed past the princess and was gone in seconds. Surya let out an exasperated sigh and a roll of her eyes. "I wasn't giving her an ounce of disrespect. I just wanted to know where they ate today. Don't they sometimes eat in the east corridor when it's hot out? Urgh, that woman aggravates me!"

Still grumbling and scoffing out insults under her breath, Surya fixed her tousled hair in the mirror. Not too bad, I did sleep for quite some time, but my hair's still intact.

She turned around and sighed as she stared at the back of her head through the old, scratched mirror. I spoke too soon.

She quickly brushed her hair into a braid, fixed her saree pleats which had come loose and made her way out to get some lunch.

There were only a few Naaris left, cleaning up after themselves. One or two stopped when Surya arrived, offering to serve the food. She politely accepted and sat down on the cool mud floor. She poured some water from the copper tumbler to her left onto the banana leaf and cleaned it lightly. She joined her hands together, shut her eyes close, and murmured a quick prayer to herself,

अन्नपूर्णे सदापूर्णे शंकर प्राणवल्लभे ।
ज्ञान वैराग्य सिध्यर्थं भिक्षां देहिच पार्वति ॥

Annapūrṇe sadāpūrṇe śaṃkara prāṇavallabhe .
jñāna vairāgya sidhyarthaṃ bhikṣāṃ dehica pārvati.

"Replete with food, perfect at all times, beloved charmer of Shankara's life, O Parvati, give me alms for fulfillment of knowledge and detachment," she quietly uttered the translation out loud, smiling and closing her eyes as the image of the goddess appeared in front of her eyes.

One of the palace Naaris served the dishes in order and she began eating. She wrinkled her nose slightly, Is it just me, or does the payasam taste off?

She took another mouthful, Mhmm, it could use more jaggery. She almost whined out loud when she tasted the sambar rice. This is why I have to wake up on time, she shook her head. The sambar had gone cold, so had the rice. But tastes wonderful...

After she finished up, she went over to the kitchens to keep back the rest of the vessels with dishes. She spotted a lemon on the counter. Running her tongue over her lips, she took the knife without a thought and cut the lemon.

The knife slipped and grazed her skin. A bead of crimson leaked out. "Ouch!" She nearly screamed out, immediately pressing her fingers together. She hissed at the spark of pain. Almost chopped off my finger back there.

And this is why cooking isn't your cup of kashaya, a voice in the back of her head remarked. One would think a person with knowledge of blades would be careful enough, but no. Our Maharani here is way too careless!

Ha, Ha. She rolled her eyes, taking the piece of lime and licking it. But the taste was worth her nearly chopped-off finger.

It only grazed your skin, stop being so over-dramatic.

If I hadn't watched out in time, it would be far worse, she pointed out.

And if you had watched out, you wouldn't be pressing on your bleeding finger right now.

You're impossible to counter with! I give up.

To your own brain? Come on Suryakanti,

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and walked on. She swung by the training room where Charulatha and two others were sharpening their blades.

"Charu Bhagini?" Surya called out. "Would you like to spar?"

She shot her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid not right now. I have to sharpen these blades and Bahula Baghini has told me to report to her office right after."

"Oh," her face fell a little. "that's fine, carry on, Bhagini."

She walked past the room and headed out. She had nothing to do yet, unlike others who were assigned tasks by Bahula Bhagini. She didn't want to meet her nor was she eager to work.

I better get to the place quick before she catches hold of me and orders me about. I should be safe there...

Her paces grew quicker and lengthier the more she thought of her trainer. She saw a figure climbing down the steps, glancing behind her.

"Netra!" The girl froze, was Chhaya Bhagini here to assign her some work? No, not likely. But what if she did?

She turned around slowly and smiled hesitantly at her. "Ah, good that I found you-"

"Are you here to assign me a task?" she asked, a hint of an internal groan on her face.

"What? No, good heavens! Whyever would you think that? In fact, I'm here to escape from her."

She saw the girl's posture relax as she asked her. "You are? But where are you going?"

Surya's lips curved into a saucy smile. "Come along, I'll show it to you."

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Glossary:

Kashaya - (kuh-shaa-yaa) is a sort of herbal tea brewed with many healthy herbs and roots. (This is consumed by many people in India when they have coughs, common colds, or fever even now, but from where I come from, this is a part of my daily routine. We drink it twice a day combined with a little bit of milk. Up north and other places, they call it 'khaada' I guess.)

Maharani - (muh-haa-raa-ṇi) They're basically the same thing, but you can interpret them how you like based on the following: Rani meaning 'queen' and Maha meaning 'great'.

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