"Matsya Desh ki yuvrani Meenakshi padhar rahi hai!" The gatekeeper announced and all eyes turned towards the door of the hall. Yuvrani Meenakshi entered the hall followed by maid servants. Adorning a sky blue lehanga, pink dupatta draped across her chest and slightly visible baby bump. A small authoritive smile on her lips and brown eyes radiating warmth, indeed pregnancy had added to the glow on her face .The bangles in her wrists clanked as she joined her palms murmuring a pranipat and the citizens reciprocated. After few formal greetings, Vedangi started the session to address the grievances of the subjects.

"Yuvrani... Yuvrani... Save my daughter. She is facing grave injustice, save my daughter" an old woman came running, her palms joined together, one man and two women followed her. Vedangi asked ardhika to give water to that old woman and requested her to say what her complaint was. "Yuvrani, it's not even a year since my daughter is married. Her husband married a second time within a year and now they both are treating my daughter very badly, please help her!" The old woman narrated. Vedangi glanced at the man and his two wives standing behind, their gazes lowered.

"I want to hear your sides too" she gestured the daughter of the woman to speak. "Yuvrani, my pati was very affectionate towards me during the initial few months after our marriage, but then he married her and he started ignoring me. I am given just one corner in the house and she rules my house now. She is controlling my pati. She is responsible for my pain" the young girl replied and broke down in tears. "No Yuvrani, I try my best to co- operate with her, but she always keeps blaming me for getting married. I respect her, but she keeps taunting me" the second wife replied with lowered gaze. Amidst all this, the man seemed unbothered and kept gazing around casually.

"And shriman, what efforts are you taking to solve this fued between your wives?" Vedangi asked him, raising her eyebrows. The man seemed startled, "Yuvrani, please don't blame my jamai he is a nice man, this witch is responsible for my daughter's misery, punish her" the old woman held the arm of the second wife. "Enough mahodaya! The fued is between your daughter and her co-wife, but you are not supposed to harm her physically! If your jamai had married two women, it is his responsibility to take equal care of them both, the second wife is not the only one to be blamed in this" Vedangi announced.

"And you both girls. Don't think that the other one is your enemy, think as if you both are friends. It's not your fault that your husband had married both of you, you both share the same fate now. Try to understand each other leaving behind prejudices, okay?" Both women nodded in a yes. "And shriman! Since you have married them both, it's completely your responsibility to see that they are treated equally! Respect, love, resources should be equally shared between them both. If not, then strict action would be taken against you. I hope I am clear!" Vedangi said anger reflecting from her voice, still maintaining her kind demeanor.

Vedangi then addressed a few more complaints, while addressing each complain a writer was maintaining a written record of them. Grave and important complaints were to be addressed in the royal court the next morning. After spending nearly two hours in the hall, Vedangi breathed a sigh of relief. Ardhika rushed to her with a glass of water and an apple, Vedangi gazed at her with tired eyes. "Sorry Yuvrani, but you would have to eat this now itself, it's Maharani 's order" Vedangi smiled slightly and took a bite of the sliced apple.
************************************
Two soldiers stood holding swords in their hands, ready to attack. There was another man in front of them, holding a comparatively larger sword and a cloth tied on his eyes. One of the soldiers directly attacked the blindfolded man's chest, but he ducked down on time sensing the attack. Another soldier attacked his left arm, but the blindfolded man slammed his sheild on the soldier's chest, making him fall down. Before the man could sense another attack from the first soldier, he received a blow on his right soldier, making the sword slip from his hold.

He took few seconds to recover from the blow and was ready for one to one duel. He kept shifting his sword from one hand to another to confuse his opponent. He held the sword in his right hand for few seconds and when the soldiers was about to attack him again, he turned around and kicked the soldier's chest, making the sword slip from his hold and placed his own sword on the soldier's neck, thus defeating him. "Waah Bhrata Waah" Shankh cheered excitedly looking at his elder brother.

Shvet removed the blindfold from his eyes and smiled at his brother. His black eyes with brown freckles gazing affectionately at his younger brother, sweat dripping down from his jawline and the veins on his hand clearly visible due to the duel. "When did you came Shankh?" He asked engulfing his brother in a hug, who was back almost after a month. "Just an hour ago Bhrata, decided to meet you first, I knew you would definitely be here" Shankh answered.

"All the disputes at the border villages solved?" Shvet asked settling on a couch and gulping down a glass of water, Shankh nodded positively. "You are not going anywhere for such a long time henceforth, we all missed you" Shvet added in a attempt to make Shankh smile but in vain. "Shankh, we can't control someone's who should love whom, can we?" Shvet said as if consoling a small child, Shankh nodded negatively, he knew where his brother was going.

"Then why trouble ourselves by thinking about the same thing again and again. I want to see my brother happy and smiling like always. You got what I am trying to say?" Shvet kept his palm Shankh's and the latter nodded positively. "Sorry to disturb you Yuvraj" a soldier said, almost whispering in Shvet's ear, "but it's your time too...." the soldier continued but was cut in by Shankh. "Well Shankh, it's time to meet your niece/ nephew now. After half an hour me and Mata are meeting the team who looks after the facilities of immigrants, I expect you there" Shvet rose on his feet and walked to the door of the hall.

"Yuvraj, your practice is becoming a punishment for us these days" the soldier whom Shvet had defeated said, rubbing his chest. Shvet smiled, "If we all don't practice hard now, then how would we shine in the battlefield. Practice more". He then hurried towards his palace with a smile to meet his beloved, whom he knew would be returning to their chamber after addressing the greviances of the people.
**********************************
6th December, 2020 was the day, when I had published the first chapter of karna Nandini and today on the same date, I announce it's sequel, 'Sudeshna Sut Pranayani'.

Hope you all shower the sequel with same amount of love.