Rajkumari

(Princess)

"Nahi!" She flung the whole jug of wine over King Bhadraketu's evil face as he approached her with many wrong intentions hovering around his head.

"What is going on here?" Maharaj Shashi asked in a calm voice as he reached the palace gardens with his ministers. His ministers sighed seeing the indifference their king showed towards the princess' scared self.

"Maharaj Shashi, your daughter, my future wife, was saying that she won't move to my capital with me after marriage. I was trying to convince her..." Bhadraketu gazed at the princess with evil eyes.

"What! No Maharaj! I never said anything like that! I just told him to stay away..."The princess tried to explain her stand.

"Bas!" Shashi's voice echoed through the garden. "If I found you disobeying your husband again... You dare not try anything like this again, girl. "He glared at her and went away.

"He isn't my husband yet."
She managed to say as Shashi went away in a huff.

"Very soon, my girl, very soon." Bhadraketu whispered against her neck, running his fingers through her bare waist, making the princess flinch in disgust.

This was Princess Tarinii's life. Sad.
Full of disgusting people.

Her father ignored her like he ignored the famine which striked their kingdom while throwing lavish feasts for his many son in laws and sons. The pest and locust infestation had left the people with minimal grain, most of which they had to give up to the rich and the royal as the new taxes levied on them under Shashi's poor and partial administration.

Her mother never forgot to taunt her about her 'unladylike' habits like studying or learning warcraft. She hated her for having learnt more science than anyone in the kingdom.

Her stepmothers and stepsisters looked down at her like if she was a dirty stone in midst of jewels.

Since childhood, her nannies had prepared her to be a bride, an obedient wife, an enchanting seductress. They taught her to act like someone who doesn't have a mind of her own. Don't think about anything but how you are looking today, is your husband content with you and is he going to make your son the next king!

The only friends she had were the deers in the forests nearby, her place of solace. After catching hold of the many books that her brothers and stepbrothers had thrown away, her five year old self had sat beneath the cool shade of the banyan tree, reading out the Shastras and the puranas. Impressed with her unconventional sincerity, an ascetic scholar who found her in the forest alone, decided to teach her everything he knew about warcraft and all other subjects.

A month later, the saint had to change his path, he never came back to that forest but Tarinii kept practicing. She hid behind the palatial walls clutching her dupatta and observed the soldiers practicing, learning the best of warcraft like it was in her genes.

Soon she grew up to be better than any of her siblings in any field of comparison possible. Her beauty was impeccable, making this a matter of concern for all her 'mothers' and 'sisters'. Afraid that she would bag up an empire in her pocket by enticing some Emperor with her beauty, they tried their best in lowering her confidence. Lack of human support had done many things to her throughout these years. She had become shy and extremely timid.

Although everyone had done nothing but mistreat her all these years, she held no grudge against anyone. Her love for everyone knew no limits. She was too naive to understand the politics being played against her.

At the same time, Shashi was sure that she was the blessed one. Her young fiery eyes uncannily always had a glint of sincerity in them. She was more learnt than any of his sons in both academics and warcraft; he knew and despised this fact. She had grown to be more beautiful than any of the girls in his kingdom. Most importantly, since her birth there had been no calamity in the kingdom, or so he believed. The river nearby used to constantly overflow and cause devastation in Padmadurg but that hadn't happened since the past seventeen years. Even though he was so sure, Shashi never told Tarini about the prophecy but she knew about it.

But this wasn't true, for Shashi was a self involved King, ignorant of his people's plight. The river had actually been artificially caused to change her path, by the able engineers of Aaranya. Shashi considered that his kingdom was prosperous because he was getting lavish food daily. He believed that his kingdom was so powerful that he never needed to go for a war but the truth was  that they were a sub kingdom to Aaranya, they had all kinds of protection from them.

It greatly saddened Tarini that the only reason that she was being brought up in the palace and being treated with royalty was a stupid prophecy which sounded more like a rumour. How she wished she could change her reality, but since her last outing to the forest she had been locked up in the palace to prevent her from escaping her marriage.
.
.
.

The whole court erupted into a huge laugh. The puny little girl wanted to fight alongside huge warriors against the mighty army of Aaranya.

The war had been officially declared, making her shiver with concern for her kingdom for war meant disaster and nothing else.
She went to the discussion hall and expressed that she had a plan that could help her father win.

Her brothers mocked her.
Her father told her to stop thinking that she was superior to men, something that she never did and neither had the intention to.
Her fiancé told her that they didn't need a woman's veil as a shield.
Her sisters and stepmothers laughed at her, calling her to be an insult in the name of a woman.

She was dragged away by her nannies, left in her large gold laden room all alone to cry, to know her worth.

She went and stood near the palace window looking at the birds flying to their home during the sunset.

When she goes out for war where should she head towards at sunset? She questioned herself for if she tries to go to the war she was sure she would be disowned.

Her life as an individual had been forsaken, just aimed at making her someone's wife, care not of which number.

She, after a week, would become Bhadraketu's fourth wife, even though she was almost one fourth his age, a decade elder to his eldest grandson.

She had but one ambition and that was to BECOME AN EMPRESS- not just an Emperor's wife but a person who is equally contributing to the state's development.

But here the situation was completely different... Bhadraketu wanted to marry her because of the silly prophecy.

Her father didn't tell her but his queens didn't refrain from telling her thinking they would earn her favour once she becomes empress. Her father just arranged her marriage with Bhadra because he was a foe to Aaryamann and had promised Shashi help against Aaryaman.

Maybe, she thought, I should run away ...to the forest. Let Bhadraketu do whatever he wants to with the kingdom, why should I care?

Why should you care? Her inner voice mocked her. You care because this is your kingdom, these are your people. You want to be the authority of the kingdom, start by being responsible for it.

Looking towards the sunset, she decided that the next day, at war, no matter what anybody says she shall fight for her father, for her rights, for her dreams, for a peaceful and happy Padmadurg.

Little did she know about the trouble brewing for her in the heart of the man who owned the empire that she aimed of defeating.