Possible TW: brief descriptions of a panic attack

The court was filled to the brim today. Most of the royal family had appeared, along with most of the nobles that formed the oligarchy in Dvaravati. And considering the incident for which everyone was assembled here today, Lilavati had to say she wasn't surprised at all.

In the centrepoint of the Sabha sat her husband's Matamaha Ugrasena. To his right sat her husband and his first queen Rukmini, their hands intertwined, while to the king's right sat Balarama and his own wife Revati, who she noticed somewhat amusedly was taller than her husband's brother and was quite impressive considering Haladhara's already tall stature.

The other queens of Krishna were seated in the uppermost seats of the Sabha, and security around them was extremely stringent considering the incident that had just occurred. Vasudeva sat close to his sons, but also close to the nobles, acting as a bridge between the nobles and the royals.

Lilavati sat down back in her seat, after having given a blow-by-blow account of the assassination attempt, and the seat made of semi-precious stones felt stiff under her weight, and she swallowed, hoping that the right people believed her. She cared not an ounce for the opinion of others except her husband and his immediate family.

The voice of Vasudeva rang out around the court, directly addressing Maharaani Bhadra.

"Putri, we would like you as well to address the court regarding the attempt yesterday. Will you be willing to speak?"

All eyes were on Maharaani Bhadra, as she rose and spoke, "Yes Pitashri, I am perfectly able to speak."

Bhadra's eyes met Krishna's, and he inclined his head a notch, a fond and loving smile playing on his face, and Lilavati could see Maharaani Rukmini squeeze their intertwined hands, and the tenderness in his expression as he looked to the latter was breathtaking.

Maharaani Bhadra rose, and though all eyes were on her, Lilavati could see the poise and grace with which she carried herself never faltering. Her light green veil trailed behind her a few steps, as she made her way to the centre of the court. Once she was there, her eyes swept over every member in the court, and it amused her to see some members unnerved, lingering over Lilavati for only a split-second in which most of her doubts were soothed.

"I was walking to my palace from the common chambers of us sisters yesternight, engrossed in my own thoughts. Upon recalling my memory of the incident, there was a sharp whizz in the air to my right and behind that was almost faint to the ear, though I did not fully register it at the time. A second later, I heard Lilavati's worried cry, and I turned back to see her holding the dagger by the blade, straight behind me. I also heard some extremely muffled cursing and scuffling that very quickly faded away. The guards instantly suspected Lilavati and pointed their spears at her, after which I told them to stand down and I heard the full story from her."

The emphasis was not missed by most people in the room.

Taking in the silence in the room, she paused for a second and then spoke again.

"For the record, whatever weight my opinion holds, I do not believe Lilavati was the perpetrator. Firstly, there are the noises we must consider and the position from which the dagger was flung. And secondly, she was holding the dagger in such a way as though she had caught it, by the blade and not the hilt. There was a deep cut on her hand by the time I had coaxed her into releasing the dagger."

Lilavati wanted to feel as though a weight had been lifted off her, and though the burden had lessened a little, it still pressed obnoxiously into her shoulders, forcing her downwards.

Whispers broke out amongst the members and the elders too spoke amongst themselves.

And Maharaaja Ugrasena spoke then, saying, "Do any members of the Sabha wish to say anything?"

One person rose.

He was glaring in her direction.

Lilavati steadied herself.

"Maharaani Bhadra, I honour your words and express my sincere apologies as to what you had to face yesternight." He bowed in her direction, a hand over his heart.

"But I cannot believe that this woman—" he was pointing at Lilavati now, "—acted out of pure intentions. We must also be aware of the fact that it could have been an accomplice of this woman, perhaps that bronze-skinned Mleccha! I do not trust her, Sabhajano. I do not believe we should either. A murderer cannot change one bit. And consider the fact that she must have ensnared DevakiNandana, by weaving a spell of maya around him. Why else would he trust such a harlot! She must only be using him—"

"Mahodaya Devavaha," cut off her husband, his usually calm face lined with anger and his lips downturned.

"Despite the many sins she has committed, Lilavati is still my wife and I expect each of the people to treat her with regard at the very least. These unseemly words do not befit a member of this Sabha."

Chastised, the man sat down, and Lilavati was touched by her husband defending her.

Maharaaja Ugrasena cleared his throat, and the murmurs in the court were silenced.

"I am inclined to accept Putri Bhadra's explanation. There is no plausible evidence to pin the blame on Lilavati, as we have seen from both their descriptions. For now, this case will remain closed unless further evidence surfaces."

He turned his head to the commander of the Narayani Sena.

"There must be more stringent protections placed around my grandson's wives and their palaces—and all of the royal women. Increase the guards around all of the antahpuras, we do not know if this was a single incident or connected with others. You must pick your most trusted guards, and develop a stringent system of security, the protection of our women and children must be our first priority. Do not neglect your duty."

The commander bowed his head.

"As you will, Maharaaja."

Her husband's Matamaha looked across the room, and said in a powerful voice, "If there are no further matters to be discussed, the Sabha shall be adjourned. Parihaar."

The court dispersed.

Lilavati only rose from her seat when there were only a few people left.

She approached her husband.

"Natha," she called softly.

He turned to her, a blank expression on his face.

"May I... see the dagger once more?"

There was an unspoken question coming from him.

"I... think I might have recognised something on the dagger," she clarified.

He gave her a curt nod. Maharaani Satyabhama approached him, and held out the dagger like an offering to her Lord.

He handed it to her.

Lilavati ran her hand over the bronze dagger, her blood that had been coated on it was washed off, leaving it as good as new. She used to see these types of daggers from Ur and Uruk mostly, as the build was quite different from the types made in Aryavarta. Her hand brushed absent-mindedly over some runes, and then she did a double take.

Those runes were cuneiform!

She looked closely at it again, trepidation building in the back of her mind.

She had mostly forgotten cuneiform but she eventually could make out the word that was written on it, and the dagger clattered to the floor in her numb hands.

It was the only sound in the room.

Lilavati dropped to her knees, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath but it seemed that none was entering her lungs.

"Lilavati?"

Her husband's hands were on her shoulders, warm in her narrowing world as she tried her best to not panic.

He had knelt down to her height.

Her heart thudded in her chest, blocking out every other sound in the room.

Ishtar.

Ishtar.

No, no, no, it can't be—not her! She couldn't do this—why am I trembling? Is someone saying something?

She thought she could see the calming influence of her beloved Lord, and she swayed.

Control yourself, Lilavati! This is not the time to panic!

With deep breaths, she tried her best to push away against the panic. Her heart rate dropped a little but it was still thudding against her chest.

I can panic later. I have to think now.

And when she looked up, she saw her husband on his knees, holding her shoulders, worry on his dark-complexioned countenance. Two of his queens were next to him, but her thoughts were racing and she could not figure out who was who.

"Lilavati, what happened?" the woman to her right addressed her.

Lilavati picked up the dagger, instantly aware of her husband shifting her position and dropping his arms.

"These runes," she traced the runes, "They are cuneiform. They are used in the place where Il—Iltani comes from. This is not a dagger from anywhere in Aryavarta, Maharaani," she clarified in a soft voice, her throat dry.

"Iltani?"

Her husband's voice was soft in disbelief.

She raised her eyes to meet his.

"Yes, Natha." She swallowed. "I need to speak to her."

As if she had been summoned by the mention of her name, Iltani walked into the court.

Iltani sank to her knees beside Lilavati.

"Lila. You think it was me."

The simple words felt both like an accusation and yet just a simple statement.

"Ilu, I don't... but the evidence..."

"The evidence is against me," she finished.

Iltani looked to Krishna and his two wives.

"My lord Krishna," she addressed him, using the Sumerian word for lord in her tongue though she spoke the common language, "I was with your wife the fourth, Maharaani Kalindi her name, yesterday night, when the incident must have occurred. I was speaking to the Maharaani about the river water and some incidents, when she stiffened and almost ran out of her chambers and I could not—to my regret—catch up with her."

"Iltani speaks true, Praneshvara," confirmed Maharaani Kalindi, also walking into the room.

The group rose, and Maharaani Kalindi placed both her hands on top of her husband's as they shared eye contact, perhaps speaking mind to mind.

Once they were done, Kalindi pressed a kiss to her husband's forehead, and he blushed a dull red, the sight calming Lilavati's heart, and she smiled.

Iltani slipped her hand into Lilavati's, and the latter squeezed it in apology, to which the former only rolled her eyes and looked at her fondly, squeezing back.

Lilavati knew she was forgiven.

Krishna turned to them, "Do the either of you have any more revelations to tell me?" He sounded exasperated, and Lilavati had to suppress a giggle.

Iltani hummed.

"My lord, I do remember losing one of my daggers a few days ago. I usually keep a couple on my person, and when I returned to the chambers assigned to me, I noticed one less than usual. It must have been that exact same dagger which this one is. Well, I have it back now. I really do hate losing count."

She picked it up and tucked it away.

"Great!" chirped Maharaani Satyabhama. "We have a new lead, Natha."

Krishna just sighed in absolute exasperation, his fingers massaging his temple as he mumbled, "Is this revenge for all of the worries I've put everyone through by my pranks?"

"Sure is, Pranesha!" giggled Maharaani Mitravinda.

A/N: Apologies for the late and somewhat weird update. I've been a mess most of today. I didn't have a chapter prewritten today, but I somehow managed to push through.

I hope the writing's not too weird.

And the reason Iltani sounds a little weird when speaking to Krishna directly is that she's not very used to speaking in Prakrit/Sanskrit so I chose to make her speaking a little off. Hope you enjoyed. 

(And yes Kanha, your worries due to Lila and Ilu is your karma for all the pranks you've pulled. No doubt.)