Chapter 18. “Bow to the Queen!”
At Jheng House:
"Ru-mi!" Sumin called, befuddled with the message in his hand that had come in his sister's name. 'It looks like a royal message' he examined the scroll holder that securely hid the message inside while he strolled to Rumi's chamber.
"RUMI!" he called again. The wooden scroll holder had flower carvings on it and an imagery of the sun rising from the ocean on top.
"WHAT?" Rumi stormed out of the room with her half-combed hair and a comb in her hand. Her almond eyes were reduced to a line as she stood like she was ready to attack him with the wooden comb in her hand.
Sumin stopped at a safe distance before he presented her with the message. She snatched it and threw her comb at Sumin to free her hands.
Sumin caught the comb and patiently waited for the contents of the scroll to be revealed. "What does it say?"
Rumi scowled at him briefly while opening the letter, "Quiet your mouth before I hit you, so noisy?"
Her expression suddenly changed upon seeing the unknown seal at the end of the scroll. As she read the subject matter, her eyes grew bigger with each line. The look on her small oval face was that of pure shock as she re-read the letter.
"Who sent it? Is it the Queen-mother?" Sumin was getting agitated while waiting for Rumi to answer his questions. He had to go to work and also he was running out of patience, "Are you even listening?'
"The queen wants to meet me," she said. Her voice conveyed her astonishment. Her small mouth was agape as she showed the scroll to her brother.
"What… Why?" he took the scroll from her to verify himself. Now he was the one wearing a frown. "This is suspicious," he said to himself.
"The QUEEN wants to meet me," she repeated to herself. "I will get to see her… face to face!" she gasped and slapped Sumin's arm.
"I WILL GET TO SEE HER FROM HERE!" she said and stepped closer to Sumin with just a feet's distance between them. "THIS CLOSE!" she giggled and ran inside her room to get ready.
It was true; the queen had called her to meet at the queen's residence. The writing was formal and straightforward, with no hidden meaning or bizarre sentence, words, or characters.
In Sumin's mind, this wasn't that simple like the letter. "Don't get too excited, this could be a trap." He said, standing at the door to her chamber.
Rumi was too occupied with rummaging around the bed full of her clothes.
"Did you hear?"
"Ah… yes," she said, walked to him, took back her comb, and then busied herself again.
"Use your head for a moment, can you?" Sumin said tapping on Rumi's head.
"Why?"
"We can't associate ourselves with the queen. Queen-Mother will not like this. Or even worse it can create misunderstandings. Nothing in the palace is done without any motive…"
"Alright. Then take this…" Rumi slapped the scroll in Sumin's hand. "…take this and go give it back to her. And tell that 'your aunty, the queen-mother isn't going to like this'."
He thought for a while and was about to do exactly that when Rumi stopped him.
"She must be curious. I would have been the queen if not for her," She took the scroll from him and hid it behind her. "And I will end up on her bad side like this, for no good reason. It is only a meeting… I am not forming any alliance with her, am I or going to war?"
He had other unexplainable reasons to keep himself and his family away from the queen. He didn't know what they were and he was neither going to figure them out. Not yet.
"I'll go along with you," He knew his sister was more than wise to handle this situation but he couldn't resist the urge to accompany her.
He made Rumi promise that she wouldn't go without him.
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Arin was mortified to find out what Jwala was about to do as she contemplated the consequences of preventing her from doing so. She stood awkwardly in one corner of a stable that was secluded from the royal stables. Her throat was dry when she stammered, "Your Highness, a royal lady shouldn't ride a horse."
Jwala was talking to Bela while Mitra was saddling her horse. Jwala and Mitra both were dressed in long tunic shirts in the colors red and black respectively that had slits from the waist down, paired with baggy pleated bottoms in white and black, and had their braided hair tied in buns. They had their sword and daggers at their rightful place on their leather belts.
Jwala only wore a long necklace of gold and colorful beads with her usual rings and no other jewelry while Mitra only wore a pearl ring on her right hand's little finger.
"Arin…" Jwala mounted her horse. "This is Bela. She despises being in stables for too long." She said rubbing Bela's neck. "Mitra, come."
Arin sighed with all her body, her shoulders slumped as if her usual upright posture had just melted. "I should have retired…" she mumbled as she watched Mitra and Jwala leave the stables on horseback.
…
Jwala and Mitra were headed to meet the Maythene soldiers at the camping site outside the palace. The soldiers that had arrived with Jwala had been camping on the open fields at a 30-40 kilometers distance from the palace.
"Pass?" a guard at the palace gates said motioning the horses to stop as soon as he saw them. Every worker, official, and servant had a seal or token that carried their name and designation; it was made of special wood and ink and was given by the palace to be used as the 'pass' to go in and out of the palace.
As soon as Mitra heard it she moved forward while Jwala maintained her slow pace.
"Bow to the queen, soldier," Mitra said boldly.
The guards bowed deeply before they rushed to open the big double doors as soon as they saw the riders' faces, they had only seen Jwala when she entered the palace for the first time but an aura and face like hers was impossible to forget. The guards' faces looked horrified as they pinned their eyes to the ground, fearing the audacity to stop the queen might cut their lives short.
As Mitra passed them by after Jwala, she glared at the guard that had stopped them, like warning them to not make this mistake again. With Jwala it was her presence that was intimidating but Mitra was openly threatening them, with her dark orbs.
Jwala took a quick glance at Mitra as they rode away farther and farther from the palace, she smiled as she said, "You scared them to their bones…"
Mitra didn't reply but Jwala already knew her response. Mitra couldn't stand anyone disrespecting her queen, not even once. Their relationship was built on trust and understanding, a mutual admiring.
"Don't scare them too much, they are only following orders," Jwala said as she slowed down to ride side by side with Mitra.
"Yes, my queen,"
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Queen-Mother's chambers:
Arin was kneeling in front of the old woman, who was fuming with anger.
"What were you doing? You should have stopped her," Queen-mother said bitterly.
"Forgive me, your royal highness," Arin said lowering her head to the floor. "I tried many times, your royal highness. She didn't listen."
"Have you not told her about the etiquettes of a royal lady, of a queen?"
"I have, your royal highness." Arin pleaded. "She pays no heed to palace rules, your highness."
"Retire if you cannot fulfill your duties."
"I will try harder, your royal highness. I beg, Please, give me one more chance," Arin begged to join her hands.
She was regretting not retiring earlier but when she was actually faced with the opportunity to do so, it had lost the appeal. She regretted ever wishing for that.
After making Arin fret for her life outside the palace walls for a long minute, Queen-mother gave a nod.
Arin was able to breathe properly but the next words made her hold it again.
"Make the queen aware of the palace rules and their importance. A queen should behave accordingly and if you fail, you will be thrown out of the palace, understand?" her voice was calm all of a sudden. It was the voice that she used when threatening people using their insecurities and fear.
Arin wanted to cry, educate the queen about the palace rules or leave the palace, she hated both her options.
"ANSWER!" The Queen-mother shouted as she threw a ceramic cup at Arin, hitting her shoulder the cup fell to the ground and cracked.
Arin winced in pain, losing her balance but she quickly regained her composure and bowed again. "I will do as you wish, your royal highness." She pleaded desperately as she agreed to take the job she didn't want.
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The sun that had been shining high in the clear sky was setting, the sky painted in beautiful shades of pink and orange like the soft shades on a butterfly's wings, that fleeted ever so gracefully, filled a heart with a longing desire to share it with someone.
Maan was reading a book in the pavilion of his palace, the softly moving clouds caught his eyes making him put down the book. The peaceful and quiet ambiance reminded him of something. He got up and ran down the stairs, his attendants following behind matching his fast-paced walking.
He walked and walked only to stop in front of the queen's residence. He entered the premises, and the maids and servants lowered their heads upon seeing the king.
He was headed to the queen's chambers when Arin told, "Her Highness isn't here, your highness."
"Where is she?" he inquired.
"Her Highness went to meet her army," She answered, her voice was monotonous.
"When did she leave? Did she say something before leaving?"
"In the noon, your highness. She did not say anything."
"Was she alone or someone was with her?" Maan looked around to find Mitra.
"She left with her lady guard, your highness," Arin answered and thought if should add some more information. "They left on horses."
Maan nodded. "They will be back soon then, palanquins had taken till midnight to cover the distance."
Arin was dumbfounded, she thought that the king would react differently after knowing that Hanna's queen that shouldn't go outside the palace had not only gone outside but ridden a horse to meet an army campsite full of men. But then again, she was expecting too much from a namesake king.
"Arrange the dinner table at the detached palace once she arrives. We will eat together." He ordered with a smile that reached his eyes before leaving.
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