Ruthless Rulers of Rakshatra (RRR)

Chapter 3 - First Meet

Rakshatra

One week passed away quickly and now everyone is getting ready for the journey towards Hridaypura which will take eight hours to reach.  Parth came to help Abhyuday get ready as everyone is already ready and waiting for Yuvraj.  When Parth reached Yuvraj's chamber, Abhyuday was already ready and was about to put his crown symbolising the next heir. Abhyuday looked at his friend through the mirror while correcting the position of his crown. Parth looked at him and said, "Shall we go Yuvraj? Everyone is waiting".  To which Abhyuday replied nonchalantly, "Do I look like I care?" Parth sighed and closed his eyes to relax himself and when he opened his eyes after a moment, Abhyuday was not present there. Parth panicked and turned around to go out to follow his friend who is already walking through the corridor.   They both arrived at the waiting hall where all the Royal family members are waiting except Kaushal.  The King looked at his son happily as he is going to step into a new phase of his life.  King Virendra remembered the young Abhyuday who would come running to him, complaining about his mother.  While the King was getting overwhelmed by the good memories of the past, Abhyuday didn't react a bit or even looked at his father for more than a few seconds.  Nitara, the only princess of Rakshatra and stepsister of Abhyuday who is only 14 years old, is just happy to enjoy a marriage celebration, visiting new place and welcome a new member in their Royal family who could accompany her in times of her boredom.

On the other hand, Oormila is not much happy about this marriage arrangement as the neighbouring Kingdom is one of the independent kingdoms in Bharat and also quite powerful in their own way, although not as strong as Rakshatra. And such a kingdom is going to back up Abhyuday now which is another obstacle if they failed to kill Abhyuday.  And her own son has been engaged to the Princess one of the subordinate provinces of Rakshatra, without any real independent power of her own.  Oormila didn't have much time to think more about this matter as everyone went towards the entrance, to start their journey.   When they reached the entrance, Kaushal was already there looking at the Royal elephant which is meant for the crown Prince.  Abhyuday came and stood beside him and said, "Mehadooth doesn't like someone staring at him for a long time".  Kaushal came out of his thoughts and looked at his brother and owner of the Royal elephant, Yuvraj Abhyuday. He cleared his throat and said, "Bro...I mean Yuvraj, I was just admiring the beauty and magnificence of this elephant ". He lied smoothly to cover up how he imagined himself to ride the elephant.  And his description of the Royal elephant is not false. 

Usually there will be two Royal Elephants, one for the King and one for the Crown Prince(Yuvraj). The elephants of the King and Yuvraj, will be adorned with golden and silver caparisons respectively, covering their entire forehead. Then there will be a driver who takes care of the elephant all the time, sitting on it's neck. While the back of the elephant will have a small throne with an umbrella attached to it, so that the person who rides on it will be protected from heat. These arrangements are done because when the King or Yuvraj goes for a ride around the Kingdom for any purpose, the common people could identify them.

Everyone settled on their vehicles, the women entered a single carriage pulled by a horse and Kaushal as well as Parth took up their horses.The Procession towards the Kingdom of Hridaypura started and the common people praised the King all the way. And some of them blessed Yuvraj for a peaceful and harmonious life ahead. Although it was rare for the people to see the Royals except on occasions, they knew very well about the ruthlessness of their Yuvraj when he is assigned some cases to handle or when he punishes some culprits. Moreover, it is not everyday that the Royal elephants are used by the King and Yuvraj. So the sight of the magnanimous elephants carrying their mighty owners was no less than a 'Once in a lifetime' moment for the people.

The procession reached the river which divides Hridaypura from Rakshatra and decided to halt for lunch. After lunch they resumed the journey with the horses and carriages, along with the crowd of servants carrying gifts to be presented to the bride, taking the wooden bridge to cross the river and the Elephants walking through the river itself since the depth is not much for the elephants. Finally the groom's side from Rakshatra reached Hridaypura.