"By whose permission was it decided that princess Vijetri would be the acting queen of the palace?" The voice of Maharaj Surendra boomed in the private court held for members of the family. His voice was seething with anger and there were specks of irritation lined in them.
"Maharaj it was I who came up with the idea considering you handed the accounts book to the princess yourself," Durgamati spoke up after a long silence that followed the words of the king. She was scared, there was no doubt in that because I too was warned against the fury of the king who knew no bounds at times. "I thought you would be pleased to know regarding the decision."
"Pleased? Do I look pleased my queen?" Maharaj Surendra's gaze was fixated on Durgamati as if she was his prey and no mercy shall be provided to her, "Nyrvig is yet to ascend the throne. The matters of the future need not be discussed now, yet if you are indignant regarding Princess Vijetri handling the accounts then I have another decree; Princess Vijetri would only handle the harem of Nyrvig while the rest of the harem would be back under Queen Durgamati. Are my words clear?"
The long speech from Maharaj made the court buzz. With one decree itself, he made it clear that no successions would happen just yet and even if something as such would happen, one could be not sure if the person would be Nyrvig or his brother Skanda. This was not only a huge blow to the power of Nyrvig but to me as well as now I was a mistress of an empty harem. This was my first defeat after my marriage to Nyrvig and I couldn't help but feel a little enraged.
My eyes trailed towards Nyrvig who was standing closest to the king with a smile on his face? I scrunched my brows but kept my silence intact the whole time.
"Yes it is clear My king but I still think we should refer to Purohita Daksha regarding the destiny of Princess Vijetri; she is our daughter-in-law, and her fate is now intervened with our nation, and this family-" Durgamati was stopped mid-sentence by a wave of Maharaj's hand. His lips were pressed together in annoyance while his eyes turned even more frigid than before.
"I hope you know the boundaries," The sentence made me feel chilled inside but to Durgamati, it had little effect and she nodded without hesitation, making me wonder how she was managing to retain her speech before such a man.
'Maybe this is why she is the acting queen while you are defeated by her,' The voice in my head answered.
"Fine then," King Surendra remarked and held his head high, looking at nothing in particular. "Today itself we all would proceed to city temple to meet priestess Daksha."
With this, the court was dismissed and the entire family was commanded to reach the city temple today itself.
Palanquins lined the front of the city temple, bringing every woman of the royal family to their destination. While women found solace in these veiled carriers, the men of the family spoke of their valor riding on the horse. Each member of the royalty held a majestic aura that almost forced people to be in awe just by a mere sight of them.
One such member was Nyrvig. Holding valiantly on the reign of the horse, he rode the being with straightened back and a smile on his face that spoke of his mischievous yet charming way. Halting next to my palanquin he dismounted his horse and through the half parted curtains, I glimpsed at his torso moving towards me.
It was my signal for me to get off the palanquin and make my way to my possible destiny, a destiny that would be revealed by someone else within moments.
The temple was silent but the lively chatter outside from the boundary gave it a lively feeling. I, along with Nyrvig, moved towards the king to greet him but was stopped by Durgamati in the midway.
"Pranipat Rajkumari, I have come to apologize for today. If it were not for my proposal for taking the position of acting queen, Rajkumari would not have to abdicate from her spot as mistress of harem," She spoke in a shrill high-pitched voice, she was gloating her first victory. The voice not only made me wince but also Skanda and Yashodhara who was standing behind her.
With much effort, I kept my face placid and turned to Nyrvig who was still smiling like the victory was ours which made me perplexed at our stance.
"Acting queen is too thoughtful but worries not, legitimate Princess Vijetri is not eying your acting queen seat. Your benevolence to offer her the post is indeed praise-worthy."
The statement of Nyrvig almost made me chuckle because not only did he demean her status as a mere acting queen but also subtly indicated that my post is much above the status she is so much flaunting over as I was a legitimate princess while she is merely acting queen.
"Savage" I heard someone speak these unheard syllables but my trail of thoughts were stopped when an announcement was made.
"Purohita is here!" The herald announced and through the parted doors an old woman clad in a black saree came out taking support of a sturdy stick by her side. Silver jewelry dangling on her entire torso rang, acting as a herald of her own.
The wrinkles on her face were like a labyrinth that caught the spectators in their folds and her eyes were of unique light grey color that frightened one to its core.
Regardless of a little scare from her, I stood in my place, my fingers tangled to that of Nyrvig's while his grip on them strengthened; reassuring me of my safety.
"Pranipat Daksha!" Everyone chanted together, hoping for the blessings from her but her eyes didn't leave anyone but me. Those grey eyes kept on probing into mine as if she was seeing through my soul making me feel unnerved.
'Does she know my reality?' A voice inside me queried but no answer was there; the only person who could free me from the perpetration, Priestess Daksha.
❁┈┈┈❅ ⋞〈 ✿ 〉⋟ ❅┈┈┈❁
Purohita- Priestess
Maharaj- King
Rajkumari- Princess
Pranipat- A respectful way to acknowledge someone, mostly spoken by juniors to elders
❁┈┈┈❅ ⋞〈 ✿ 〉⋟ ❅┈┈┈❁
Hello peeps!
Sorry the update is late...
How was the chapter?
What are your thoughts on Durgamati?
What do you think of Yashodhara?
Meet you in the next chapter!
Till then, bye-bye.
YOU ARE READING
Resurgence of Kohl
Historical Fiction"This..." His lips parted but no words followed and his grip on my scorched hand loosened. "...Is a reminder that I have to burn several times more to rise again." A smile articulated on my lips and I intervened my fingers to his. ❁┈┈┈❅ ⋞〈 ✿ 〉⋟ ❅┈┈┈...
