The problem with Chandranagar’s affairs indeed went away after their king was discreetly informed of the affair. Being principled and headstrong as Chandrika’s father was, he didn’t spare even his sons and nephews and had them arrested for conspiracy against the king.

Chandrika found herself discussing and counseling Bhumimitra more and more on political and strategic affairs. She didn’t realize, but her jungle sojourns became less frequent. Mrinalini felt happy about it, and she made sure that nobody pointed out the change to her mistress.

One of the influences Chandrika had on Bhumimitra was that he was now not interested in conquering new lands for the heck of it. He focused on maintaining peace and ensuring economic progress of his subjects. One year went by in this fashion, after which he was forced into the battle-field once again. Taking a cue from the policies of the strongest kingdom Raigarh, most of the neighboring states were also happy to let the peace reign. The bad news came not from them, but from the attack of a foreign army. Charmed by the story of India being a “Golden Bird”, foreigners had never ceased to attack India from time to time. Most of them had no intention of staying here and managing the land as an extension of their kingdoms. They came to plunder and please themselves. They must be stopped! It was an alliance of Raigarh, Chandranagar and other neighboring states that set out to limit the progress of one such foreign army.

Chandrika, other queens, the entire staff of the palace and civilians of Raigarh waited as the battle went on, several hundred miles to the west of the kingdom. It had been five months. The news from the frontier was mixed. Something in the messages told Chandrika that the reality was worse than what they directly conveyed. The king probably didn’t want people back home to panic.

—

And her fears came true. One night, the king came to the palace with only few of his trusted bodyguards and soldiers and summoned all the queens. He informed them as briefly as possible that the foreigners had much more sophisticated weapons. They also had a lot of money they had plundered on their way to India and that was their most lethal weapon. They had been able to turn many soldiers and entire platoons against their masters with the lure of money, power and position.  Strategic retreat was the only option left for Bhumimitra and some other kings. They will retreat into the jungle and reorganize after laying low for a while. Meanwhile, the city was fortified and arrangements for the safety of the subjects were made. The soldiers in the city will be able to guard it even if the enemy came there.

But to account for unexpected calamities, the queens and young children in the royal household were to take refuse in the eldest queen’s parental home. Their kingdom was quite far and safe from the enemy. Messages had already been exchanged with them to make arrangements.

“Sir!” The eldest queen interrupted him, “I will send the children and others to my parents’ home. But as the head of the household, I can’t abandon my house.”

“It is but a strategic retreat Queen!” Bhumimitra tried to explain to her, “There can be nothing wrong in it.”

“It is fine for men to strategize, Sir. I will stay here and if enemy came, I’d offer myself as Sati. That is what becomes Kshatranis.”

“But…” the king looked helpless.

“Don’t fret over it, Sir. I will die an honorable death.”

“I don’t want to order you against doing something your heart doesn’t permit. But I would not hold it against you, rather welcome it, if you change your mind. You have until brahm muhurta to decide.” He, then, turned to his second and third queen, “Her parents are happy to host all of us. Irrespective of the eldest queen’s decision, you should make arrangements for your departure. Please pack light. It isn’t a pleasure trip, as you already know.”

But after the example set by the eldest queen, even though the other two wanted safety, they could not accept it. They also announced that they will send the children, but stay back themselves. King felt exasperated, but could not do anything. He realized that Chandrika was silent throughout. If his other wives were difficult to manage at this hour, he didn’t even want to start imagining what Chandrika would want. He dismissed the queens without saying anything specifically to her. But she stayed back.

“You also have the option of going to Chandranagar. It is difficult to reach for foreigners.”

“I will go with you.”

“What?”

“I will go with you.”

“Devi Chandrika. I am going to be a refugee. In the jungles. This is no time for you to accompany me.”

“And nobody knows jungles better than me. Not you, not your bodyguards, ministers and soldiers, not the foreigners. I can be of help.”

“I can’t allow this. It is too risky.”

“I won’t take a ‘No’. You have always indulged my unconventional desires. Don’t step back this time. For once, I could be really useful to you and in doing to so my people, my country. Please His Highness.”

He looked at her for a few moments and then sighed. “Fine. Don a commoners dress and pack all such dresses you have. And also the soldier’s uniforms. We may have to fight.”

“Thank you, Sir,” her eyes were moist. “And can we send Mrinalini and my other friends from my paternal home to Chandranagar for their safety?”

“Yes.”

—

Bhumimitra was the leader of the army that had been formed by several Indian kingdoms coming together. His security was most important. He was to find himself a secure place in the jungle and stay there with a messenger. He knew the locations of others and would communicate with them through the messenger about the strategy and the time to fight back.

After giving into Chandrika’s wishes, he was anxious. It was an unheard of decision. If things went wrong and something happened to her, he will never be able to forgive or trust himself. And yet – deep down – he was happy. Who could have thought that he would have company, that of his wife, in such dire days?

They proceeded towards the jungle along with a messenger named Virat, who was also a trained soldier. Chandrika guided them to the interiors of the jungle, which any city-dweller would find impossible to navigate.

She made friends with the jungle dwellers. She knew their language, which was different not only from Sanskrit, but also from the commoner’s language in the city. She was also well-versed with their customs and soon their apprehension of the city dwellers was gone. They made them huts like their own and also helped them arrange for food from jungle and clothes made of tree leaves. Bhumimitra didn’t understand the language, so he had to get the details from her later.

“What do they know about us?”

“That we are the citizens of Raigarh and have fled to avoid the foreigner enemies at the suggestion of our king.”

“Hmm… They believed you?”

“I hope so. But they were extremely amused.”

“Amused? About what?”

She bit her lips. She shouldn’t tell him about that. “The idea of city dwellers fleeing to jungle,” she lied. They had made a rather sarcastic comment about how come the great “Arya” leaders of “Aryavarta” were unable to protect their people from foreigners.

“I see.”

“Don’t take anything they say to heart, Your Majesty,” she added somberly on realizing that even that statement would have hurt his pride, “They are simple people. They don’t think kindly of us. But that is nothing personal against us.”

Bhumimitra smiled at that.

“You are worried about something.”

“I have a lot to do, Devi. Firstly I have to set channels to get the news from the city. Then start communication with other kings and armies.”

“Sleep tonight, Sir. You are exhausted. A tired mind and body do not help in making good decisions. Tomorrow morning, let us start afresh.”

The king looked around. Amidst the crisis, he had food, shelter, a home, a caring wife… Life was being good to him. He would emerge the winner. Especially with this extraordinary woman by his side. He lied down on the straw bed she had prepared, and closed his eyes. He felt her hands massaging his forehead, shoulder and legs one by one. He had a sound sleep that night, the kind he hadn’t had even in the most peaceful days in his palace.

—

When he woke up the next morning, the other straw bed was unoccupied. He went out and saw her practicing various sword movements by herself. He took out his own sword and stepped before her. She did not stop to greet him; instead they started a mock fight immediately. Even after half an hour or so, neither of them was close to getting defeated. So, they stopped without conclusion.

“You are becoming too good, Devi Chandrika.”

“You are the teacher, Sir.”

“I am now really scared. I am at your mercy in the middle of this jungle I can’t navigate, amongst the people I can’t communicate with, without you. Now even with sword you are an equal.”

“You are safe then, Sir,” she laughed. For the first time since their marriage, he felt that her laughter was not sarcastic, or bitter. It was an unaffected laughter, purely of amusement and pleasure. “If I have power, I don’t believe in wielding it. Did you sleep well?”

“Very well. But you got up pretty early.”

“I was already well-rested. I am not the one who has been in the battlefield for five months.”

“But you would very much have liked to be,” he chuckled.

“Not really. What I would really like is to be here, in the pure surroundings of the jungle. Picking up fruits, or hunting for my food, tree leaves for my clothes and these simple huts for my dwelling.”

“Too bad you were born a princess.”

“Too bad, indeed! So, I will try to be a good wife in this birth. Then in my next birth, the almighty might grant me my wishes and I will be born as a vankanya,” she replied with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“And how do you propose to do that?” the king was enjoying this banter too.

“Well. At first by helping you with messengers for the city.”

“How so?” he was all ears now.

“Our friends in jungle are very cooperative and helpful. We don’t need to send Virat all the time. Alone, he might not even be adequate.”

“They will help us?”

“They have promised.”

“But can they get the news from the city? They don’t even speak the language.”

“Some of their youngsters do. They go to the city to barter for things once in a while.”

“That is news to me.”

“A good news, I hope.”

“Certainly. Shall we get started directly then? Much might already have changed since we left.”

“I will call them.”

“Devi.”

“Yes Sir?”

“How will we compensate them?”

She smiled. “When we can, we will. They don’t expect to be compensated. That is not how these people work.”

—

To be continued