Bhumimitra had been an effective administrator since he was very young. It hadn’t been so for no reason.  He knew people. He could detect a lie in shrewdest of the people, in the most conniving of women. Princess Chandrika was far too simple. He could see that she was being truthful when she said that her father didn’t know. But not so in case of her sister. But he wasn’t going to give her grief about that. What had impressed him was how much she cared for her sister. Coming forward to talk about this could not have been an easy decision. She could have stayed away, pretending to not know him. But she didn’t do that. It showed such simplicity, and so much sensitivity. She was not of this world!

“I understand,” he replied in as reassuring a tone as he could manage.

“I am really grateful for that, Maharaj. And I assure you that you will not have to trouble yourself on my account in future. I will have the plan changed so that I do not accompany Madhu to Raigarh…”

“You must not do anything like that, Princess. I’m sorry if my assurance was not emphatic enough. I have taken no offence at all. In fact, your presence there was godsend for me. Else I would have eaten that fruit and would have fallen sick on such an important day.”

She sighed on hearing that. She had forgotten about the fruit altogether.

“Besides, I would hate to disappoint your sister, who would be looking forward to your company in her new home,” he added.

Their eyes met for a moment. And for some reason, Chandrika felt that he wasn’t really thinking about Madhumita when he said that. She averted her eyes immediately.

“I will get going,” she said and got up, “My sister will be here shortly.” It was their wedding night and Madhumita was already getting ready.

He nodded and sat up to see her off. She stopped abruptly at the door, turned back and started speaking on an impulse, “I didn’t want to scare you then. But the effects of that fruit are more dreadful than just an upset stomach. If it is not treated in time, and often it is not, because people think of the symptom as regular stomach upset, it can be fatal. That fruit can be processed to make a very potent, quick-acting poison. So, yes – despite the embarrassments it caused, even I am happy that I was there.” And she left.

—

When Chandrika left, a stupefied Bhummimitra immediately sent for the doctor who was traveling with him. He had brought the fruit back with him from the jungle. He showed it to the doctor and asked about the edibility of the fruit. The doctor corroborated the effects that Chandrika had mentioned including potential fatality.

“Who gave it to you, Maharaj?” the doctor asked with concern. Was there some danger? Was someone trying to kill him?

“Nobody gave it to me, Vaidyaraj. Someone stopped me from eating it. Someone saved my life.”

Soon after the doctor left, a shy and nervous Madhumita was pushed into his room by her giggling friends. As they greeted each other and walked to the bed, he noticed that that she was beautiful. Not wild like Chandrika, but gracefully beautiful. The sisters did share a lot of facial features though.

The short conversation he had with Madhumita convinced him that she had all the tact and understanding to make a good queen. Ever since his first wife had lost the hope of conceiving, she had been disinterested in her family and royal duties. She spent most of her time in her temple. The antahpur, being managed by servants and relatives, was not in a great shape. Bhumimitra was worried about the politics going on there. So, he was relieved when he felt that antahpur could be entrusted to Madhumita.

And yet, as he took her to bed, he could not help fantasizing about Chandrika. It didn’t help that they had similar looks. While his wife would make him a great queen, it was her sister who excited a lover’s passion in him. How messed up things could be!

—

“Bravo!” his voice startled everyone in the courtyard. Chandrika was practicing sword-fighting with her friends. Her opponent had just lost her sword and Chandrika had her at her mercy.

Everyone stood up startled and bowed to him, including Chandrika. Then her friends looked at her to see if she wanted them to do anything specific. Since that was not the case, they left, leaving them alone. Chandrika knew, though, that they were not alone. Madhumita, pregnant with her first child, had been watching from the balcony upstairs while they practiced. There was no reason that she would have left now. But Bhumimitra was not aware of her presence.

“I had no idea that you are not just an expert in jungle’s flora and fauna, but sword-fighting too.”

“I am no expert, Sir. I do not get to practice with professionals, just my friends, who are worse than I am.”

“Would you like to practice with me?”

“You Sir?” she smiled dismissively, “You are very indulgent. But I’m sure there are more important demands on your time.”

“Don’t worry about that. Humor me.”

“Now?”

“Why not? Are you tired?”

“No. Not in the least.”

As Chandrika knew very well, she was no match for Bhumimitra. He fought seriously and put her on defensive from the very beginning. She was sweating profusely soon enough. It was then that his eyes fell on a bead of sweat falling from her temples and running down her cheek. He was distracted. And in an aggressive move that surprised Chandrika herself, she was able to break his sword.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed and then started laughing, “A man has to fight much more than bodily strength and skills with swords.”

She flushed knowing fully well what he was referring to, and also with the realization that her sister was watching all this and she would have understood as well.

“Anyway Princess. I had come to you with a different request. I am afraid you would be getting rather bored in the antahpur. I was thinking of taking a ride in the jungle. There is one that starts barely five miles from here. Would you like to accompany me?”

—

To be continued