Suppressing a triumphant smile, Ujjwala stole a peek at the Northern zilla head who was frowning at the moment.
"Haa… I am sure that he is looking to find faults in my proposal. But I can bet my life that he wouldn't find any, though," she thought to herself, keeping her expressions serene.
The presentation was finally over. Before anyone else, the Northern zilla chief sprang up. But he wasn't allowed to say anything. The Queen's aide, Indrani gestured him to sit back down on his seat. Though his expressions showed his displeasure at being denied the opportunity to put forth his case, he had no option but to comply with the order.
Ujjwala's keen eyes took in the entire spectacle quietly. Rani Samyukta stood up and walked upto her. Unsure of the Queen's reason for the same, Ujjwala stood up as well, along with the other people gathered there.
"Congratulations, Southern chief! You and your team have simply bowled me over with your thoughtfulness towards the country's welfare and planning. This indeed is a brilliant proposal, one which would cut down the expenditure for every household if they implement it well. There are very few suggestions which are both environment friendly as well as economically viable and this one passes both the criteria with flying colours," she held Ujjwala's hands warmly and said so.
Ujjwala was taken aback at the woman's friendly and open behaviour at the moment. But she found herself giving a smile back to Rani Samyukta. Indrani stepped forward and announced that lunch was served. Rani Samyukta thanked everyone for their efforts and led the ministers and zilla heads towards the dining hall.
"You know she is a really good Queen, if not the best amongst the ones who have reigned over Chandragarh," Indrani murmured to Ujjwala, who was passing her by to the dining hall.
"I see that you still remain the loyal pet, as you were all those years ago," Ujjwala stopped and commented in return.
All three of them had been classmates back in the Gurukul and Indrani was well aware of Ujjwala's long held animosity towards the Queen.
"Loyalty is a well treasured trait versus grudge which if held for a long time, can cloud a person's judgement," she replied.
Ujjwala glared at her impudent remark but clenched her teeth to stop herself from saying something which may be used against her later. The Queen still had some time before stepping down and Ujjwala didn't want to engage with the enemy while she was still powerful.
For now, this victory was enough for her to savour.
"Wait for sometime... I will show you all what is the right way to govern!" she swore to herself.
Gurukul
All the students had been gathered in the open-air auditorium. The dean, a wiry old man, climbed up on the podium and drank the glass of water kept on the table there. He cleared his throat loudly, getting ready to speak.
The students didn't know the reason for the gathering and most of them assumed that they were going to be given a list of to-do things for the impending vacations.
"My dear students. I have gathered you all here for a very important announcement. Though the information is relevant for only a particular section of the students, the implications of this news would impact the future of everyone present here. In a short while from now, the notice board will be showcasing the detailed list of requirements for the next Queen contenders' competition," he paused, waiting for the news to sink in.
A murmur went through the crowd, students and teachers alike. The competition was not supposed to be held this early. Wasn't it scheduled to take place next year during the summer vacations?
Raising his hand, the dean waited till the auditorium became quiet again.
"We have been really blessed to be governed under the rule of Rani Samyukta whose far sightedness and intelligence has made Chandragarh a country to reckon with. I am proud to say that I was her senior by a few years and saw her study and grow up in the same Gurukul where you all stand today. Soon, it will be one of the girls standing on this very ground to take the baton from the current queen and lead us into what I hope will be a promising future. There have been some changes which have been made to the existing criteria. I can already see some young ladies getting excited and impatient so I won't prattle on anymore. I would like to invite Prithvi, the head of the administrative department to lay out the rules. He is also going to be the moderator for all activities and challenges which take place during the competition," the dean indicated to Prithvi to come up on the podium.
The palace had sent a missive to the dean a few days ago asking him to assign Prithvi as the moderator since he was not attached to any students academically or personally. As a result he will have no bias towards or against any of the competing girls. It was Rani Samyukta's way of including Prithvi officially into the selection process.
Prithvi had known about it but had chosen not to mention it to anyone except for Ramanujam who had already started to prep for a handover of Prithvi's duties to him post the vacation was over. The contest would officially begin on the first day of reopening of Gurukul with the interested candidates registering their names.
Prithvi climbed on the podium and scanned the hall before looking down at the document in his hand. Then he started to speak in his usual cold and indifferent voice.