Royal Palace, Saptsindhu
"Greetings, your highness. Prince Mahendra has sent the message of conquering the enemy, delivering a crushing blow to them. Tomorrow morning, the crowning ceremony of him becoming the ruler of Chandragarh will take place," the messenger informed King Amrendra.
The king's face turned ruddy at the news. He had honestly given up on the dream in this lifetime and till six months ago, he did not think that his son would be able to achieve it, either.
"Let the palace start preparing for a big feast before the arrival of the future king. Call the council of ministers tomorrow morning. I want to discuss the handover of the reign to Prince Mahendra," he said in a booming voice.
Southern Zilla
By the time Yash reached home, it was late. A lot of unexpected things had occurred in the past twenty four hours for him to take in. Even though he was a true patriot, he had never expected to ever face a situation where he would be taking on the enemy in this manner. Since he had spent his growing years in travelling back and forth from Southern zilla, the nondescript looking 'spymaster' had chosen him for this task. Yash knew how to avoid all the main routes and had ridden his horse through shallow streams and the dense forest to reach Southern zilla. This route had taken him longer but here, he wouldn't have to face the border security.
As per the information received, a lot of people in the armed forces, both at the border and the interiors of Chandragarh, had defected to Saptsindhu, which led to the situation today. To achieve this shifting of loyalties, the Saptsindhu prince had not only spent effort, but also a lot of money!!
In the words of the white robed master, Prithvi, the coffers of Saptsindhu were really low right now and the first thing that would be on target, would be the riches of Chandragarh. The keeper of the royal palace's vault had already been captured by Prince Mahendra.
The vault in Chandragarh was not only built deep within the ground, but contained many trapdoors around it. The knowledge of these traps resided with the vault keeper. But unfortunately for the Saptsindhu prince, once a person reached the main door of the vault, it required the unique grooves of the queen's palm to open it. Without her hand, the door simply wouldn't open. Moreover, if external force was used, it would trigger a mini avalanche inside the vault, causing it to self-destruct!
Prithvi hoped that the vault keeper will hold onto the information about the requirement of the queen's presence to open the vault, for as long as possible.
Once the prince got to know about it, he would order plundering inside the country, to make up for the inability to access the vault till they caught the queen. This is where Prithvi needed the help of Yash's father, who was not only one of the biggest wealth owners in the country, but was also the secret head of the rich merchants across Chandragarh.
Since all correspondence, either through birds or humans, was being monitored or destroyed by the enemy at this moment, Prithvi had no choice but to send a civilian to carry out this task.
He wanted the merchants of the country to make appropriate arrangements to safeguard the nation's wealth in whatever manner they deemed fit before the enemy could lay their hands on it.
Himprayag
The king was feeling uneasy at the turn of events. Even though he had agreed to his son's plan early on, he felt extremely guilty at this moment. Looking at the darkened sky, he wondered if his daughter's body was feeling lonely lying in the cold room. She had been an amazing warrior but a poor politician. In the harsh world of crooked minds, there was no place for single-minded and scrupulous leaders. As a result, he had no choice but to support his son, who showed much more potential bin comparison. The country came before one's children!
No, No...Now that they were so close to their goal, he couldn't afford to feel sentimental. After this, Himprayag was officially going to enter the world of politics, instead of sitting on the fence. The old king couldn't help but feel excited about it.
Vayuprastha
Princess Kritika was seated with King Shaligram in the royal court. It was really late and there wasn't anyone else present there except for a few guards and attendants. Even though it had occurred only this morning, the news of Chandragarh falling into the hands of Saptsindhu had already reached Vayuprastha.
To be honest, the king was worried now. If this news was true, Saptsindhu would become the most powerful kingdom and a tiny island like Vayuprastha won't be able to escape its wrath for having given shelter to the absconding princess. He was wondering how to bring up this topic with the princess.
But she beat him to it, "Are you worried, King Shaligram?"
The king looked at her sheepishly and said, "Well, I think if you want to live peacefully, you should make up with your brother. After all, he is your sibling. He will forgive you if you show your sincerity towards seeking his forgiveness."
Kritika smiled eerily and took a sip from the wine glass kept in front of her.
"Do you know who helped me evade the deadly guards of Saptaindhu for the past one year that I stayed hidden in the Saptsindhu kingdom?" she asked him.
The king was confused about the shift in topic. That person's identity didn't matter anymore, right? The princess seemed to be clueless about the upcoming predicament and was still living in the past events.
Nonetheless, he replied politely, "No. But I am sure that it was someone resourceful and brave to be able to escape the royal guards in the country."
Princess Kritika smiled and said, "It was Rani Samyukta!"