A few years earlier, Angavani
The heat was becoming unbearable. The months of April and May always were tedious to go through in the Ajinkya Palace, now more so. The wrath of the Lord was such that everything had come to a standstill. Vendors in the bazaars preferred to sit inside the cool of their shops rather than hawking their products.
The situation of the Royal Harem, the place where all the wives and concubines of the Emperor lived, was no different. Slaves were given strict instructions to operate Punkahs through the night, lest her mistress's sleep is disturbed. Goblets filled with cool sherbet were always present in their vicinity so that they could have something cool to drink as soon as their sleep gets disturbed.
But even in this unbearable heat, two shadows could be clearly seen in the Royal Gardens. Alta was strolling through the gardens in the middle of the night with her compatriot Bahadur. She was constantly smiling to herself, the reality not sinking in even after a month of her marriage to Ayayutas. She said her name aloud, Alta. She no longer Farza, the beautiful maid. She was Alta, the empress everyone respected. Ayayutas had bestowed the name on her the day they had married. And the month that followed had just been a bliss. She couldn't imagine getting so much love from a single person in her entire life. Everything seemed romanticised to her. A sky full of stars seemed like black velvet with diamonds embedded in it.
The reason she was strolling the garden and was not in the comforting presence of her husband was that Ayayutas had been called away. It had been a month and the Empire couldn't wait for any more. Alta didn't complain. She had always known that such a day would eventually come, and she had ostensibly decided that she won't come in between the Emperor and his work.
Also, she had a new companion in the form of Bahadur. Bahadur was a transgender who was specially trained in the harem from his early ages to cater to the needs for his mistress. He was the eyes and ears of Alta in the Harem and had made himself indispensable to her just within the span of a month. It seemed to Alta that he knew her better than she knew her herself. She had requested especially for him before her marriage to Ayayutas because she knew that he was the best. She didn't have to lift a finger and the job was done. Bahadur always looked out for the small things that mattered to Alta. He knew that Alta didn't like cardamom in her dishes and the cook was informed accordingly. He knew that Alta didn't like to be disturbed during her prayers and hence, nobody was allowed in the chambers.
But most importantly what Bahadur managed to do was bring information to Alta. Not a single detail missed the hawk eyes of Bahadur. And his spy network was extensive. A small transaction of money between two slaves to the Emperor gifting ornaments to some concubine, everything was reported back to Alta. Every proceeding of the court was thoroughly described again so that Alta could see if she missed anything significant.
Bahadur was like a shadow to Alta. Wherever Alta went, one could expect to find Bahadur around. So, it was no wonder the two were roaming together in the gardens.
The garden was a place that provided solace to Alta's soul, even during her initial days, when she was just a maid to Empress Rukmini, the mother of Emperor Ayayutas and now the Dowager Empress. She chuckled to herself, for who would've thought that the inconspicuous Farza would go on to become Alta, the Empress.
And it wouldn't have been so if not for this garden. After all, she and Ayayutas had first met here.
It was a starry night. Under the gaze of the moonlight sat a clearly flustered Farza. It had not even been a week and she was thinking about quitting her job. She was overwhelmed by the number of instructions that were to be followed and had seemed to develop an intense hatred towards the royalty. But she knew that they were not at fault, for they were brought up this way. Still, more due to her despair and less due to her anger, she let out a sigh. The lure of working in the palace had got her in, but the reality was setting in just now.
Lost in her thoughts, she couldn't hear the footsteps of a prince approaching the fountains, lost in his thoughts.
When she finally realised her mistake, she did a cordial Namaste and started fleeing the scene. That's when her ghosts came true.
"What is the hurry, milady? Can't I interest you in a conversation?"
It was Ayayutas who had spoken.
"I'm no lady, prince. I am a simple maid to your mother."
"Well, a woman this beautiful deserves to hold a title, don't you think?"
It was enough to make the then Farza blush. Enough for Ayayutas to get smitten with her for the night.
As the night progressed, Farza started to loosen up to him, started speaking to him freely. Ayayutas was taken aback by the intelligence of this maid. She was a beauty with brains, a woman Ayayutas just couldn't get out of his head.
Days turned into months. Slowly but surely, the seed of love that had been sowed was blossoming. Ayayutas had fallen for her completely. He knew his heart that he was going to make her his for the rest of his life. Sure, he had been married twice. But that was just because his father had wanted him to. This was different for him.
Empress Rukmini had a crystal-clear idea of what was happening and chose to do nothing. She let the events run their natural course. She knew exactly how things would end. A love-stricken Ayayutas would go to his father to seek his blessings for the marriage. Emperor Pridhwaj would never agree to this, for his principles were closer to him than his own son. And the marriage of his son to a maid, he wouldn't even dream about it. In the off chance, he did agree to the alliance, she had gotten fond of Farza. She knew that Farza was loyal to her and Farza's loyalty bought her Ayayutas's affection and love. A trade she was very happy to make. In both situations, she nothing to lose.
For Ayayutas, every moment he spent with Farza felt like a blessing from god. On one such rendezvous, he asked her,
"What do you think we are doing Farza? How do you think we are going to end up?"
"Close your eyes, your majesty."
"I'm very serious Farza. I'm in no mood to play games…."
Putting a comforting arm around his shoulders, she let her hand caress the face of her love and gently shut his eyelids. Whispering in his ears she said,
"Feel the moment, your majesty. If not for the moment what are we? Do what you feel is right in the moment. For no one knows what the future holds in store."
"Marry me Farza."
Farza was taken aback. She retracted.
"Don't be upset. Please. You only said just now to do what I felt right. I love you, that much you know. Give me a chance...."
"Yes."
Ayayutas stopped babbling. He looked deep into her eyes. There was no sign of malign or greed. She loved him for who he was rather than for the titles he held or what he was. He made a promise to himself to never hurt her, even in his dreams.
Ayayutas felt like he had conquered the world. What he didn't realise was that he had just begun the journey.
As expected by his mother, Emperor Pridhwaj was repulsed just by the thought of the idea. What Empress didn't think of was that the Emperor could banish Farza from the Palace grounds. And that is exactly what Pridhwaj decided to do.
Ayayutas felt helpless. Not only had he lost the love of his life, but he had also lost the favour of his father. With nothing to lose, Ayayutas decided to take an extreme step. He decided to revolt.
With Aswath and Asaf Khan, his friends from childhood, by his side, he decided to instigate the troops that he had and attacked Ajinkya Palace from within.
Hurt by his own son's revolt against him and also by the fact that his own ministers were backing this revolt, Emperor Pridhwaj decided that it was time to hand over reigns. But before he could do that, his body betrayed him and he suffered a fatal heart attack.
It is funny how one's anger and frustration can affect the mentality of the person and completely change how one can comprehend and act in the situation. The same caring and thoughtful Ayayutas had suddenly started rejoicing at the success of his revolt, showing no remorse for the loss of his father. It didn't matter though; people tend to accept a lot easier if the person had power and money. Ayayutas had both.
Drowned by the sudden onset of Imperial duties and small revolts from Pridhwaj's loyalists, Ayayutas had no time or energy to think about Farza. The now Dowager Empress Rukmini was hurt and vindicated. But she had been in the game for so long to know that doing something irrational would do her no good. So, she waited for her moment to strike.
As for Farza, she felt cheated. How could her Ayayutas do this to her? After all, she got banished from the palace for him. When she had heard about the victory of the revolt, she had thought that the Emperor would come running to her. She waited for days to come. Eventually, days turned into months and before she could've realised it, the wait had been for almost a year.
She was losing hope now. She couldn't have done anything in the situation that she found herself. And then, she received a Farman from the palaces, with Rukmini's signature on it. A Farman was a message sent by the royalty that was sealed and was to be delivered to the person addressed only.
Rukmini had recalled Farza to the palaces as her aide, she apparently missed her services very much. Farza experienced the joy that had no bounds. She was finally getting back into the palace. And hopefully, finally back into the life of Ayayutas.
When she had reached the chambers of the Dowager Empress, she was shocked out of her wits. The main reason she was called back was for her to refresh Ayayutas's memory, make sure that he remembers the promise he had given her. For the next month, she groomed and trained, taught everything that the mother knew about her son. And when Rukmini finally thought that she was ready, she put her final act in play.
An invitation for lunch was sent to Ayayutas from Rukmini. Feeling guilty for the way he was treating his family, he accepted the invitation and decided to spend one quality afternoon with her mother. But, when he reached her chambers, she asked him to get her some flowers from the garden. Ayayutas found the request to be very childish, but he chose to amuse his mother anyways.
The moment he entered the garden he noticed a figure, plucking at flowers very carefully. She seemed oddly similar to him, for he knew every curve of that body. And then, his heart skipped a beat. His knees started shivering and he lost balance of his body. He started sobbing, for he had forgotten about her, till now. It had to be Farza. It was Farza.
He immediately made amends and things led to another. Finally, there she was, sitting in the same gardens that started the journey for her, but not as Farza the maid, but as Alta the Empress.
She decided to pay her respect to the Dowager empress, for without her she still would've been a nobody.
The conversation that followed changed the course of the history of Angavani.