Two hours later
"General Dushyant, Commander-in-chief Chandraveer is waiting for you next to the waterfall," one of the trusted lieutenants of General Chandraveer met Dushyant as soon as he entered the army checkpoint.
Dushyant nodded. He looked at Ashmayu, who was riding beside him. "Start making preparations. We will leave for the caves in the next few hours."
He had been waiting for the old man to come back all this while and finally he was here.
Directing his horse, Garud, towards the waterfall, he wondered if the general already knew about the matter and hence was summoning him with such urgency!
Getting off the horse, Dushyant walked up to where the ramrod, straight backed man stood with his back towards him. The silver in his hair was more visible this time than when he saw him last.
General Chandraveer was staring unblinkingly at the sparkly water which cascaded down the high rock like a woman's hair sensuously sliding down her back.
"Greetings, General!" Dushyant acknowledged the man politely.
General Chandraveer turned around and looked at the expressionless young man in front of him.
"It seems that Adra's water didn't suit you. You look thinner," came the deadpan reply.
Anyone listening to their conversation would be surprised. They definitely didn't sound like a pair of father and son who were meeting after a gap of half a year.
"The original assumptions need to be revisited. It seems that we were looking in the wrong direction all this while," Dushyant told him cryptically, disregarding the comment on his health.
Just like the old man, he didn't like to waste time on banal topics.
General Chandraveer didn't seem upset over it and rather, allowed a small smile to tug at the corner of his lips. The boy's behaviour was so reminiscent of his own.
The two of them discussed the matter regarding the anti-nationals coming into Mandhaar via Adra at length. This was the secret mission which Dushyant had undertaken and only the emperor and General Chandraveer knew the true purpose of the task, of course, apart from the ruler of Adra.
After a while, General Chandraveer mentioned the issue which the emperor had summoned him for, to the capital. "Maharani Vaijayanti wants to sacrifice her precious bishop in order to conquer the black queen. She has played a good move. It's our turn now."
He was referring to Princess Anara as the empress's bishop and the Northern army as Raja Indraneel's 'black queen'.
Dushyant exhaled in dissatisfaction. Over the years, he had become more and more disgruntled with the royal family and their antics. But he knew that he had to be patient. Now was not the time to lose his calm over these matters.
Good things came to those who planned and waited for them!
"The emperor is concerned about this but withdrawing from the swayamvar is not an option for our family and he knows it too. Not only did she include many high-ranking officials' sons and foreign princes in the mix to throw everyone off the scent, she also made the list public to ensure that no one can back out of the proceedings," said the old general with frustration in his voice.
Raja Indraneel had indeed found out about the intention of his empress when it was already too late. Apparently, Maharani Vaijayanti had not discussed the matter with even her closest minions. As per the emperor's understanding, this plan must have been cooked by her and her natal family's eunuch cum advisor, Vartak.
Dushyant shrugged his shoulders. "The only way to stop it is by taking the bishop out of play. But I am assuming that you didn't suggest it. Even if you had, the emperor wouldn't agree to it."
General Chandraveer was used to Dushyant's apathetic behaviour towards most people and especially, the royal family but this suggestion was a little too cold-blooded, even by his standards.
Dushyant correctly recognised his expressions and gave a wry smile. "Isn't this a common trait that both you and the emperor share? Had you or the emperor not been soft-hearted to begin with, things would have been drastically different today. It seems that I will be getting to eat the wedding bhaji* of my eldest brother soon. Congratulations to the Sirsa clan for getting a blue-blooded daughter-in-law!"
Even though General Chandraveer wanted to refute his words, he couldn't. The Sirsa clan was soon going to be dragged into the muddy royal battle. Would they be able to survive and come out scath free or not, remained to be seen.
"I'll take your leave now. I am headed to the caves for training and will be back in a few months. I will greet the new sister-in-law once I return. If there is an urgent message, send the eagle," he informed General Chandraveer without any inflection in his voice.
*Wedding Bhaji - As per the customs in many parts of India, a box containing sweet and savoury snacks is given to all the friends and relatives who attend the wedding.