CHAPTER ONE
Against the snow-capped peaks and a bleakish, grey sky, the mountain range presents a carved vision of perfected sculptures of hardened ice. They represent the inventions of sculptors and creators of divine and supernatural kinship.
Mysticism surrounds the mountain range where pristine valleys and rivers run at their foothold. There the mountain lions roam freely while the eagles soar on great wings of pride. The thick air surrounding the mountains smells of fresh mint and fragrant spices.
Wedged between a cavernous opening at the hollow of a hidden valley, in a veiled part of the mountain, is the kingdom of Hintrupate.
And there lives the beautiful Princess Marianetta, a woman of great valor, strength, generosity, and love.
She is endowed with vast riches and a natural beauty unmatched, except, for the snow-peaked mountains in the distance. Like the vast mountain range, she stands regal in her appearance.
Marianetta is the adopted daughter of the crown prince, Abuvaya, of the kingdom. His father, the King of Hintrupate had consented to the adoption. One day, Prince Abuvaya had gone hunting in the jungles nearby, finding an infant by the side of some bushes on the jungle trail.
His men had stopped when they heard a baby's cry. They found a child wrapped in a tattered blanket with a note attached that stated her name as Marianetta. They then carried the child to the waiting crown prince.
The infant stopped crying when placed in Abuvaya's arms, and when the crown prince saw that it was a girl, he was so happy. He had no children with his two wives, so without hesitation took the child as his own.
He commanded his men to scour the area to see if there was anyone nearby who could have left the baby there.
He felt sudden compassion for the child and was thankful that none of the wild beasts of the jungle had found her first. He couldn't imagine the child being mauled and eaten by a wild animal.
"What kind of name is Marianetta?" he asked his closest aide when he saw the note. "I think it is a Christian name, Your Highness. The name is unique to an English ancestry."
"So, this little bundle of joy is a Christian's?" At that precise moment, Marianetta smiled up at the prince. He was overjoyed and so was his aide. The child was indeed a miracle and so beautiful.
When Abuvaya presented the child to the Maharaja of Hintrupate, the king took an instant liking to her. She was the most adorable child he had ever seen. She had the prettiest of smiles and lifted her tiny hands to touch his face as he held her in his arms.
However, when Abuvaya told the Maharaja that the baby was a Christian, the King immediately commanded that she be brought up as a Hindu and be taught the scriptures by the highest and most prominent Hindu scholars in the Kingdom.
She could retain her name if Abuvaya so wished. Abuvaya loved the name Marianetta, and so, the baby's name held her heritage.
When Marianetta entered the palace, there was a sudden dazzling brightness in all of the Kingdom. Everywhere flowers bloomed and beautiful sunrises that could be seen over the mountain range grazed the skies. The earth shook and the people of the Kingdom heard the winds whisper her name in reverence.
"A child has been born to our land. Her name is Marianetta. The Kingdom of Hintrupate will prosper as never before," the people sang and danced in jubilation.
Indeed, the Kingdom of Hintrupate prospered as never before. The people were blessed with bountiful food and lived contented lives.
Marianetta was loved by all in her kingdom. She grew up to be intelligent and wise. She was kind-hearted too.
She had a secret indulgence, however. Without the knowledge and consent of the Maharaja, she would disguise herself as a maidservant, and together with two of her closest aides, she would help the villagers in the Maharaja's rice fields, separating the chaff from the rice grains, providing food and sour milk on days that it rained or when the sun-scorched, and the heat unbearable that the workers were parched with thirst and filled with fatigue.
She would sit with them and savor the simple meal they enjoyed without any fanfare accorded to a princess.
"The way the workers ate their food makes me want to eat with them. They make it seem like the most delicious palate you have ever tasted. There is so much love and generosity as they share their food amongst themselves." she told her aide one day, as they sat watching the workers have their meal under the shade of a banyan tree near the fields.
The aide had first tried to dissuade her, but Marianetta had been adamant that she wanted to sit and eat with them. She was tired of the rich servings at the palace.
The workers were sworn to secrecy about her identity when she was amongst them in the fields. The Maharaja would be furious if he found out that she mingled with people of lower caste and station. He might even punish them severely for deceiving him by keeping her presence amongst them a secret.
They loved her kind antics and treated her as one of their own.
Their children often played games with her on an empty land area nearby and were thrilled when she rewarded them with sweets and delicacies at the end of it all.