…
"It has been confirmed that the silk they are selling is the same as produced here, in Maythene. The weave is ours." Mitra clarified. "It is a possibility that it was stolen from our traders."
Jwala smiled as she tilted the expose the shining sharp end to the light. "It looks like I might be able to use my sword, I just cleaned it. What a coincidence!"
Mitra had sent out spies to confirm the suspicion as per the queen's order. While the spies continued to search, Jwala called in more of her troops from Devdurg's palace and prepared for the battle with the abductors.
"My queen, you can trust me. I will handle this." Mitra said while she and Jwala were examining the weapons in the armory.
"My dear Mitra, do you wish that I die out of weariness while you get to play?" Jwala said, stretching the string of one of the bows.
"Apologies, my queen," Mitra said lowering her head. "Can I be of service to my queen regarding that?"
"Hmm… sometimes I wonder if you know any more words except 'apologies', 'yes' and 'my queen'." Jwala picked up two spears saying, "Spar with me." and threw one at Mitra.
As soon as Mitra caught the spear she was attacked, and she blocked it. She was attacked again from the right-blocked, then from the left-blocked.
Jwala sighed and attacked again aiming at Mitra's head which was again blocked. "Is this what I taught you? Attack woman, be aggressive, will you?"
"Apologies, my queen." Mitra lowered her head before launching the spear at Jwala, which got blocked. She attacked again.
Jwala stopped the spear with her hand and said, "Is this what you call an attack? Be offensive, aggressive enough to kill if it lands."
"I will try again, my queen."
Jwala shook her head, threw her spear at Mitra, and left.
Mitra bowed as Jwala passed her by. Mitra was Jwala's first student and childhood companion. It wasn't that Mitra wasn't strong enough, she was the bodyguard of Bhanu Empire's most skilled commander, of course, she was strong as well as skilled. The real reason that she had restrained during the spar was that she couldn't do anything that might harm her respected queen and teacher. That was the only thing she couldn't deliver.
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The troops were hiding in the dense forest near the north-east border waiting for the signal to attack the bandits that had been robbing and abducting the traders and farmers.
Jwala signaled the troops and the bandits were disarmed and captured within a matter of few minutes. The abducted farmers were found tied up around the trees, starving, and bruised.
"It wasn't as exciting as I thought. Too few and yielded too soon." Jwala mumbled as she was going through the bandits' belongings.
"Just 12 bandits… What a shame!" she thought when she found a pouch with coins inside, gold coins with tiger paws embossed on them, similar to the coins used by the countries from the east.
The bandits had been smuggling the stolen materials to Hanna to sell in the black market and the traders and farmers were sold in Hanna's slave market.
The soldiers were furious to hear that. Selling and buying a fellow human being was the most sinful and harshly punished crime in Bhanu Empire. They wanted to kill the bandits then and there.
"Killing them will not help us bring back our people," Jwala said. "We need them alive." She ordered the bandits to be taken to Maythene to be punished after extracting all the information from them.
A letter was written to be sent to the king of Hanna informing him about the abduction and robbery and requesting the kingdom's cooperation in finding the abducted villagers of Maythene.
Jwala wasn't convinced by just sending out the letter, she ordered to send out 100 bags of grain and a bag of silver and precious gems as offering with the ambassador.
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"Any news from Hanna?" Jwala inquired right before the weekly council was dismissed.
"No, your highness." The minister answered.
"I should have marched right in with an army instead." Jwala was disappointed. "Any more incidents of abduction or robbery?"
"No, your highness. The traders and farmers haven't experienced any discomfort after you ordered the army to patrol the route."
'Isn't it a given…' She thought as she dismissed everyone and called for Mitra.
"My queen." Mitra bowed while entering the queen's chambers.
"You have any news?"
"My queen, I received the message from our spies saying that the authorities of Hanna aren't very concerned about the black market or forced slavery. The king stays in his palace and enjoys an extravagant way of living while his ministers run the country." Mitra said coldly. There was an undertone of disdain in her voice.
"You sound rather condescending. What is it?" Jwala was more curious about what had made Mitra show such strong emotion when she mostly remained nonchalant.
"They took all the offerings right away but didn't care to even respond to the queen's letter. They lack basic manners as well as morals. They shouldn't be leading a kingdom." Mitra's angular eyebrows were knitted together as she said, "Our ambassador returned after waiting for three days. They didn't even offer him a proper welcome or farewell."
Mitra couldn't keep it cool whenever someone showed any sign of disrespect towards her queen. She had always been protective of Jwala ever since they were young.
Jwala was amused to see Mitra so worked up. "I should have just marched right into the palace." She was excited as she planned the next steps to make Hanna comply with her demands. "I should teach Hanna what happens when they harm my people… What do you say, Mitra?"
"Whatever my queen says…" Mitra said plainly but her eyes shone with satisfaction.
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The bordering villages of Hanna were captured by Jwala and her army within a few days that followed. The guarding Hanna forces were either chased away or captured but the villagers were unharmed as she and her armies were taught to protect the weak and powerless irrespective of who their king was.
A soldier's duty is to protect the weak and innocent and defend their kingdom- the motto that Devdurg's armies lived by.
The villagers were scared regardless but they had understood that the armies weren't there to harm, rob or kill but something else. And this question had become the new topic of gossip.
The villagers were amused to witness the intruders act friendly and even help out villagers by giving them temporary employment like setting up the tents or cleaning up and caring for the horses, fetching water, cooking, etc in exchange for a fair wage or grains.
No soldier had harmed anyone or abducted women and children like what they had experienced in the past. The village was peaceful and livelier after it was captured by the enemy.
Jwala was anticipating the events of the next few days that were crucial. She had sent out another letter to the king of Hanna but this time instead of requesting him for his cooperation it was to tell that Devdurg's army would be inside his palace if he doesn't come out of his 'humble' abode and meet her.
"The tents are ready, my queen. " Mitra said.
"I am going to take a ride around the village," Jwala replied while she brushed the thick mane of her black mare named Bela. "Your hair is as beautiful as mine, Bela." She rubbed Bela's belly and hopped on her back. "You can join if you like." She said to Mitra and went off.
"Bring the horse!" Mitra yelled at the nearest soldier with urgency in her voice. She kept looking in the direction Jwala had disappeared. "Hurry!"
"Ready the bath and alert the guards. I will be back before sundown." Mitra said to the stable boy who had come running with a horse and rode off following behind Jwala.
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Hanna :-
The courtroom:
The courtroom was a big pillared hall, spacious and well lit with light coming from small windows situated on the upper half of the walls, closer to the ceiling. The room had a high platform that had a cushioned chair decorated with the finest silk in red and gold colors and a table also covered with a tablecloth in a similar design.
"This is power abuse, your highness." An old minister said standing on the right side of the throne room along with other ministers while the king sat on his throne on the highest platform in the big hall.
"We must deploy our troops and put them in their place. Just being able to wield a sword isn't enough to rule a kingdom." Another from the right side said. "They should be strictly punished for challenging the Rei clan's great rule."
"Truly said. We must not give in. Even a monkey can wield a sword, should we start calling it a king." A minister standing on the left side said. And the rest on the left side gave a low laugh taunting the king.
The ministers on the right side of the throne were rightists who supported the king and his family while the ministers on the left side of the throne were leftists, who were not too fond of the king or his family. Then there were a few handfuls of ministers who were neutral, who were either fair, lazy, or just greedy, who took their place at the far end of the line and also farthest to the throne.
"This isn't a time to make lame remarks." The royal advisor said who was standing closest to the king's seat/throne. The middle-aged man dressed in a maroon full robe and a black head covering angrily looked at the leftist as well as rightist ministers.
The king, Maan Ji Rei was quietly watching this drama. This wasn't a new occurrence but a usual one, all the ministers tearing each other apart irrespective of how crucial the topic was being discussed. He suppressed the urge to scream and kick all of them out of the courtroom.
He sometimes wondered why he even needs them when all they did was bully him or each other. They called themselves patriots… nation's servants, but they only served themselves.
…