The temperature was very hot and the training ground was sprinkled with water. One of the soldiers of 'The Mayan kingdom' got into the ground. His body was covered with basic armor, and his hand held the sword.

Ananya, his opponent, and the princess of The Mayan kingdom, too, were ready. With the signal of their trainer, the two opponents got into a sword fight.

The audience - the trainer, some soldiers, and maids - held their breath, curious as to know who would win even when they already had their answer.

Ananya dodged every move of the person opposite to her, and with a final attack, she succeeded in making the opponent drop his sword.

The soldier smiled and picked up his sword, "You are getting better day by day, your highness," he said as he removed his armor.

Ananya smiled, hearing him, "Vaibhav, do not flatter me."

Vaibhav - the personal guard of Ananya shook his head. Their princess was someone who had a very calm posture. She did not look dangerous at all. But that was far from the truth. Ananya was calm outside, but there was a whole storm of viciousness inside her.

She was very good with her words. Her tongue was enough to cut through someone's ego. But that was not all, She was an exceptional fighter. Her father had agreed to her learning sword skills. She had been training since 14, and no soldier stood chance against her.

The hindrance of having less energy than men was not enough to stop her. She was what people called a rebellious princess.

Rekha and Parvathi, the personal maids of Ananya, came toward her and helped her fix her hair and serve her water. "Guard Vaibhav's words are true. Your highness is truly unbeatable," said Rekha.

Ananya smirked, "Then you say there is no need for a guard for me ?" The maids gasped at her words.

Vaibhav sighed defeatedly, "Don't even think about it, Your Highness." He had been training alongside Ananya, and the king appointed him as her guard impressed by his skills. No one in the palace knows her better than him. He knew the princess always had the last words.

Ananya initially did not like having a guard for herself, and she felt that Vaibhav deserved to be more than just her guard, like the head of the soldiers. But Vaibhav was happy with his current position.

Ananya moved away from the training grounds. She needed a good bath, and Rekha had gone ahead to prepare a bath for her. Just as she entered the part of the palace where all princesses reside, she was stopped by her elder half-sister, Lakshya.

The king had 2 princes and 3 princesses. He had two wives. The queen conceived a girl, hence why he had to marry the second time to produce an heir.

Ananya's mother was the daughter of one of the ministers of the king's court. The king was smitten the first time he saw her, and they later had a boy baby, which the whole kingdom celebrated.

The king had 2 daughters with the queen and 2 sons and a daughter with his other wife. And since he doted more on Ananya, the queen, and her daughters were envious of her and always picked on her.

"Looks like sister just finished her training," Lakshya spoke, smiling at her sister.

"Elder sister," Ananya acknowledged her with a nod and started walking again. She did not want to have any kind of talk with her.

"I must say, sister, is quite ignorant of her duties," Lakshya spoke, stopping her younger sister.

Ananya raised her eyebrows but kept her expression neutral, "what do you mean ?" She asked without any filters.

Yes, she did not have an ounce of respect for the other princesses.

"Ananya, all you do is practice your fighting skills, but as a lady, you also need to focus on other skills. Mother had put so much effort into finding a perfect teacher for you to learn music and dance. You are also not concentrating on your cooking and embroidery classes. If you continue like this, mother's efforts will have no value, " Lakshya said, indirectly indicating that Ananya should behave like all other ladies out there and should only focus on household matters.

Ananya smiled almost mockingly, "Elder sister is right. But you should also know that I'm not interested in such matters nor I was the one who asked her majesty to put in her efforts. I would appreciate it if you pay more attention to your matters itself. " With that being said, she walked away to her chambers, leaving a fuming Lakshya behind.

It was no wonder that women were confined to certain things. Women were only seen as a means of reproduction, the ones who handled the household chores or the kids. Women didn't have the luxury of being equal to men.

According to Ananya, the fault partially lies with the women, too. Women were the ones who worshipped men like gods. Even after going through all the disrespect, they were the ones teaching their daughters how to worship their husbands.

Under the father, brother, or husband's name, women didn't have a separate identity.

The women weren't treated like slaves, true. But they were also not given a basic human right - respect.

But many kingdoms were changing. With princesses and queens learning defense skills and also ruling over the nations when their husbands died, the world was slowly changing, but the people were not.

The maids prepared a cold bath for Ananya. She discarded all her clothes and submerged herself in the rectangular pool.

After a nice bath, she readied herself into royal attire. She wore a light orange lehenga paired with a cream-colored dupatta. She had minimal jewelry and makeup on.

After that, she went to meet her mother, who was sick for the past, 5 months.

"Mother," she greets as she enters her mother's chamber and sees that the maids are wiping her body with a wet cloth.

Her mother had caught a fever last night, and the physician advised her to wipe her body with a medicine mixed with water.

"I hope you are doing well." Ananya caressed her mother's hand. She took the cloth from the maid and started wiping herself.

Mukta, Ananya's mother, smiled, "I'm doing all well, my daughter. How is your training going ?"

"Very well. My training is good too, " Ananya said again, dipping the cloth in the water.

The water smelled like herbs. A medicinal drink was given to mukta, which reduced the body temperature that caused excessive sweating. The herbs mixed with water would help clean the body and also reduce any type of skin allergy since Mukta was bedridden and was not able to bathe.

The mother-daughter duo was chatting when Aditya - the first prince's arrival, was announced.

Ananya covered his mother properly with the blanket.

"Sister, you are here too." Aditya nods his head respectfully at his sister.

Ananya was the elder one among the children of Mukta, while Aditya was the middle one and Devraj was the youngest.

Aditya was the Crown Prince, considering he was the eldest prince. And Devraj was the military head. Considering their positions, they were always busy with their respective matters, hence why they were unable to provide much time to their family.

"I hope you are doing well, Mother," Aditya said as he sat on the other side of the bed.

"I'm fine, son. Tell me about you. And what is that brother of yours doing? " mukta smiled weakly and enquired about her other son, who seemed to be busier than the Crown Prince.

"Mother, you know how much training he has to go through," Aditya answered.

They chatted with each other for some more time before Aditya and Ananya left for their respective chamber.

It was already time for dinner, and Ananya wore an appropriate outfit that matched the occasion. Her father had made a rule that all family members must have dinner together, no matter how much busy they are.

She reached the dining hall and saw all the family members. She saw her father - Sidraj, the queen and the first wife of her father - Urmila, her two daughters Lakshya and Abhinya, and her brothers - Aditya and Devraj

Aditya was busy talking to his father. Devraj gave a warm smile towards her, which she returned. She felt the table was incomplete as her mother was absent.

When the king saw that Ananya had arrived, he greeted her and gestured for the maids to serve.

The dinner went in silence as it was not a practice to talk while eating. When it was time for dessert, Lakshya asked the maids to serve the 'huggi' she made.

"Father, I have made this huggi today for the dessert. I hope you like it. " The maids served the dish in bowls.

Sidraj tasted it and nodded in approval. "This is delicious. You truly excel in cooking, " he praised.

After dessert, everyone was drinking the buttermilk when the king spoke.

"I have an announcement to make," he said, catching everyone's attention.

He glanced at everyone before speaking, "The emperor sent a scroll today. It seems like the Crown Prince of Astya is going to visit our kingdom. It may take about 3 days for him to visit. The reason is not confirmed yet, and I want y'all to stay on your best behavior. "

Everyone nodded. The Queen then stated the matter which she was waiting for. "You majesty, I want to share something," the king gestured for her to continue.

"Your majesty, the eldest princess's marriage is already fixed. But our second princess, Ananya's marriage, is still not fixed even though she is of age. It only increases my concern. "

She said almost sympathetically, but it looked pathetic to Ananya. The queen wasn't fond of her at all. Truth to be told, they both weren't tolerable of each other.

The King thought over it. Though he loved his daughter very much, he couldn't keep her to himself at all.

His other concern was about the guy Ananya would marry. He knew his daughter was very different from others. She always had a different perspective from others in everything, and he knew she wouldn't agree for less.

"Ananya, what do you think about it ?" He questioned her.

"Whatever father wishes, I would follow it," She answered. She believed too much in her father that she knew he would make the right decisions.

"Very well then, We will soon find you a suitable guy," Sidraj announced.

The queen smirked to herself. She knew Ananya wouldn't be able to disappoint the king. Now, all she needed to do was make the king choose the guy she had in her mind.

"I'm relieved, your majesty. If you would allow it, I have a man in my mind. " She paused, "He is the king of the vyra kingdom. They had proposed a marriage alliance for Lakshya, but since she is already engaged, we could marry him with Ananya. " she put forward her idea.

Devraj and Aditya, who were sitting quite all the time, frowned. "Doesn't he already have 4 wives? He has a male heir, too. Why would we marry Ananya with him ?" Questioned, devraj.

"Prince Devraj, We know it's common for kings to have more than one wife. King Mrunal is very courageous, and their kingdom is known for trading activities. It would be the best for Ananya, " the queen tried again.

This time, Sidraj intervened, "No matter how much courageous king mrunal is, he is old for marrying any of my daughters. We will not marry Ananya into the vyra kingdom. This topic ends here." He paused and threw a strict glare at the queen, "It will be my responsibility to find a good Male for Ananya just like I did for Lakshya. No more discussions, everyone can retrieve"

Everyone bid their goodbyes and went to their respective chambers. The king, instead of going to his chamber, went to Mukta's chamber.

He saw she was already asleep. He caressed her cheeks and leaned down he pecked her forehead lovingly.

________________

Urmila strode angrily towards her chamber. The king had again gone to spend his night in mukta's chambers.

She had earlier proposed her idea, hoping the king would agree. But she failed to do so.

Lakshya was engaged with the Crown Prince of the Huvan kingdom. Huvan kingdom was one of the strongest kingdoms in the Astya Empire. And Lakshya would be the queen after her marriage.

The Astya Empire was one of the largest empires that conquered more than half of Bharath. It had more than 10 kingdoms under it, including the Mayan kingdom, too.

Urmila hated Mukta and her children. She only saw them as a threat to her dreams. Especially Ananya, since everyone was fond of her.

Convincing herself that she would not give, Urmila was about to take a night bath when a maid requested to visit her.

"Your majesty, The king is spending his night again in Her highness's room" The maid announced - which added more fuel to the fire burning inside Urmila.

She dismissed the maid and after the bath, she went to sleep, thinking of ways to achieve her dreams.

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