The Betrayal Story - Part 19

It was full moon's night. Roopali stared at the moon with complete admiration from the porch of her house where she comfortable sat on the cold floors. She needed peace after what had happened in afternoon. Watching the moon and feeling the cool breeze blowing under her ears gave her what she needed the most - peace.

After spending few hours doing what she liked, she got up to hit the shack. Suddenly she heard the voice of someone riding the horse behind her. She turned back to see it was king. She wondered what made the king arrive at this hour. The king stopped and got down from the horse. As he walked closer, her heart beat faster.

"Your highness, is there something you need?", she asked. "Yes, an answer !", he replied. She looked surprised. "Did someone say you are commoner and you are not supposed to stay at the palace? Is this your sole decision to move out?", he asked furiously. His eyes were red in anger.

She remained quiet. "I did my best to take care of you. Why aren't you happy? What else should I do to make you feel safe and happy?", he continued. "It' not that. You have done everything for me and I don't think I can ever pay you. It’s me.”, she said softly.

“What do you mean?”, he asked. She turned her back towards him.”I ... I have developed feelings like the lovers have for their beloved.”, she spilled her heart out. He was shocked and confused. “I know this is not right . I decided  it was better for me to stay away from you. So that’s why I moved out.”, she said.

He walked closer towards her. He held her in her arms and stared at her with love. She realised he felt the same.


(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 18

After relishing the snacks and drinks, the king got to the point of his visit, “I have a question that has been bothering me since you left.” Roopali hesitated. She understood immediately what he wanted to ask. She smiled nervously, thinking how she will hide the truth. “What made you leave our palace? Is it because you aren’t happy with our treatment or someone said something to you or did we make you uncomfortable?”

She didn’t reply. She was numb. She had to spill beans now which she didn’t want to.  The king noticed she was nervous and signalled his guards to leave. She was filled with emotions. Her gaze was bent down. “You don’t have to be scared of anything. You can tell me if anything is bothering you.”, he said. She gulped , thinking how she would hide the truth.

She turned behind to hide her emotions that were spilling out from her eyes. “No one bothered me and there is no flaw in your treatment towards me. You have been too good towards me, your highness.” , she said. “Then why did you leave the palace?”, king asked. “I am a commoner. The palace is abode for the royals. It was time for me to shift from the palace to place where commoners reside.”, she said.

The king was furious. He stomped towards her and grabbed her elbow to turn her towards him. Tears had welled up in her eyes and she began to cry. The king’s heart melted. “I am sorry for being harsh towards you.”, he said softly and loosened his grip towards her. He stood there for few minutes and left helplessly.

There was a spy watching from a window close by. He stood where no one could see him. He thought he could find something worthwhile to tell his mistress who had hired him .  There was nothing. He headed towards the palace and told the guards that he wanted to meet the queen. They took him to Gayatri who waited impatiently for him.

“What news do you have ?”, she asked. The spy narrated her everything he had seen. She gave him his reward in small bag of gold coins. The spy excitedly checked it out and saw it was half as promised. “Why do you look so surprised? You didn’t find anything that’s interesting. Find something good then I will reward you what I had promised or else I will get you killed.”, she said.

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story- Part 17

The king arrived at Roopali’s house on cool morning . He saw huge queue of people gathered outside her house. The crowd was whispering to each other as they watched their king proceed inside the house .The guard was about to announce the king’s arrival. He stopped him and  stood there watching her in serious discussion with a poor farmer at her house. He was complaining how the drought in last year had left him penniless by destroying all his crops and why he needed a waiver in tax for this year.

After listening to his problem carefully, she spoke gently, “I will speak to the finance minister and get this tax waived for you. I will also discuss this issue with the minister to ensure that tax is waived for all the farmers.” “Consider it as done.”, the king spoke aloud. Roopali and the farmer rose up with folded hands to greet the king.

“We are sorry to keep you waiting. We were not aware of your arrival , your highness.”, she said with gaze bent down. “You don’t have to be sorry. I saw you busy resolving an issue and I wanted to see how you were faring in your work. Hence I didn’t let you know about my arrival.”, he said. He looked at the farmer and said, “I hereby declare that all those farmers who have suffered from the last year’s drought will have their tax waived for five consecutive years and they will receive all the help they require to sustain their livelihood and crops. I am also sorry for not looking into this matter earlier.”

The farmer was left with joy shining from his eyes. The crowd was about to disperse when he signalled them to wait and said, “You don’t have to leave . I will wait here while your supervisor listens and resolves each one of your issues. You have waited very long to be heard.”, he spoke. The crowd became happy while Roopali continued with her work.

He watched her resolve issues. Some issues were sticky and some were petty. But she resolved each one of the issues with all her capabilities. There were times when the issue was beyond her expertise and in those cases, she would tell them that she would get back later. The queue reduced gradually. It took her four hours to finish solving everyone’s issue.

Once she was done with work, she made lemonade and prepared a plate filled with snacks for the king. “Your highness, forgive me for keeping you waiting and not being able to serve you properly. My maid isn’t well and I had given her off today . I wasn’t expecting you too.”, she said embarrassed. The king smiled and said, “Please don’t be guilty. I understand that one’s first priority should be serving their city and people. Hence I let you serve the people first and not me. I don’t  mind waiting four hours to get such refreshing drink and snacks from you.”  She blushed.
(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 16

Gayatri had lost lot of weight. Her eyes had huge dark circles around them due to sleepless nights and crying. Her face was still stained with droplets of tears. Her always glowing face had lost it's glory. Her fragile body showed the self initiated sufferings. But her lost hope was instilled back when she rose up to see Amar Singh.

He walked closer to her and held her tight. She smiled as she cried. "Why are you punishing yourself for the mistake I made? You could have approached me and rectified my mistake like Satyavati did.", he said. She didn't like his comparison of her with Satyavati. But she smiled to hide her true feelings from him. He had not spoken or met her for three days when she had told him about her insecurities with Satyavati. She didn't want to lose him again.

"I thought you were mad again, your highness. I thought you didn't want to see me again. ", she wailed thinking about last few days. He brushed her back gently. "Don't think too much. I was busy nursing my emotions and didn't realize that others would get affected too with my over involvement with myself. I am sorry, I hurt you.", he consoled her. 

"My king was in grief, I didn't know. What a fool I am?", she cried again. The king understood her emotional outburst and made her sit on the edge of the bed to calm her down. As he sat next to her, he spoke, "Please forgive me, Gayatri. I can't see you crying like this. I want my charming wife back. The palace is missing your carefree spirit."

She finally smiled. After wiping her tears and taking deep breath, she spoke calmly, "Amarji, what is bothering you so much? How can I help to reduce it?" He smiled watching his wife get back to normalcy. "Oh it's nothing. Just some thoughts.", he said. "Won't you share it with me ?", she coaxed him.

"Well, I didn't like the way Roopali had left. It seemed like she wasn't happy leaving.", he said. Gayatri was in euphoric state and didn't realize what she had said. "Your highness, if you don't mind, I have an idea. Why don't you meet her and ask her what is bothering her?" , she said. However, she soon realized the mistake she had made. Amar Singh hugged her and agreed to meet her the next day. Gayatri wanted to hit herself for suggestion she had made. But she didn't do anything. She sat simply and stared at him as he left.

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 15

Roopali left . She thought constantly about the king but did her duty perfectly. She didn’t let her thoughts affect her work. The king wasn’t happy. He didn’t understand what made Roopali to take this step. He remembered how she had begged him to let her go. He did miss her and immersed himself into work to avoid thinking about her.

Gayatri was happy initially. But the king seemed lost and hardly came to spend time with her. Her happiness turned into despair and hate. She lamented the day Roopali arrived. She hardly came out of her room and stopped eating or sleeping. Satyavati recognised that something was wrong and stepped up to correct it.

She visited the king one day. The king was listening to the strategies of  his commander in chief . As soon as the king noticed her arrival, he dismissed his commander and told him that he would meet him after discussions with his queen. “You seem anxious, my queen . What happened ?”, he asked. “Your highness, lot has changed in this palace over past few days. You have immersed into your duty towards your duty towards welfare of our people which is commendable but you look restless. You have stopped spending time with your queens. Have we faltered in our duties to serve you ?”, she replied.

The king felt guilty. He stayed quiet and reflected his actions over few days. He realised he hadn’t been able to spend time with his queen due to his preoccupation with thoughts about Roopali. “I am sorry . I haven’t been able to give you or Gayatri time. You haven’t faltered in your service towards me. It’s me who hasn’t been fulfilling my duty towards my wives.”, he accepted his mistake.

“I have been occupied with feeling of restlessness and unable to understand why Roopali had left the palace immediately. She wasn’t completely healed and her house was still under construction. I still can’t come up with any reason for her quick departure.”, he continued. “Is it because of our failure to protect her on that fateful night or is it because Gayatri’s resentment towards her?”, he asked.

“I don’t know what made Roopali leave . You can check on her by visiting her. But Gayatri isn’t keeping well. She hasn’t eaten or slept for days . I hear she pines for your glimpse whole day. Please visit her soon. I worry she shouldn’t give up her life. I am able to manage with your absence but she can’t  .”, she said. He held her shoulders and looked at her with pride. “What did I do to get a wise wife like you who understands immediately my pain and mistake. Thank you , my queen for always supporting me like a rock.”, he said.

The king left her with promise of spending time with his queens. He headed towards Gayatri’s room with plate filled with her favourite delicacies. The guards notified her of his arrival. She stood up with great difficulty to greet him. Her tired eyes sparkled with life and happiness to meet her king. Her wait was over at last.

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 14

The king was furious. “ He tried to attack us. Get ready with your troops and let’s attack them.”, he sneered. “Your highness, calm down. It’s not the right time to get charged up. Our troops are not ready yet. They need to revive the energy lost in last few battles. But for safety of our people and kingdom, I have beefed up the security at all the points.”  , the wise commander counselled.

The king calmed down. “Fine ! I trust you. Your advises and judgement have always proved right. We need to prepare ourselves well before we face them.”, he said. The commander took the leave and the king went back to Roopali to check on her health. “How are you feeling , Roopali ?”, he asked. “I am fine, your highness. I will always be indebted to you.”, she replied with a smile. The king smiled back . “We have taken care of situation. You won’t be facing any such incidents any time .”, he said and left .

Roopali was smitten by the king’s swift action and concern towards her. She felt a sudden rush of feelings and emotions towards the king. She didn’t understand what it was. She felt nice and happy. “The king has been very generous towards you. I will always be indebted to him .”  , she said excitedly. One of the nurse who was treating her said , “ The king is indeed generous to his people. He has always been devoted to his kingdom.”

The nurse’s words stung her . Her feelings were shattered. She felt guilty for misinterpreting his concern for something else. Suddenly those mushy feelings were replaced by guilt. She spent whole week in pining in guilt. She decided to move out of the palace to feel better. The very first day of next week, she stood out of royal court where the king was holding a meeting with his immediate ministers.

As soon as the meeting got over, the king arrived with his minister. He was surprised to see her waiting for him. He immediately walked towards her and  said, “How are you,Roopali? I am sorry I haven’t  been able to meet you and ask your health.” Her heart pained. Her emotions wanted to spill out. She wanted to say , “You have done lot for me, your highness. And I have started falling in love with you. I can’t mistaken your concern for love. If I stay longer, I may fall madly in love with you.”

She fidgeted with her fingers and shifted her gaze towards the ground. The king waited for her reply. After long pause , she spoke, “I am fine , your highness. I needed you to grant me permission to shift from the palace to new house you have provided me.” The king was shocked. “Why? Aren’t you been taken good care of ?”, he asked. “I... You have taken good care of me, your highness. But I don’t want to be burden to you. You are a king and I am a commoner. I can’t stay here any longer. Please grant me your permission. That will be only favour I ask for .”, she begged. “Fine , if that’s what you want. I will grant you permission.”,he said and left in anger.

(To be continued )

The Betrayal Story - Part 13

The moon shined brightly. Cool breeze blew momentarily. The weather was pleasant. But Roopali didn’t get sleep. She wondered why would king appoint her as supervisor. She didn’t understand whether she should be happy or sad with the judgement. She got up from the bed instantly and decided to take a walk.

Thoughts didn’t cease to hound her. She strolled the long corridors and passed many rooms. The guards were stationed at most of rooms. As she walked, she came across the garden area. There were no guards there. The place was quiet except for the sound of nocturnal insects and frogs. She sat on one of benches and stared at the open sky. The stars twinkled and the moon brimmed with pride. There was no clouds on the vast sky.

Suddenly she heard some rustle of leaves from bushes behind her. She turned behind. She saw a man running towards her. Her heart stopped beating. Her mind froze. She wondered who the man was and assumed he was someone to harm her. Instantly she came back to her senses and found a stick to attack him. The man tried to say something before the guards arrived and attacked him.

They pounded over him and tied his hand behind his back. The king arrived with his commander in chief to the scene. He got closer to her and asked, “Are you okay?” She nodded her head but later almost fainted in his arms . He lifter  her up back to her room. He called the royal doctors and got her treated. The doctor said , “It’s just panic attack , your highness. She will be alright.”

The king stayed in her room the whole night to check on her health. The nurses constantly took care of her . Next morning , she woke up to bright morning and king sitting next to her bed. He had slept on the chair with his legs stretched out and his head facing the ceiling. His mouth opened slightly. She smiled. She hadn’t seen a king up this close and sleeping peacefully.One of nurses got her glass of water and asked her about her health while the other nurse woke the king up.

The king woke up. He got up from his chair immediately and asked her about her health. “I am fine , your highness. I am grateful you stayed up whole night to check up on me.” The commander in chief arrived with some news. “ Your highness, we found out the identity of the man who sneaked into the palace.”,he said. She shuddered when the commander spoke about the man. The memories of last night haunted her again. The king quickly  understood and took the commander outside. “The man was sent by Rashid Sheikh to spy on us. I have increased the security around the city as well as the palace.”,the commander said. The king sneered at the mention of Rashid Sheikh. He was aware of his interest in Rawalgarh and he was sure he would let him fulfil his desire.

(To be continued )

The Betrayal Story - Part 12

The king dismissed everyone except few ministers from the court. He had to discuss about the army training and deployment at the neighboring kingdom who needed his help to resolve insurgency. Gayatri had almost reached her room when Satyavati held her arm to stop her. "What's the matter, Gayatri? You are sulking again. Did the king say something to you ?", she asked.

Gayatri nodded. "Are you unhappy with king's decision?", Satyavati asked again. She didn't say anything. Her gaze was bent down and she was breathing deeply. "Should I take this as a yes ?", she asked curiously. "Yes!", Gayatri spoke finally. She immediately lifted her gaze. Her eyes were red with anger and pain. Satyavati dragged her to her rooms and asked all the guards and maid servants to leave the room. The maid servants craving for hot gossips, left with heavy hearts.

"Tell me, what is bothering you? I have noticed that you have changed since the arrival of that girl. Are you insecure ?", she asked.  The young queen was bothered by the word 'insecurity'. "I am not insecure", she protested. "I am simply hurt. I feel Roopali is favored too much. We don't know much about her. How can we trust her so easily. I think the king is making a mistake over here", she continued with her arguments.

"I understand your doubts. But you need to put your faith on our king. He is wise. He knows what he is doing.", Satyavati spoke calmly. She held her hand and squinted at her. She continued," I know where your doubts are coming from. You are not bothered about king not able to spend time with you. You are bothered that he is giving too much attention to someone else. Am I right?".

Gayatri opened her eyes wide in shock. Satyavati had disclosed the truth she was hiding from herself to her. She didn't like it. "No! Why would I think like that ? I am not bothered about that. I am only raising concern because I care about king", she said. Satyavati smiled warmly.

"Gayatri, It's okay to feel that way. I felt that way when I was your age and would misinterpret king's concern towards other ladies as his interest. You will grow up eventually like I did. You won't feel the pangs of jealousy and will grow wiser. But don't habour those feelings. It may poison your heart and relationship with king. ", Satyavati counseled. But Gayatri wasn't enlightened. She still felt insecure about Roopali.

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 11

Roopali twitched her nose and spoke, “I will report this to the king . You cannot sell something more than the price decided by the king. You are cheating the public.” “Who are you? Are you the king’s puppet?”, the angry shopkeeper asked. The public retaliated against the shopkeeper when he spoke against the king. They began to lynch tiny stones at him.

Amar Singh intervened them. “Stop ! Stop it all of you!”, he screamed. The crowd stopped. “Why should we stop ? This man spoke against our king. He should be punished.”, one man from the crowd spoke. The king removed his fake beard and the thick shawl before his aide tried to stop him. “He will be punished. But not here ! At the royal court . He will be punished for cheating the public and disrespecting a woman.”,he said.

The crowd was in awe to see their king close to them. They had seen them from far.  But having him amongst them was a treat. “Your highness, we are blessed to have you here.”, the crowd said and bent down with folded hands. The shopkeeper was stunned and started begging for mercy. Roopali was dumbstruck by the king’s presence. She didn’t expect the king to be here.

The shopkeeper was bought to the court. An urgent hearing was held. All the ministers and queens gathered at the court. “I hereby declare that your shop be seized and you are jailed for six months.Do you have anything to speak in your favour ?”, the king ordered. The shopkeeper knelt down with folded hands and cried, “ Your highness, please forgive me ! Don’t seize my shop. It’s my only earning.”

Roopali , who was standing at the corner of the court , came forward. “ Your highness, please hear me out before you make your judgement.”, she said. The king signalled her to speak. “Since he is sole earner in his family, it’s better not to seize his shop and reduce the number or jail term for the interest of his family.” , she said. The king was impressed. He said , “You spoke right ! I will then hereby change my judgement. For the interest of your family, your shop won’t be seized and your jail term would be reduced to one month. But you need to promise in writing that you won’t charge more than price decided in the court.”

Gayatri wasn’t amused by Roopali’s intervention. “I have one more order to pass. With today’s events, I am very impressed with Roopali’s sense of judgement and hereby assign her the post of city’s supervisor. You will handle all the city’s menial issues and pass the judgement for betterment of citizens of this kingdom.” Roopali was surprised and wanted to say something. The king stopped her. Gayatri wasn’t pleased. She fidgeted with her fingers constantly. Satyavati noticed it and wondered what was wrong with Gayatri.

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 10

Gayatri sat on the floor next to her large bed. Her cheeks had turned red due to constant crying. She sulked, thinking about the change in tone of the king towards her. He had never been harsh on her. He would spend all his time with her. His attitude has changed since the arrival of that damned girl. "The king no longer likes me.", she thought as her heart swelled up due to despair.

A guard arrived at the entrance of her room. He announced the arrival of the king. Her heart missed a bit and she rose up immediately. "Your highness, I..", she spoke but stopped. She couldn't find any words and started crying. The king got closer to her and gently rubbed her shoulders to console her. "I am sorry. I haven't been giving you time. Few days have been very horrible for me. I have huge responsibility towards our kingdom and people. I have been trying my best to serve everyone justly and in midst of this , I have been rude to you. I am sorry.", he consoled her.

She wiped out her tears and sighed deeply. "Does this mean, your love for me hasn't reduced?", she asked innocently. "Yes, my love. My affection towards you is still the same. It hasn't diminished.", he replied softly. She hugged him. Her emotions poured out and she cried, "This is what I wanted to hear, your highness."

The king relaxed finally. Everything was back to normalcy. He could now concentrate his mind towards his kingdom development and status of his enemies. A lot of time had gone in managing people's attitude towards Roopali and making her comfortable. Now he was back in action.

A week passed by. Amar Singh got everything running back to normal. He assigned portfolios to each minister. He formulated many development plans and revised taxation plans.One day, he strolled in the central market , disguised as a civilian as a part of his supervision task. He hadn't noticed that Roopali was there too. She wanted to check the market due to constant praises from the nurses who were taking care of her. 

She had passed many stalls and found one that attracted her. They had vibrant colours of cloth materials. She loved stitching and hadn’t stitched for long time. She walked inside the stall and checked the material. The materials were soft and perfect for shawl. She asked the shopkeeper for a price. “It’s 60 gold coins”, he said, “But that’s too much. As per the city law , the price of a cloth should be 30 gold coins.” , she said. “Check the quality of the cloth , Madam. It’s rich.”, he protested. “But the king had passed a rule that the price of this specific quality and meters of cloth must be 30 gold coins. You are charging too much.”, she protested. The shopkeeper had lost his cool and shouted, “ If you want, pay this price. Or else you can leave.” “But you are doing a wrong thing.”, she argued back. A crowd had surrounded them to see the chaos. Amar Singh was one among them. 

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 9

Amar Singh was absorbed into his thoughts while strolling in the garden. The bright colors of marigold, rose or hibiscus didn't soothe him anymore. The cool breeze that blew momentarily didn't give solace to his restless heart. While he decided to head back to his room, a guard arrived. He bowed down to offer his salutation. The king responded with a nod.

"Your highness, Ms.Roopali wants to meet you.", the guard said with his gaze downward. "Yes, please let her in.", the king said.  The guard notified the other guards stationed at the end of the garden to let her in. The king watched Roopali walking towards him. Her pace was slow and calculated. She wasn't looking at him. Her mind was somewhere else just like his few minutes back.

There was small stone on her path. With quick judgement that she would trip, he screamed, "Look out !". She stood shocked. Her eyes were wide open and she was shivering. The guards hurried towards her. "There was a rock. Where is your mind ?", he scolded her gently. "Your highness,I am sorry. I was here to apologize. I..",she stammered. Her cheeks became red.

"You don't have to be scared. You are safe here.", he said gently. Her eyes were almost moist. "I know, your highness. You have taken very good care of me even though I don't belong here. And here I am making silly mistakes. I don't know how to rectify myself.", she said.

He smiled at her innocence. He got closer to her and patted her shoulders gently. "You don't have to feel sorry. I am glad that you are happy with us and feel safe here. It will take time for you to adjust to new environment.", he said.

She smiled. Before she left, he said,"Feel free to stroll through this little garden. These beautiful flowers and the fresh grass can be relaxing sight." He at last felt peaceful. As he was taking a huge breath of relief, he saw Satyavati smiling at him. "When did you arrive ?", he inquired. "Not very long . I saw you advising Roopali and you seem happy now. That means my work is done and I can leave.", she replied. He laughed and asked her to stay a bit longer. "No, your highness!  But I think you have one more task to do. You were too harsh on Rani Gayatri. You must go instantly to console her.", she said.

(To be continued)