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 )