The Betrayal Story - Part 38

 Amar Singh gathered outside with his soldiers and Vijay Singh as agreed. It had been years since he had battled the war in front of his city’s gates. The last time he had battled was when he was merely 18 years old and was protecting his city from his outcasted uncle who had killed his father to get the throne.

History was created when he won the war. His uncle died not only by stab wounds of battle but also by the shame of being defeated by his young nephew. Amar Singh was coronated as king and over the years he became a great warrior with golden heart.

He stared at his enemy and his huge army who were standing few miles away  in front of him. His enemy’s evil smile didn’t deter his confidence down. He was ready for the fight. But he wanted to make sure Roopali was fine before he could begin the war.

“Here is your friend, Vijay Singh. Now send Roopali as agreed.”, he said. Rasheed smirked as Vijay Singh walked towards Rasheed’s army. Vijay was delighted to meet his friend but he was unaware of his friend’s intentions. When he reached to hug his friend, his friend slashed his chest and stabbed him several times, shocking the onlookers.

Vijay Singh died instantly. “What is this , Rasheed Sheikh? How can you kill your loyal friend? You disgust me.” Rasheed laughed loudly. “Friend ! Vijay Singh was just pawn I used to reach you just like Mariam. Now I have no use of him.”, he said.

Amar Singh was disgusted. But it was no surprise to him  that people had only bad things to say about this invader. He pitied Vijay Singh who trusted wrong people and brought his own end. Now he focused on safety of Roopali. But he was unaware that she only existed in his minds and her life was taken away by this wicked man in front of him. 

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 37

 The news of Rasheed’s attack reached Amar Singh Rawal. He immediately prepared to defend his kingdom though his army was tired due to recent battles. However their motivation wasn’t down. They were always ready to sacrifice their lives for their king and people.

As he prepared for war, he received some news regarding Roopali. He was shocked. The words his trusted spy told rang in his mind-“Queen Gayatri helped her to escape.” He always knew she was insecure about his proximity with Roopali. But he didn’t know that she would go extreme lengths to separate them.

He ordered his spies to continue with the search. He hoped she was fine. He planned to speak to Gayatri after the war. The enemies were a day away from reaching their destination. Rasheed’s soldiers were tired. Unlike their counterparts in Rawalgarh, they wanted to take rest. But their king was in hurry to meet Amar Singh to offer him his precious gift - the head of his lover.

They reached their destination the following night. Ratan Singh watched them put their tents from the large patio of fort/palace. He informed his cousin (Amar Singh) about the same. Amar Singh prepped his army with motivational speech and tightened the security at the gate of his city. 

The people except the able men were shifted to safer locations of his friendly neighbors since when he had received the news of this battle. He didn’t want them to face any repercussions of the attack. He didn’t want them to be used by Rasheed against him. In case he was defeated, he didn’t want them to be prisoners of war. He had heard horror stories of Rasheed’s war prisoners. He didn’t want them to face same situation. A messenger was sent by Rasheed to Amar Singh. Amar Singh assumed it must be related to peace and let the messenger in though there was resistance from Ratan Singh. “The king has got some news for you, your highness. It is about Mariam. He said he will give the news only if you bring Vijay Singh to the battleground.”, the messenger said. 

The king wondered about the hidden agenda of Rasheed. He was sure there was something wrong. He still hoped Roopali was fine. He agreed to his conditions after discussing with Ratan and other ministers. He also placed his conditions before agreeing- he didn’t want any kind of treachery and if there was any treachery, he would kill Vijay Singh on spot.

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 36

Rasheed was burning with negative emotions. His soul reeked of hate.  He wanted to throw her out from his kingdom, wrapped with humiliation and shaming. He wanted to send across a message and fear to various kingdoms under him to not to show her any mercy by taking her in. He wanted her to wander the desert aimlessly before her delicate body rots in this place.

But that wasn’t easy. There were other kings rebelling against him who would take her and use her against him. What if Amar Singh changed his mind and took her back ? If that happened, his efforts of seizing Rawalgarh would be wasted. He had to do something. He smirked when an idea struck him. But first he wanted answers to his questions- why did she betray him? 

“You took your new identity seriously, Mariam. You butchered my trust and love. But tell me , love , why did you betray me ?” , he asked . “ I didn’t betray you. It was vengeance. You took away my family, people, name and identity. I was devoid of hope and life until I met Amar Singh. He bought back my life. He bought back purpose in my life.”, she said vengefully.

“You still feel grateful for that man who choose his people over you.”, he said ruefully. “Yes, I feel proud that he chose his people over me. This shows he cares for people unlike you. You on other hand use people for your own purpose. When it’s met, you discard them.”, she said.

 “You are demon in guise of human. You think you would have welcomed me and given me some reward in form of land, name and recognition. You would kill me and I don’t feel remorse of betraying you.”, she spoke her heart out.

He was seething in anger. Instantly he took out his sword and beheaded her. Her head fell down from her body , shocking the soldiers gathered there. “What did you do ? Why would you kill her? You could have imprisoned her for life!”, his trusted aide said. “To use her death as examples to everyone who revolts me.”, he said. Later he ordered,” Let’s preserve her head to be presented to my beloved enemy.”

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 35

 Rasheed Khan got ready with his army to attack Rawalgarh. He had trained his army for months for this day. He didn't want to lose this war. It wasn't just war for conquest. It was war for avenging betrayal from his most trust aide. He should have known it was wrong trusting this woman. This woman had always been rebel since when he had bought her. A small mistake didn't cost him much. But it taught him lesson to be careful with people he trusted.

He had started his expedition with strongest infantry leading in front and robust cavalries to combat any attack. Many of his associates including  lip slave kings whom he had conquered , provided him resources and strong elephants to aide his conquest. He was well prepared until he reached the desert. During the mid journey, most of his infantry and elephants died due to hot weather. The once highly motivated army was losing their focus.

Somehow he tried to revive their spirit. Slowly, he realized that he made a careless mistake of planning the attack during this hot season. After four days of painful defeat from nature , he decided to stop for a day to regain the strength of his army on behest of Abdul's decision. 

The night was cool. The army and it's leader rested. Rasheed was resting outside of tent. He watched the twinkling stars on the clear sky. The moon shined brightly. The cool winds blew momentarily. The weather was perfect. Suddenly, one of his low rank soldier arrived with a message. "Your highness, I am sorry to disturb you. But there is urgent matter for you to look into.", the soldier said. Irked Rasheed rose up and asked, "What is it ?"

"We found our traitor Mariam wandering few miles away. What should we do?", the soldier asked. "Capture her and bring her to me.", he ordered. The soldier agreed. Mariam a.k.a Roopali was captured easily by the soldiers of Rasheed. She had no energy to fight them. Due to fatigue, she couldn't recognise his soldiers. They bought her to him. 

He smirked. He walked closer to her while she was being held by the soldiers. She was weak and barely could stand properly. "Welcome back, Mariam!", he greeted with tinge of hate. She recognized that voice. She shivered in fear. She immediately realized that her end was near. 

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 34

 Safeguarding people’s  interest was Amar's primary life goal. Now it was contradicting with his love for Roopali. She had betrayed him by hiding her past from him. But he wasn’t able to hate her. Within few months, he had become lost in love that he wasn’t able to decide what was right or wrong.

Roopali left Rawalgarh forever. She didn’t notify Amar of her presence. She knew he would always choose his people over her. She didn’t feel bad. Instead she felt proud of him. 

She wandered the vast desert without any idea where she wanted to go. She had no place to go. If she goes back to Rasheed Sheikh’s harem , he would behead her for her betrayal. She couldn’t go back to Rawalgarh because no one wanted her there. They would be happy if she was gone.

“Gone ! Where ?”, Amar exclaimed in shock. He had planned to visit Roopali at the prison yard. After night of deep thinking , he had decided to listen to Roopali’s story one last time and decide whether he would forgive or punish her. He wanted to know whether she felt remorse after betraying him. He also wanted answers to his question - did she love him the way he loved her?

But now she was gone, leaving with unanswered questions and shock. “Why would she leave ?”, he wondered. After few minutes of pause, he ordered his army, “She might have not escaped like that. Find out who helped her out. I am sure it must be one of our prisoners from war. Question each of them.”

The guards accepted his order and began looking out for the culprit. Gayatri became tensed when she got to know that the king was looking for the culprit who had helped Roopali escape. She hoped no one found out the truth .

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 33

Amar Singh Rawal was in dilemma. He had his lover on one side who had betrayed him and his people while his whole kingdom entrusted him with duty to give them justice. Roopali’s story seemed good to be true. His heart wanted to believe her but his mind opposed.

He stomped out of his chambers and headed towards Satyavati’s room. On his way, he found Gayatri heading towards him. She was smiling. He walked past her without even greeting her. She turned and watch him go while her heart burnt in sadness.

She had thought she would get his complete attention. She had bought that wretched girl’s truth in front of everyone. She had also  tried to persuade Roopali to leave and she had agreed. But still Gayatri couldn’t gain his attention.

Amar Singh reached Satyavati’s room. She was giving orders to her maid servants on renovating her room. She planned to replace certain furniture. When she saw the king’s fallen face, she dismissed everyone out from her room. “What is it, your highness? I see you are lost in some thoughts?”, she asked.

“I need your help. I am not able to decide what to do with current situation. If I support the girl I love, I will be disrespectful to my people. If I support my people, my love will lose.”, he poured out his heart. She wasn’t surprised. She knew her husband well. 

“Do what you think is right and choose wisely.”, she said. Amar Singh was still confused. He wondered what was right. Roopali watched them from outside. She was in disguise of maid servant. She had escaped from her prison with help of Gayatri’s trusted aides. She had come to visit the king one last time. As she searched for him, she found him discussing his thoughts with his queen. She knew he would choose his people due to his selfless  love for his people.

(To be continued)

The Betrayal Story - Part 32

Gayatri was escorted by the guards to the prison where Roopali was kept. She found Roopali sitting on the floors with her head down. Her hair was unkempt. "Roopali !", Gayatri called her out. She looked up. Her eyes were filled with sorrow. Her face was tear stained. It seemed like she had been crying for many hours. 

"I never knew you would stoop so low to hurt our king. He gave you  identity , house and source of livelihood. And you stabbed him on his back.", the queen taunted. Guilt stung Roopali’s heart while she held the prison bars tightly. Her eyes turned moist. She cried as she couldn't control her emotions. 

"Why are you crying?", Gayatri sneered. "You thought you could get away easily and gain his love by fearlessly attacking your own people. He trusted you more than anything else. Your false tears can never gain my sympathy. I am not like others.", she continued. Roopali didn't stop crying and the queen continued attacking her with words, "You know what ? After all this, I don't think the king would forgive you. If I were you, I would run away. It's better to run away instead of facing his wrath."

She left thinking she had done enough damage. She was sure that Roopali would escape and return to her place in fear. She had filled her heart with enough fear and guilt that she wouldn't want to stay even for a single minute. She turned back to catch one last glimpse of her and felt happy with her accomplishment. Now she could rest in peace.

Amar Singh Rawal was not in mood to meet anyone. A day had passed since the secret of his beloved was out. His dreams were shattered. He felt depressed thinking of the moments he had spent with Roopali. Everything about her seemed fake. But his heart wasn't ready to accept. There was a great battle between his heart and mind. His heart wanted to forgive her and accept her despite of her flaws while his mind wanted to shun her away from his life. 

He wanted to believe her story. But his country always came first. As he thought about her more, he thought of the pain she had endured. Suddenly he remembered about few weeks back when Roopali had tried to tell him something. It seemed like she was holding something. He had tried to coax her to speak but she never spoke about that thing. Then he remembered about the day before he had gone for a war to avenge his friend's death. She had tried to stop him from going many times. He didn't listen to her. In fact he thought she didn't want to stay apart from him. Immediately he began to feel restlessness.

(To be continued)