The next few days, Tanisi did not turn up leaving Samudra baffled. He could not hold himself any longer. He sent summons to her through his royal guard. Tanisi came to meet him at the discussion hall. She looked weathered. He did not understand why she was so. He motioned her to sit which she did not. She politely declined and stood. Samudra said to her, “Tanisi, I asked you to sit. Do not defy me. I as the Samrat can punish you for that and the sentence is as per my whim. So says the Nyaya Samhita. You would not even get a chance to raise a trial or request another hearing. I can do however I please.”
Tanisi sat down and asked, “Why did you summon me my Lord?”
Samudra: “You were to come to the Palace and help me keep the records. You never turned up. I had to summon you invariably.”
Tanisi: “I was not keeping well Your Highness. Hence could not come. I did not see anyone a
Padma was getting desperate. She was now in the Old Palace. Aarna was always lost in her own world. Pradyumna who had seen her bad mouthing Tanisi, had distanced himself from her. She had to fend for herself and needed a job for that. Daily she would leave the Old Palace and go around doing odd jobs. Sometimes she helped florists to prepare garlands. Sometimes help the clothing merchants fold the clothes and keep them back neatly arranged. She finally found an old lady who used to sell vegetables who needed help to get the vegetables to the market and to take care of her. Her only son had gone to the war and never returned. She was paid a huge fortune by the Emperor for her son’s service. But she was a prideful woman to simply use the money given to her. So, she had taken to growing and selling vegetables. But was now too old to manage everything herself. Her vision had blurred, and her body had grown weak. She took a liking to the honey laced words of Padma.
After months, Samudra returned. He was slightly injured. This worried Tanisi. He specially asked for her for taking care of him. Tanisi genuinely took good care of him. Samudra recovered very quickly and one day before Tanisi could meet him and discuss Padma with him, he had left for the court due to urgent matters.In the court, there were many cases pending which needed lawful closures. Samudra became very busy. Tanisi could hardly meet him.One day she got to know from Vishwa that Padma had filed a complaint with the Emperor that Bhavabhooti had misbehaved with her in full public view. Tanisi was worried but Vishwa could not divulge more details as the case was directly under the purview of the Emperor.Even after knowing this Tanisi could not speak to Samudra as his schedule was packed. Then Vishwa brought the news that Padma was going to compromise with Bhavabhooti. He also got the news
Samudra appeared angry but he continued to speak, “I have an announcement to make after which the culprits can be sent to complete their sentences”.He paused and then with a bright smile continued, “After the recent wars, I have come to the point where my life feels very lonely. Hence, I have decided to get married. The announcement about my bride would be withheld due to security concerns of the concerned Kingdom as this could invite the wrath of the Kaingityas which would prove expensive to us. As a gift from me, all the taxes for this year are waived off. Also, I would apologise in advance, but the wedding is decided to be a low-key affair due to threat from the enemy as they could use this occasion to hatch sinister plans. After the wedding, a grand feast would be organised to which everyone in the capital would be invited.”The court burst into congratulatory salutations,
Shourya and Bhavya had arrived. Next day Samudra summoned them along with Vishwa and Naksha to his discussion hall. Naksha was angry but Vishwa was puzzled. He directly spoke before Samudra could even open his mouth. He said, “Samudra, what are you upto. The wedding is the day after and there is no news from any of the Kingdoms? Who are you marrying? And why is it so silent?”Samudra said, “As I already told you there is a threat of Kaingitya’s attacking. So, everything is to be done in secret. Now have you readied everything for Tanisi?” Vishwa quietly nodded.He turned towards Shourya and said, “Her groom is a very important man. Make sure your gifts are upto his status.” Shourya simply nodded, while Bhavya and Naksha did not even look at him. He sent them all away.Bhavya and Naksha immediately went to Tanisi and started chatting to
Samudra came down to find Vishwa waiting for him. He beckoned him closer and with an arm on his shoulder pulled him towards the Royal Food Hall. They both sat down waiting for others.All the grudges, anger etc., had now withered away. Vishwa and Naksha were the happiest to see Samudra marrying Tanisi. Vishwa looked at Samudra and saw a contented man. He decided to tease his friend.Vishwa: “So… How’s life?”Samudra: “Amazing, astounding, marvellous, stupendous. Words cannot describe it. I did not know making love feels this ecstatic!!”Vishwa closed his ears and said: “Lord Ishvara, Samudra spare me the dirty details.”Samudra: “You asked for it…” and grinned his most wicked grin.Vishwa: “How is Empress Tanisi’s life?” and wi
Since the Empress needed rest, the Royal Feast was postponed. On the eight day of their wedding, Acharya held a great fire ritual in the Royal Palace. That night, The Royal Feast was held with great grandeur. It was attended by one and all.The moderners who had attended the feast were dumbstuck to see that the Empress of Nishantha was none other than Tanisi. Till then only Bhavya had known and she was prohibited from letting the news out.Soon the news spread like wildfire to other parts of the kingdom as well. It reached the ears of Bhavabhooti and Padma too. While Bhavabhooti held his head in shame for insulting and berating the future Empress of Nishantha, Padma's jealousy knew no bounds. Pradyumna had cut ties with her. Bhavabhooti too had maintained his distance from her. She was now infamous for trying to hoodwink The Emperor. People disliked her wherever she went as her infamy reached them before her.Rubbing salt to her wounds was this news which meant,
Samudra saw her intently looking at him. He smiled and said, "Does it sound unbelievable?" Tanisi: "But why wouldn't you marry again? What if something happens to me? Or what if I cannot become a mother?" Samudra: "Then I would adopt Naksha's son and make him my successor." Tanisi: "But you can marry another woman and become a father too..." Samudra: "I cannot marry again Tanisi. This is a promise I made to my mother when she was on her deathbed. <Sigh> Well I think you need to know all of my family's history. My father and my Uncle were not the only siblings. My father was the eldest. But they were totally eight brothers but of different mothers. The Royal Palace was embroiled with politics, scheming, coups and what not. My father was fed up of always having to watch his back. Slowly the brothers fought amongst themselves and they met mysterious ends. Only my father and my Uncle Makaranda whom you have already known remained. My father did not
The entourage reached the venue of the annual Council of Kings meet. This time it was held in the Kaushala Kingdom. Upon the Nishantha Emperor's arrival the host King and his Family had gathered at the doorway to welcome them. The King had three wives and two princesses. However, he was aware of Samudra's vow to his mother and his marriage to Tanisi. Hence was a little disappointed for losing the chance of having one of the most powerful Emperor as his son-in-law. The princesses too wanted to see who was the woman who was now the Empress of Nishantha. The Queens were the only one not bothered. They had for long known Samudra wasn't interested in political marriages and that the Princesses of Kaushala would never be his beloved wives. At the entrance, the welcoming party gasped at the newly wed couple. They had thought Samudra was the most charming Emperor and he wouldn't find a match. But seeing Tanisi they were dumbstuck. Her beauty was ethereal but her aura was gentle. Who
Tanisi snuggled up to him. Samudra was extremely happy, but was still not willing to let go of punishing Tanisi. He kept thinking and suddenly a wicked idea propped up into his head.He loosened his embrace and looked into her eyes by lifting her chin up with his index finger and said, " My Love, what a wonderful day today is. I got to play naughty around you early morning, got into an adventure, and now got a love confession. Hmmm... Very good. However, as you said nobody should misuse power. Hence, you too cannot forego your punishment. You dared to defy me again, forgetting I am the Emperor of the Land. How dare you ignore me? You should have praised my efforts, instead you thanked God; you should have followed me back to check if I was hurt or if I needed anything, you didn't. On top of it, you joined hands with Naksha to make me feel envious and stood cuddling Bahu?! I think I have been too lenient towards you. Before I fell in love with you, Naksha didn't dare to play a
Tanisi, opened and closed her mouth few times. Words forsake her. She was not able to think coherently due to the panic that rose in her earlier and now the embarrassment of pouring her heart out. Samudra: "Calm down Tanisi. Tell me what you wanted to talk about." Tanisi suddenly felt as though her thoughts had strung together. She spoke. Tanisi: "I wanted to talk about two things. First about Pradyumna and Naksha." Samudra was so disappointed, his face said it all. He had hoped she would speak about what he wanted to hear so desperately. But he quickly regained his composure and looked keenly at her as though saying go ahead. Tanisi: "I think Pradyumna likes Naksha. I don't know how it is in your society. But you asked her to move on which I suppose indicates she can remarry. Am I correct?" Samudra: "Yes, you are correct and that is what I meant. I saw Pradyumna's smile being warm towards her. I realized he probably loves her. Naksha
Samudra went back to his Palace and took a bathe to clean the sweat and dirt off. He summoned the Royal doctor who told him Tanisi was now fine with a smug smile on his face. Samudra still had a stern expression on his face. He came down to look where she was. He now had the doctor's permission to break his abstinence. He wanted a reward for his daring act for the day from his beloved wife. He came near the discussion hall to find Naksha dressing Pradyumna and Tanisi... wait, what!? Tanisi was cuddling Bahu and kissing the child's chubby cheeks!! Samudra was now enraged. Tanisi and Naksha had their back towards Samudra, but Pradyumna was facing him and he saw the emperor. He slightly bowed his head upon seeing Samudra who acknowledged it and then with a smirk winked at the handsome husband of Tanisi. Samudra understood there was something fishy and soon realized that this was a deliberate attempt to make him jealous. He smiled a victorious smile and once agai
After Padma's incident, Tanisi felt very confused. She didn't know how relevant her feud was with Samudra. But she also felt she shouldn't be lenient towards him. The way she ended up marrying him was not ethical. She wanted to ensure Samudra doesn't twist laws to suit him and wanted this to be a lesson for him. She continued to maintain distance with him but respectfully. Samudra noticed that she had gone back to her original ways, but was still aloof from him. He didn't force her. Slowly Tanisi resumed her war practices. She started to learn more about spying from Naksha as well. During this time Pradyumna was elevated in levels in Samudra's army. He started to frequent the Palace along with Balabhadra the commander-in-chief of Samudra's army. Samudra missed Shourya greatly. He once joked with Tanisi, that he should probably annexe Kritadesha so that he can have Shourya back as his army's commander-in-chief. Tanisi retorted, "Just because you got me through
Samudra:"If you don't want me to punish them I won't force you Padma, but you should atleast reveal the names of the people who did that." Kumuda was now too distraught she kneeled down on her knees and said, "Please my Lord I don't want to relive my ordeal. Can we please stop this here?" She was breathing heavily and was behaving as though her life depended on it. Samudra looked at Tanisi and asked Naksha to come out from her place. Both of them had a shocked expression on their faces. Kumuda looked around and was puzzled as to why Naksha was hidden. Naksha: "What did you say your name was again? I couldn't remember sorry." Kumuda: "Who are you and why should I say my name to you?" Tanisi: "Even I forgot your name. Can you say your name again. Offlate my memory seems to be playing tricks on me." Kumuda: "Kumuda.. My name is Kumuda." Naksha was now enraged. She walked towards her and stood staring at her face. Kum
After breakfast, Samudra took Tanisi to meet Naksha who told them about Bhavabhooti's murder. He was fed up of the hatred he received everywhere he went. Everyone knew how he had tried to trick the Emperor. He had been to a Kaingitya mask maker to get a mask and change his identity to eke out a living. Kaingitya guards had recognised him as the spy from Nishantha. Afraid that their current ruler would be lenient to him, they had hacked him to death. The gruesome details of the incident disturbed Tanisi. She said, "If this is the case, then Padma also must have found it very difficult" Naksha: "Your heart still goes out for her Tanisi? What are you made up of? She put you through so much and yet you are thinking of how she would survive? Well strange news is there is no news about her whereabouts at all!" Suddenly Samudra looked at her as though she had provided him with the solution for a great problem. Samudra: "Naksha, do you know if Bhavabhoo
She regained her composure and was now ashamed at her behavior. She lowered her head and breaking free from his embrace, she dressed his wound. Samudra looked at her lovingly. She caught sight of this and didn't know how to react. She got up and simply left the place. Samudra sat down. He then decided to take his horse "Ativega"(Ati - too, Vega - Fast) out with him for sometime. He shared a very strong bond with his horse and always felt consoled in its presence. He changed his clothes and went downstairs. He heard Tanisi's voice, she was playing with Naksha's child Bhadrabahu. Bahu could now walk and he loved playing blindfold. Samudra walked upto the place where they were playing. The child noticed him and ran to him. Samudra picked him up and caressed him. Tanisi who was blindfolded kept calling Bahu's name. Samudra was reminded of the time when he had rescued her. She was blindfolded then too. A smile crept up on his lips at the naughtiness he had exhibited towards her.&
Tanisi was tied down by Samudra. He wouldn't let her out of sight. He wasn't going to let her go anywhere. Tanisi's poisoning was wreaking havoc. At one point she could think clearly and see that the said events had a long timeline and that Samudra genuinely loved her. But most of the times her thoughts were a chaos and she remembered the past more clearly when compared to recent events making her hate herself.Samudra had seen her mood swings. The Royal Doctor had prescribed another medicine to help her heal quickly. This was prepared and sent by the doctor himself instead of allowing the royal chefs to prepare it.Kumuda was kept under watch without her knowledge. She still sent medicines thinking that Tanisi was consuming it. In some days Naksha requested Tanisi and Samudra to give her audience.Even though Tanisi had toned her attacks down, the relation between her and Samudra had greatly soured. The doctor had told Samudra in private that, she w
Samudra went to his chambers. He found Tanisi relaxing on the swing. He smiled gently at her and asked how she felt now. She looked at him sadly and said, she doesn't feel very well. Just then Naksha asked for his permission to enter. Samudra: "Naksha, what would I do without you! Thanks for bringing this issue to my notice before Tanisi could have been hurt more." Naksha: "Samrat, my intention was to make you scold your heavenly beautiful wife!! But I was shocked to see what she has gone through. Tanisi, I am sorry for having bullied you!" Samrat: "Well I have a task for you, after announcing that, I request our Samrajni(Empress) to punish you for bullying her." Tanisi laughed heartily at their banter which instantly lightened her mood. Samudra: "Naksha, I have a doubt that Kumuda is someone I know. Her story seems too farfetched to be true. For one, Padmanabha (Royal cook) has a particular timetable. For him to find her j