Hira Garden

  It had been a week on the road. The Swarapa Kingdom was larger than I had imagined—mostly emptiness dotted with trees here and there. Eventually, I spotted a bannerman holding the Roaring Lion banner standing before the woods. I stopped right in front of them as they knelt.

  I had never been to Hira Garden before. As I dismounted, I asked,

  “Is the Emperor in here?”

  The guard kept his head bowed.

  “Yes, my lord, but… with company.”

  I pushed them aside and walked along the track lined with large trees. King Gibra had not been wrong about Hira Garden; it was truly beautiful. The dense trees eventually gave way to perfectly trimmed short grass and open plain, leading to a small mount. I climbed to the top and saw a large lake spread out below.

  There stood Emperor Thejan beside a tall vertical stand with a scroll stretched across it. He was painting, using a squirrel-hair brush to add highlights. Opposite him lay Amirtha, unrobed, reclining on her side atop a ruby throne emblazoned with the mountain goat sigil.

  I descended and approached the Emperor, carefully keeping my eyes averted from Amirtha. As I reached him, she stood up and walked toward us.

  I stood beside the Emperor while he continued his delicate brushwork. Amirtha drew close and spoke.

  “Ha! Never seen a naked woman before? Or should I say, never seen a naked Chakran woman before?”

  She took my right arm and pointed to the red thread tied by Kani.

  “You stink of Pathukalas!!”

  I realized then that I had been followed on that route. The only one who could have known was—

  “Was it Gupa!!”

  She patted my cheek.

  “You’re not as dumb as I thought. Good.”

  Emperor Thejan stared at me, his long beard framing sharp eyes. Dressed in a leather jacket and white cotton dhoti, he said,

  “Never doubt the smartest Chakran!!”

  Amirtha smiled at him, picked up her robe, and walked toward the tent near the lake.

  The Emperor’s expression changed. He muttered,

  “Shit, I need to say something to keep the Empire together, ha!”

  He gave me a hard slap on the shoulder, wrapped an arm around me, and started walking.

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  “Keep those Uthagans close. The moment you let them loose, they’ll join the Sathyeras, and I don’t want a border beyond the mountains with them. So tell me—how is my grandson?”

  Kingdom of Uthaga, the border kingdom between us and Sathyera Amirtha's brother Amaran rules it for now. This is so far I know about them but I didn't care about it as this was the most satisfying moment of my entire journey. He was finally speaking to me in a way I had never expected.

  I smiled.

  “No, she didn't show me my son and said it was not the right time! And she was angry at me while leaving!!”

  “Ah, did the fool Senga cause any trouble, Adhiya? Tell that idiot he’s too old to act like a reckless man.”

  I smiled again.

  “So… Kani, uh!” He sneaked on me

  I scratched my head.

  “I think I might be the last Chakran Emperor with a single wife.”

  I fell silent.

  “Don’t think badly of me,” he continued. “I always loved your mother and always will. This drama is for the Empire’s wellness. She was the woman who stood by me when the entire world called me an idiot. You were born very late—you couldn’t have seen our romance in the Empire.”

  He had never spoken to me like this, let alone for this long, in my entire life. He went on.

  “It was long overdue. We should recognize Pathukalans as a Kingdom. I know most of them won’t join—stupid pride—but it would be repayment for the goodness Selvan did to me.”

  “Goodness???”

  He reached into my cloth bag and pulled out Selvan’s gift.

  “You wouldn’t know. No one would know. During the attack on Kalam—the final battle—we kept the city under siege. Maravan-the-First decided to hold the fort as long as he could. My brother Aadhi wanted to wait, but I was an idiot back then. I took my only elephant, padded its trunk with iron spikes, and rammed the wall. Somehow, I broke through.

  “The soldiers were ecstatic—they had been starving for three months. They killed any man they saw and raped every woman they could grab. But my elephant broke loose, threw me off, and charged toward me. At that moment, Selvan saved me from my own beast. In return, I promised him safe passage, but he refused. Somehow he escaped and lied to his people.

  “Decades later, his foolish son, Maravan-the-Second thought he could overthrow me with Ankalan support and waged war—Aravan of Ankala and him together. I decided to finish the Ankalans altogether. But when Sikala told me about my grandchild, the grandfather in me stopped everything. I’m an old man. What else do I want other than grandchildren? My brother Aadhi never married, and your brother… oh god.”

  My eyes widened in excitement as he mentioned my brother.

  “What about my brother!!”

  We sat on a stone bench overlooking the lake. We walked around it, talking. Now Amirtha’s tent stood opposite us on the far shore.

  “I think I have some sort of curse,” he said with a laugh. “My sons always fall in love with my enemies’ daughters.”

  I looked confused. He laughed again.

  “You think you kindled the Sathyeras with your petty gurukulam conflict with Janath? Your brother! He did the unimaginable. Every day he made me proud—except that one day he disobeyed me. He infiltrated the Sathyera capital, Kadanchi, took the princess, and eloped to a foreign land.

  “I wouldn’t blame him. He saw what love was from me and your mother. He thought the woman he loved was more important than the crown and left us. Emperor Nomar and I came to a mutual agreement: if the commoners knew, it would be a grave insult to the Sathyera Empire. We erased both of them from all records, poems, songs—destroyed their paintings. But the puny kid Janath couldn’t accept that his sister eloped with a Chakran. As soon as he became emperor, he started these ambushes.”

  He exhaled heavily.

  “Hope you got all the answers to your questions!! And good job on the Gandar squad. Their actions disappointed Janath I guess so he sent his 4 best commanders to meet you. I guess I know you could easily manage them, that's why we didn't intervene and how is your wound?”

  I exhaled

  “Thanks for trusting me! . I gave the urmi as a sign to take out the remaining Sathyerans spies in the capital. I even got a scroll from Amirtha demanding an explanation. The wound is almost healed”

  He smiled.

  “She thinks she’s the smartest Chakran. Let her find it out!!” and inspected my wound marks

  This was the best moment of my life. I never thought I would have this kind of conversation with my dad. I realized he was slowly grooming me to become Emperor.

  “I’m not going to take the throne for another five years, I will enjoy the prince's privilege, ” I said.

  I looked at him.

  “I looked desperate right, didn’t I? I want to retire soon. The throne is not what everyone thinks it is. Fine—I’ll wait until the annexation of Sathyera, but no more than that.”

  “Hmm,” I nodded then he continued

  “Kariyan—who knew he had all this talent? Everyone dreamed of a bigger ship, but he did it. I’m a bit worried about your promise to that lousy Swarpa scum!! Merchants should be kept in control, or else they’ll suggest they finance wars and win cities so they can trade freely. The Pathukalan idiots walked right into the merchants’ trap with that one. When I rebelled, they supported and financed me all the way to the throne, expecting a favor. The favor I did… I hate betrayers more than anyone. The merchant unions were no less than betrayers to the Pathukalans. I executed every one of them. Be careful with this.

  And some say your brother is in Mahanad.”

  I looked surprised he knew everything—from the promise I made to King Gibra to Kariyan’s fleet.

  “You think I wouldn’t know this just because I’m practically retired and always in Hira Garden? The Emperor has a million ears and eyes, Adhiya. Those stupid Pathukalans think I can’t find them. I can tell you exactly where they are right now. Even when we invite them for your coronation, Selvan and most of them won’t come—they believe in their old, stupid rules.

  I never wanted to destroy Kalam. It was my favorite city; it taught me life and politics, and changed me from a farmboy into a political leader. But the old rules should die with the city—they were written on it. The rules were so stupid, yet the Ankalans and Sathyerans still follow them. Janath used that as a claim to attack the villages in the Uthagan Kingdom.”

  The sun began to set. Today I hadn’t spoken to the Emperor, nor to my dad. I had spoken to a man who had simply been waiting to be listened to.