A Charmed Life
Naganandini’s eyebrows met across her forehead when she saw Chamundeswari and Adityan walking down the wide staircase together. Agreed that they were distant cousins, but she still did not like to see the two of them together.
And she had wanted Adityan to arrive way before her stepdaughter did. What had made him take this long?
And no, she was never going to acknowledge the fact that the two young people made an extremely handsome pair. Not at all!
The queen wanted Adityan for herself, as her lover. The warrior is not only handsome, but is fabulously built, she thought, studying him as he walked towards her.
“Come and sit down next to me.” Queen Naganandini invited him, pointing to the chair on her left.
Chamundeswari became aware of the undercurrents as she looked from her stepmother to Adityan and back to Naganandini. Not too clear about what happened between a man and woman behind closed doors, the princess was unaware of her stepmother’s love affairs. Why was the queen continuously looking at Adityan? There was an expression of covetousness on her face, as if she wanted to make him hers. The princess realised that she did not like it one bit.
“Chinnamma? Shall we go in to dinner? I feel hungry.” Chamundeswari spoke the words only to draw her stepmother’s attention away from their guest.
Queen Naganandini turned to glare at her stepdaughter as if she were an irksome mosquito. “We will have to wait, Chamundi. Marthandan will be joining us for dinner. He must already be on his way.” Not waiting to see if Chamundeswari had anything to say in response, she returned her gaze to Vijayendran.
Vijayendran would have laughed if he had not found the queen’s attention both tiresome and annoying. What was with the woman? Had she never seen a man in her life before? Handsome as he was, he was used to feminine attention. But usually, it tended to be mutual. No woman had ever forced him to heed her just the way he had never felt the need to compel a woman into spending a night in his bed.
But in this instance, Vijayendran had been doing his best to keep his distance from the queen. She was probably more than a decade older than he was. For one thing, he had never cared for older women. For another, he did not like Queen Naganandini, not at all. Well, he was being judgemental to some extent. It was obvious that she was the proverbial evil stepmother, though he was yet to find out the exact role she played in Chamundeswari’s life. And somehow, Vijayendran felt that she would not think twice about pawing him if he stepped within touching distance. A shudder ran down the length of his body when he imagined the touch of her slender hands on him. Shutting his eyes to control his raging emotions, he took deep breaths to concentrate his mind on the princess—his princess. A sense of calm stole over him barely a few moments later. With a soft smile on his face, he opened his eyes to look directly into Princess Chamundeswari’s gaze, thrilled with the feeling of love and joy flowing through him on seeing the innocence shining out of it.
Chamundeswari, in turn, felt herself rivetted by the expression in his deep, dark gaze, forgetting all about her animosity towards her stepmother. She had to stop herself from leaping into his arms even as she wished they were alone, back in the Pachamalai Forest.
Queen Naganandini sat up straight, her temper building to a crescendo even as her face turned red with fury. How dare did Chamundeswari and this Adityan behave as if the royal queen of Kongunadu was non-existent? How dare they? She had a good mind to throw them both in the dungeons. Just as she was on the verge of uttering some caustic words, a sentry stepped into the hall and bowed low before proclaiming, “May I announce the honourable chief minister, Lord Marthanda Bhupathi, Your Majesty?!”
Marthanda Bhupathi stepped into the entrance hall right in the wake of the sentry, a big smile on his florid face, moving his stocky body slowly across the hall in the direction of the small cluster of people sitting in the centre.
Vijayendran surreptitiously studied the chief minister. Bhupathi was clothed in silk garments, his tunic and veshti heavily embroidered in gold thread. A number of golden chains in various thicknesses and lengths hung from his thick neck while an intricately engraved golden kankanam circled his left wrist. All his ten fingers were adorned by finger rings with the navaratnams glittering in the light of the torches and oil lamps decorating the hall. Of the nine precious gems, the diamonds sparkled the brightest.
“Your Majesty!” Bhupathi stood in front of his sister with his head bowed, a mocking smile on his face.
“Welcome to my palace, Marthanda! I trust you have been well,” said the queen, pushing her rising temper deep within before greeting her brother with a false smile on her face.
“Thank you, Naga. Things could not be better,” he said, rubbing his hands with pleasure before turning his gaze to the princess. “Chamundeswari! I am so glad to see you are back. The whole of Azhagapuri felt so empty without your graceful presence,” he greeted her with a broad smile that did not quite reach his eyes. He could not believe that this slight and timid woman had managed to thwart his men so many times in the past few days, throwing all of Pandiyan’s well laid plans by the wayside. It was not as if she had personally seen to it either. Only one man had returned from the ten soldiers who had accompanied her on her journey. And his spies had brought the information that some relative of hers was their guest now. The man had accompanied her it seemed. He still did not know what had actually happened in the forest; but presumed that the dacoits and his men had managed to kill each other. Bhupathi was unaware that that was the story Velan had gently spread to his cohorts at the barracks.
It seemed as if the princess led a charmed life! So! Now they had a new plan in place, between Pandiyan and himself. They will keep her alive but completely in their control. His smile turned to a wide grin as he gave Chamundeswari a malicious glance.
“Maama!” Chamundeswari brought her hands together in obeisance even as she gave him a broad smile that lit up her whole face. After all, she was too thrilled that she had triumphed over the evil chief minister’s plans and she could not help showing her glee. “I missed home too. How have you been?”
“All great, my dear child.”
“Maama, let me introduce Adityan to you. He is a distant relative on my mother Srivalli’s side. I happened to meet him in Thanjavur and invited him over to our palace,” said Chamundeswari. When Marthanda Bhupathi turned towards Vijayendran, she said, “Aditya, this is my Maama, Sri Marthanda Bhupathi. He is also the chief minister of Kongunadu. Whatever our kingdom is today, it is all because of his able management,” she praised, rolling her eyes to the ceiling and back only for Vijayendran to see.
“Greetings, My Lord!” said Vijayendran, getting up from his seat to bow before the chief minister, bringing his hands together even as he studied the older man’s face from half-closed eyes.
As for Bhupathi, he could not believe his eyes when he stared at their guest. Adityan! No, he had not heard of this man before now. But he could not help noticing that his presence was nothing short of royal in nature. Tall and heavily built, Adityan was so obviously an experienced warrior. But none of his spies had spoken of any warrior—at least none who was well known—by this name. Shrugging mentally, Bhupathi concluded that he was trying to imagine things that were simply not true and smiled at the younger man.
“Welcome to Kongunadu, Aditya. I hope you have an enjoyable stay with us. If you would like to see how our kingdom is run, you are welcome to come along with me and I will be only too glad to show you around.”
“That would be amazing, My Lord!”
“You are welcome to address me as Maama, just as Chamundeswari does,” invited Bhupathi, pleased with the younger man’s manners.
“I would be honoured, Maama!”
Queen Naganandini gnashed her teeth, her hands clenched into fists. Getting up suddenly, she announced, “Let us go have dinner. I am famished.”
If Bhupathi was stunned that he had not even been offered a cup of wine, he did not say it as he took his sister’s elbow in his hand and walked along with her to the dining room. As for Vijayendran and Chamundeswari, they had a difficult time holding back their laughter as they looked at each other before following the queen and the chief minister.
The princess rolled her eyes expressively, while Vijayendran warned her with his eyes before shaking his head.
Her shoulders shook silently in mirth and he had a good mind to tickle her into laughing out loud. Turning his head to look straight ahead, he walked behind the queen and her brother, even as Bhupathi continued to speak to his sister in a soft murmur.
The queen sat at the head of the table with her brother on her right and the guest on her left. Naganandini was happy having the two men on both her sides with her stepdaughter sitting further down the table, next to Bhupathi. It did not strike her that Chamundeswari and Vijayendran were diagonally across from each other and were having the time of their lives communicating with their eyes.
Vijayendran noticed that no expense had been spared in the décor of the room and its lighting. Lamps were lit in every nook and corner while lamp holders were placed down the length of the table, making the dinner plates and goblets shine radiantly. The table itself was long and could seat at least thirty people while the chairs were beautifully carved and well-cushioned.
Elaborate course after course was served during the meal, on nothing less than golden plates. There was white rice along with a delicious curry of crab and ridged gourd. For the second course, there was bamboo rice along with a kozhambu made of tamarind pulp, green mango and the seeds of jackfruit cooked together in a spicy gravy.
Naganandini glared at her when her stepdaughter ate her meal with obvious relish, licking her fingers clean.
As for Bhupathi, he took a second helping of everything, even a third at times, accompanying the meal with several cups of wine.
Vijayendran enjoyed the food, but ate sparingly, sipping on just the one cup of wine which was served in the beginning. He did not care to have a heavy meal at the end of the day, preferring to have a wholesome breakfast instead.
They were served the meat of wild boar that had been cooked over an open fire which Vijayendran found very much to his taste. “This is truly delicious, Your Majesty!” he addressed the queen, much to her pleasure. “I must get the recipe from your chef.”
“That will be no problem at all, Aditya. I will get him to personally show you how it is made. Do you enjoy cooking?” she asked, glad to have his attention on herself.
“I do, Your Majesty! Most of the warriors in the army learn to cook. It is only a few who truly dislike the chore.”
“I see.” She continued to ask him questions about the wars he had fought in and listened to him, agog, when he described his experiences to her.
Chamundeswari glared at the queen and Vijayendran as they conversed between themselves as if they were the only two seated at the dining table.
For dessert, there were sweet potatoes, her favourite. They were boiled, peeled and diced into cubes. These were served in small golden bowls. The chef brought the bowls to the table himself, placing it in front of each person before pouring the fragrant honey over the cubes.
“Sivappa! I am so glad you prepared my favourite dessert,” said Chamundeswari, smiling at the elderly chef who had served in the palace kitchen from even before the time she was born.
“But of course, I did, My Lady! How could I not? With you returning home after so long.” Chef Sivappa gave the princess an adoring smile. Anybody listening to him could be mistaken into thinking that the princess had returned home after several months.
A thoroughly vexed Naganandini said, “Sivappa, the princess had gone only for a week.”
Chef Sivappa bowed his head low before the queen. “That is true, Your Majesty!”
“Then why are you making such a fuss about her trip? As if she was away for months together.”
Chamundeswari bit her lip in amusement even as she met Vijayendran’s mischievous gaze across the table. That the queen was rankled was pretty obvious. And it only made the princess too happy to see her stepmother in a bad temper, especially over herself.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty! It is just that the palace had been so empty without our princess’s laughter.” Sivappa did not realise that he was probably adding insult to injury as he artlessly showed his deep affection for the princess.
It was with great difficulty that Naganandini did not respond to his words as she knew that it would show her in a bad light for the guest to see. Especially a guest she so wanted to impress.
Changing the subject, Naganandini quickly commanded the chef, “Our guest is impressed with your cooking, Sivappa. I want you to show him how we make our meals here.”
Sivappa bowed to her once again before turning to Vijayendran. “I would be honoured, My Lord!” he said humbly.
“Now go!” Naganandini told him firmly.
His head hung low, Sivappa left the dining hall to return to his domain.
After the meal, it took two men to lift Marthanda Bhupathi from his chair as the chief minister was not only too drunk but had also eaten enough food for four men.
Showing a hand up, he said, “I am alright. I do not need any help.” His voice was slurred and his words unclear. The two guards who had helped him out of his chair stood on both sides, eyeing him warily when he staggered on his feet as he weaved his way back to the entrance hall. They were only too aware that lifting him from the floor, if the hefty chief minister fell down, would be a truly difficult task.
Stepping into the hall, he called out loudly, “Where is the vetrilai pakku? Go get it, man, immediately.”
“My Lord!” One of the guards hovering near him, said in a soft voice, “the tray has been set up there, on the table. Would you like me to bring it to you?” The said table was barely two feet away.
Bhupathi lifted his head to frown at the guard, trying to grasp the meaning of his words before his brow cleared. “No, no! I will go to it.” He took a step forward and would have fallen if the two guards had not been alert enough, grabbing the chief minister’s arms and holding him straight.
“Let me go!” growled Bhupathi, trying to wrench his arms out of their hold.
“Just a few more steps, My Lord!” said the sentry on his left, “And we will help you to a chair.”
“If you insist,” grumbled Bhupathi, walking between the two men. “Roll me some betel leaves and nuts together, along with krambu and elakkai.”
“Sure, My Lord!” The sentry quickly removed the central vein from the fresh leaves before folding some areca nuts, along with a few pieces each of cloves and cardamom after removing the skin. Making a few rolls, the sentry offered them to the chief minister.
Bhupathi picked up a couple of betel leaf rolls from the silver tray, popped them into his mouth and chewed them with relish. Turning around, he caught sight of Vijayendran and said, “Come here, Aditya. You must taste this. It is truly delicious and the perfect digestive after the sumptuous meal we just had.”
Vijayendran stepped forward to check the ingredients displayed on the large silver tray. Looking up at the queen who had settled down on her throne, he asked “May I get you something from here, Your Majesty?”
Naganandini gave him an adoring smile. “That would be nice, Aditya. Do roll me a few leaves. But avoid the cloves. I do not care for them.”
“Alright, Your Majesty!” He quickly rolled a few leaves for her before carrying them over to where she was sitting. Handing her the same silver plate with the rolls, he turned to Chamundeswari. “Your Majesty, Princess Chamundeswari! Would you like some too?”
Just as she pouted at him in response, the queen said, “I am sure Chamundi can manage to get herself some betel leaf rolls, Aditya. You sit here with me and tell me more about your life in Thanjavur.”
It was a wonder that Chamundeswari did not lift the heavy thambulam tray along with its contents and throw it on the queen’s head. Such was her temper!
Reading the princess’s expression correctly, Vijayendran mouthed silently, giving her time to read his lips as he said, “Later!”
Chamundeswari jumped up from her chair. “If you will excuse me, Chinnamma, Maama and Aditya. I am tired after the long journey. I think I will go to bed.”
Queen Naganandini’s face split into a wide smile, for the first time in the whole evening. “You are right, Chamundi. I wish you a very good night.”
With Chamundeswari gone to bed and her brother in a drunken stupor, the queen was happy to have Adityan all to herself for the rest of the evening. And who knew? Maybe for the night too!
