Aru didn’t think it was right that she lashed out at Rama’s wife, because it wasn’t Sita’s fault. But Aru understood Lady M’s hurt feelings. She’d beenhumiliated.
The whole scenario reminded Aru of a girl in her class who’d gotten bullied. Someone had pretended to be the girl’s secret admirer online, then took a screenshot of all their direct messages and sent them in an email blast to every student at Augustus Day. Aru remembered seeing the girl in the hallway afterward and noticing how small she seemed … how alone. It was so bad that thegirl’s parents pulled her out of school. A week later, the bully was expelled, but no one forgot what had happened.
“Despite the outcome, I do not regret my boldness,” said Lady M.
In the vision she knelt alone in the forest, stanching the flow of blood from her face.
“But I am more than my moment of anger.”
The Lady M in the scene looked up, and Aru saw her eyes lit by vengeance. For thefirst time, she seemed demonic.
“In the tales, I am nothing but a monstrous footnote in an epic about gods and men,” she said as the images faded. “But in reality, I was so much more. My brother was never punished for killing my husband, yet I am blamed for starting a war. When I dared to express my feelings to two gods, I suffered not only dishonor but also disfigurement. Forevermore I wouldlive with that mistake—it was as plain as the nose removed from my face. But I also had triumphs and joys. I was a daughter, and I was a sister, and I was a wife, and I was a princess … and I deserve to be remembered for all those things, too. Do you deny me that?”
