I exhaled deeply, trying to focus on one thing at a time.
Girls are better than boys. My niece was better than those twins.
“So, where have you been?” he asked again, and I smiled.
“Um… you were right to doubt,” I couldn’t help but declare.
His eyes widened.“What? Is that true?” he asked in shock, but suddenly the child broke into even sharper cries.
Abhinandan sang him a lullaby in baby language, and I swallowed hard in silence.
“Then?” he asked.
“Um… I went to see that, and yes, it was there. I don’t know what to name them,” I said, and the other child started crying.
He exhaled in frustration.“Trisha,” he called.“Trisha, they’re crying.” He called even louder when I saw his wife running to him.
“Pranaam, Rani-sa,” I bowed slightly, and she nodded.
“Ji, pranaam,” she replied.
“Take them away for a bit,” he muttered, annoyed, and her reaction didn’t go unnoticed by me; it sounded like,‘Want more babies?’I struggled to suppress my laughter and glanced at Abhinandan’s flushed face as she took the babies away with the attendant’s help.
“So, yes, where were we?” he said, scratching his brow and replied,“Yes, canons; these are called canons. My cousin in the Sultanate of Darmiyan, Kainat, and one more—I forgot the name—owns them; I think it’s Hamid Sultanate,” he continued, and I furrowed my brow in confusion.
“So, is there a chance they could be the same people?” I asked, and he shook his head, confused.
“No, but the area they cover is vast, and they own the northern Arab region with no clue about what’s in the south. It could be them, or it might be someone else, or it could be someone we’ve never heard of,” he explained, and I bit my lip.
“Well, we can surely find out, but Mehrangarh needs to open his mouth wide,” I said, and he nodded.
“And we can’t just wage war based solely on what we know about Mehrangarh; we don’t know how many kingdoms have already changed hands. These people look sharp; they’re not coming through the door directly; they’re brainwashing our people against us. We can stop Mehrangarh, but what if they have another kingdom as backup?” he said, and my head ached.
It was too much in one day.
“I’m getting it,” I said.
“I think we should alert the other kings, too,” Abhinandan said, and I looked up at him, scratching my head.
“You just said that we are unaware of which kings are already compromised, and now you propose telling them? Don’t you think spreading the word will draw Mehrangarh's attention? I’m not informing my Bhabhi-sa yet because we need a plan for execution that doesn’t put any lives at risk,” I said, and he inhaled deeply, intertwining his fingers in his lap.
“Lives are already at stake, whether or not they know, Kunwar Agastya.” His words made me lower my gaze.
“I know,” I said, adding,“By the way, when are you leaving?”
He furrowed his brows.“Today,”
I pressed my lips together.
“Let me set up a quick meeting. At least Pratapgarh, Mahabaleshgarh, and Suryagarh should stay ahead in the plan,” I proposed, and he nodded in agreement.
I rose from my seat.“Alright, I’ll send someone to bring you to the meeting hall, King Abhinandan,” I said, joining my hands.
He stood up as well.“Ji,”
From there, I walked to Ranvijay Bhai-sa’s chamber.
“Agastya,” Bhai-sa acknowledged, noticing my presence in his chamber.“What happened? Everything okay?” he asked, and I sat beside him.
