Patrani (The Chief Queen)

White flag

Aaryawati's POV

"God, please help me with this." I took a deep breath and prayed. Then mentally took the blessings of my parents, in laws and elders. I then prayed for the safety of Aaryaveer, his army and my team too.

"Hurry, Your Majesty, King Sanketsingh has arrived at the doors of the fort." A female warrior came into my chambers to alert me.

I went towards the door of the fort. I looked at Utsav and signalled. He shouted in a shrill woman-like voice "NOW!" Actually he was dressed as a woman just like all the other male soldiers.

Suddenly the whole fort was filled with raised white flags that were hoisted from various balconies. It was the sign of surrender. I was aware that by now, the rumour must have been wafting into the capital that in the absence of the Kings, the Queen Aaryawati have surrendered to the enemy. The citizens might have been despising me. But I wish they get to wait and watch what was about to unfold.

Luckily, in the absence of the Royals (they were safely tucked away in the tunnel), I could now act like the pregnant Queen Aaryawati. They do not need to know about my presence. Besides, the female warriors, Utsav and my personal army were present and they knew about my identity. They were trained enough to never reveal that to anyone without my commands.

As the door of the fort descended through the chains, I saw Sanketsingh advancing towards us, with an evil grin. He was in black, followed by his ministers Vanit Singh (the Prime Minister of Sanket Kingdom) and Shishir Singh (the Commander in Chief of the army). The trio were infamous about their obsession with alcohol and women. Following them were around hundred soldiers. I heaved a sigh of relief. We were around sixty five. We could overpower them we could handle the crises more tactfully.

Soon the trumpets of victory were blown by the rival army. One of their soldiers dared to run past me and enter the fort. For them it was a mere fort. For me, it was my home.

"Welcome!" I welcomed Sanketsingh with the Pooja thali (the plate with ingredients to extend traditional Indian welcome) and put vermilion on his forehead with my finger. He grinned at me and then looked at my baby bump appreciatively.

Then he took a leisurely head to toe glance at me and commented "I much say, Queen Aaryawati. You have maintained your shape beautifully even after being so beautifully pregnant!"

I gave him a small smile but cringed within. If we would have been alone, I would have had broken his bones by now. My dagger was enough to slit his ugly mouth.

"I, on behalf of the Aaryasatta kingdom, would like to welcome you and your army to my humble abode." I said as he continued to march towards the entrance of my home.

"Correction, Your Majesty!" He stopped on his tracks, turned around and looked at me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"From now onwards, this is MY abode." He said with arrogance and then continued walking.

Suddenly I saw the black flag of Sanket Kingdom getting hosted on the topmost balcony, by the moron soldier who had previously rushed past to me. I never felt so humiliated in my entire lifetime. I secretly vowed to eradicate the existence of Sanket Kingdom by tomorrow evening.

We entered the Fort. Towards the courtroom, he glanced appreciatively at the antiques, carvings and statues that were used lovingly to decorate the fort. Actually, after I got married, I used to decorate the Fort with the pretext of overhearing the conversations of the people residing in it. That allowed me to get the actual idea about every family member, their traits, personalities and how the Court functioned.

I had specially curated ornamental decorations from far and wide. While everyone in my family had praised me with my sense of design, no one knew the actual motivation I had behind undertaking such painstaking process.

Decorating almost all the nooks and corners of the the fort, specially the courtroom had allowed me to secretly access private conversations of the most influential court ministers and the visiting public as well .

"The Fort is beautiful. But it needs to be grander." Chuckled Sanketsingh.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, with the war loot, we could change the look of the entire fort!" Snickered Vanit Singh.

"We could change the other things too!" Shishir Singh looked lewdly at the woman dressed in red saree. I had difficulty to keep a straight face. Little did Shishir Singh know that the person in the red was Utsav. I looked at Utsav who seemed to be lost, doubting the purpose of his existence.

We went towards the Courtroom where Sanketsingh was a bit disappointed seeing a throne that was too simple for his taste.

"I must say, compared to the decorations of the fort, the throne is little too.... Ummmm simple for my taste." He remarked.

"Actually, both the kings believe that the true power of the throne lies in the strong soul of the ruler, and not the decorations and embellishments." I clarified.

That was true. My husband and father in law believed in simple living and high thinking.

"I must say that the male members of your family are too simple for this generations, you know. Following principles is useless. This generation belongs to shrewd and cunning people. Look at me! I didn't even need to do any hard work to battle you. Seeing that women were alone, I easily could capture the fort!  If I had followed the rules of the war, it would have been considered immoral and improper! But who follows the rules everyday?" He lectured me as he sat on the throne that belonged to my husband.

I tried to prevent an expression of pain and rage coming on my face. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sangeeta, one of the fellow spies entering the court.

She looked at me and stomped her anklet clad feet twice. Softly. I got the signal.

"Your Highness, as a part of a welcome, I have arranged a night of delicacies and alcohol for you and your men." I said sweetly.

"What you do want?" He asked me, wondering why the captured helpless pregnant Queen was buttering him .

"Actually... ummmm I wanted to request you to save me. Please don't hurt me. Have mercy on me. I am pregnant." I said.

"Do you realise that you are carrying a potential threat to my rule, in that womb of yours ? A Royal blood?" His tone was dangerously malicious and evil.

"Please spare me!" I tried to make my begging sound more authentic.

"Your Majesty, I have no option but to capture you! Guards, throw her into the jail. And mind you, throw her into the jail meant for the male criminals!" he laughed evilly, impressed with himself.

I looked at Utsav and Sangeeta but they looked panicked. The prison part was completely out of the plan. But again, I knew that it won't deter my original strategy, if all the steps were followed methodically. With it without me, the war would be won. I scratched my head as the prisoners escorted me towards the prisons, housing criminals.

I had to find out the way to get out of the place. And that too quickly.