Chapter 35
Anger.
It consumed the king like nothing else that he had felt before. He had already torn up the Pranee's old wardrobe. Pieces of fabric were strewn all over the former princess' room yet he didn't feel satisfied.
How in the world was she able to summon the holy elephant?
Half of the soldiers that bore witness to the battle that day were infected with beliefs that the princess was the true ruler. The only cure for such putrid words was to just kill the source. All he had left of the army was only half the people than he had initially but that was no matter. It was only a small hindrance. He still had a white elephant so no one could doubt he was royalty. If this news broke out to the common people who knows what they would say. An even more worrying thought would be what they would do if they ever found out.
"My lord."
"What is it now Charunee?"
The woman was on her knees with her forehead pressed against the ground. The king exhaled and put a hand to his forehead.
"Rise and speak. Now."
"There have been talks of a strange woman wandering around the barracks at night."
"A trespasser? Was it the princess?"
"No, she looked much too old to be the princess. She had very long, black hair as well."
"Then it doesn't concern me."
"Your highness, the soldiers have lost morale and this woman is spooking them even more."
"Why are they scared of a woman?" He shouted the words and Charunee flinched but quickly regained her composure.
"They think it's Nang Tani."
"Nang... Tani. The lady of the wood?"
"Yes, the beautiful woman that lives in banana trees and harms any man that has ever hurt a woman."
The king gave a frustrated sigh. "Where would she even appear? All the banana trees on the palace grounds produce edible fruit. There's no tree that could possibly host a spirit."
"Well... there's actually a new tree in the garden that produces no fruit."
"What?" His voice came out as a hiss and his jaw locked.
"Yes, it miraculously grew there overnight."
The lines in his forehead deepened and the only thoughts in his mind were ones of outrage. "That shouldn't be possible."
"But it happened."
"Cut it down then."
His suggestion was met with a loud gasp from Charunee. Her eyes betrayed her unchanging expression and Ritthirong could recognize that it was outrage. He had seen it so many times in other people but not in Charunee.
"Are you crazy? No one is willing to step near that side of the palace. You won't be able to convince anyone to cut down that tree. Nobody wants to be afflicted with such misfortune."
Charunee instantly became silent and Ritthirong's teeth gritted together. He could see sweat instantly forming on her forehead as if she realized that she had talked back rudely. He took a few deep breaths before he was able to respond.
"Is this another superstition the civilians of thigs kingdom believe?"
"Yes, spirits often terrorize those in the countryside. It would be in our best interest to appeal to the more poverty-stricken areas by addressing what they view as major concerns. Like spirits." Charunee's breath was slightly haggard but the words that came out of her mouth were steady and calm.
Ritthirong let out a low hum, thinking over what Charunee just said. She watched him with what seemed to be anxious eyes and he sneered. If she wasn't so useful, he wouldn't have hesitated to fire her or even execute her for her insult.
He cleared his throat. "It seems my emotions have gotten the best of me. So, you're saying that this is just... something that can't be solved?"
"I would highly recommend bringing in a monk or a master wizard," Charunee stated. "The current wizards on staff wouldn't be able to handle this situation. They didn't study long enough to be able to rid of such a dangerous spirit."
"Then summon a monk and have it fixed as soon as possible."
"Yes, my lord."
She quietly left the room and he was left by himself again.
It was disaster after disaster. The kingdom of Isla had superstition embedded into its very being. He only recently allowed citizens to start visiting again to pray to the white elephant after a gruelling month. The people had already made a big fuss about not being able to visit just to pray to an elephant. If they heard about the spirit in the garden with the combination of Pranee summoning Airavata, it would only mean his image would be tarnished permanently.
It was even more of a pain now. He didn't have to worry about just one royal sibling but two.