Haimavati
Haima caught the fragrance of linseed oil and turpentine as she approached the shrine room.
A couple of knights clattered out of the door that was adorned with sparkling multicolored runes and asterisk. Their mouths twisted with scorn, lowly grumbled names amongst themselves, and hurtled past her. So Lady Chandrika's already been informed. Haimavati simply stood at the threshold for long moments, waiting for her presence to be acknowledged. Fingers clenched to fists and her heart found an uncomfortable spot in her throat. She was purposefully being waited on.
"I see you invited yourself over," a voice then chimed from inside. "Come in, Haima."
Haima walked inside the luxurious chamber loaded with delicacies, her footfalls light against the wooden floor, yet giving an eerie beat to the chilled silence. She went through the extended part of the floor, covered with ornate rugs, supporting an enormous desk lit by the glow of a variety of fragranced art candles.
A deadly thin, lanky but amazingly lithe and flexible woman sat behind the monumental desk. The older woman with attitude did not spare a look at the guest but calmly put the soapstone chalk aside and scrolled the palm leaves, a small smile lingering on her face. Then she pulled the veil of her elegant cotton saree and covered her jet black but with several patches of white hair. The candles gave a sudden flicker and the simple golden necklace around her neck dazzled in soft glow. It was late in the night, and tiredness hadn't caught up with her yet. She still looked tenacious and high-powered as in the day.
Their eyes met, and Haima gazed levelly at her former master. That relaxed posture, that unreadable thin smile, Haima regarded with ire and the heat inside the room increased more and more. However, she amused herself imagining this lanky person lying dead in a shapeless form in a casket. Almourah could build a perfect one for her. Back down and end the feud! She blinked recalling the conversation with Bhagwad. His words suddenly brought her out of the stupor.
"Ready for tomorrow?" Lady Chandrika asked, her voice expressively melodic and pleasant that Haima craved for herself, the voice that meandered with a purpose to make anyone fall in her charm.
"Will it matter a trifle if I say no?" Haima asked.
Lady Chandrika leaned back, her smile deepening. "Absolutely not. Tomorrow's event is going to represent a revolutionary breakthrough in Paramarashtrian magic. For the very first time, a certain dark magic is going to be accepted in the Panchayat, and will be practiced by the Clan of Maya hereafter. And you, Haima, must start showing some gratitude to me. Believe me, everything I'm doing is a favor to you for all those times you've helped me in my missions. The Great Hunt, how can you forget the best times we had together."
The Great Hunt. The unforgettable mission that first brought Haima to perceive the other side of Lady Chandrika, and had their successful working partnership dissolve into acrimony and mistrust.
A little over twenty years ago, the country was savaged by numerous invisible beings causing indeterminate sickness, cruelly turning normal humans into vicious beings processing magic. This was believed to have been started in the small suburbs of Uttarameer, and the victims' own cursed touch was spreading to others, sickening them. Evidently, the sickness had the potential to develop and escalate seeing the growing number of humans suffering. On the High King's approval, who was Haima's husband at the same time, Lady Chandrika and Haimavati partnered together to put an end to this transformation by killing each and every transformed person. Not to mention, they were indeed successful in stopping the sickness from spreading to the entire country.
This was however done in secrecy, meaning- magic was meticulously used, which dissuaded the mass panic from consuming the people. Haima, known for creating a variety of abnormal but safe-to-humankind invisible beings, sent a troupe of her army to slaughter the transformed humans down. The mission was a great success, extending Haima's sphere of influence throughout Uttarameer and also had given her the status of High Priestess.
In the later years, Haima discovered the source of the sickness. She realized that it wasn't in fact a sickness in the first place. The normal humans were still humans, but only being engaged with newly found magic. A gift was being circulated amongst humans from a formidable source. Lady Chandrika was against the idea, the fear of more normal humans surpassing her powers weighed heavily on her. And for that very reason, she'd plotted to murder the humans down for her own benefit.
This was unknown to Haima. The shock of being deceived by her very master was still fresh in her heart. However, questioning her master's back would have been a miscalculation on her part. She was forced to hold back on confrontation, given her fright of circumstances turning against her. Endira had just returned with a child. Only Haimavati, Singh and now Parthiva knew that the unnatural procreation had happened when Haima had sent her troupes to the suburbs. Seeing the sudden calamity fall on El Sayed's family, Haima had no other choice but to suppress her anger towards her master in order to withhold information.
Today, after so many years, Haima was still scared. Not of the arrogant woman sitting in front of her, but of her son-like Almourah who was yet unaware of this information.
"The Great Hunt," Lady Chandrika said, pondering. "The best times, weren't they?"
"You used me," Haima whispered, throat bubbling with an insane grudge. "I was only a research and now an experiment to you."
"Wrong," Lady Chandrika said, "I sincerely appreciate your help. And believe me, my impression of you has reverted to how it used to be when you brought Almourah back from his death brink. You proved his accusations wrong about my son attempting to murder him. And in return, I'm going to give you a path to an easy eternal life. Don't you see, how fortunate you are? You will live long, Haima. Every generation will revere you. What larger gift than gaining immortality could you desire?"
I'd receive the gift of life when I see you and your psychotic son dead!
"Now tell me," Lady Chandrika asked. "What's the purpose of this late-night meeting?"
"I came here to talk," Haima said, trying to keep her peace and remembering her conversation with Bhagwad. "I sincerely wish this meeting to be between you and me. No need for the Panchayat to be involved. I promise I'm not here to offend you in any way. Not this time. Can you spare a few moments?"
Lady Chandrika gazed at her for a moment. "You came here to speak treason, have you not?" she said and gestured to the chair resting on the other side of the table. "Let me cut through something quickly," she continued as Haima sat. "We've had our differences. You did everything you had to do to get away from my proposals. But now you must have realized that the time is of the essence. It's probably best for everyone if you back down and realize that this is your fate."
Back down. This phrase now beginning to aggravate her. Nevertheless, she forced herself to remain obliged to it. "I choose free will."
"You chose to serve me when you decided to be my apprentice. And who's to say, free will and fate co-exist, don't they not?
Haima sucked her teeth. "I still have a few hours left. There are certainly a lot of things that I haven't used in my defense. You never know, I might be successful in changing my fate that you're forcibly dumping down my throat."
"Like what?"
"Magic," she replied. "My special magic."
Lady Chandrika scoffed. "The fire spirits were summoned for the creation of Yajna. They are the ones writing your fate, Haima. And you should know that they are really hard to manipulate."
"Fire spirits are the embodiment of trickery and chaos too. It was you who taught me to leave them alone rather than to risk shaking hands with them."
"You may be the queen, but that does not give you the freedom to indulge yourself in the areas that are off-limits."
"True, so perhaps I'll stick to what I'm approved of- politicking. Milady, you see, I love my country. This is the universal fact and I'm ready to walk on fire if it's meant to protect my people from the likes of your son, Parthiva. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the proposal was that if I participate in Yajna, attain the glory of eternal life, and marry your son, then you would leave the citizens alone and rule the country. And none of this would happen if Yajna fails. It's too complicated and a matter of high risk for both of us, Milady. So I've come here with a better proposal. Late but something that I guess you'll consider even in this eleventh hour."
Lady Chandrika's face was relaxed. "Go on."
"I'm willing to give up my throne. I'd love to see myself out of your life and never interfere in your family business ever again. I can even convince Endira to move back to live with you. And Almourah to be at your service. Everything will be back to how it used to be before I entered your life. But in order to give up my throne, you need to call off tomorrow's atrocity first. No Yajna. No wedding. And not in a thousand lives I'd need immortality since death will be the sweet release from your son. If you accept my proposal, tonight will be the last you'll ever see me. You have my word."
Silence fell. Two shadows flicked in the faint glow of the candle. Heat slightly rose with the tension in Haima's heart. Who would have thought that these two women, the queens in waiting, the country's most powerful mages and controversial political figures would sit in the corner of this room and make a last-minute dealing? Lady Chandrika seemed relaxed but blinked more times than usual. Sure, something was running through her mind. How Haim wished to read the minds of the people who weren't normal like Kshaturya did.
Time passed by and before Lady Chandrika suddenly broke down laughing.
"Now you've hit a new low," she said through her laughter. "For the deity's sake, Haima. You've built an empire, name, fame, and whatnot for yourself. Do you really want to give up everything just for the petty reason of not wanting to become my son's bride? Move on, Haima. Just move one. This is not the end of your life. Just accept this alliance and let things be as it is. Let's rule this country together, alright? I'll be the one to make things the same as they have always been. I can promise you that much."
Back down. End the feud. "People are dying because of your revolutionary dark magic, Milady."
"Their families are being compensated. Worry not."
Haima frowned with surprise. "You're bribing them to keep their mouths shut by lending them gold. This makes you what, a goddess?"
"Most certainly," she said. "Panchayat permitted my son to build a temple in my honor. Didn't you hear?"
Haima swallowed a sour spit, as well as her self-respect. "Please! I'm begging you. Don't let this happen. It's the matter of my life."
"Nothing is going to stop tomorrow's event."
"Even if I give up my rights over the throne?"
"Yes," Lady Chandrika said hastily. The hastiness sounded a bit off. "The contract was to see whether or not Yajna worked. Yours participating in it is inevitable."
Haima couldn't help but feel baffled at the response. Her mind raced. Something was wrong. Lady Chandrika had always been after her throne. Giving it up should have made her jump with joy. This trick, however, was the last resort. Now what was Haima left with? How else could she stop this woman from further subjugating her? Hot tears burned in her stinging eyes.
"I do understand your concern, Haima," Lady Chandrika continued. "You are driven by your own personal values and beliefs. Marrying someone because of external circumstances could be quite a bit of a challenge. But it's not like this is happening to you for the first time, is it? You've claimed to make this sacrifice before for your parents. So why are you shying away now?"
"People who once revered me are now pelting and spitting in my face," Haima said, her voice rising. "You and your son ruined everything!"
"I am giving you a second chance," Lady Chandrika said. "To be happily married to a Samagraha and rule the country, and not just be a High King's widow anymore. You should be grateful to me for that. And if it is about your honor in the eyes of the people...well, they will forget everything once you become an El Sayed. You were desperate to learn magic when you first came rushing to me and willfully swore your alliance. And now antagonizing me will only make you selfish to the point of gross stupidity."
"You have the room to speak about swearing alliance and antagonizing? Who knows better than me how your showdown race with Lady Drishtika went to what level of score?" She smiled before adding, "Bait and switch."
Lady Chandrika's face twitched. "My life hasn't typically been a rose garden that you build in your backyard, Haima. It had only its own share of thorns. So, let's save the comparison. The point I want to make is that my son never asked me for anything, but to forgive you, even after you tore down my family. And here you are, sitting alive in front of me and daring to..."
"No, that cannot be the reason. I have known you way before your son did, and I know how that brilliant mind of yours works. You would have never accepted to forgive me, had there been nothing to your benefit."
Lady Chandrika stared. "It's late. Don't let the door hit you on your way out."
"There is something beyond the strength of the throne that you're after. Something more terribly attractive."
"You came here to make inquiries?"
"I learned how to conspire from you, Milady. And I think it is just another conspiracy that you would forgive me only for the sake of your son's happiness. Seeing how brutally you disinherited Endira and rashly exiled Khasturya."
"Would you like to explain where this theory of yours is leading to?"
"You've used me ever since we met. You took advantage of my magic, my status, my reputation. This is almost making me believe that you are using Parthiva too."
Pause. Shadows flickered. Jutting staunchness began to appear in Lady Chandrika's features. "Out. Get out!"
Haima snickered. Her plan tonight might have failed, but at least she had hit a hard nerve and also learned a great lesson. Backing down? Such a terrible terrible idea. The swirl of today's conversation had helped her exercise more tenacity and she felt fueled by the zeal to triumph over the war by any means. The throne is mine and forever will be. She stood up and set her saree straight. "I repeat my statement, Milady," she said. "I love my country, and I'm ready to walk on fire to protect my people from the likes of your son. But mind you, I'm not willing to let you control me anymore. Good luck tomorrow."
Only if Lady Chandrika had accepted Haima's proposal that day...
-x-