Hereafter, Ranasa(Pratap's father) will be referred as Baabasa, Ranisa(Pratap's mother) will be referred as Maasa and Jaiwanta Bai will be called by Pratap and Anamika as Badi Maasa.
Then Jaiwanta Bai went up the stairs and placed the crown on Anamika. With that the ceremony came to an end.
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Anamika's mother Sunaina, arrived late due to natural calamities and went to meet her grandchildren immediately, as this will be the first time she is seeing her grandchildren and the news of war made her restless for the past weeks. Since the children were in their maternal grandmother's care, Anamika after feeding them, went to the inner court where everyone was gathered to clear their confusion regarding Jaiwanta Bai. By the time she arrived there, Pratap was filled in with the information regarding his father's first marriage and Jaiwanta Bai being his first wife and the rightful queen to pass on the crown. As soon as Anamika entered the room, she heard Pratap say,"Babasa, You didn't do right". When they thought that he was referring to his mother, Pratap surprised everyone by saying, "I cannot think about how hard her life have been as a nomad, roaming from one place to another and doing different works to survive. Especially a Princess who had been pampered all her life, it would have been a disaster".
Pratap was still thinking about how hard of a life, Jaiwanta Bai would have gone through. Everyone was surprised at his thoughts and Jaiwanta Bai had happy tears in her eyes, as she herself didn't have any children but now she felt that she has a son, who would be worried for her. Pratap's mother was relieved that her son didn't oppose her decision to bring Jaiwanta Bai here and showed compassion for the later. Pratap's father who was initially immersed in deep regret, guilt as well as happiness on seeing his love, felt thankful for having a son who was not biased and also felt proud of his decision to pass on the crown to such a dignified and Just ruler. Jaiwanta Bai turned towards Rathnavathi (Pratap's Mother) and said, "You have raised him good. I feel satisfied that my sacrifices didn't go waste". And she looked at Pratap and whispered, "Its all worth it". Both the ladies had already conversed a lot before coming to the Palace and resolved their differences and agreed to live in harmony.
It was Dadisa who had encountered Jaiwanta bai in Kashi and made her stay with herself in the temple. After being called back to the Palace, Dadisa did ask Jaiwanta to come but she refused and stayed back. After knowing the truth, Rathnavathi came to Dadisa asking for the whereabouts of Jaiwanta but Dadisa refused to say. Only after pleading on her knees in front of Dadisa, Rathnavathi was able to get the information from her. Dadisa understood her intentions were genuine because she knows that her daughter-in-law cannot let go of her pride just for one of her schemes. Then Rathnavathi wrote a letter for Jaiwanta Bai pleading her to meet atleast once and then only Jaiwanta Bai came to their Kingdom once again after all these years. Both of them met without the knowledge of those in the palace and Rathnavathi convinced her to claim her rightful position after assuring her that she herself had no hard feelings on her or their husband.
Coming to the present, everyone left for their chamber while Padmanab (Pratap's father) and Jaiwanta bai were left alone in the inner court room to clear out their feelings. Padmanab apologized on his knees with tears in his eyes while Jaiwanta bai was trying to make him get up. Finally after he got up, Jaiwanta bai smiled and said that it was none of his fault. Both of them smiled and hugged eachother. Then they sat on the couch together and shared about their own lives while they were apart.
Pratap felt refreshed to be back in their chamber(Anamika's chamber) along with their children who had their own nursery attached to Anamika's bedroom but still they stay in the room till a few months. Pratap and Anamika were simply sitting on the bed with Anamika's head on his shoulder and her hand enclosed in his, while the children were sleeping in the cradle, after spending some time with their Nanisa (maternal grandmother). He couldn't guess what she was thinking, may be she is thinking about their Badi Maasa. He didn't want to spend their time on this memorable day, thinking of others. So he called her, "Anamika". She turned to look at him and asked 'what' through her eyes. Unlike what Pratap had thought, Anamika didn't think about what's happening in the palace right now. Rather she is thinking about how much her life had changed from the previous lifetime and may be she had surpassed the disaster in their relationship. But she knows better than simply being a trusting and relaxed person, and now that she is a mother, she has to be double alert to prevent any schemes of unknown internal as well as external enemies. As there are a lot of changes in this lifetime, then there may be changes in their enemies as well.
Pratap said,"Are you worrying about what happened today? If so, don't think more on that matter and spoil our day. It is their personal matter, so we don't need to interfere in it. Okay". Anamika smiled at his words and said, "You were talking about the hardships which Badi Maasa might have gone through. But Aren't you worried about your mother and her feelings? Or Don't you feel angry on your father for betraying your mother?". Pratap gave her a soft smile and said,"Firstly, it was my mother's decision to bring Badi Maasa here. Secondly, I do feel angry on Baabasa, not for his betrayal towards my Maasa but his injustice towards Badi Maasa". Anamika was surprised at his answer which showed in her face clearly. Pratap chuckled at her expressions and leaned towards her and bit her lips softly, making her gasp. She slapped on his arms playfully while blushing which made him laugh out loud. She shushed him by signalling finger on her lips as the children were sleeping. Pratap calmed down and said, "I know you would be surprised. But I have my reasons. Although Baabasa betrayed my mother, She has been leading a happy and contented life till now. I never saw her unhappy in all these years except when we married as she had a different choice. But on the other hand, Badi Maasa didn't have any luxury, any loved ones near her. She would also have had some expectations from life, marriage and Baabasa as well but all those are incomplete. Let's take our Pratiksha for example, I want all the happiness in the world for her. I wouldn't want her to live a life wandering around without any destination, especially after the luxurious treatment of a princess that she got for so many years. That's why, her agony hit me harder".
Now Anamika was able to understand his point of view. He is thinking as a parent more than a son. Pratap added again, "Anamika, I want to say one more thing. I thought of building a tavern(a public house) in memory of our first child. It would serve as a shelter for all the nomads and travellers and also provide them with food". Anamika nodded at him as both of them couldn't talk about this matter without getting immersed in their emotions. May be the children got to know about the upset mood of their parents, so they both cried and distracted their parents successfully.
On the other side, when Rathnavathi (Pratap's mother) entered the chamber, she saw her maids packing her things. On questioning she came to know that, her mother-in-law had ordered for her to shift to a seperate chamber as hereafter her husband Padmanab will have a seperate chamber as he has two wives now. Jaiwanta bai will also have a seperate chamber and Padmanab can choose, with whom he would stay for a night.
Glossary:
Ranasa -- King (hereafter Pratap)
Ranisa -- Queen (hereafter Anamika)
Baabasa -- Father
Maasa -- Mother
Badi Maasa -- Elder Mother
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Hi guys,
Do vote and comment if you like the chapter.
And I got my first income as a writer for my first book after it got published in a platform called MilWor.
Thanks,
SM.