**** Adinath ****
It has been 5 days and today, as per what Vaishu said, she will be back to practicing sword fighting with me.I am finding it hard to contain my happiness. I always liked yielding swords. The general and I have a passion for battles and practice it every single day, but with Vaishu...it is different....I would not even name it as a battle....there is no aggression....no desire to win....no fear....no injuries....just pure love...calm and blissful....and I missed it in the past 5 days.
Not anymore!
Except....Vaishu is still not here. So I decided to pay her a visit myself, in her favorite place - the library.
Pallu was the first to see me when I stepped in.
"BA-"
She paused when I signalled her to stop screaming by placing a finger on my lips. I called her closer. She hesitantly walked towards me.
"Where is the queen?" I whispered to her.
"In-inside at the end," she whispered back.
"And everyone else?" I asked keeping my voice low.
"Also inside," Pallu answered.
"Alright, take everyone with you and leave," I said.
"The queen too?" Pallu asked. "No..not the queen," she immediately corrected herself when she saw the frustration in my face.
"Correct, not the queen but everyone else," I said calmly. There is no need to scare a kid. "And make sure the queen does not know, okay?"
"Okay," Pallu nodded. She is very quick and sneaky cause within seconds I could see the women coming out one by one. They tried to greet me but I signalled that it is alright and they can just leave.
Soon enough Vaishu and I were the only ones left in the library. I silently walked to the end to find Vaishu standing at the corner of a shelf with a book in her hand and facing the other side.
I stepped closer and tried to pull her towards me but she instantly caught my hand and turned back with a smile.
My self defence classes are working!
"Good job!" I said impressed. Vaishu smiled.
"But that does not give you the right to skip lessons," I said pretending to be angry.
"Oh," Vaishu said and looked at the clock, "I lost track of time. I am sorry."
"Doing what?" I said trying to look at the book in the hand. It is a book about the working of the government.
"I actually have a proposal for change," Vaishu said walking to her desk while I followed her, "I am looking at the procedure for how to get it approved."
Did she....forget....that the king is her husband? If she did, then I get to be a little cocky.
"It has to get approved by the local authority first, then get approved by the ministry, then the parliment and finally by the king," I said explaining her the actual procedure, "Should take around 6 months, if you are lucky."
"I cannot wait for that long," Vaishu said disappointed, "Is there no other faster way?"
"There is an annual bull fight that is coming up. If you win it, you will get a chance to speak infront of everyone and you can get their attention," I said as a joke.
"Hmmm," said Vaishu and started thinking.
"Are you...considering it?" I asked surprised.
"Should I not?" Vaishu asked innocently.
"Vaishu...just..." I chuckled. "Just give it to me," I said and took the paper from her hand and read it through.
"You want the women who work in the palace to be under your command?" I asked reading her proposal.
"Mmm..hmm" Vaishu nodded.
"Vaishu, they are under your command," I said confused.
"No...I want them to be officially under my chain of command," Vaishu explained, "I want them to report to me and not the general."
I shook my head.
"I cannot do that, Vaishu," I said, "You are too kind and soft-hearted. Besides, there is no rationale for replacing the general."
"There is..." Vaishu oppossed and I waited for her to continue.
"Some conversations would be more comfortable if a man is not involved," she explained.
"Conversations like what, exactly?" I asked crossing my hands and looking at her.
"Conversations like...." she hesitated before continuing, "...Someone needs to take a leave because they are on their menstrual cycle...or they need a little break...or they just had babies and need a place of privacy...to feed the child...a lot of things..."
I was amazed. Why did it never occur to me that new mothers need a private room?
"In that case, Vaishu....should our focus not be on the other direction," I asked, "Should we not educate people in positions of power instead of transferring the authority? The Queen certainly cannot be the one incharge of every working women in the nine kingdoms."
"Ultimately yes," Vaishu answered, "It would be wonderful if everyone knows and acknowledges these problems....but....atleast for now...and in this case....I do not think women would be comfortable talking to the general about their problems...even if he is aware and educated. I am your wife and I chose to write a letter to you. The general will be a complete stranger to these women. We cannot expect them to be comfortable talking to him."
"Valid point," I smiled.
I just fell in love with this women all over again! Her beauty enhances when she speaks words of wisdom.
"I will approve this," I said, "But under three conditions."
"What are they?" Vaishu asked.
"1- You will help me find a long term solution to this problem," I said.
"More than happy to do so," Vaishu replied.
"2- You will let me supervise you for a month before I give you the complete authority," I added.
"I accept," Vaishu replied.
"3- You will convey the news to the general yourself," I completed. Her expression immediately changed.
"What? Adi no!" she said, "The general will be very disappointed."
"He will be devastated," I corrected, "And that is the whole point. If you want to be incharge, you need to learn how to deliver a bad news."
"Like how you did right now?" Vaishu said sarcastically. I laughed.
Confident Vaishu is a blessing!
"Yes, like how I right now," I replied.
*** Vaishu ***
"That is great news, your highness," the general said.
"Are you sure...general?" I asked hesitantly, "Are you not disappointed....or devastated?"
"I would be, for sure, if it was someone else," the general said, "But since it is you, I am alright with it. I know how much you care for others. If you are the one who made the proposal, am sure there is a valid reason behind it."
"Thank you general," I smiled.
"Out of curiosity, your highness," the general asked, "Does this have anything to do with my behavior with Sruthi a few days back."
"No...general...of course not," I replied, "This is completely unrelated."
"Good to know," the general smiled. "But..." he continued before I could leave, "Do you think what I did was rude?"
I remained silent.
How do I politely tell him that it was not just rude but outright cruel?
"My sister got very angry when I told her," the general continued, "She refuses to speak to me until I apologize to Sruthi."
"It...did..go a bit overboard general," I said, "I think it is a good idea to apologize."
"I do not know how to," the general said.
"You can get her flowers," I sugguested.
"Would Sruthi not think it is too much?" the general asked.
"You could say 'I went overboard with my words, so I decided to overboard with my apology'" I suggested.
*** Sruthi ***
"I went overboard with my words, so I decided to overboard with my apology," the general replied.
Oh my god!
The man I love...I mean hate....standing infront of me....with flowers....with a cute smile....asking me for forgiveness....this is a dream...must be a dream...