Anvesha and Amritakumari both went to see Shakra in the room where he was staying.
"Pranaam, Mahadevi. Pranaam, Maharani." He greeted them and touched their feet as expected of him. Karma sighed sadly but didn't say anything. She felt the pang of pain at the sudden distance Shakra grew for his mothers.
"Are you forgetting who I am? I gave birth to you, Shakrajit." Amritakumari reacted to him suddenly calling her by the title. He had always called all of them Amma. He used their titles when he wanted to tease them or taunt them. Yet, never in the tone he used now.
"Yes, Mahadevi. I am aware. I'm grateful for it." He answered.
"Jit, she didn't want to marry you. If she wanted to, she wouldn't have sent Maharaj a letter with a proposal to have Yuvika marry you." Anvesha sighed loudly at his childish tantrum.
"If that's the conversation you want to have, then I'm tired and I wish to have some rest. I don't want to speak about that."
"Shakra, don't be silly."
Shakra sighed, "Okay. Understood. Go prepare for the marriage you wanted to happen. You must be excited. You brought gifts for Yuvika. Go, give it to her."
"It is your wedding, Shakra."
"Yes, as I am reminded by every single person every moment."
Anvesha and Amritakumari both looked at each other. He didn't seem to want to entertain them at all. He was irked and any more of a conversation would push him off the edge.
"We brought you the neela outfit, Shakra." Amritakumari put the tray on the dressing table. A beautiful dhoti of neela dye and embroidery of gold threads was placed in the tray. Gold jewelry with blue sapphires was kept as a set with the clothes. He would have really loved the outfit if it was being giving to him for his wedding with Mayurakshi.
He sat on his chair, pushed his head back, and closed his eyes.
Amritakumari and Anvesha both looked at him first and then at each other. Seeing his reaction, they walked out of the room. When they reached the end of the corridor, "Do you think we have also not properly gauged his feelings?" Anvesha asked her.
"I feel like things are only going to get harder from now. It is inexplainable why Shakra has such attachment to her. I don't see what Shakra sees in her."
"I think we should have brought along Abhijit. He seems to always have a way to cheer up Shakra."
"Abhijit, Aparajita, and Kamaljit openly disagreed with the wedding and refused to come. They already know that Shakra hates this wedding. Behind them, the rest of the children too decided not to be a part of it."
Amritakumari went out to the hall where the bride was having her henna and haldi ceremony. All the guests from Kalika Empire had arrived for the ceremony. Shatrujit didn't seem very interested either. He just went through Mayurakshi's request.
The guests started to come towards the bride and gave her gifts.
"Congratulations on the wedding, Rajkumari Yuvika." Jayraj, one of Kalika Empire's important men, handed Yuvika a tray of gifts. All the members of the Krishneri family were getting gifts. When it was Mayurakshi's turn, he had a brilliant grin, "I have been waiting to see you for a long time, Rajkumari Mayurakshi." He handed her a tray of gift.
Mayurakshi was confused at having received it. Krishneri's guests usually gave gifts to her step mother and step siblings. Not much to her. She didn't mind not receiving any gifts. Some people did give her but it wasn't anything so important. So, she didn't take them seriously either. So, when one of Kalika Empire's elite men specially addressed her and came with a gift, she was surprised.
"Thank you for the gift." She thanked him.
"Wouldn't you see it? I made sure to get them specially for you."
That took her by more surprise. She opened the box and saw a beautiful cloth material. She was surprised. Chinese silk. It wasn't just any Chinese silk, it was the imperial Chinese silk. "It came specially from their capital. A seasons tailor will make the most beautiful outfit from it."
"Thank you so much..." She thanked but didn't know how to ask why he wanted to gift her something so expensive.
He laughed at her surprise, "Ah, don't fret about this, Rajkumari."
She smiled back politely at him.
Kalika Empire's elite had 14 families other than the royal family members and courtiers. The families are largely businessmen. They held great amount of influence in the Kingdom. In addition to them, 20 other small Kings were influential in the court of Kalika Empire.
Suryakumar, another of the elite members, first reached Mayurakshi while she was standing among all of Krishneri royal family, "It is nice to meet you again, Princess Mayurakshi." He greeted her. She smiled politely at him.
"I am happy to see you here too Suryakumar garu. I remember you." Mayurakshi had met him during Shakra's crowing as the Crown Prince.
Suryakumar laughed at her remembrance, "I had assumed that you wouldn't remember much of Kalika Empire's court after the Prince's coronation."
He clapped his hands and the servant came ahead quickly, "This is for you, Princess Yuvika." The tray had the most exquisite looking jewelry. Diamonds along with blue sapphires were studded in the jewelry set.
Yuvika smiled brilliantly at having recieved such a rare jewelry.
Suryakumar then turned Mayurakshi, "This is for you, Princess Mayurakshi." The tray was given to her. It had a beautiful choker jewelry set. One central huge pink diamond and peacocks with white diamond set to the side of the red diamond. The neck of the peacocks were studded with blue sapphires. The upper end of the whole choker had pearl borders and the lower end had red corals. Suryakumar grinned at the set, "The pink diamond came straight out of Golkonda mines. One of the rarest colours in them."
"Oh my god!!! Such a diamond exists?" Mayurakshi stared at it. Suryakumar laughed at her surprise.
"Of course, Rajkumari. There is one huge colorless diamond. 189 carats. Yuvraj Shakrajit owns the diamond. He bought the diamond after his first victory. That diamond now rests on the neck of Sri Chandika, Kalika Empire Royal's Kuldevi. This is a sister diamond to it."
Mayurakshi was even more surprised, "Oh..."
It went on further with almost all of Kalika Empire's elites and the 20 influentials Kings giving Mayurakshi gifts that almost stood out from all other gifts.
Yuvika watched her step-sister get gifts that dwarfed all the gifts that she had received. Sure, she was given beautiful gifts too but everything that Mayurakshi got stood out. It almost seemed that all of Kalika Empire was buttering her up.
"Why are they giving such expensive gifts to her?" Yuvika asked Adhiman.
"I have no idea what Kalika Empire does. Last time they had met her was at Shakra's crowing. They're quite odd. Do you think this is because of what Amma did? Have they learnt that Amma actually offered her as a concubine to Shakra?"
"Anna, this doesn't look like any of that is in my favour. Instead, people are seemingly trying to butter her even though she's not becoming the Queen."
"Well, I see the logic...." Rekha commented standing next to Adhiman.
"What logic?"
"Yuvraj Shakrajit just said in front of everyone last showdown to Mayurakshi that he made it clear in front of the whole court of Kalika Empire that he wanted to marry Mayurakshi. So, they don't want to influence the someday-to-be Queen. In any condition, the Emperor and Crown Prince has a larger weight in the court. Kalika Empire's Empress, Mahadevi Amritakumari is the only one who can even stand equal to Yuvraj Shakrajit in the Empire. So, in any condition, they won't butter Rajkumari Yuvika who will clearly be lower in hierarchy to Yuvraj. Especially when they have seen how well Mayurakshi can influence both the Emperor and the Crown Prince. As they see it, this is Princess Mayurakshi offering a proposal that Emperor Shatrujit offered."
"I am going to be Yuvraj's wife. Yuvrani."
"Really? Where is your soon-to-be husband? Anyway around the celebrations? Does the Emperor look extremely elated at your wedding with his heir? Your soon-to-be husband didn't even send you a single present. But...." She pointed to the group that came in the hall. Shakra's commanders came with trays. "That came for Mayurakshi from Shakra's army itself. The commanders brought her gifts. Behind them, there's Karma with Shakra's presents to her."
Karma walked up to Mayurakshi first and sighed softly, "Rajkumari, this is a gift to you from Yuvraj Shakrajit." She took the cover off the tray to reveal a beautiful nosering.
"That is Sri Chandika's nose ring. After Shakra's victory against his enemies, Sri Chandika gave him the nosering as her blessing." Rekha told them.
"How do you know that?"
"I have people I know in Kalika Empire."
"Amma Kalika's nosering?" Mayurakshi asked, shocked. "Are you sure that you haven't gotten this mistaken?"
Karma raised an eyebrow as if questioning why she will ever make such a stupid mistake, "Rajkumari, trust me. I will know if Yuvraj wanted to give Amma Kalika's nosering to his soon-to-be wife instead of his lover."
"Karma, I'm not taking this. This is Kalika Empire's Kuldevi's nosering."
"I know." Karma looked at Mayurakshi. Her hands were shivering but she looked calm. Her cold and unfeeling act slightly cracking. Mayurakshi didn't expect Shakra to go so far.
"Why is he doing this?" She asked her in a whisper.
"You made the plan and he's creating his own plans within it. You really didn't think the whole plan through. Yuvraj isn't in the same mood as before. That means he is clearly on a motive."
"I am not coming to Kalika Empire as a concubine, Karma..." she almost whisper shouted.
Karma sighed, "He doesn't always tell me everything he thinks, Rajkumari. If you had at least consulted me before you wrote to Emperor about marrying him off to Rajkumari Yuvika, I could have save you from this embarrassment."
"Okay, fine, I am apologizing. Please tell him that he won and I lost. I will personally write an apology letter accepting my mistakes. But can he at least not humiliate all of Krishneri like this?"
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Some Interesting History
Golconda Mine, or more specifically Kollur Mine, is one of the oldest mines in India. Right from the ancient times, these mines have been dug. Some of the rarest diamonds were found from this very mine.
The Pink diamond that I mentioned here, now infamous as Daria-i-noor and Noor-ul-Ain, was mined from Kollur in the ancient times. This was ones of the largest diamonds of the color. Colors in diamonds are rare and hence extremely precious.
The 189 Carat colorless diamond is now known as Koh-i-noor. It was said that in ancient times, this Koh-i-noor diamond rested in Kakatiya Dynasty's Kuldevi Bhadrakali's temple. It was given to the Goddess as a gift. Alauddin Khilji had later snatched the diamond when he raided the southern part of India. After destroying the temple, Alauddin Khilji took away the diamond.
There's a saying that anyone who steals the property of Shiva is completely destroyed. So, the diamond which belonged to Shiva's beloved was cursed to destroy any man who wore it.
It destroyed Alauddin Khilji who was killed by his own nephew Jalaluddin Khilji. Next man who wore the diamond was Shah Jahan who was imprisoned and captured in Agra fort by Aurangzeb, his own son. Aurangzeb had cut off even the water supply of Agra Fort to torture Shah Jahan indirectly.
It was then looted by Nader Shah who was assassinated by his own soldiers during a rebellion.
After that, the diamond was taken back by the Sikh Empire from Iran. From an 11-year-old King of Sikh Empire Dilip Singh, the Koh-i-noor was taken by the British Empire through the East India Company. Although it is claimed that the Prince gave it himself but I'd debate on how hard it is to manipulate an 11-year-old boy for the East India Company that had already manipulated so many kings.
Ancient India had so much wealth that people in Ancient Rome would complain in their government that luxuries which came from India costed them almost a good percentage of their GDP. To give you an estimate on exactly how rich Ancient India was check out the below figures:-
Time Period - GDP in the World Economy (In percentage)
321 - 190 BCE - 32 to 35
1 - 1000 CE - 30 to 32
1500 CE - 24.3
1600 CE - 22.39
1700 CE - 24.43
1800 CE - 16.04
1870 CE - 12.14
1912 CE - 7.47
1940 CE - 5.9
1950 CE - 4.17
1990 CE - 4.05
Between 1 to 1000 CE, India's GDP was around Rs 7 Lakh Crores or around USD 33,750 Million. Now, the cost of Gold in 300 CE was Just imagine how rich exactly India was. Now you know why Ancient India was called "Sone Ki Chidiya".