The party had long ago started to get crazy. Shatrujit started laughing, seeing Ameya already getting drunk and dancing. The only one of his children who seemed pretty irritated at the party was Kamaljit. He would have loved to be anywhere but here. Abhinav wasn't far behind Ameya in her enjoyment.
"Come on, Anna, you don't want the fun?" Abhinav teased Kamal.
"What fun? I'm sorry if my idea of fun isn't dancing leecherously around women. This is a serious insult to royalty to be this cheap."
Shatrujit laughed at the reaction.
"Nanna, please stop laughing. Can I go already? I'd rather have enjoyed a party where Saahiti and I could spend time on poetry. We have a brilliant ongoing literature party. Saahiti and I are: "
"Kamal, say her name one more time, and I will break your face." Abhijit growled.
"Excuse me? Hello! Saahiti and I are best friends. You don't need to get all touchy about it. There is nothing more than friendship between us. So, keep your aggressive, possessive male lead syndrome out of my range. It isn't my fault you're having a rough patch."
"Why can't I have a day without people saying her name all the time?"
"People are definitely not. You are drunk, and that's why it's all you can do here. Intoxication is known to have an effect on brain function, motor function, and speech function. You clearly experience the fourth one. Hearing things people are not saying. Go and sleep."
Abhijit sighed. "That is what I wish to do, but it seems that my sleep is busy giving philosophical sermons about how I'm attaching unreal bindings to the real emotions."
"You mean attaching possessive behavior to love? I suppose she is the smarter one between both of you, so it isn't surprising that she's come to that brilliant conclusion. But I suppose being drunk is making you confuse a girl for your sleep."
"Where did you bring this one from? I demand a refund. Send him back to where you brought him from." Abhijit complained to Shatrujit.
"This isn't a reversible process, Abhijit. I can't send him back to where he came from." Shatrujit laughed, saying that.
Each one of his boys seemed to have a personality of their own.
Shakra was someone who enjoyed starting fights, winning them, and crushing his enemies. A part of him enjoys torturing his enemies.
Abhijit enjoyed neutrality in his life in most cases. He wasn't fond of torture, like Shakra. His way of handling things was straight-forward, but he had an ego that couldn't even be matched up by the sun.
Ameya enjoyed his lack of responsibility and being the baby brother that his two elder siblings treated him as. The moment someone asked him to take responsibility, he got annoyed and restless. He loved being a warrior, but the administration wasn't interested in him, even if he was capable. Shatrujit had to pull that part out of him.
Abhinav was the new youth phase one. Enjoying his life. Excited and eager to prove himself in the world of men. Hyper about making it clear that he is the son of the Emperor not just in biology but also in actions.
But the one who stood out from all of them was Kamaljit. While all of them had a part in their vices, Kamaljit's brilliancy was under his control. The boy enjoyed his Veena and lute far more than drinking or the company of women for pleasure. He was even more strict about the women he would sit with. His entertainment was more of the intellectual kind. It was one of the reasons why he had a prominent seat in the court. That's how his friendship with Saahiti was so strong. Both of them had more similarities than differences.
"Kamal, you're so much more interesting in singing. How about you sing?" Ameya offered.
"I'm not singing anything for drunk people. I respect myself too much to sing for a drunken gathering. I'm sorry." He looked horrified at the suggestion.
"Of course. My uptight brother hates parties." He exclaimed.
"If I had to comment on the kind of brothers I have, then you will start acting like rowdy people who live in caravans, drinking, and gambling all your money away. One married the woman, who is rumored to have sent assassins to kill him. The second is acting like a typical love-failure Pururavas. The third didn't even know the difference between Bai and Bhai. Should I go on?"
"I think he is really irked." Shakra, drunk, chuckled and whispered to his father. "My usually polite brother is out spitting venom."
"He is irritated. I honestly don't know how he ended up being born to me," Shatrujit wondered.
"That's because you were..." Kamaljit cut himself off before he spiraled off over his own father.
"Relax. Calm down. It was a rhetorical question."
"I just want to leave..." Kamal sighed, annoyed. One of the girls tried to touch him, and he instantly jumped away. "Excuse me!!! Thank you for the offer, but I'm not interested. Please go attach yourself to my brother, who is married, but he chooses to spend time drinking and sleeping with prostitutes rather than take responsibility for his wife."
"Wow. He is really sore." Abhinav laughed.
"Are you interested in men, by chance?" Ameya asked.
"I'm not interested in men. I'm not too interested in women either. I'm interested in people who can have proper conversations without getting themselves disturbed by the modification of flesh on people's bodies."
"Kamal, just sit. You're getting annoyed at everyone for no reason at all." Shatrujit patted his shoulder.
"Nanna, I don't want to be here. I don't care; it is a victory party. I don't see anything interesting. Why can't I just leave?"
"Because you're here to support your brothers. You may have different opinions than them, but that shouldn't mean that you become outright mean. You tolerate the differences you have with them, even if those differences irritate you. That's how you learn to deal with people who are completely different from you."
Kamal sighed. "Whatever..." he muttered.
He looked around and suddenly saw Saahiti. That confused him. She was passing around the place, disguising herself as a soldier. He knew it was Saahiti because she had worn the armor the opposite way. In a moment, her eyes met his. She instantly signaled for him to be silent. He then noticed both his sister-in-laws with her as well.
"I'll be back. I need a moment." Kamaljit stood up and walked towards the refreshing area. Saahiti saw him and reached there.
"What are you doing here?" Kamal asked her.
"I think we have some assassins here. How drunk are your brothers?"
Kamaljit sighed. "Ameya Anna is already so drunk to the bone that he is stumbling. Abhi Anna is hardly going to properly process any information. Shakra Annaiyya is almost shutting off. I doubt how long Abhinav is going to be able to hold. Nanna is also almost drunk. Coming to others around, they are already singing along with the prostitutes."
"Brilliant..." She hissed. "Veer said that she saw a few dead bodies of soldiers hidden in a corner. She doubts that a few of those invaders got here along with the caravan in disguise. They must have been disguised as Rajput soldiers from Deogarh, and hence no one doubted them."
"Invaders? Here in Ambikapuram?"
"Yes..." Saahiti looked scared. "I feel like they will want to take revenge against the princes. They are in danger right now. Some of them have even employed women. It will be impossible to find out who among them is with the invaders."
"Okay, what all do we know? Do we know any recognizable features within those invaders?"
"No. That's why we are here. Rajkumari and I came up with a plan. She will carefully lure Yuvraj out of there. I'll see if I can manage to get Rajkumar out of here. Veer is going to check in with Rajkumar Ameyajit. I need you to lead Maharaj and Rajkumar Abhinav out of here. They are drunk, and we don't know who those enemies are among the people here."
"But we still need to figure out who they are."
"That's why we'll lead them in a different direction. Whoever the enemy is, they will notice the princes going out of the party and will try to follow. All I hope is that we can manage alone. But if at any point it seems that handling them alone isn't possible, we planned to start moving out through the south gate and meet together. We hope that we can handle them."
"Then a greater option is for me to come with you guys."
"No... noo.... We have to 100 percent ensure that no harm comes to Maharaj. He is the Emperor. If he is in danger, then every other effort will be in vain."
"Alright. I'll guard Nanna and Abhinav." He handed Saahiti his dagger. "Listen. Keep this with you. I know you're not familiar with any sort of fighting, but I need you to swing as fast as you can through their throat if they get closer. Do not hesitate at all. Remember the thumb rule? The boundary of space is as far as your feet can kick. If they come any close, attack. Do not wait and defend yourself." Saahiti took the dagger and nodded in agreement.
By the time Kamaljit returned to the group, they were all already too drunk. "Nanna..."
Shatrujit turned to Kamal and raised an eyebrow. "Amma is calling you."
"Anvesha? She's a little angry with me. Pfff, I'm not going. She's again starting to scold me."
"Of course, she is angry." Kamaljit muttered but patted his father's shoulder. "But if she is calling, shouldn't we at least go see her?"
"She looks sweet like jaggery, but she's like a spicy jaggery. It can burn the tongue."
"Before the spicy turns into fire, let's go see her."
"No."
"Nanna, don't be silly. Come on."
"I do like her company, but she's a dangerous little girl."
"Nanna, let's go to her and complain about how she isn't fair about getting angry at you. After all, this is all Ameya Anna's fault. She can't scold you for it. I'll come and argue your case too. Let's go..."
"Really?"
"Yes!!! This is so unroyal of you to accept scolding for your silly boys doing something." Kamaljit decided to cash in on the manly ego all of his family members inherited from their forefathers. That was his best bet to get Shatrujit to follow him.
"Okay..."
Kamaljit patted Abhinav's shoulders. "Abhinav, come join us. More people give more weight to the argument."
"Is it smart to indulge ourselves in the arguments between Nanna and Amma? I don't want to get scolded later. Amma is pretty scary."
"Yes, yes. Right now, it is the smartest thing to do."
"Okay...." Abhinav stood up but stumbled slightly. Abhinav and Shatrujit stumbled with the effect of alcohol in their system. Kamal tried to help them both, and it was a struggle. When he helped Shatrujit, Abhinav would stumble. Once he caught Abhinav, Shatrujit would stumble. He sighed in annoyance as he took them to Anand Bhavan.
"Abhinav, you find Aparajita Akka. See if you can convince her to join us too." Kamal knew that Aparajita would think Abhinav was talking nonsense after getting drunk and hence not really focus on his words. That way, she will keep him safe in the room. He then took Shatrujit to Anvesha's room.
"Can you please tell Amma that Nanna is here?" He told the soldier by the door. All the soldiers in Anand Bhavan were women. She went in and informed the Queen. Anvesha showed up at the door.
"Kamal?" She questioned. Kamal sighed, tiring.
"Kamal and I are here to complain. You can't get angry at me!!!" Shatrujit exclaimed. "Also, you earlier told me angrily that you didn't want to talk to me, and now you're asking for me?"
"Amma, let's get inside first." Anvesha could be angry at her husband, but Kamal was her little boy. She wouldn't ever find a reason to say no to him.
"Nanna, sit here." He put Shatrujit in Anvesha's bed. Shatrujit collapsed on her bed.
"What is going on? When did I ask for him?"
Kamal sighed. "I'm sorry. I just told him that because I needed to bring him to a safe place. Our new Vadina said that she saw two dead bodies in the caravan that came with the Rajput soldiers. She doubts that some of those invaders entered Sri Kota under the guise of Deogarh Rajput soldiers. They have also employed women to try and kill us. Pedda Vadina is handling Annaiyya. Saahiti is probably going to get Abhi Annaiyya out of there. Chinna Vadina will probably get Ameya Anna out of there too. I had to get Nanna and Abhinav out of the party. So, I brought Nanna here. I need you to keep him in here. He's already drunk. We both know that he's not really shy once a woman gets close to him. I did not want to take any risks. So, I brought him here."
"What!!! Kamal, we should be sending out a warning in such a case. Everyone is under threat then."
"Amma, I have considered it, but if we want to catch those invaders, we have to work silently under wraps. Our first priority is to keep Nanna and Annaiyya safe. They're both the most important people in the kingdom. I need you to hold him here safely."
"Kamal, it wasn't a smart decision to let Saahiti handle Abhi. He is drunk, and he wouldn't even know what he was doing."
Kamal sighed. "I know, Amma, but it was the only way I knew we could get the situation under control. I don't know anyone else who can get Abhi Anna's attention and get him to a safe place."
She pressed her forehead. "I don't want people to start raising fingers at her, Kamal. This is going to be a big problem if it gets out. People will start gossiping. For Saahiti and Abhijit to be alone while he is drunk is a stupid choice."
"Amma, we should first focus on safety. We have hard choices to make right now. If we first think about Saahiti's reputation, then we might as well lose Anna to one of those girls who will use his state to her advantage. It isn't a smart choice. Saahiti will compromise her reputation for Abhi anna's safety any day. You know that."
"Anvesha...." Shatrujit muttered in a drunken state.
"I couldn't think of any other way to get Nanna out of there. So, I just told him you were calling him."
She sighed loudly and took a look at her drunk husband. "This is a huge headache."
"Amma, relax. I'll handle things. I should be going now to check up on the others. They may need my help. Saahiti hardly knows how to fend off attacks if it comes to it."
"Okay, okay. You go to them. Please keep me updated."
"I will give up my life if needed, Amma. But no harm can come to my brothers as long as I'm there."
Kamal proceeded to the door when Anvesha stopped him. "Kamal.." He turned around and nodded. "I don't want anything to happen to any of my children. You are also my little boy. Please don't let anything happen to yourself either. Brave people think about only the safety of others. Intelligent people find a way to keep themselves and others safe. I don't want anything to happen to you either. Please be safe."
Kamal smiled at her. "Of course, Amma. I will take care."
She nodded. Kamal watched her sit next to his father. Shatrujit sat up, seeing her sit next to him. Kamal quickly closed the door for her, knowing what could possibly be going on in his father's mind.