Note: This chapter is huge, around 6000 words.
Reload if you can't see the full chapter and there are25 interesting facts as well.
Play this song in the background to feel the vibe. The female vocals when Adi looks at Vaishu. It is one of the most underrated works of ARR in my opinion and a mesmerizing combination of lyrics and music. Any Tamilians feel free to translate the lyrics in the comments. They are beautiful and would go well with our story.
Highly recommend watching the live performance from Chitra amma and ARR as well
And this song for Nanda and his amma. I know it's a sad song but some the music is just exceptional and some lyrics apply to happy moments as well.
Also Andi -> ji garu -> ji
*** Naina ***
"You look beautiful, chinni" amma said as she pressed her knuckles against her head to ward off the evil energy from me after I got dressed up for my dance performance.
I smiled and looked down but the slight fear in my heart still remained. The fact that I am able to perform here, means that my father and brother are going to find out that amma and I have been hiding the truth from them for 5 years. That I've been going to dance classes in the name of sewing classes.
"Amma....what if Bapu finds out that..." I asked hesitantly.
"He already did," Amma replied calmly, "I told him last night. If the Queen can go against everyone to keep the Kingdom safe, I can atleast go against my husband to keep my daughter happy."
"And then?" I asked worried, "then what happened?"
"He got angry and he yelled," amma replied.
"Really?" I asked surprised.
My father never yells. NEVER!
"Yes, really," I heard my Bapu's stern voice.
Sometimes I forget that my bapu is the one who taught the King how to have snake ears.
Thank God, I stopped my brother from learning the skill in the name of rakhi gift.
(any guesses why?)
"Bapu..." I hesitated and looked down.
"You were saying, Yashoda?" he continued turning towards amma seriously.
"No-nothing," amma hesitated.
"That's alright, I can continue," he said calmly and turned towards me. "Yes, I yelled," he said, "I was angry that my own wife and daughter went behind my back for 5 years but then your amma yelled back."
"You did?" I said looking at amma surprised.
"I-" Amma paused feeling slightly shy.
"She did," Bapu continued with a smile, "and I got so scared, I ran away from the chambers."
"You walked out in anger, andi," Amma corrected slightly embarrassed and I smiled.
"But then I thought for a while and realized she is right," Bapu continued, "So I came back and we both apologized to each other." "I told her that she has equal right in making decisions of the house," he continued, "but on one condition."
"Which is?" I asked.
"Tell her, Yashoda," my father prompted.
"He said if you wish to follow the Queen's footsteps, do it in everything," Amma continued nervously. "He wants me to..." she paused and whispered in a low voice, "call me by his name."
"Hayee, how sweet," I commented melting at the adorableness of my parents.
"No chinni, not sweet," amma immediately oppossed, "I appreciate that your generation is bringing the change, but I still belong to the old generation. I can never address my husband with his name."
"Why not amma?" I asked smiling, "Call him Randheera Garu."
"No!" Amma instictively said as she looked down in embarrassment, "I could never call him that!"
"Yes," my father said purposefully louder so that the nearby soldiers can hear as well, "She calls me Abey Randheera!"
"I..." amma almost fell short of words, "Chinni I never..."
"Who dared to address you with such disrespect sir?" the nearby soldiers asked offended and surprised.
"Your jaganmatha," Bapu said pointing towards amma with his eyes.
"Hawww" the soldiers immediately understood the assignment and gasped in surprise playing along.
Amma looked at Bapu for help.
"Say something, andi," she said innocently looking at him.
"I already told you, andi," my father replied playfully, "I have a name and I only respond to that."
"Believe me, kids! I really did not disrespect your general," Amma told the soldiers innocently immediately melting their hearts.
The soldiers looked at my father who shook his head almost warning them to not take her side.
"So...." my father said carefully, "Is Yashoda garu accusing the honoured general of being a liar?"
"Hawww," the soldiers gasped again and amma looked at them offended, now understanding that everyone is teaming against her.
"You are all playing with me, little monkeys," she said, her voice full of love, even though she is angry. "Let my son come back. I will complain to him about you," she gave the cutest warning and walked away.
Veer who was coming in the opposite direction tried to ask her what happened but she simply shook her head, patted him on the cheek and walked away.
"What did you do to my amma, Nainu?" Veer asked me angrily.
"Nainu?" my father who was there interrupted suspciosuly and all the soldiers started panicking.
"Oh that's not her name?" Veer instinctively came up with an excuse, "I am sorry sir. As you know, the Queen's cabinet and General's army don't usually interact much. I got confused."
"What's your name, miss?" he asked again to emphasize his point.
"Naina, officer," I replied playing along.
"You remembered Sruthi's name?" my father stated.
"That's because sir, she was sent to the general's army to work," Veer came up with an explanation for that as well.
Bapu smiled.
"You are a very intelligent kid, son," he stated patting on Veer's head, "not intelligent enough to fool the honoured general."
Veer fell silent.
"I know about you and Nainu," my father added, "Nanda told me and while I don't have a problem with the marriage, I do have a problem with you both openely acting like wife and husband before marriage."
Veer and I looked at each other guilty. We did hang out a lot since everyone left for war.
"People talk," Bapu continued, "and whether you are bothered about their words or not, I will be bothered if I hear ill about my daughter."
"Stay in your limits," he warned, "Both of you!"
"Yes sir," "Yes Bapu," Veer and I immediately replied.
"Good," he stated and looked at the soldiers, "When my wife's warrior son starts to chase you with sticks for hurting his amma, don't come searching for me. I would rather sit back and enjoy the drama," he said and walked away with a smile while some of the soldiers chased him for clarification.
"He went from smiling to scary to smiling again," Veer stated once my father left, "respectfully Nainu, I have reasons to believe your ancestors are chameleons. Chameleonity runs in your family."
I got offended and tried to hit him on the head but he ducked, held my hand and stood back up.
"Stay in your limits Nainu," he said playfully, "Don't look for excuses to touch me. Control yourself!"
*** Nanda ***
(This is where you will need the Tamil song)
As the long gates to the palace opened, we were greeted by hundreds of people cheering for us. Traditional music playing in the background, singing praises of the warriors in one of our native languages. As far as my eyes could go, all I was able to see are joys of people, their smiles, their cheers. Heaven on Earth!
This is what we soldiers have at stake everytime we go to the war. The smiles of our people. As we walked down the long path, elephants greeted us with their trumpets, little girls lined up to thrown flowers, different tranditional dances were being performed at a distance for the same song simulatenously - Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathank, Odissi and many more I couldn't even name of.
As I looked around my eyes fell on the dancer in the first row corner of the Kathak performance.
"Something wrong?" Adi asked when he noticed that I slightly slowed down my pace.
"That's..." I hesitated, "that's our sister, right?"
Adi turned and looked equally surprised as he slowly nodded.
"How did she learn to dance so good in a span of a couple of months?" he asked.
"No idea," I whispered back and we kept moving, me especially unable to take my eyes off of Naina although being my sister, she might've picked up a little bit of my brilliance which makes it a possibility for her to learn so quickly.
Unfortunately Adi wasn't able to pick up the same.
As we neared we noticed more and more people cheering for us, more and more dances. It is almost like a festival. Bright, colorful and full of joy. Once the little girls were done throwing flowers, the soldiers lined up to bow and show their respects, the ministers lined up to show their respects, the intellectuals lined up to show their respect and as we neared finally at the end of the line, I saw a few elderly women waiting to greet us.
My mother in the middle and the moment I saw her my eyes teared up and I tried hard to control my tears.
*** Yashoda amma ***
There they are, my two sons!
Coming back from battle and the moment I looked at them, I realized controlling my tears is going to be a difficult task, until one of my maids nudged me on the arm and gave me a note.
"Only smiles, Yashoda garu," the note from my husband said, "Don't pain my heart!"
I looked at my husband standing at a distance and smiled and he smiled back, bringing the much needed calmness.
"Get the aarti ready," I whispered to the maid and turned my attention back to the King who removed his crown as he neared us.
"I got your letter amma," he said with utmost love the moment he saw me. "And yours too Shanthi amma," he continued looking at my friend who looked equally surprised that he not only read it but also remembered.
"I...I apologize if there are any spelling mistakes your highness," Shanti said hesitantly.
"Not many," the King smiled, "Just one. You wrongly spelled 'Adinath' as 'Your highness'."
We looked at the King surprised.
"I might be a king, but those letters were written for your son Adinath," he continued, "So next time you write letters to me, address me as either your son or by my name."
We smiled and nodded.
The King smiled back and was about to say something but suddenly paused as if heard something very important and looked up to the first floor of the palace. I took a step forward too and looked up and within a couple of seconds, we saw the Queen almost running towards the window of the first floor and the moment the King saw her his expression immediately changed.
The smile was replaced by a sense of calmness, bliss as he continued to look at the Queen with pure happiness in his eyes, as if blinking would make him miss the beautiful moment. He gulped trying to hide his emotions that are threating to burst out anytime. The Queen continued to look at the King as tears rolled down her eyes and her hands slightly shivered unable to contain her joy as she loosely places it over her mouth in disbelief. The King, almost threateningly, shook his head when the Queen started crying and the Queen wiped her tears and smiled. She slightly lifted her chin signalling that it is the King's turn to smile and the King took a deep breath to push back the emotions and brought the smile in his eyes onto his lips.
Meanwhile I noticed the maid coming with the aarti and I looked at the King to see if I could get his attention but he was still lost in the Queen's eyes. As adorable as it is, we cannot disrespect the aarti, so I looked at Kanna, who despite being the Queen's white knight, did not even look up at the Queen, he is busy admiring the joy in his little brother's eyes or perhaps his little brother's eyes reflected the joy of both the souls.
"Kanna," I whispered to get his attention and signalled to him that the aarti is on it's way.
"Your highness," he tried to call but the King did not even hear him.
The King trained in Shabd Bhed Baan did not hear him!
So my adorable Kanna put his hand on the King's head and gently turned it to make him face us, the way we do to kids and new born babies, forgetting that his little brother is the King.
Perhaps this is why he did not want to acknolwedge their relationship. Nanda is incapable of hiding his affection.
However, the King didn't seem to mind for he didn't look offended in the slightest and when the Queen chuckled at the adorable act he smiled to himself, although he didn't dare look up, for he noticed the aarti exchanging hands to reach me and probably realized he would get lost if he looked at the Queen once again.
I moved the aarti around him clockwise and anticlockwise and then put the kumkum on his forehead. He impatiently waited as I passed on the aarti to Shanti.
"Am I allowed to leave, amma," he asked innocently once the aarti left our sight.
"One last thing, son," I almost involutarily called him son as I took the Vibhoodi that I brought from the Shiva temple and put a small line in his forehead.
"Now you can go," I smiled and moved aside.
"Thank you," he whispered and walked in making way amongst the crowd and I heard the Queen's anklets as she also started to run while I directed my attention to Kanna.
He might be a warrior for the world but to my eyes he is still the innocent baby my husband placed in my laps. The innocent baby who was always misunderstood.
Shanti nudged my arms and prompted me to give my son the aarti. I took the plate from her and rotated it clockwise and anti clockwise as both me and my son tried to control our tears. Once that is done, I passed on the plate and applied the Kumkum.
"No Viboothi for me?" he asked innocently and I chuckled as I applied the vibooti as well. As I tried to bring my hand down, Nanda held it and placed it on his head and slowly brought it down to his cheek.
"Little Kanna really missed his amma," he whispered with tears in his eyes as his grip on my hand tightened and that was enough for me to burst out in tears and hug him. He tightly hugged me back, like a little kid, despite his tall demeanor and rested his head on my shouders.
"I missed you so much amma," he whispered as we both continued to cry, "so very much."
"And," he said as he innocently stood back up, "I chanted Hanuman Chalisa before sleep every night....just like you said. I didn't have any bad dreams."
I chuckled as I placed both my hands on his cheek and kissed him on the forehead.
Nobody would believe that Great General Nanda chanted Hanuman Chalisa to safeguard himself from nightmares....but Yashoda amma will believe that her little Kanna did...
*** Adinath ***
"Abandon the corridors and close the doors, please," I said as I stepped into the internal chamber of the palace, away from the people.
The soldiers immediately obeyed and stepped outside and closed the doors and within seconds I found my Vaishu running from the other end.
Oh Mahadev!
Getting to witness my wife once again is truly a blessing! I would forever be grateful to you!
Vaishu slowed down as she neared me, her eyes filled with tears as she took slow steps looking into my eyes, examining me, admiring me, falling in love with me, with every step she took.
Tears rolled down her eyes no matter how much she tried to control and I could feel my heartbeat going up and my breathe getting intense. There was a time, I thought I wouldn't be able to ever see her and to be able to be here again, at home, my home, I couldn't thank the Gods enough.
Vaishu began to sob as we both approached each other and I could see her taking deep breaths to control her emotions while my eyes were filled with tears. She looks like an adorable baby when she cries. Once we were close enough her hand reached out to me but she immediately stopped and pulled it back without even touching me.
"Was my crime that heinous?" I asked maintaing eye contact, "that you refuse to touch me?"
She slowly shook her head.
"I dreamed of this day so many times," she said, her voice breaking a little at the end, "and everytime I reached out to you, I had a harsh reminder that it was a dream. I don't want to risk it."
I smiled and gently held her hand. She lightly fliched but the joy in her eyes became more evident and she looked at me surprised as she realized this is not a dream. However, I decided to give further confirmation.
I kissed her palm gently and placed it closer to my heart.
"Not a dream this time, sweetheart," I whispered, "Not a dream!"
Vaishu broke into tears and immediately hugged me as her hands tightly wrapped over my shoulders, her mere embrace, washing away all my sins, all the blood, all the guilt, all the anger, all the aggression, all the responsibilties of the crown.
All that is left is Adi, just Adi, in his purest form, the way God intended to. I tightened my hands around her and we embraced each other, just feeling our love and compensating for every second we are away and after a while she slowly pulled herself back.
"I...I was supossed to be angry," she said wiping her tears innocently.
"Rightfully so," I chuckled my voice breaking a little due to my emotionally state, "Be angry!"
"I will throw a thousand paper weights at you," she warned.
"Not sure we have those many," I replied, "I'll arrange."
"I'll investigate you," she said as she still lightly sobbed.
"I'll surrender," I smiled unable to take my eyes off from her.
"I'll call you Pati..."
"Shh," I interrupted placing my left hand finger on her lips, "Not the P word, beautiful. Anything but the P word."
"You are making me more angry," she said although despite my best efforts, I can't see a hint of anger in her eyes.
I refuse to believe Vaishu is capable of anger.
"Intentionally," I replied, "Angry Vaishu is adorable."
"Not a wise idea to tempt my fury, love," she said repeating my previous statements.
"I lose my wisdom when I am in your presence," I genuinely confessed.
She then looked at the Rakshakavach that I was holding in my right hand in order to give it back to her.
"Why are you holding onto that?" she repeated my words once again, "Need protection from the devil."
I smiled and repeated her previous words.
"You can take it if you want," I said extending my hand, "but you are not the devil."
Vaishu took the Rakshakavach with her right hand and lightly slapped on my hand with her left hand out of anger but immediately regretted.
"Did it hurt?" she asked innocently.
Of course, it didn't!
It was so gentle that clapping would hurt more.
"Not really," I replied, "Want to try again?"
"Of course not," Vaishu cried and hugged me once again but again pulled herself back as if she suddenly remembered that she is still angry.
"Why did you leave without telling me?" she asked, "Did you think I am soi emotionally weak that I would stop you?"
"No," I shook my head, "I know, I am soo emotionally weak that I wouldn't be able to leave if I see your tears."
"I..." she paused, "atleast let me pretend to be angry for a while."
I smiled at her innocence.
"I'll remind you, tomorrow," I made a deal, "Be angry with me tomorrow. Punish me tomorrow...but today....today hug me, have tea with me, and ruffle my hair."
Vaishu smiled and ruffled my hair as the simple action made her giggle in joy but suddenly she stopped and placed her hand at the side of her forehead looking slightly worried.
"You okay, sweetheart?" I asked concerned as I tightened my grip around her waist.
"I feel....exhausted..." Vaishu said as she fainted in my arms.
*** Sruthi ***
KNOCK KNOCK
I heard a knock on the door of my chambers and my heart skipped a beat.
What if it is Kanda? I've been dreaming about this man for the past one month, imagining my life with him, but now....what if he comes and shatters all my dreams once again....what if he tells me that the song is a lie....what if he tells me that the soldiers were just playing around....he did it once....a day after he proposed me....what if he does it again....
"Sruthi, it's me," I heard his voice once again giving me even more reasons to not open the door.
"Open the door, didi," Pallu who just came out from her room told me and I shook my head as I almost started crying.
"You can't keep hiding," she said once again but I still shook my head.
"I am opening the door," Pallu declared and went to open the door.
"Pallu!" the general shouted in excitement, "My little girl, how are you?"
"Nandu bhaiyy-" she was about to hug him but stopped at a distance.
"Something wrong, beta?" the general asked calmly.
"Bhaiyya..." Pallu hesitated, "what is that box in your hand?"
"I got ladoos for you beta," Nanda said as he looked down at the box in his hand which looked similar to the one the fake priest carried.
Pallu shook her head slowly.
"I don't like ladoos anymore," she said fear evident in her voice.
"But why?" the general took a step forward and Pallu immediately stepped back in fear.
"Alright," the general immediately understood something was wrong and changed his approach, "Alright, calm down! I'll put the sweets away."
"And the sword too," Pallu said.
The general looked utterly confused yet obeyed none the less.
"Can my little sister hug me now?" he asked and Pallu immediately went and hugged him.
"I missed you so much, bhaiyya," she said and turned towards me, "Sruthi missed you too."
"Princess," Nanda whispered the moment he looked at me.
I took a step back in fear, fear of him breaking my heart.
"Princess, why is everyone suddenly soo afraid of me?" he asked innocently as he took another step forward.
"Pallu leave us alone," I said and Pallu immediately left.
Whatever, happens happens. I refuse to let this man break my heart again.
"What is going-"
"Shh," Kanda fell silent the moment I said those words.
"Why shh?" he asked, "I came to say something very important."
"I don't care," I interrupted, "What I am about to say is more important. I need to talk first."
"Well that's unfair given that...."
"Shh Nanduji," I repeated, a little louder this time and Kanda immediately fell silent, either due to the raise in my voice or due to the fact that I called him Nandu ji.
"I love you," I said outloud.
"Wha-" he was about to say but I silenced him once again by placing my hand across his mouth.
"Don't talk until I allow you to, deal?" I asked and he nodded although his eyes showed that he is clearly offended at the disrespect.
I slowly brought my hand down and turned my attention to the floor as I continued hesitantly.
"I know you love me. I know you wrote the song for me. I read your note. I read your song. I read your dairy," I looked up to notice his expression and his eyes widened in both anger and surprise at the third statement.
I immediately looked down once again and continued.
"I know it's wrong. Imprison me for it," I paused and thought before continuing, "Actually don't imprison me for it. It was necessary evil....because that is how I got to know how much you love me, how many times you stood up against the King for me, how you made me those gloves to protect me, how much you regret leaving me in the dark room and also..." I looked back at him annoyed, "You called me a clumsy confused mismatch?"
"That I-" he tried to explain.
"Shut up," I cut him off once again and he fell silent.
"That you regret," I continued, "I read that as well....but again I also call you stupid, rascal, idiot.....so I'll forgive you."
I thought he would be offended that I said I'll forgive him despite us both being equally guilty but he simply smiled as if he found my words very adorable. He folded his hands and rested one hand under his chin as he took a deep breath and continued to adore me with a smile with tears in his eyes almost looking surprised that I forgave him so easily.
"Why are you standing like a stone?" I asked offended, "Say something?"
"But princess, you asked me to shut up," he said innocently.
"No shut up," I replied, "Talk!"
"Will you marry me, princess?" he asked without hesitation, "Will you become my Queen and rule my heart?"
I looked at him surprised, blinked my eyes twice and immediately closed them.
Kanda asked me to marry him!?
Impossible!!!
"Dream" "Dream" "It's a dream" I kept repeating to myself like a mantra until I immediately felt his hand around my waist pulling me into his embrace.
"Open your eyes, my future wife," he whispered in my ears, "This is not a dream."
I hesitantly opened my eyes and looked at him.
"You haven't answered my question, princess" he reminded, "I advice you to do so, before I seek answers by other means."
"Wh-what other means?" I asked with slight fear in my eyes and he pulled me closer tightening his grip further while I tried hard to stop myself from blushing.
"Inappropriate means," he answered and refused to elaborate further.
(He only meant kissing. Don't let your imaginations run wild 😂 Nandu bhaiyya is innocent and sanskari)
"Like....like an investigation?" I asked confused and Nanda chuckled involutarily loosening his grip in the options.
"That's certainly one of the options," he smiled. I smiled back and as promised he immediately looked away. I gently held his cheek and pulled it to my side.
"Look at me when I smile, Nanduji," I said and his eyes immediately lit up.
"Really?" he asked surprised.
Why is he surprised for everything? Did he really plan on spending the rest of his life with me while looking away everytime I smile.
I smiled and nodded once again.
"Really," I repeated with a snile and Kanda took a deep breath and looked at me for a couple more seconds to admire my smile.
"Good to know," he sighed after a while, "But doesn't matter. You don't want to marry me, anyway. I have no reason to look at you smile."
"I never said that," I said offended.
"You implied it," he replied, "by not answering my question."
"No Kanda wait..." he continued walking.
"General!"
Did not work.
"Nanduji!"
He immediately stopped and I moved infront of him.
"But you said you can find out by other means?" I asked confused.
"I-" Nanda paused to control his frustration, "I didn't actually mean that statement. I don't plan on acting on it. I was just teasing you."
"Teasing me?" I asked as my mind went blank again, "What? Does that statement mean something else?"
"Gati, my princess," Nanda said holding my face gently, "Doesn't matter. Are we getting married or not?"
I giggled at the very thought of it.
"We are," I replied and hugged him once again but our hug was quickly interrupted by a knock on the door.
It was Veer.
"Greetings sir," he bowed to the general but his expression changed when he saw me walking beside Kanda.
"Someone else in the room, bhabhi?" he asked and Kanda looked at him surprised at the sudden usage of the word bhabhi.
"No," I replied and Veer immediately turned towards Kanda looking offended.
"I know I will probably get beaten up for this, sir, but you almost killed me for trying to spend time with Naina. Veeru needs justice."
"Different scenarios Veer," Kanda said frustrated, "Completely different scenarios."
"Calm down Nanduji," I said taking Veer's side, "Veer is the one who built our relationship. Had he not sung that song for me...."
"He did what?" Kanda interrupted angrily refusing to take his eyes off of Veer and I fell silent.
"I almost forgot the purpose of my visit," Veer immediately changed the topic, "The Queen fainted and the King wants to meet the Queen's cabinet."
"What?" I asked as I immediately rushed towards the Queen.
"Babhi, don't go alone. The King looked very angry," Veer said as both Veer and Nanda ran behind me.
************
Two more chapters to go. I am literally very sad that this book is coming to an end. I will miss you all and the love you've been showering with me 😭
Also I am close to 4K. Can we reach that milestone before this book ends?
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*** MORE FACTS ***
1. As per rules, Adi taking down his crown is a symbol of respect for the other person. Previously he used to only take it down infront of God and his wife but today he took it down infront of Amma as well. He also took it down after killing Verma although that was a modified version of the crown used in battles.
2. The weapons are not supossed to be disrespected because they are what kept you alive during the battle.
3. Adi never, even once directly mentioned in his letter that they won the war but explicitly mentioned that some of them lost their souls because he genuinely does not consider this a victory but a loss on both ends.
4. On the similar note, in first chapter, Vaishu described Adi as the man who never smiles, the man who never spares an enemy, the man who never lost a battle. All three of them happened.
5. When Pallu saw Nanda with the sweets and swords she was genuinely scared but did not shout BAHH because of her promise to Devi ma.
6. Up until this point, Adi has never, not even once seen Vaishu genuinely angry, except for the time where she got jealous during a battle and went aggressive for a little while.
7. Some of you wanted Vaishu to enter the battlefield. While that would make for a good cinematic experience, that would be logically inaccurate as Vaishu is not trained enough. She is still a beginner who trained for less than an year which is why even when the preist attacked, she was able to defend but Veer was the one who threw the sword. Also she only trained with Adi, so if multiple people attack at once, she won't be able to defend.
8. Randheera was not referred to as a retired general but as an honored general. This is a rule brought by Adi and applies to the soldiers to honour their work even after their retirement.
9. Yashoda amma is everyone's amma not just because of her motherly nature but because Randheera openly declared that the children whose fathers died in the battlefield will become the children of Randheera and Yashoda. That is why Yashoda also almost instinctively adresses everyone as son.
10. Adi specifically hid the chunni in the bottom shelf of the last row in the library because that is Adi's personal shelf which is always locked and he always kept it locked because that is where he kept books related to torturing traitors, which is why Vaishu who almost read every book in the library and knows a lot of things, tells that she doesn't know how to torture people.
11. The book Sruthi was holding in the last chapter is Nanda's dairy.
12. Verma died intentionally. He initially wanted to save his father but when he repeatedly heard the screams of his soldiers dying, he couldn't take it anymore and decided to sacrifice himself, which is why he purposefully agitated Adi and missed the move at the right time. If not, as Nanda said, Verma and Adi are both incapable of killing each other.
13. You all asked why Nanda was so calm during the battle while Adi was aggressive. Nanda literally wrote a book "peace at war" haha...so he is bound to be calm. This calmness is also what helped him notice things, like the rope. Adi in his agression would've never noticed it.
14. The letter reached earlier than the soldiers because letters can exchange hands. One person need not carry the letter from capital to broders. They just need to give it in the nearest station, similar to how modern day posts work. However, travelling people need to make stops. Even more stops during their return journey as soldiers might be injured.
15. One half of Vaishu's magalasutra was sponsored by Nanda. In that chapter, when Vaishu tells him that Nanda sponsored it, Adi very hopefully asked "he agreed?". Read it again, his words will have a whole new meaning now.
16. None of the men in the book are born perfect but they are capable of correcting if their mistakes are pointed out and imo that is what made them green flags. Be it Adi, when Vaishu talked about consent, or Nanda when Sruthi talked about freedom and debate, Veer when he reliazed that he asked Naina to be in her limits, or Randheera sir when he realized that he is unintentionally is opressing his daughters desires.
17. Randheera sir and King Devendra are very good friends, which is why, even without knowing the truth, King Devendra treated Nanda almost like his own son and they had good bonding with both the boys. For example Randheera sir taught Adi Shebd Bheed ban and King Devendra punished both of them when they insulted him in court. Yashoda amma and Adi are not close because she simply has no reason to interact with Adi and kept to herself both out of fear and respect.
18. This also means, Nanda grew up with his father loving him while also knowing that he is the one who ordered to murder Nanda and he saw Adi being pampered like a prince despite him being equally deserving. Yet he chose love over jealousy and even felt sad for Adi loosing his mother.
19. Adi never once called Vishnu sir without adding 'sir' at the end. Neither did any of the soldiers or general Nanda. It was either Vishnu sir/head intellectual/demon King but never any disrespectful title. That is because they truly admire his knowledge. Adi also mostly referred to all the elder soldiers as sir. He even adressed the traitor kings as 'sir' when he went for the peace treaty. He's always been very respectful and they still insulted him.
20. When Adi went for the peace treaty he asked "Gone are the days we greet each other with a hug, Verma?" and Verma asked, "Will you give your word to not kill me?" and Adi replies "No, I won't." Similar conversation happens right before Verma's death.
21. Vaishu always looked at Devi ma for help and Adi always looked at Mahadev. Even when in trouble Vaishu takes Devi ma's name and Adi takes Mahadev's name.
22. Nanda and his soldiers have respect for Verma and his men as both parties guarded the borders together for two whole weeks inbetween the war. Friendships are naturally developed.
23. The fake preist incident is not the first time prasad entered the palace without going through the security protocol. The soldiers usually don't stop it out of respect. The same previously happened with Sruthi but Nanda stopped her and made her eat the laddoo before giving it to the Queen. The Finance minister observed it and that is why they made this plan. The preist was able to snuggle the knife by putting it under the sweets.
24. When Adi initially started teaching Vaishu sword fight and asked her why she showed up in a lehenga she says "I tried to fight it" and he replied, "You are the Queen. You don't have to fight for anything, you demand it." Vaishu does the same later. She doesn't go with Vishu sir's advice of raising a petition and fighting for the throne. She demands it.
25. Nanda was so shocked to see Naina dance because she is soo good at pretending that the last time he saw her dancing, it was during Adi's confinement when Nanda had a beef with the Queen's cabinet he desribed at is "she is doing what she thinks is Kathak but is actually knocking into the furniture". On the similar note, Naina also ran away when Nanda lifted his sword, not because she is afraid he would hurt him, but because at that point no one else knew she is his sister and she wants to keep it a secret. Our girl is a wonderful spy.
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