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---
Aaryan returned home late that evening, and when he did, I realized immediately that he was not intending to stay. "My love, we need to talk," I said, as I followed him to his office. He was walking fast, and it took some effort to keep up with him in my still, relatively weakened state.
"I am busy, Seetha," he said as he pulled out his royal wax seal stamp, along with some other scrolls and notes. "We will need to speak later."
His face was clouded over, and that was enough for me to know that something was wrong. "Aaryan?" I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop what he was doing. I put a hand under his chin and turned him to face me. To look at me. "What is it?"
"Nothing," he said, trying to change his expression, forcing a smile. Trying to look gentle. "I am just a little busy."
I was no fool. "We don't keep secrets from each other."
He let out a breath. "I have work to do."
I could feel his anger... the anger he was trying to hide from me... and that was when I knew that he must have known already.
He must have gotten the news.
"Please, just tell me Aaryan... what are you going to do?"
Aaryan hesitated before looking at me. He watched me carefully, probably realizing I knew whatever it was that he knew. "Who told you?" He asked, sounding angry.
"Your father-"
"You spoke to my father?"
"I spoke to my father-in-law, yes," I said, trying to remind him that I was allowed to do whatever I wanted.
"And he told you?"
"He asked me to speak to you-"
Aaryan scoffed. "Unbelievable-"
"Why?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Is my opinion that meaningless to you?"
"No," he said. "Of course not, but he should not be involving you-"
"Why ever not?" I asked.
Aaryan kept frowning, and after a moment he looked away. "I have to go. I have work to do."
I grabbed his hand. "Please, Aaryan... just talk to them," I said. "Talk it out. Think of your future and your people... your children."
"You think I am not already considering that?" I asked. "If anything, there is nothing more that I am worried about than my future, my people and my children... and you." He snatched his arm away from me. "Do not speak to my father," he then ordered. "Do not entertain him. I will handle this."
"Aaryan your father is not the enemy," I said, raising my voice. "He is fighting for you."
"Clearly not hard enough."
"Stop letting your anger lead you!" I said. "You are better than that."
"I have tried that," he argued. "And that has failed. Only force and put an end to this nonsense!"
"You are wrong!"
"Enough," Aaryan said. "I have no time for this."
I was going to continue arguing but just as he turned around, we both froze at the sight of Aathavan at the door. He was gripping onto the doorframe, rubbing his eye with his fist.
He almost always woke up when Aaryan got home, the only exception was when he slept in exhaustion after a long day of playing. Otherwise, if he was able to hear the sound of doors and footsteps and Aaryan's voice, he would always get up to greet him. It had become a sort of habit of his.
So much so that Aaryan had to take great efforts to be silent, feeling bad when he woke the child up.
"No yelling," Aathavan said.
My heart sank as I watched Aaryan pick our son up. "No one is yelling," he kissed his son's cheek as Aathu wrapped his arms around his father's neck. "We were just talking... loudly."
I remember what the King said, about Aaryan being a good father. He was. He was a wonderful father.
And I hated that none of these foolish nobles cared for that.
"Appa come sleep?" Aathavan asked, nuzzling against his father's neck.
"Not now, little one," Aaryan responded. "I need to leave for a little while to work, but I will be back."
Aathavan pulled away and looked at Aaryan, confused. "But moon means sleep."
Aaryan smiled. "For you." He said, using his finger to poke his head. He then turned to face me. "Amma will take you to bed, alright?"
I walked over to them and put a hand on Aaryan's arm. "Stay... let me tell you what your father told me."
"I don't need to hear it, I already know."
"No, you don't-"
"Seetha-"
"Then take Aathavan with you," I said.
Aaryan looked at me with surprise.
"Take him with you and let his presence remind you to calm down."
He had a look of disbelief on his face... a look that seemed to suggest that I had offended him. Like I thought he could not do this right.
And without saying anything, he handed me Aathavan, who looked at his father in surprise. With that, he left.
---
I had expected something to happen immediately. I did not sleep that night because I just couldn't... I expected someone to barge into my room and tell me something horrible had happened.
But that did not happen.
The sun was beginning its rise when Aaryan returned, and when he did, I was sitting up straight in my bed, staring at the door worriedly. Aaryan walked into the room, looking both exhausted and unhappy. He did not bathe, or clean himself off. He did not even take off his clothes or jewelry. Instead, he climbed into bed next to me, rested his head on my lap and put an arm around me.
I didn't know what to do or say.
I was scared to ask, though I knew I had to.
What had he done?
But instead of asking right away, I ran my fingers through his hair and let him close his eyes and relax for a moment.
Aaryan had not cut his hair in quite some time. His hair was growing out, long enough to be tied back into stubby ponytail, which is what he has been doing over the last little while, and his beard had grown out too. He looked more... rugged. More messy.
Maybe it was because he was so tired... or maybe it was because he had no time.
Whatever the case, it made me think about how he wasn't entirely the same man I had known so long ago.
He had changed.
He had changed into a man who was a wonderful husband and father...
But he had changed in other ways as well.
"I am moving to and the children to stay at Lakshmanan's home," he said after quite a long time of staying silent.
"Why?" I asked, trying not to be combative... trying not to make things worse.
"Because it is safer," he said. "He lives closer to the fort. Closer to where I will be."
"Do you think we are in danger?"
"No," he said. "But it would make me feel better."
I frowned. "What are you going to do?"
He didn't respond immediately. "If I allow this to continue, they will make Aarun king."
"What are you going to do?" I repeated.
"I'm going to do what needs to be done."
I narrowed my eyes and when I looked down at him, I saw that he was still closing his eyes. "What does that mean?"
"It means something is going to change."
"You father does not want this, Aaryan," I said. "He wants you to be King... he just needs you to understand him-"
"What do you think?" he asked. "You wanted to tell me your opinion, so tell me. Do you think that my father's opinion is correct?"
No.
I did not. I made sure I mentioned that to the king as well. These nobles were rotten and selfish and horrible... but that did not mean that there needed to be bloodshed.
His eyes were still closed. I wished he would look at me.
"Your father... isn't wrong in his desire to maintain peace."
Aaryan let out a breath.
He did not respond right away.
Finally, "Do not speak to my father again."
---
Aaryan left very soon after that. It seemed like he only came to close his eyes for a moment... maybe to think.
When morning came, my eyes were burning from no sleep, and when I left my room I saw that people were already getting things ready for us to leave. My maid friends came to me and told me that Aaryan had ordered that we begin to make our way to Lakshmanan's home as soon as we had awoken.
Though I did not necessarily want to go, I knew that Aaryan wanted us to go there to be safe. I had to trust him there, especially since I had children to worry about.
So after getting my children ready, I brought them downstairs to make our way down, however, right when we reached the bottom of the large stairs, I noticed that everyone was running around in some sort of excitement.
I looked over at Maha, who seemed the most calm. "The Maharajah is making his way here."
My eyes widened. The first thing I thought was that this was going to be the first time to Maharajah would be at our home. The second thing I thought of was the fact that Aaryan told me not to speak to his father.
Obviously, I didn't really care about Aaryan's order. I found it surprising that he would ever assume I would listen to an order from him to not talk to someone. I could talk to whoever I wanted. Of course, that did not stop me from being a little concerned as I pondered the potential fight that would occur when he found out.
The Maharajah stepped into our home before I could ask Maha to provide me with more details.
He spotted me immediately and smiled. "However upset I am with you all being here... I cannot deny that my son has designed a beautiful home."
I bowed my head as I noticed the excited Aathavan rush over to his grandfather.
The Maharajah chuckled. "This lad seems to have too much love to give," he said as he caught Aathu in his arms before lifting him up and pressing his lips against his round cheek. His bearded face ticked my son, making him laugh.
Maya, who had reached the point where she felt the need to copy everyone, began fidgeting in my arms, wanting to follow her brother. The king, who noticed this, smiled at my daughter.
I realized then, that the Maharajah had not ever held Mayalahi... not since I had awoken, at least, and I was certain that he had not held her while I slept as well, because she was so small and fragile in the beginning, and then Aaryan got into a fight with his father soon after.
I thought of all the times that the Maharajah had told me that he wanted a daughter... and felt my heart sink a little. Here she was... the closest thing he could have to a blood daughter.
So I walked over to him, a small smile on my face. "Would you like to hold your granddaughter?" I asked.
The King hesitated, looking surprised. Maybe he just noticed that he had never held her too... or maybe he already knew that, but assumed that it would just continue to be this way.
But it seemed he did want to hold her, because he smiled at me, letting Mahatake Aathavan before he took Maya from me. At first, I worried a little because Maya often cried when in the arms of someone she was not familiar with, but to my surprise, she did not cry this time. She stared at her grandfather before putting a hand on his face.
He smiled warmly. "It's quite strange... she looks much more like Aaryan than she does you."
I chuckled. Many people said that. Now that she was growing into her features, she was showing herself to look much more like Aaryan. Like him, she had black eyes and thick hair that was slowly growing into curls. Her lips for full and her lashes were long and I knew for certain she was going to grow up to be more beautiful than I ever was... because Aaryan was beautiful, and the gods seemed to have gifted her with his good features.
"I heard she cries a lot?" He asked, still looking fondly at his granddaughter.
"You have no idea," I said, letting out a sigh.
The King laughed, making Maya giggle.
"After all this time... what finally brings you here?"
"I wanted to talk to you," he said, looking at me. "But I did not want you to have to come all the way to the palace for that."
I gave him a silly look. "It's not that far."
"And maybe now would be a better time than ever for me to visit you here."
I hesitated. "I wish you came while Aaryan was here then. He may have appreciated your presence."
The King just smiled. "I am not too sure about that," he said. "He's at the palace right now... he seemed... unhappy." He looked around before looking back at me. "Can we speak in private?"
I nodded right away, "of course."
After taking Aathavan from Hema, I guided my father-in-law into Aaryan's office and shut the door. The moment I did, however, the King spoke up. "Have you spoken to Aaryan about what we discussed?"
I hesitated. "Not really," I said. "He... knew already."
Now the King frowned, looking unsurprised. But then he sighed. "I... thought about our conversation yesterday and felt the need to clarify."
I gestured at the seat in front of Aaryan's desk, which he took, Maya still in his arms. I sat next to him in the other seat, Aathavan sitting on my lap. "Clarify what?"
"I wanted to clarify that..." he hesitated, looking away, before looking back at me. "Whatever happens," he started. "I want you to know that there is no one in this entire kingdom who I think is better suited to be the King than Aaryan."
I took a deep breath.
Why was he telling me this?
Why could he not tell Aaryan himself?
"I fight for him, not because he is my son, but because I know this fact."
My brows furrowed, but before I could criticize him for coming to me with this information, he continued to speak.
"I was always aware that Aaryan would be the one to undo these shackles that are placed on us by these nobles... these shackles that were handed to the nobles by my power hungry grandfather himself," he said. "I never knew how... but I knew he would. The nobles fear him, they always have. They see his sense of justice, they see his ideologies and his higher level of thinking and it scares them. Most had always known to stay on his good side, because being on his bad side would mean their doom... though whether that doom would come through Aaryan ending their rule or their lives... that, I never knew."
"I fear that maybe, in our discussion yesterday, I made it seem like I did not trust his capabilities... or that I fought for him only because he was my son and not because he deserves this position, and I wanted to correct myself."
"Maharajah... you need to tell this to Aaryan. Not me."
The king smiled, before closing his eyes. "I have come to understand that my decision to keep my son happy was largely selfish," he continued. "Of course, I wanted him to be happy, but I think my primary motive, deep down, was to make myself happy-"
"I don't think that's true," I argued.
"Unfortunately, child, you do not know me," he said, as kindly as he could. "I think, reflecting now, many of my decisions were selfish... abandoning Suhanya, and then bringing her back, treating my wife like the enemy, being unable to be a real father to my sons, and trying to keep my son happy. There was a selfish undertone to all of this, and maybe this struggle I face is a form of karma."
I shook my head. "You are being too hard on yourself."
He sighed. "And now, I say, enough about me," he looked at me. "I predict... there is going to be a lot of turmoil very soon. A lot of turmoil, and then everything will finally be calm... and I am here because I want you to know that whatever happens, if there is one thing I am confident about, it is that Aaryan will be a good king."
I just looked at him, trying to wonder what it was that made him speak like this.
"And you, child..." he continued. "You... I believe you will be a wonderful queen."
My brows rose.
"However... he needs you. Recent... events... have made him dependent, and he needs you. So I ask that you continue to support him. Be the light in his life and steer him in the right direction whenever you can. You have that capability, so long as you put your foot down. He loves you, that is one thing that will always be true. So make sure you know that. Don't forget it and help him be the King he was always meant to be."
"Why do you speak as if you plan on leaving or something?"
The King smirked at that. "Leave?" he chuckled. "I could not leave even if I wanted to... though trust me... I quite want to."
I smiled at him. "I've said it many times before... but I think you need to tell Aaryan this yourself."
He chuckled, standing up. "When you see him next... tell him to go to my office. If my approval is what he is looking for, then he will find it when he comes there."
I tilted my head to a side, wondering why it was so hard for these men to just... talk. This was not ever an issue with my father and his sons... why as this such an issue here.
"Though I would love to spend more time with my grandchildren, I must be off," he said. "I am meeting with the nobles about this very issue... maybe I can solve this once and for all."
I stood too, setting Aathu down on the floor and letting the King hand me Maya, but only after kissing her cheek again. He then knelt down next to my son, touching his face with his hands. "Take care of your amma, okay?" He said, smiling warmly.
Aathavan nodded without hesitation.
The king stood up and messed up Aathavan's hair as he giggled, and with that, the King said his goodbyes and left.
Though the King had only said good, kind things to me, I felt my stomach turning.
I felt sick and uncomfortable... like something bad was going to happen.
I needed to go to Aaryan.
As I helped Aathavan climb into the carriage that Aayu had gotten me for me when Aaryan and I had gotten married, I found myself frowning. Maha, who was sitting with Maya in her arms, looked at me worriedly. "Are you alright, Seetha?"
I looked at her. "I... need to go talk to Aaryan," I said. "Can you make sure Aathavan and Mayalahi get to Lakshmanan's home safely?"
"Of course," Maha said, "but... are you going to go to the palace alone?"
"I will go with one of the guards," I said. "Just... watch the children, okay?"
Maha nodded. "You can trust me."
I smiled my thanks, though it was tight lipped and not completely happy.
And after watching the carriage head off, I made my way to the palace... my stomach turning in nervousness.