It was cold. The water droplets on the sides of the fountain were frozen up. The moon was shivering in the night wind and hid at times behind the clouds. Avantika stood over the marble platform in the garden. The cold climate of Kuntala was not doing well for her health. Avanti couldn’t believe that she used to live in the Kuntala caves only ten years back. Now as she has been living in Mahismathi where the climate was fairly hot, she has lost the touch with the snowfall and the cold night winds coming from the Mahali Mountains. Avanti has never seen a snow fall in the last 5 years. She has only come to Kuntala twice and that too was in the midst of summer. But now her arrival in the winter was as per the rituals. Avantika was carrying a child. She was nine months pregnant and had come here to give birth to her child in her own home. But she had other reasons for coming to Kuntala as well.

When Avanti reached Mahishmathi about five years back, she was welcomed with great love. She was respected and cared for as a queen. Everything looked bright and beautiful, but Avanti could sense displeasure and conspiracy brewing among some people of the court. It didn’t come as a surprise to her, as there were many in the kingdom that supported Bhallaldev and prospered under his rule. As Shivu had cut the taxes and brought in good judiciary system, the luck for those people faded and they started conspiring behind his back. Avanti was not afraid of them. Even though there were people of that sort in Mahismathi there were good people too. The commoners loved Shivu and so did most of the royals. Avanti felt safe with them around her but it all changed after she came to know that she was pregnant. The news spread across the country like wildfire and Avanti received gifts and wishes from the people of Mahismathi. But she couldn’t find peace or happiness in the palace anymore. Somehow she had become a mother who is scared for her child from a warrior and queen she was before. It surprised her. Avanti became anxious, she could hear conversations within the walls and dread in the breeze. Something was going out of her control and she felt as though too weak to stop the inevitable from happening. She felt suffocated living in the palace, that too a place where Bijjaldev was still alive.

Avanti walked slowly over the white platform which shined silver in the moon light. She noticed the white flowers that bloomed at night. In Kuntala, the cold never dampened the spirit of the flora. Flowers bloomed throughout the year and made the country beautiful. Suddenly she missed Shivu. He was in Mahismathi and she hadn’t seen him for the last two months. He will come to Kuntala in a few days. But waiting for him seemed close to impossible for her. She was getting restless. Avanti couldn’t stop herself from wondering how being a mother changed her so much. She became naive and fierce at the same time and that confused Avanti. She watched the Mahali Mountains in the distance standing tall and looking skywards, Proud and Unbeatable. Kuntala was her land; her child will be safe here.

Mohana stood behind the pillar and observed Avanti. Avanti was beautiful Mohana thought, though the queen was stern at times, she was also kind. But none of these characteristics or interactions with Avanti changed anything about how much Mohana had hated Avanti, her husband Mahendra, the great king of Mahishmathi and their unborn child. Every time she looked at Avanti, she could only remember the red and wet eyes of her queen Jayara. Jayara was the kindest and sweetest women Mohana had ever known. Though Mohana was a maid Jayara never treated her anything less than a sister. Jayara was kind to everyone, loved everyone and the fate Mahadev had bestowed upon her was unbelievable. Marrying Jayara to Aadi the adopted son of Bhallaldev was the greatest mistake Sarayuha Kingdom had ever made and they paid for it dearly too.

Mohana had left Sarayuha eight years back. She was young and timid but her love for Jayara was so overwhelming, her fear was washed away by the intensity by which she wanted to destroy Mahendra and Mahishmathi. Mohana was not the only one who had left Sarayuha, there were many. They went to both Mahishmathi and Kuntala. Their mission was to destroy the royal family. But the job was not that easy. Only, the trusted members of the close circle were allowed to get in touch with the King and the Queen. Even the kitchen had guards who would keep a watch when the food was being prepared. Mohana learned one thing at Mahishmathi, if you want to touch the royal family you have to be in their close circle and for that you need to earn their trust and that took her years, but now she was one of the maids of Avantika. It was her victory. Soon it will be her queen’s victory too.

Avanti was bending down smelling a flower and that was when she felt sudden pain and she knew it was time. As per the physician there were a few more days for the delivery but these things can’t be calculated beforehand. Avanti felt small sudden aches first and later the intensity of it increased. She started to scream. Avanti tried to bite down the pain but it was not something she had suffered before. It was unbearable.

Mohana heard Avanti’s cries. She was giving Avanti particular medicines that will make labour happen fast. Mahendra would come to Kuntala in a few days and what she and her companions were planning will not work if he and his army were present in Kuntala. So she had to make the labour happen before the army of Mahishmathi reached the Kingdom. She was waiting for years, years to hurt Mahishmathi in such a way they deserved.

Maids ran to Avanti’s aid and Avanti was taken to a nearby room. She was tended to, but Avanti felt as though the night has gone silent and as she was alone there and her heart yearned for Shivu. But she was not afraid, her child was coming to the world and she would be safe here. This was Kuntala, her motherland. There was no safer place for a daughter than her mother’s lap.

Amrutha

*****

Here is something from the fantasy genre. Please give your feedbacks.❤️🙏