{A/N: Due to some life turning events, I wasn't able to publish. Kindly overlook the long gap and enjoy the story.}

How to slay a King?

Either make him crapulous with airs or take a woman, dress her up in satin silk, put a crown on her head, and give her a dagger to stab him in the heart when he is squirming in throes of passion.

But the young girl from Shivpuri who was fated to a beast king used none of the strategies. To make the mighty being, who is both feared and treasured by his people, feel utterly helpless, she used the oldest tactic in the book. The wife completely ignored her husband and pretended like no 6 ft giant was scrutinizing her every move while walking on eggshells, dreading if she is in the process of losing her mind or already lost it.

After the promises were made from his side, Gauri realized she didn't get the truth. He explained why she was important to him but he failed to reveal the past and reason behind Kirti's demise. It was understandable that it was a sensitive topic but after learning the true nature of Royal blood, she deserved to know that bit for she was expected to stand on that pedestal one day. The trauma which Kirti suffered might come for her as well. But Gauri refused to batt eyelashes at the matter. She expected him to disclose the truth and nullify the queries eating her entrails and take the first step in becoming the man he guaranteed to be.

She decided she has given the Yagya enough space by hiding behind insecurities, fearing her meager presence might offend him. She was done mulling over his intelligence and superiority as opposed to her diminutive knowledge about things. For him to accept her, first she has to accept herself. Being born into a poor family isn't a crime. She got all the luxuries her parents could afford in that little abode.

In the Palace, she is constantly judged for not being highborn and frowned upon for marrying someone out of her league.

She must always remember that it wasn't her who willingly went to the Royal court and demanded to marry the King. The Ranas came to her house with the proposal. She was unique and of grave importance. She was his equal that is why they were looking for her.

A little boost of confidence is all she needed to start a new day.

Yagya's eyes followed her like a vulture as he buttons the white shirt a servant brought a few minutes ago. He had already showered in her bathroom and admired the shade of magenta saree complimenting her milky skin. Gauri emerged from the closet all dressed for the day. From this day, she decided to dress accordingly. The previous way of wearing simple clothing and not caring about status has somewhat backfired. She needs to remind people of her place, not the other way around. She was the better half of the King and demanded as much respect.

The diamond mangalsutra was fastened around her neck and gold ornaments adorned her body. She replaced the tiny anklets with heavy ones. Their chime was so loud, she was sure it would alert every breathing being in the palace of her arrival from a mile away. A gold choker with intricate design engraved by the finest artisans was hooked around her neck and diamond and golden bangles filled her wrists.

Patting her still-wet hair with a towel, she eyes him briefly before throwing the towel in the laundry bin and leaving the room nonchalantly. He could only gawk at the long mane running past her hips and her hazel orbs turning silver beneath the bright lights.

The maids cleaning the corridors tensed when the melody of silver anklets boomed along Gauri's footsteps. She refused to greet them like she does every morning. Vasundhara has explained on one occasion how it is not fitting for a queen to be friendly with the staff. They are here for the wages and gossip. If you try to be friendly, they start dancing over your head. It is easy to set boundaries and make sure no one crosses them.

She enters Raghuveer's room who was cleaned up and dressed in new clothes.

"Good morning, father." Gauri sang as she touches his feet and gestured at the two helpers to make him comfortable in the wheelchair. Once he was settled, Gauri takes him to the nearby Shiv-Shakti temple- the shrine where she was married, only 100 meters away from the Chitrakoot Palace.

The priest of the temple was left stunned when saw the duo approach. Passing him a small smile, Gauri starts her morning prayers. All the while, Raghuveer watches her going through the rituals one after the other. In the end, she came to him and puts sandalwood paste and vermillion on his forehead.

"Princess, since you are here, I would like to issue a grave matter to you."

The hesitant priest started with a lowered head and Gauri froze. Her heart somersaulted. Her first task is about to land in the court.

"Yes, high priest?"

The bald man rubbed his palms and tried not to look at her face. He feared if he did, his eyes wouldn't budge from the ethereal beauty. She was charismatic and refined.

"Umm... I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to see the renovation of the temple. The paint has started to peel off and cracks have appeared on the old walls. The floor needs a little polishing and pest control would help the rat situation..."

"Do not worry about it. I've already noticed." Gauri cuts him in the middle, knowing well he was about to pick the topic of his monthly income. As a woman, she understood how difficult it was for Vasundhara to look after her bedridden husband and the Fort at the same time. The managers she appointed to assist her might fret about the palaces and gardens but wouldn't pay a thought to the shrines and victory towers. The temple was old and the carvings on the walls were falling off. Gauri contemplated her first task as the princess and left the premises with a nod.

On the breakfast table, she didn't acknowledge looming Yagya's presence once again and with an emotionless stupor kept feeding Raghuveer, who wasn't daft to not notice the tense dynamics between the couple. They were distant before, but something was different now. His son couldn't take his eyes off her whereas she barely spared him a glance.

"Umm... Mother called. She'll return in two days. The journey was successful."

The King tried to fill in the awkward silence and Raghuveer almost choked on his soup. After Kirti's passing, it was the first time he willingly started a conversation.

Gauri didn't even look at him and kept feeding her father-in-law. Yagya pursed his lips and clenched his fists on the table. The veins on his arms thickened and Raghuveer's heart palpitated pitifully. He feared that his son was slowly losing control.

"I said Mom is coming back."

The throaty and menacing tone, revealing a hint of a monstrous presence startled even the clueless maids waiting at the sidelines and Raghuveer started sweating bullets. Still, the silence persists.

"GAURI"

He shouted making her throw the spoon in the bowl with a clatter and glare at him hotly.

"No need to scream, I heard you the first time."

Her retaliation left the maids bewildered. The guards standing at the entrance gawked. There's no way the King would let it pass. No one talks to him like that, nobody!

But the ruthless monarch grinned boyishly as if he found her frustration entertaining. The wild in him howls the tune of joy. He was restless since the moment of truth passed. The thought of her leaving bugged him the most. He wanted her to stay, if not for him, for his parents. They started to smile again after her arrival.

"I'll be in my study all day, if you need anything let me know." He conveyed politely. The stubborn princess refused to indulge until an idea crossed her mind.

"I'd like it if you inform your manager about the poor condition of shrines and towers. They need maintenance." Yagya smiled again and his father shuts his eyes. This must be a dream. Why was he smiling so much today?

"Manager- Vikas Bhatnagar will be summoned as per your wishes, my soon-to-be queen. Tell him what needs to be done. This is your matter."

Gauri's fists tightened around the silver spoon and she wished to gouge his eyes with them. The man had no shame. How could he address her as such after last night and that also in front of everybody? Her cheeks reddened and her lips pursed in a thin line. Her nose scrunched at the audacity and a warning was delivered from burning eyes.

He chuckled lowly before taking the last sip of his coffee and leaving for work. Every head bowed in respect until he crossed the threshold of the palace.

After consulting with the manager, who turned out to be a kind middle-aged man, Gauri decided to spend some time searching for the answers. Her instincts told her something is wrong with this equation. Her dreams! Before marriage, she never sleepwalked or had nightmares as such. She was a normal girl of sound mind and body.

Entering the library after seeing Raghuveer's comfort in his chambers, Gauri marches towards the one journal which had her curious from the very start.

The memoir of Rajyavardhan Singh Rana, her husband's grandfather.

She should get a hold of it. The satin diary might carry the answers she seeks. It took Yagya 4 weeks to properly address and consider her worthy of explanation. But that only happened after she accidentally discovered him in that monstrous state. She would be a fool to wait longer in the face of a Tsunami. Anything could transpire in the fort of beasts and cost lives. She had no confidant or a friend who might help to get through this. Knowledge was the only tool which might aid her in the future. There's a possibility- all of them lose a major portion of themselves while passing through high tides, but at least they will carry an idea of how high it might be. Gauri wouldn't be able to forgive herself if another cataclysm smashed on her watch.

Gauri found the journal where she last left it and immediately settled on a long couch beside the big glass windows filtering the golden rays of a brilliant sun. Her eager eyes skimmed through the lines she finished with Raghuveer. When the paragraph expressing moroseness over the death of a beloved wife and mother came, she made herself comfortable and got lost in the events transpiring in the lives of royal survivors suffering the loss.

"She looked magnificent in her wedding attire. The crimson of her long drape and heavy skirt made my eyes stink. I filled vermillion in the partition of her hair and then kissed her forehead. The sobs of females who spent their morning bathing and dressing her in the royal attire of a queen crumbled my heart some more. I caressed her head as if trying to soothe the pain she can't feel at the moment but must've felt when the hour of tragedy struck. My beautiful wife with a big heart laid motionless on the white sheets with eyes shut perpetually, her long lashes kissed her colorless cheeks and thin lips lined in a small smile.

Pulling at our weeping younger son near his mother's feet, I held him to my chest. His red-rimmed eyes refused to stray from the lifeless figure on the ground, all ready for her last ride on four sinewy shoulders. Standing with young Aryan in my arms, I nodded at her cousins to proceed.

I've faced economic distress, threats from the underworld, attacked by my rivals, and drowned in a river as a child due to lack of swimming lessons, but saying goodbye to my wife was the scariest experience of them all. It felt like I'd lost a part of my soul; like there was a hole in my chest that could never be filled. The longing that could never be quenched and a house standing on strong pillars but no soul. My shoulders shook when she was burned in the meadow of my ancestors over a sandalwood platform. She had pyrophobia, never sat beside any fireplace her whole life and in the end, was burned to ashes to unite with nature. I wonder how Aryan dealt with such a great loss alone because it took me an entire week to collect my wits and stand with the burden of responsibilities my partner in crime left in her wake.

Raghuveer, my first child was still in a coma and missed the chance of saying goodbye.

He woke after two weeks his mother passed away and fell into depression, blaming himself for the mighty fall. I had no idea how to console him. He was a mamma's boy and counted her every breath. He refused any physiotherapies for about a month and this affected the recovery period. I had to shift him to a separate wing of the house and transformed it into the medical area. His progress was slow and after three months, the boy who left his room was completely different from the energetic and high-spirited one. He didn't smile or talk. He barely ate or sleep. He became the shell of the person he once was.

One evening in early February, I sent him out with his friends. When they didn't return even after midnight, I got worried and was about to leave the palace when they arrived.

Raghuveer's two best friends were supporting the weight of a swaying human in the middle.

Ice shrouded my body as I watched speechlessly. They brought him inside and froze when caught me in the corner. The boys gulped and started apologizing. I didn't hear anything but kept staring at my damaged good in between them, hiccupping and drowsy. 'It started with a single sip and soon turned into a battle of bittersweet aftertaste that numbed him.' One of them defended but I couldn't move, it was like my limbs forgot their function. I watched my underaged boy laughing drunkenly and pushing his friends away, he stumbled in my direction. Throwing his arms around me, he tried to embrace me after a long time and laughed.

'Father, you did the right thing... by sendingggg me out..." He mumbled lowly before falling on the ground face first and I watched Sandhya's pride shattering into dust. Though his friends hurried to raise him from the ground and haul him into his room, I couldn't move, realizing the repercussions that the morning will bring. And true to my words, Raghuveer's face was plastered on the front page of every newspaper and gossip magazine the next day, where he was labeled with glorious names. He dove into uncharted waters at a very young age and like sharks, people surrounded him after getting the whip of his bleeding heart.

When Raghuveer refused to return to London, I sent Aryan to boarding school, fearing he'll pick his brother's habits.

Once I bid farewell to the little charmer with a heavy heart, I decided to control the reigns of my older one. Confiscating all his money did come to my mind, but that would only make him a rebel. I chose another approach.

Early in the morning, I called him into my study and made a deal. He was allowed to continue his ways as long as he doesn't sidetrack both his studies and carrier. A man looks charming only if he has a good bank balance and a sharp mind, otherwise, many drunkards swim in mud while pronouncing it as an ocean. A complete loser.

I made him understand that when I retire, both he and Aryan had to take over and expand the business twice in size what it is now. He realized that the foundation he was exploiting without care was also his mother's blood and sweat. It was her dream. This gave my young and innocent Raghuveer enough push to come out of his den and show his iron fist to the world.

He was a bloody champion and there's no doubt about that."