Telugu words in the chapter:

Annadanam = Offering of food to a big group of people, as a part of tradition

A long update to compensate for the long absence. Can I expect a long comment? Please. I need motivation.

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Mayanshi woke up earlier than usual. She started getting ready all by herself. She braided her hair. She considered performing few warm up exercises in her bed chambers. But she couldn't afford to be late. Not when the opponent was Samarjit.

"Is Goddess Mahamaya ready?" She heard Abhimanyu's voice.

"Stop calling me that." She chuckled.

"Then what should I call you? How about the other name I gave you? The illusionist?" He asked.

"You're late. Did you oversleep?"

"My chamber is on the other end. I have to walk all the way from there to reach this wing. And then there are these maid servants staring at me, making me feel uncomfortable." He led her out.

"Be careful, Abhimanyu. Some of them might be the dowager Queen's spies." Mayanshi said thoughtfully.

"What makes you think so, akka? Why would she use them as spies?"

"Because no one suspects women. A queen as clever as her would definitely recruit female spies." Mayanshi lowered her voice, walking briskly.

Abhimanyu stopped dead in his tracks. He seemed to be in a deep thought. She gave him a questioning look. "Queen Vaishali would recruit female spies." He repeated her words. 

"Anything wrong?"

"Nothing." He followed her. "The arena we seek is this way."

"How do you know?"

"I can hear someone practicing." He replied. 

And he was right. Samarjit was already there. "Shubhodayam, Yuvarani. Glad to meet you, Yuvaraja."

"Call me Abhimanyu, please." Abhimanyu joined his palms in a formal Namaste.

"You are an early bird, I presume?" asked Mayanshi.

"It would be rude to keep a woman waiting." Samarjit pointed at two men, one of who, looked elder to him while the other one looked younger. "These are my cousins. Dushyanta and Dhruvin."

"Greetings to the prince and princess of Srimukha. I hope you both would stay here for a considerable time before returning to your kingdom" said Dushyanta. It was evident that he was mocking her. Abhimanyu was furious. He was about to say something when Mayanshi stopped him.

"Thank you. I hope you don't mind if I stay here forever, er, forgive me I am unaware of your title. Is it 'Yuvaraja'? It can't be. You are not the progeny of a ruler. Unlike me." She smiled sweetly, making it clear that her position was higher than his. 

"Yuvarani, my cousin commands a sect of our army. So, it's Lord Dushyanta." Samarjit answered her question.

"Thank you." She smiled again. 

Before Dushyanta could answer, Samarjit spoke up. "This way, please."

Mayanshi examined the weapons. "These are sparring swords."

"Right you are. Can't afford to injure you while practicing. Choose your weapon." He gave her the right to choose. 

She picked two blades that were slightly longer than daggers and significantly shorter than swords. "Are you sure about your choice?" He frowned.

"If I wasn't before, I am now."

"Why?"

"The simple fact that you seem unfamiliar with the advantage of this weapon." She took her position, holding one blade in each arm.

"Wait. Won't you adjust your hair into a bun?" He suggested. "Braided hair is not advisable in combat." 

She shook her head. He shrugged and took his position and stared into her eyes, anticipating her first move, which never came. "Waiting for you to charge." 

"No. You first." She insisted. "The first one to get completely disarmed is the loser."

He agreed to this and charged towards her with lightning speed, rising his right arm above her head. Before his blade could come in contact with her head he heard a clang of metal. She blocked his move with her left hand.

He tried to strike her neck with his other blade, which she blocked efficiently. He continued charging at her without giving her time to retaliate. He kept applying considerable pressure on her which forced her to move backwards, until she was trapped between him and the wall.

"Surrender, maybe?" He suggested, still maintaining control on both her arms.

She refused to yield. She did something he never saw someone do in a combat. She dropped one of her blades, held her braid and whipped it against his eyes. He yelped in pain.

That gave her the time to pick the dropped weapon. He was still rubbing his eyes when she found a weak spot. His right elbow. She tried to strike him there. But he responded quickly, almost dodging it. Yet she managed to give a small blow.

"If this wasn't a sparring sword, you would have been injured by now." She remarked.

"Injured. But not dead." Unlike her, he didn't pick up his dropped weapon. He continued with one blade. He struck her with his weapon and pushed her with his free hand, simultaneously. She fell down on the hard ground. "I think this is enough for today. You were really good."

He started walking away. She got up and rushed towards him. Before he could fathom what was happening, he was lying on the ground with her sitting on him, pointing her blade at his face. "I win."

"But the duel is over."

"The rule was to completely disarm the opponent. I just fell down. I wasn't disarmed." She pointed out. "Surrender, maybe?" She suggested.

The next moment he was on the top. "Never give your opponent, the advantage of proximity." He smirked.

"Alright. The fight is over now. Get up." Abhimanyu held his sister's hand and pulled her away from Samarjit.

"She cheated. Attacking from behind is not fair."

"You can't expect an enemy to be fair to you, Yuvaraja."

"You are not my enemy." He replied. 

"Glad you feel that way." She kept the weapons in their respective place and took his leave.

He glanced at the sundial. The practice took one-third of first prahar. He silently walked towards his bed chambers. Dushyanta followed him. "What an arrogant brat!"

"Don't forget who she is." Samarjit reprimanded him. 

"I don't understand why you agreed to everything she asked. Tomorrow, if she asked you to give her the throne of Virata, would you agree?" Dushyanta asked angrily.

Samarjit placed his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "You need to understand. Duty dictates me to ascend the throne and serve Virata. Honour dictates me to step aside and follow Princess Mayanshi, as she is the rightful heir. I haven't decided which among duty and honour to choose."

---***---

"Amma, please try to understand. The two villages are on the verge of killing each other's occupants. I have to control the situation. I have to go." Samarjit protested.

"The prince's presence is not required to resolve such small disputes. Send someone else." Vaishali ordered him. "Wine." She commanded a maid-servant, who served her a goblet full of wine.

"Why am I being asked to neglect my duties?" Samarjit tried to stay calm.

"I want you to be with that girl. Everyday. Every moment. I need to know what she is planning to do."

"Forgive me, amma. She's not a criminal. She's our princess. We need a strong reason to spy on her."

"She calls herself the Queen. Isn't that reason enough?" Vaishali ordered for more wine. The servant was about to serve her, when Samarjit gestured her to stop.

"Enough wine for today." He put her goblet aside. "I will keep an eye on her if that's what you want."

---***---

"Yuvarani, please don't skip breakfast. It's a sin to neglect one's health. Especially when you have it in abundance" said Devika, while selecting jewellery that suited Mayanshi's saree.

"Do I have everything in abundance, Devika?" Mayanshi chuckled. "Abhimanyu? What happened? You are being very non-hyperverbal today."

"What's the point of this duel?" He changed the subject, hastily.

"To know Samarjit better." She replied as if it was obvious. "What did you observe?"

"He's very strong and determined. He's like, um, an elephant. You need to mount an elephant to control it." Abhimanyu replied.

"Spoken like a true warrior, Abhimanyu. But that's not what I wanted to test. A man's attitude while wielding a weapon tells a lot about his nature." She paused and closed her eyes, recollecting the duel. "He was too noble and honourable. He followed all rules of combat."

"Isn't that good?"

"Not always. He expected me to follow the rules just because he was being fair. This, my dear brother, is his weakness." Mayanshi concluded.

After checking her reflection, one last time in the mirror, she spoke again. "Devika, I'm going to meet Mantri Kashyapa. Be careful. Don't talk to strangers. And if someone asked where I've been to?"

"The princess doesn't inform me anything about her schedule. I'm just her handmaiden" said Devika.

"Good." Mayanshi and Abhimanyu walked out of the door, to see Samarjit standing there, waiting for her. "Yuvaraja. Didn't expect to see you here."

"Yes. After the injuries you gave me this morning, I too didn't expect myself to be available to assist you. My back is still aching" said Samarjit. Abhimanyu chuckled.

"To assist me?" She frowned.

"As you are new to this place, you need a guide. And I'm the man for the job." Samarjit announced. "Shall we, Yuvarani?" He gestured her to move ahead. 

Mayanshi drew in a deep breath. She knew it was Vaishali's doing. Yet she couldn't refuse Samarjit's help. She walked ahead, while the princes of Virata and Srimukha followed her.

She reached minister Kashyapa's chamber which was located in the east wing. That was where the nobility lived. She had been informed that he, along with few others, had a neutral stand on the inheritance issue. 

Kashyapa was pleasantly surprised. "Yuvarani. It's an honour to have you as a guest." He spoke humbly.

"It's an honour to be your guest, Mantri garu." Mayanshi replied. The royalty settled down in his chamber. 

After enquiring about each other's families formally, she started speaking about her childhood days. "I hope your daughter Samyukta remembers me. She was one of my favourite playmates."

"As far as I know, Princess Mayanshi preferred to play alone." Samarjit raised an eyebrow. Mayanshi couldn't believe that he remembered something she said fifteen years ago.

Kashyapa, who was happy that the princess remembered his daughter, completely ignored Samarjit's remark. "Yes, princess. She always keeps telling everyone how you saved her from a scorpion when you both were children."

"Scorpion?" Mayanshi pretended not to remember, when in fact she never forgot the incident. Samyukta, who was two years younger than her, almost caught a scorpion with her bare hands, when she stopped her.

"Yes. It was very brave and noble of you to do that." Kashyapa's tone was full of gratitude.

"That's nothing Mantri garu. She's my friend. I'd do anything for her." Mayanshi stopped to see the effect of her words. Samarjit was amused, while Abhimanyu struggled to maintain a straight face.

"Oh! Forgive my manners. I brought gifts for you and her." She offered him a tray full of clothes and ornaments. "I heard that she is interested in healing. I give her my late father's personal copy of A guide to making Ayurvedic medicines. I'm sure she has one of these. But I would like her to have it as a token of gratitude for being a wonderful playmate." Mayanshi gave him a battered copy of the book.

Kashyapa was delighted. "You have honoured me beyond words today. Thank you."

"That's nothing. I take your leave now. I have arranged for Annadanam at the Hanuman temple for the poor. But the royal physician told me not to leave the palace for three days. I must find someone to supervise it." Mayanshi informed him.

"Yuvarani, if you don't mind, I'd personally supervise the Annadanam." Kashyapa offered. She thanked him. "Anything else, princess?"

"Nothing. Her mission is accomplished" said Samarjit. Kashyapa looked confused. "I mean to say, her mission of feeding the poor is accomplished. Am I right, Yuvarani?"

"Yes. You are right, Yuvaraja." Mayanshi stood up as Kashyapa walked out of the chamber. She smirked at Samarjit, who couldn't control his laughter after she left.

As she reached her bed chambers, Abhimanyu asked her. "Why do you feel that he would take your side, just because you gifted something to his daughter? This is not an enough reason to not support Samarjit."

"Abhimanyu, nothing I do or say will make him come on our side in such a short period. My objective was to make sure that he stays neutral. Soon I will be facing a huge problem regarding Rudragiri's independence. When the time comes, Mantri Kashyapa will not speak against me. Because no man will speak ill of those, who are kind and affectionate to his children." Mayanshi explained her strategy.

---***---

"What did you find out today?" Vaishali asked Samarjit.

"She is a strategist and also silver-tongued. She is capable of utilizing both these qualities, simultaneously. That makes her a silver-tongued strategist." Samarjit replied.

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After a long time, a complete Slytherin character. I enjoyed writing this chapter.