Narasimha looked at the sceptre thrust into his hands. Subahu stepped away from his young, teenaged son leaving him under the glare of hundreds of eyes. The sceptre slipped from Narasimha's hands. He fumbled a bit before he finally caught it. The whispers in the court room had become one notch louder.

Narasimha cleared his throat and faced the court, "I, Narasimha, the Crown Prince of Mahishmati have been invested with this responsibility. I loved my grandmother, the esteemed Rajamata of this kingdom. Trinethrini was a mother figure to me throughout my childhood. Yet my father believes my judgment will be impartial. It is not my place to question his decision. I will discharge my duty to the best of my ability."

He questioned Trinethrini, "Can you tell the court what happened on that fateful day? And may I caution you that whatever you tell the court today could be used against you as evidence. So please be careful about what you choose to say."

Trinethrini's voice was drowned by the noise that prevailed in the court room. Narasimha tapped the sceptre on the floor and thundered, "Silence!"

The commotion and disturbance in the court had settled down. Everyone sat down in their seats. They were watching and listening to the proceedings with rapt attention. Narasimha looked towards Trinethrini and motioned, "Continue."

Trinethrini took a deep breath and began, "I was in Maharani Eiravati's chamber. Maharani Eiravati complained of a slight headache and indisposition. I gave her a potion to alleviate her symptoms of ill-health. She then dismissed all her maids except me. I stayed beside Maharani doing my rosary while she slept off due to the influence of the medication. I applied a soothing balm on her forehead from time to time."

"Based on your account, there was nobody in that chamber except you and Maharani Eiravati when the Rajamata came. Is that right?" Narasimha asked.

"Yes, there was nobody else. Maharani Eiravati was sleeping when the Rajamata stormed in. She started shouting at me. I entreated her that Maharani Eiravati was sick and we could resolve whatever issues we had by talking in the balcony."

Narasimha cross examined Trinethrini's statement, "I find many loopholes in your statement. Firstly, you say Maharani Eiravati was sleeping when the Rajamata came to her chamber to see you. Secondly, you say the Rajamata had unresolved issues with you and kindly agreed to discuss them in the balcony with you so as to not disturb Maharani Eiravati. Thirdly, you were doing your rosary when the Rajamata stormed into Maharani's chamber."

Trinethrini looked a bit flummoxed at what possible loopholes Narasimha had caught in her statement. Narasimha clapped his hands. He summoned a few soldiers to go and check something. The court waited as they left to get something.  They returned in a short while with a chain of rosary beads. Narasimha questioned the soldiers, "Where did you find these beads of rosary?"

"In Trinethrini's chamber, in front of the altar", one of the soldiers replied.

"So did the rosary beads fly back to your chamber from Maharani's chamber where you were doing your rosary when the Rajamata came?"

Trinethrini searched for her words, "I don't remember exactly. I wasn't doing the rosary."

"What were you doing in Maharani Eiravati's chamber then?" Narasimha asked fixing his eyes steadily upon Trinethrini.

"I was sitting and talking", said Trinethrini slipping up on her statement in her confusion.

"With whom? The walls? Maharani Eiravati was sleeping", Narasimha said cornering Trinethrini with her own words.

Trinethrini looked helplessly towards Narasimha, "Prince, you just don't understand what is at stake?"

"I wish to. Please enlighten me if you want me to understand what is at stake", Narasimha replied.

"I was speaking to the Rajamata", said Trinethrini trying to salvage her statement that had already been torn to shreds. "Both of us were in the balcony. The Rajamata was angry. She accused me of many things. I pushed her down in a fit of anger."

"Your statement is unreliable, Trinethrini", Narasimha declared. "One, why should the Rajamata come to see you in Maharani Eiravati's chamber when she could have summoned you to hers as per protocol or at least why didn't she come to your room to see you? Two, motive is completely lacking. Crimes don't occur without a definite motive."

"I stick to my statement, Prince Narasimha. You cannot prove me innocent when I choose to condemn myself", said Trinethrini , holding her lucky talisman close to her chest.

"You will be sentenced to death if proven guilty. Do you still stand by your statement?"

Trinethrini did not contradict Narasimha's words. She feebly acquiesced to his words. Narasimha was in deep thought. He raised his sceptre and was about to deliver the judgement when he heard a voice from the pavilion, "I wish to share something with the court."

Eiravati pulled aside the screen and descended the steps. She came and stood before her son. She declared, "Trinethrini was merely covering up for my crime. I am the true offender."

The silence was deafening. Narasimha's ears registered the words but his mind refused to process it. He dropped the sceptre in his hand. It tumbled down the steps and fell down with a clang. Narasimha ran to his mother. He took her hands in his, "Say it is false, mother."

Eiravati looked into his eyes and shook her head. Her hands were cold and lifeless. She reaffirmed what she said, "It is true."

"Even if God comes and tells me my mother is guilty, I refuse to believe it", averred Narasimha.

"Believe me when I say I am wrong. Believe my conscience that torments and condemns me every second that I am wrong. It is good to have infinite trust in one's parents. But even your parents are after all human. We could be wrong on many occasions", said Eiravati trying to reason out with him.

"Same thing that I told to Trinethrini. It makes absolutely no sense why you would do something like this and jeopardize your life and your position as the queen. What is your motive?" Narasimha argued.

Eiravati divulged everything about that fateful day in front of everyone, "I had a secret, a secret so deep. I kept it hidden for many years. Only Trinethrini knew apart from me. Rajamata Kamaroopi discovered that secret and threatened to expose me in front of everyone. I tried to convince her but to no avail. She called me names. Tempers were running high. I pushed her in anger and she fell down the balcony. It was not my intention to kill her. That part was an accident. But the accident occurred because of me."

Narasimha dropped down on his knees. He asked in a broken voice, "What was that secret?"

"That you are not my son", said Eiravati as she enclosed him within her arms. She cried, "That I didn't give birth to you. I merely found you as a newborn and adopted you as my son."

The blow had fallen. The impact of the revelation had sucked the very breath out of Narasimha. He freed himself from Eiravati's grasp and stood up. He picked up the fallen sceptre and went back to his original position.

His mind went back to the day of his coronation as the Crown Prince of Mahishmati. He had asked his mother what she wanted. She had said, "....Choose the right path however difficult it is. Don't be swayed from it by whoever your opponent is..."

The rest of the words before and after were blurred. But Narasimha remembered these few words of Eiravati very vividly at this moment of reckoning. His voice wavered but he delivered the judgment, "The court finds Trinethrini not guilty. She is honorably acquitted from this case. However, the court warns her for trying to mislead the investigation and shield the real culprit. Maharani Eiravati has been found guilty of all the charges and in accordance to the law of the land is awarded the death sentence. In view of the latest revelations, I, Narasimha give up my position and claim as the Crown Prince of Mahishmati and the successor of Maharaj Subahu."

Narasimha removed the crown on top of his head and set it down on the ground before he stumbled out of the courtroom. Subahu called after him but he did not respond. A malevolent smile appeared on Subahu's lips as he glanced at the retreating figure of Narasimha and the crown lying on the ground.

The common people and ministers shook their heads in disbelief. Eiravati was led away by the soldiers to execute the death sentence. Trinethrini followed behind the soldiers persuading and pleading them to let Eiravati go.