Princess of the dawn

Chapter 33

Mankot

The days went by. The daily outage of Sikandar's men became erratic. Time and again, deserters ran over to the Mughals. They did not have to be asked for long, but reported voluntarily about the conditions in the fort. Food was becoming scarce and many of the men, the besiegers before their eyes every day, didn't see any point in persevering. They didn't expect to get away with it anymore. The little food was drastically rationed and the besieged went hungry. They had already started slaughtering their horses to get something nutritious between their teeth. The Mughals expected Sikandar's surrender daily.

Jalal had withdrawn after the wedding and fled the camp for a few hours every day. Much to the displeasure of Bairam Khan. Abdul's condition was only slowly improving and Jalal was worried. The serpent of distrust of his ataliq also slowly ate its way deeper and deeper. On his lonely excursions he enjoyed the peaceful silence of nature and felt free. But at the same time he felt lost and lonely. Even the presence of his mother and foster mothers Maham Anga and Jiji Anga could not displace the feeling of loneliness. Ruqaya kept trying to spend time with him. He didn't feel like listening to her endless assertions of her status as his first wife. She hadn't another subject since he was married to Anila Begum. Anila Begum... He sighed. A plaything of politics. She stayed in the background and made no secret of her aversion to their marriage. Jalal was glad that she made no demands on him and stayed away from him. His path again led him to the clearing in the forest that he had discovered on his first ride with Abdul. The clearing had a magical attraction for him. Didn't he have the experience with the ring there. He sat in the shade next to the brook with his back leaning against a tree and, with his eyes closed, he indulged in his thoughts. He hoped that Abdul would soon get well and that the siege would come to an end. He expected Sikandar to give up soon. They had to think about how to proceed against him. After a while he opened his eyes and looked at the emerald ring on his hand. Could he hope for a message from her? He closed his eyes again and behind his closed lids her picture appeared with her bright beautiful hazel eyes, when they competed at the race. He started to smile and for a moment he had forgotten the reality and got lost in her smile.

Amer

Jodha was out with vaidya Narayana to collect medicinal herbs. They were accompanied by Sujamal and her brothers. They took a little rest before they wanted to ride back. Their baskets were filled with fragrant herbs that were to be dried and made into medicines. They sat on large stones in the light forest and talked about the effects of various herbs. Bhagwant Das urged them to leave. The sun was already low. Jodha got up and went to Lathika. She climbed onto a stone and swung onto her back. Slowly they rode back to the palace. When they came out of the small forest they had a wonderful view of the palace in the deep afternoon sun. Jodha stopped for a moment. The others rode slowly on and she enjoyed the view of the palace with the fluttering saffron-red-colored flags. She was proud of her country. Suddenly she felt a tingling sensation on her left hand and a soothing feeling overcame her. She looked at her fingers in amazement. She now wore the emerald ring every day. Nobody noticed it. The stones sparkled in the sun and warmth emanated from it.

"Jodha! Where are you staying?" called Sujamal.

"I'll be right there!" She closed her eyes and Jalal's dark eyes looked at her. She thought of the race. She felt wrapped in a blanket of deep calm. Was he thinking of her at the moment? Was that why the ring got warm? Was he fine? Had her letter already reached him? Messengers had reported that the Mughal army in Punjab was still besieging Mankot. She blushed. The deities had to have their hands in the game! She surrendered to the deep calm for a short while before moving Lathika to move on to follow the others.

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Mankot