The Triumph of a Queen

Chapter 43

Maharaj Chitrangadh , the mighty sovereign of Kalinga stared into the space , from the balcony of his chambers he could see his capital city drowned in the night under the starry sky.

He ascended the throne when he had just entered his twenties after the sudden death of his father.  Day and night, there was only one thought in his mind , to make Kalinga the mightiest and most prosperous empire in the history. He became ruthless and cold, blinding himself in his hunger for power. It soon became a drug that he was addicted to. Perhaps this was the reason , his mother Kousalya Devi decided to divide the kingdom, she might have tried to relieve her elder son of some stress but it didn't actually go well with Chitrangadha who took it as a sign of his incapability which only increased his conquests.

His hands were always stained with blood. Innocent or guilty , rich or poor, kings or peasants, all were subjected to his arrogance and cruelty. He forgot all his ethics and morality in his quests. Meanwhile, he married Samyukthana devi, the princess of Kashmira, a brave and strong willed lady whom his mother found for him and he agreed as he didn't find any reason to object. He only thought she would make a good queen.

A year later, he saw Princess Gayathri devi when he was a guest at Amravati. He found her beautiful and was instantly attracted ,so without her knowledge , threatened her parents to give her in marriage .

Later he became father to two sons but his relation with their mothers were weakening, fortunately the queens were sensible and supported each other.He was turning into a monster who was even detached from his family. His wives, siblings and even his mother and toddler sons feared him. 

When the news of Devi Samyuktha's second pregnancy came out , he secretly wished it was a daughter, a wish he had always harboured within himself but never let out.

The family astrologer predicted that the child is not an ordinary one but would be of great strengths. This offspring of the king would be born to bring changes that would inspire all generations and so everyone concluded it to be a son.

Months later, when the queen went into labour, the king was planning a conquest but a strange feeling was clutching his heart. Looking outside, he saw a thick black cloud above the queen's palace,  from the cloud, emerged a light that covered the building. But to his surprise, no one else could see it . Unable to take it any longer , he strode towards the place. His family was surprised to find him there as he wasn't present when both his sons were born nevertheless they didn't show it.

'The delivery is getting complicated, the child isn't coming out' He heard the lady physician informing his mother and unknowingly prayed in his mind to keep his child safe and within seconds the loud cry of the newborn was heard. Everyone was overjoyed but they found the sound to be too loud for an infant. Not just for the people in the palace but the cry could be heard by everyone in the whole area and even outside.

Gayathri came outside with the baby still crying.., "Its a princess" she informed happily and handed the child to Kousalya devi as per the custom , the grandmother tried to comfort the child but she won't stop crying . He wanted to badly hold his baby daughter but was afraid he would hurt her ,the baby was given to her maternal grandmother but she too was unable to stop the wails . Waiting for nothing , the king took his precious daughter and surprising everyone, she stopped crying and gave a victorious smile.

It sparked a feeling in the Maharaj , she had the smile which was the sweetest ,  cotton like little legs and arms, twinkling black orbs and milky white face which glowed like the full moon with the glory of the sun, he wanted to touch the tender crystal like cheecks but was scared that his rough finger would hurt her. He forwarded her to her aunt who was waiting to hold her but she just curled to him more. So he kept her close and without thinking anything else, softly touched her cheek and she giggled, he then touched her palm and she caught his finger.. she wouldn't let it go even when he tried to .. her hold was too strong and he felt proud..