PEREGRINATE

CHAPTER 9

"Why did you stop now?" came a familiar voice from behind me. I turned, filled with joy, and exclaimed "Isha!"

"Ay, it is me. Where did you run off to? Anyhow, no time to talk now. Come with me, much has to be done."

Instinctively I decided it was a wise choice to keep my mouth shut and not question Isha about what she was talking about. Then I saw the big hall in all its splendor. It was decked to the nines with tapestries, tables with fancy centerpieces, and a fountain in the corner. A stage was built in the middle

"This is fancier than what we usually have but very rich and powerful kings from all over the region will be coming over, so our King has spared no expenses to accommodate them. Some will say it is to make them feel more comfortable but what I say is that all this is a sham. I have heard that the household has lost a lot of money in the last years fighting wars with invaders." Her mouth talked while her hands were busy arranging the flowers. I stood next to her soaking in all the information she was spewing. When she noticed my idleness, she gave me my own set of flowers to arrange. I got to work all the while hoping that she did not stop her litany. And she did continue.

"People at the border lived in fear for their lives for the past few years, as you know. They are hoping to make a match of the prince with a lady from the neighboring kingdom. In that way, their armies can be put together and the king will have one less enemy to worry about. The lady friend whom you were asking about is the one they have set on making a match with."

"What about the prince? Whom does he like?" I was baffled by this unusual chatty Isha, who was mostly engrossed in her work and avoided gossip. But the celebration must have gone to her head, loosening her up. And I was here for the information. My earlier feelings of discomfort had now all faded away. I was filled with feelings of peace and contentment. I felt at home in this unknown time and place

"The prince? He just returned from settling another dispute on the border a few days back. All the arrangements had been made in his absence. Who knows what he wants? He was taken aback by what I had heard but he will mostly do what his parents want him to because he is loyal in that way." I wrinkled my nose in distaste. A mama's boy. No harm in being close to your parents but letting them dictate and control your life was a bit of a spineless attitude according to me.

But what did I know about royalty? I felt comfortable in my place next to Isha and we fell into a familiar rhythm of decorating the hall. All next to us people were rushing without rhyme or reason, moving in and out of the hall. The floors had been thoroughly washed yesterday for which I was glad to be absent.

After an hour or two of work in the hall, we moved to the kitchen to prepare the evening meal for the family. I was put on chopping duty again for which I was grateful. I was not aware of how to cook these Gujarati dishes. Actually, there were very few dishes that I knew how to cook.

But it was a laborious and monotonic job and my mind began to wander. I wished I could catch a glimpse of the prince at tonight's dinner. After knowing his name I had this unsettling itch in me to confirm that he was the one that I had read about.

Another mystery loomed over my head about where this place was and how I was able to come back here. Now that I have returned here, will I be able to move back to my time? Those were some big questions that required much deeper investigation than just catching a look at the person whom you were serving. And honestly, I was afraid of the answers to those questions. It was something I had never experienced before or read about outside the fiction genre and did not look forward to what it entailed.

By the time I was done, I had been chopping up for the better part of an hour and my fingers were cramped. They were numb and slightly shaking so I was apprehensive when Isha again handed me a load of plates on a tray. I held the tray close to my torso to take off a bit of the weight.