Brinda

Suraj

Feeling lost all over again and wondering if he was in the same kingdom he had been showered with love and made to feel welcomed, King Adigun sat in silence on his throne while the severity of what had fallen upon him began to come through. He had lost his most trusted man, and was on the verge of losing his kingdom to things he wasn't sure on how best to manage.

With a subtle sniff, he looked around, thought for some minute about Suraj's passing, and about how his friend had laid his life to rest to protect another person. It definitely sounded like the Suraj he knew; the man held courage in ways many warriors might not and he was true to himself to the very end. More so, there was no denying his love for Durga; the same person they want to harm and bring to her death.

In that very moment, the King felt confused and wasn't quite sure on or about what to do or make of his reign. He sighed aloud for the umpteenth time, groped the edge of his throne and looked ahead and into the empty space before him as he reminisced on the good old times with Suraj. They were times he held closely to heart, and times he never wanted to forget.

"I could have been there", he thought to himself in regret before hurriedly casting his mind away from the reality.

It wouldn't have been what Suraj wanted and it definitely wasn't going to be what would be in favor of the kingdom. He was a King now, and that came with ample amount of responsibilities not just to his personal cause, but to the lives of the thousands of people under his watch. He could not go on his usual selfish or personal runs or do what he pleased unless it was to the benefit of the people he governed.

Shaking his head, he braced himself up for the most disturbing period yet to come. It wasn't one he looked forward to initially, and it definitely wasn't one he anticipated for any reason whatsoever. It is one he had to brave himself through for and it was right at his doorstep, knocking and asking him to open the door.

King Adigun shifted in his seat and then cocked his head slowly while he heard the chants outside slowly begin to grow louder. It wasn't for him, it wasn't against him and it definitely wasn't about him either. It was for the departed and the sonorous chants were meant to guide the deceased off into what he now assumed to be his friend, brother and loyal servant's final resting place.

The heartache slowly worsened and he found himself struggling to make light of hat to do and how to go about it. The air within the palace felt different and he struggled to make sense on how to go through life without the man he always had within arm's length. The sighs were getting annoying, and the endless stream of tears he couldn't shed were troubling too.

"What else do they want?" he asked himself while his mind tried to understand what could be done and what he needed to sort through.

Slowly, he raised his head to look at the figure walking through the door in black attire an with her face shielded as it often was. It brought a smirk to his face to have such glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark time and it made his skin crawl to think that he still couldn't continue to make her happy because he held such amount of sadness within.

"The King's presence at such time is most important", his woman, his queen, Ambika Devi said. "You do no good to Suraj by keeping yourself locked in here.

King Adigun agreed with her and upped himself from his seat. He stretched some bit and slowly began to approach her before halting to look out the window. The skies were drab in color, and the air barely moved the large bodies of water in the distance. It definitely wasn't something he wanted to see and it wasn't something he wanted to have engrained in his frame of mind on such a day.

"He would have hated today", King Adigun mumbled to himself. "I hate today".

Ambika Devi approached and locked her arm with his. "Well, deaths and burials aren't meant to be beautiful. We can celebrate the passing of loved ones in cheery tone if we truly need them to be at peace in the afterlife".