The LEGEND OF AIR AND GROUND

Façade

The vibrant sky of the sunset matched its colors with Maya's bridal-wear— orange with red hues. But, it wasn't the jewellery embedded gown she had been proud to adorn— her eyes were only gleaming in awe of her red pair of bridal sandals. To her, they were no ordinary pairs— they were her everything now. She felt her inner strength revive from the dead. She felt taller, more rigid and stern than usual- like she would never need to bow in front of anyone, ever again.

"Or, perhaps you were all I needed. Perhaps I didn't want all this. Perhaps I overpaid. They did always say that luxury is a façade" she spoke to the sandals as she teared up on her fate.

"Miss Maya, the wedding chants will begin shortly. You are requested to come out" A maid, far too timid to be heard with average ears spoke through the door.

Maya took one last glance at herself- there she was, a woman- a woman who claimed herself of pride and self respect- a woman who knew not to put price on the things that are priceless. With those glances, she understood that once she would leave the room, she would not be the same woman. From then on, she would be the woman who sold everything for nothing.

'Look at what you made me do, poverty. You stripped me bare of everything' She thought as she noticed her old, grey clothes which had been hanging by a thread in the floor. Strangely, to Maya, they had started to feel more unattainable than the regal attire she was wearing.

Before leaving her room, she made sure to cover the mirror with a cloth, for she knew that after this day, she could never look at herself eye to eye.

Throughout her wedding ceremony with the King of Air, she did not even shed so much as a sweat, let alone a tear- much to the surprise of everyone. Everyone who had come by to join in on the lucrative wedding of the King of Air expected a dramatic show of cries and tragedy.

'They chose her to be the queen for a reason', everyone thought as they looked upon Maya's utterly emotionless demeanor.

"I promise to fulfill my duties as a queen, and as the wife of the King" Maya stated in her newfound peremptory voice as she looked over the holy fire.

The marriage ceremony was over, and in a weird twist of fate, it was the start of Maya's grief. As she bid farewell to her father and her mother, she remembered her childhood- where she would go over weeks without a grain to eat, how she would have to dance in the central marketplace in her barefoot to gather few coins. Still, with those burning memories of the past, she found a strange solace in her heart. Whoever her three children were going to be, they'd never have to see the face of poverty. They'd never have to sleep with empty stomachs.

'My children will just have to understand. Their mother made a compromise' she thought.

****

"My chamber doors are to remain closed until the sunrise. No one- not even Raman should be allowed here", the queen dictated her maids as she took off her elite jewellery and put on a simple woman's attire.

The Royal Guru had fled the country. After hours of pleas, one of Guru's disciples had come forward- worried about the Queen's worsening fear. He informed the Royal Court that the sage had an urgent matter to attend- one that apparently involved life and death

To the public, it was a general news—even the most devoted ones had something personal to take care of. But to the Queen, it was a sign of omen; an omen that was shaping itself as a sword that could eventually slash their neck open in an unlucky day.

As she grabbed the newborn in her arms and veiled her face out of recognition, she turned to her maids she said, "No one must know".

Disguised as a normal working maid of her palace, she found it easy to steer away from people's eyes. 'There is a strange sense of freedom in this attire', she thought, 'pity, when did my bangles transform themselves into a shackle?', the queen sighed.