Words - once spoken can only be forgiven. The irreversible nature of them have always made the oldest caution the young lest they carry the regret like their ancestors. Alas! No one learns this lesson until it is too late.
(Blurb to be edited)
Vāc i...
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Abhijishya laid awake half tilted away from Nakul on the left side of their shared bed. The heavy crocheted blankets had been replaced with lighter ones given the progressively warming days. Soft snores reached her ears rhythmically and Abhijishya sat up, placing her feet on the carpet below. As if sensing the absence of warm body, Nakul grumbling in his sleep moved closer to her. Abhijishya stilled and released a sigh when his snores reached her ears again.
It was nearly time. Abhijishya, on nimble feet, quickly made her way to the door- not before grabbing a shawl placed over the dressing table. She peered out. As expected the outside was empty but she could careful steps of the dasis who were to be on attendance soon. Wrapping herself in the rather simple shawl, she traced practised steps towards her destination.
Soon she arrived on a dead end, beside the royal kitchens on the ground floor. Abhijishya walked up to the right corner slab of marble and tapped her foot.
Tap-pause-tap-tap-tap-pause-tap-tap-tap
She stepped back. The slab lifted a good inch and slid aside. Abhijishya looked down to find Charu holding a earthen lamp. Only her face was visible and the ladder leading down to a dark pit. Abhijishya carefully climbed down the ladder, throwing a grateful smile when Charu lent her a helping hand. Once again, Charu stepped over the last step of the ladder and pulled in the slab, covering the entrance.
The room was a cellar. A wine cellar to be specific if it were to be used for its true purpose. An oddity because all other wine cellars were located in the store rooms where raw materials for cooking are kept. When Lord Vishwakarma had bestowed them with their palace- their home, he had not stared the placement of the various rooms. It was as if the God of Architecture wanted them to learn his creation and respect it while learning. Abhijishya had discovered this one around 6 years into her stay in Indraprastha. Anvi had been actually the one to point her towards this place. Her daughter had insisted on playing there because her feet sounded different on that particular place. Abhijishya, ever inquisitive, had returned later that day with Charu wanting to find out whther there was an empty room as expected. And there it was. Overtime she shared the location of "Vapati" with only a few trusted people who followed her orders. Not even Nakul knew about this place. To her relief and perhaps guilt, this room had become a safe hiding place for her when things got too out of hand. However, she mostly frequented this room when she needed to meet all of her accomplices at once.
The air was stale due to poor ventilation so she knew she had to wrap this up quickly. Abhijishya took a few moments scanning the occupants of the room whose faces were alight from the single earthern lamp nearby.
Charu, Reva - Her trusted ladies-in-attending and friends.
Kumudini, Akarsh - The former had been her hairdresser for seven years before she married her husband Akarsh, previously a stable boy turned into a revered painter of the court.
