Meera ~ anvaar-e-illahii

Chapter 1

The grand sabha hall stood graciously as the king sat on his throne while the ministers talked among themselves regarding the annual fare coming up. The king heard each one of them one by one while deciding for the budget and alloting ministry's for the proper working of the fare.

"Your majesty......"

Suddenly the conversation was disrupted by the senapati Surya Singh who came running towards the king as all the ministers stopped talking and suddenly there was a pin drop silence amongst the people present in the court room. Each one had their eyes imprinted on the senapati who came running inside the sabha looking scared.

"What happened senapati? Why are your breaths heavy, and why do you look in a hurry." The king looked at the old army commander running towards him with tense lines all over his forehead.

He heard the king and took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself down. Taking a few moments for himself he opened his mouth to speak.

"Your majesty, the king of sayyid is expected to arrive soon with his army. Our soldiers at the borders have informed us. King Ashar has started the war"

The king stood up hearing this. His eyes widened as he thought about the consequences of his actions.  His kingdom was not ready for a war. But he was not ready to take a step back from his decision. It was his daughter, not some bait to give away. But looking at the severity of the situation he decided to respond calmly.

The whole court room broke into a chaos while they heard about the war. But the war didn't scare them as much as the name Ashar Hameed Muhammad did  He was known to be ruthless, the stories of his disastrous war expeditions were not new to them. They had heard about how he ripped his enemy's body apart with his bare hands. He was known to be cold, emotionless and heartless. An outcome with a war with him would only have one consequence. Disaster.

"SILENCE" The king's voice echoed throughout the court room as everyone became quiet. He took a deep breath before speaking out.

" आने दीजिए सुलतान को. हम जानते हैं क्या करना है।”

( Let him come. I know what the situation commands for)

He said and dismissed the court. Walking back to his chamber he thought about how he had declined the young sayyid king for the third time. About a year ago, Ashar had sent him a letter regarding his wish to marry his daughter Meera, and he had straight up denied it. Ashar was not a foreigner to him, he was his son's friend and had visited the palace once but that was it. The king didn't want to get his daughter married to someone from a different culture and so far away from their kingdom.

A few months later the sayyid's chief had entered his court putting forward the same demand but he again refused without consulting his son or daughter. He knew this would anger the young king but he didn't care. The chief had warned him about the consequences but he refused to answer back.

Now just a month ago the third proposal was put forward and he for the first time decided to consult his chief commander who was of the same view. So the offer was denied for the third time.

..............................

The princess was sitting on her bed peacefully looking outside the window. She loved her kingdom. It was beautiful, she has always been fascinated about the rivers around her fort.

"Your highness"

Her friends voice caught her attention who came running into her chamber. The voice of her anklets echoing all around.