Queen Alli - Beloved of Arjuna

Chapter 3

I was confined to my room and two guards kept a watch over me.

I wore expensive jewellery, I removed my diamond bangles and gave it to the two of them.

They stared at the bangles in surprise.

"Let me go!" I whispered, "You owe this to your late King"

One of the guard glanced out of my room, "Hey! Neelamugan has gone to his bedroom, the court is empty. Maybe we should help our Princess"

"Are you crazy!" said the other guard, "She raised her hand at the future King! He will have our heads on a platter if we let her go!"

The guard fell silent and stared at his feet, "What if we pretend that we fought the Princess and she escaped"

Hope surged in my heart only to turn into despair when the other guard firmly said, "No. We obey Neelamugan's orders! We will not let the Princess ought of our sight" 

I recalled the wrestling tactics and contemplated how to tackle both guards. Suddenly, one of the guard fell down with an arrow lodged in his chest. When the other guard raised his sword, I tackled him from behind. I strangled him with my uttariya until he passed out. 

I rushed out of my room towards Meena who was holding a bow in her hands

"Let's go!" I whispered, holding her hand. 

We began to rush towards our horses when we ran face first into the General of the army. He glanced at both of us and sighed, "Go! Your father saved my life, Ilavarasi! Never return! Run!"

I nodded in gratitude and we rushed towards our horses. I leapt onto the horse and pressed my feet into its sides. We dashed out of the palace, towards the gates where I showed my signet ring. Seeing the ring, the guards let me pass. 

We galloped without a break till my father's palace was a mere golden spot a long distance away. My father's legacy had protected me so far. Now, I should protect his legacy but I cannot without support. 

I was shielded from the harsh ways of the court politics till now by my father. If I am to survive, I must learn the ways of the court. Neelamugan knew how to tackle the court politics. He is a dangerous opponent. I am a good soldier but if I want to become Queen, I must become an astute politician. 

"Meena" I called out and she pulled up her horse next to me, "Neelamugan will definitely send people to look for me! We have to disguise ourselves. Let us pretend to be men. I would suggest we mingle with the crowds."

Meena nodded in affirmation. We rode a little further away until we reached a cloth shop. We both purchased male clothing. We pretended as if we were buying male clothing for our husbands to avoid suspicion. 

After galloping for some more time, we halted in a deserted spot on the highway. We quickly changed into male clothing and galloped some more. We came across a horse market and sold our horses. The Kamboja of the Northwest are famous for their horses, so, with the money we earnt from selling our horses, we purchased newer and sturdier horses. Then, we moved on to the next shop where we sold our jewellery, pretending as if the jewellery belonged to our wives. The money earnt from selling the jewels would keep us fed for a few weeks. 

We galloped further until we had reached a forest on the borders of the Pandya empire. "Meena, we will have to hunt to survive, I don't think our food and water rations will last long"

Meena nodded, "Thank the gods that we know how to hunt and fend off wild animals"

I inwardly sent a prayer and a thanks to my father for making sure that I and Meena learnt martial arts. We both were experts in Silambam (armed combat), Varma Kalai (pressure-points martial art) and Kuttu Varisai  (unarmed combat).

Surviving in a jungle was not a difficult task because my schooling under my Guru was done in a forest. After laying traps with wooden sticks and hunting for food, we had a hearty meal.

"What next?" asked Meena.

"We need to find my Guru. He can guide us better" 

Meena nodded, "Let's start tomorrow at dawn"

I nodded, we galloped towards our Guru's ashram. It was nearly three hours journey but we finally reached the hut. 

When we approached closer, I realized something was very wrong. The sight that greeted me when I entered the ashram was something I would never forget in a lifetime.

At the entrance gate of the ashram, on an archway, my Guru's severed head hung. Whoever killed my Guru, murdered him brutally because I could see half of the spinal cord hanging along with the head. 

One the gates, there were two messages. The first line which was written in blood "The more you run! The more people you love will keep dying" 

Tears rushed down my cheeks. First, my father, then, my Guru. Meena whispered, "Ilavarasi! Look" 

I looked carefully at the second line of the message, "First, your Father! Then, your Guru" 

My eyes widened, did this mean my father did not die a natural death?!

I closed my eyes and replayed the entire event. If my father was truly sick, he would have definitely informed me. My father never kept any secrets from me in all my eighteen years of life. I knew every detail that happened in his life because he wrote letters to me all these years. My father was a very descriptive person who paid attention to the smallest details in the letters he wrote me. 

Why would he not inform me if he was ill? The only possibility for a sudden death was war or illness. Neither of these were possible. If it was War, my father would have asked me to fight side by side with him. If it was illness, he would have informed me much before. 

I took a deep, steadying breath to calm my rapidly pumping heart. 

I kept my palm under the bloody head of my Guru. When some blood had pooled in my cupped palms, I took a Vow. I will return to the capital with an army. I will kill my cousin with these very hands. After I kill him, his body will not be cremated. I will leave it for animals to feast on! 

Taking this vow, we rode hurriedly away from my Guru's ashram. I told Meena, "We need to find the strongest Kingdom to back my claim" 

As I kept riding, I kept thinking over the list of Kings across the breadth of Bharatvarsh. We had to suddenly come to a stop because thousands of people had thronged to celebrate. 

I pushed through the throngs and demanded, "What is going on? Why has everyone gathered here?"

"Don't you know" said a few people, "Lord Krishna is here!"