Queen Alli - Beloved of Arjuna

Chapter 8

"May Manimeghalai Amman be with us!" I said, praying that the Goddess of the Seas should be in our favour.

"Our Arasi must be the reincarnation of Kannagi Amman!" One of them exclaimed and all the other soldiers agreed with him.

"She must have been given special powers by Meenakshi Amman, that is why she was born of a water lily!" Said yet another one.

I sighed and exchanged glances with Meena, even though I worked years spreading the message of gender equality, these men could not agree that a mortal woman could do so much. They had to somehow make me a goddess incarnate to accept that I am capable of the stereotypical masculine art of war. Turning me into a goddess made it easier for them to listen to my advise and acknowledge my leadership"

Meena mouthed, "One day, I am sure, men will accept that a mortal woman can be capable of just as much as any man and that she does not have to be an immortal goddess to be equal to men"

"I truly hope so" I mouthed back.

At my command, the crowd dispersed instantly to make war preparations. Within moments, the entire army was ready and the naval forces readied our  war ships.

We invoked Korravai and Murugan, both tutelary war deities who have inspired warriors of Tamil lands for centuries. The Cholas have been troubling our borders by sea and land for too long, it is time we put a stop to this.

I decked myself from top to toe in armour and led the march to our warships.

"ARASI! Bad News!" A messenger shouted while he rushed towards me and collapsed at my feet.

"What is it?" I asked, anxiously.

"The Cholas are backed by supporters of Neelamugan" he said.

I closed my eyes for a moment. How long will you people keep torturing me for just being born as a woman?

I opened my eyes and said, "Who backs them does not matter! This war will happen and it will end in Pandya victory"
More deafening cheers echoed around me and the messenger also seemed convinced.

Few Hours Later
I inhaled the coppery fragrance of blood around me and clashed my sword against the Chola King, Udayakumaran. The decks of the ship on which I duelled against the Chola King were smeared in crimson.

The battle seemed to go on for eternity but as per my vow, it ended with unchallenged Pandya victory.

At the conclusion of the battle, I spared Udayakumaran and banished him from my territory, "Go back to Thanjavur! Don't ever set foot in Kudiramalai ever again. You picked a naval war with us, how foolish! You chose our turf and thought you would win? What tiger stands a chance against fish in the ocean?"

While a defeated Chola army retreated in silence, the words, "ALLI ARASI" echoed around me while soldiers danced around me to celebrate our victory.

We rescued the Roman traders and aided them in steering their mercantile ships to our docks. I could successfully reclaim the gifts from the Roman Emperor that I was planning to gift to Krishna as thanks for his earlier assistance when a game of thrones took place between me and my cousin.

With the drawn out battle at an end, we celebrated with music, dance, toddy and a feast. I felt happier than I had in years, I knew that this would teach a fitting lesson to Neelamugan's supporters.

Despite my joy at the victory, my joy felt a bit incomplete because Arjuna was missing. I could not risk crying in front of my men, so, I excused myself to go to sleep early. Tears flowed uninterrupted while I pretended to sleep. Meena came to check on me but I shooed her away using sleepiness as an excuse.

Arjuna, where are you? How are you? Do you know our son is now three months old. He has your beautiful fish-shaped eyes. I named him Aadhan, he has inherited your mischief and your playfulness.

Suddenly, the torch outside my room extinguished and the room was plunged into total darkness. I sprang to a sitting position, with my sword ready, an intruder entered the room by pushing aside the curtain flap.

A familiar voice said, "Alli Arasi, I am no assassin and no spy, I assure you"

That voice. Those words. A beloved face swam into my vision. With tears in my eyes, I choked out what I once said to him, "You are no snake charmer, if you were one, you would not have been able to get past my guards and be so calm while facing an armed person"

A flash of white in the darkness, his teeth, "You are correct" he replied with a wide grin, "I am Arjuna." With each word he uttered, he took one step forward. "Third of Pandavas. Son of Indra. Prince of Hastinapura. King of Indraprastha. Wielder of the bow Gandiva. Wearer of Indra's Celestial Diadem."

By the time he finished his last line, he was standing directly in front of me.

"How did get past the guards?" I asked, my words nearly choking in my throat.

"Same as last time" he smirked.

"Krishna?" I asked, "He is here?!"

"He and I boarded the ship disguised as the merchants from Dwaraka. We travelled along with the other Dwaraka traders. I missed you, Alli, I needed to see you. It was a good thing that I was visiting Dwaraka then or I would have not had his help and I would have become a porcupine from the arrows of your soldiers"

"As if anyone will believe that my ordinary soldiers can defeat the legendary son of Indra in battle" I laughed, "You did not want to reduce my army and navy into half, that's why you chose to sneak in"

"Correct" he responded, cheekily.

After we chitchatted for a while, Arjuna asked "How is our son, Alli? What did you name him?"

"Do you want to see him?" I asked, gently.

"Yes" he said, tears glistening in his eyes from joy, "I want to hold him in my arms, I want to sing my mother's lullabies to him while I rock him to sleep"

"Oh, Arjuna" I whispered, closing the minuscule distance between us by passionately locking lips with him. It was dawn by the time we had finished devouring each other. I lay on his chest, while he stroked my unbound hair and murmured, "It's morning already?"

He smirked with all the radiant confidence of a seducer,"Time flies when you are busy with..." I smacked his arm, "I will not have you anywhere near my son if you talk like this. He needs to learn how to be a gentlemen"

"Alright" laughed Arjuna, "Let me see him, dearest"

I summoned Meena and asked her to bring my precious son so that his father can meet him. Within a short while, Meena appeared, carrying my bundle of joy in her arms. I passed the child to Arjuna, he held the baby as if he was made of glass.

"He is so beautiful, Alli" he smiled, while he rocked him to sleep, "He has inherited his mother's beauty"

I smiled, "and his father's mischief"

"Has he now?" Arjuna asked, raising an eyebrow, "I am proud of you, son" he grinned, softly booping our baby's nose.

"You are going to be such a bad influence on him" I said, pretending to be upset. 

"Oh no, dearest, I will merely be teaching him to be worldly wise" he grinned.

"Don't you think three months is too early for that?" I laughed.

"They say the budding plant will bend faster than a grown tree, so, now is a good time to start as any" he shrugged, with a wink.