NOOR

11. CURTSEY

The red walls of the fort mimicked the vermillion on Jyoti. She was at last stepping into the world she knew nothing about, but would have to navigate through for the rest of her life.

She had changed into a more royally festive attire, showcasing her heritage as the princess of Mahanagar, and now a Begum of the Shehenshah of the Mughals.

" This way Princess" Adham showed her the way towards the Harem, stopping just before an invisible partition and pulling Jaswant away from Jyoti " You cannot go with Rajkumar Jaswant".

" Huh? What now?" Jaswant asked, jerking off his arm from Adham's hold. Even though he was alright with the Shehanshah, the other Mughals were nothing more than enemies to him.

" Cannot he come till the entrance of the Harem? I will make sure he doesn't cross the boundary Adham Bhaijaan" Jyoti pleaded.

" We need to make sure Shehenshah is present in order for Rajkumar to accompany you. If any man enters the Harem, that too in Shehenshah's absence, he will be subjected to grave punishment"

" What's this nonsense. I am Jyoti's brother, what can I possibly do-"

" There are many other women in the Harem Jaswant. We agreed to abide by the laws of the Mughal Sultanate the day I married Shehanshah. It may not mean anything to us but seeing how tight the order is around here, it would be disrespectful for us to not follow the basic rules of this palace"

Adham's eyes widened at the stern scolding. He had seen how close the new Hindu Begum had gotten to Jalal, but he didn't expect her to actually respect the Mughal etiquettes.

Usually the Begums would act compliant in front of the Shehenshah, mostly out of fear, while being completely aloof of the Mughal ways of life. However, he didn't blame them, because he himself couldn't follow every little order to the T like his mother wanted him to.

The Mughals were too strict in their presence. Even more than the Rajputs. Probably because strictness was one of the characteristics that the Islamic rule wanted to showcase to people, to attract new men to accept the religion who respected strictness and order as the only way of life.

Although it was a bit slack for the royals, they still needed to maintain a veil of poise and dignity, which Adham failed at miserably. His hot temper, and callous actions, often led to clumsy outcomes that had to be corrected by either his mother or Shehenshah himself.

" Oh uh-" Jaswant stuttered, not knowing how to debate his sister's stance. " Fine, let's just see you till the entrance of the Harem "

The sun was yet to peek out from the horizon, but its first rays had already lightened up the sky in a gloomy hue of purple. The night shift guards yawned and slacked by the walls, but straightened themselves as soon as they heard the new Begum entering the Harem.

" A bit lackluster it seems " Jaswant commented, which led Jyoti glare at him through her veil.

" It sure is to be honest " Adham replied. " They had a lot of arrangements for Begum Jodha's arrival "

" Did they get the dates wrong?" Jaswant asked Adham who shrugged in reflex, knowing as little as the other two outsiders.

" Maybe Shehenshah is tired " Jyoti spoke, " he probably just wants to be closer to his child and not worry about things like this "

Adham looked at Jaswant in concern, as if to ask whether Begum Jyoti was alright or not. This time, Jaswant shrugged, making the air between them heavy with tension.

Even Salima Begum's arrival was celebrated in a better way, the woman who was the bride of another man before Shehenshah. And to not get similar treatment meant a lot of things, the worst being that the Begum didn't hold any acknowledgeable status to the Mughal Empire, just like the handmaids residing in the Harem. That she was only to be used by the Shehenshah for her femininity, and nothing more.