Minister's Possession

The Reckoning of Hearts

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It was night, and Veena was thoroughly exhausted, both mentally and physically, from managing the guests in the house. On one hand, Queen Anika was the politest and sweetest guest, going as far as helping Veena with cooking. On the other hand, the daughter of the Army chief of the Kingdom was one of the most snobbish and disrespectful people Veena had ever met. The woman kept pointing out problems with every dish on the table and consistently asked for one thing or another, which not only annoyed but also angered Veena a lot.

"How was your time here?" The question wasn't only sudden but also from an unexpected source. Veena raised her head, and for the first time in almost 9 hours, she looked at him.

"It was..." She searched for a word because, in her mind, whatever came wasn't something she could speak — 'alone,' 'miserable,' and many more words like these were popping up before she found the one which wasn't as bad as the others. "...okay." Saying this, she looked back at the plate of food in front of her. Not wanting to catch his eyes or answer another question of his, she tore a big morsel, not caring about the other three people's surprised gaze, and put it in her mouth.

Minister Vinaay opened his mouth, but soon closed it, glancing at her. Veena remained solely focused on the plate in front of her.

"Ambika, I will be taking my leave after dinner, and you will be joining me back to the Palace," Queen Anika felt the tense environment and attempted to ease it with her words. Ambika frowned and looked at Vinaay, waiting for him to object. She knew the objection would not be for her but for his sister. Still, she wanted him to intervene and ask Her Highness not to go back at night.

"But Your Highness, the night will not be safe for travel," Ambika said when Vinaay remained silent. "I believe Minister Vinaay's house has enough rooms for us. We could spend the night here as well." She looked at Minister Vinaay expectantly, waiting for him to speak in her favor.

"It's only an hour's journey, Ambika. It's not like it will take a day to reach back to the Palace. Also, I cannot leave the Princess in the care of the nanny for much longer than this," Queen Anika responded. She didn't like the way Ambika swiftly tried to prolong her stay at her brother's house. Anika wasn't a fool; she could see the interest Ambika had in her brother. She observed the way Ambika looked at Vinaay and sought his attention in everything she did. It was only her naive brother who couldn't see a thing. Although Queen Anika was still angry with her brother for what he had done with Veena, she had also promised to forgive him only if he redeemed his past actions and made it up to Veena. The girl had already suffered a lot, and even Anika was initially angry with Veena, but deep inside, she had always cared for her only friend in the palace.

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It had been three hours since Queen Anika, along with the not-so-pleasant guest Ambika, had left for the Palace. A troop had even sent a message to Minister Vinaay about their safe arrival. As bedtime approached, Minister Vinaay ascended the stairs. However, instead of entering the adjacent room, he made his way into Veena's room. Upon entering, he found her lying on the bed, her eyes glistening with teardrops that she quickly wiped away upon sensing his presence. Even though she didn't look directly at him, Minister Abhram had already noticed, deciding not to draw attention to it.

"How have you been?" he asked, taking a seat in front of her on the bed. Veena quickly rose and shifted into a sitting position.

"Good, Minister Vinaay," she replied softly, uncertain about how to react and behave in his sudden and unannounced presence in her room. The situation made her both nervous and curious at the same time.