The Son of River Ponni

New Tidings

Kundavai walked into her room with a swish of her long and elegantly designed robes. Immediately, she wondered how Vanthiyathevan would have reacted to it if he had been in the room at the time. She shook her head, smiling. She knew that she was not supposed to be thinking about him at the moment, although something told her that he would have liked it.

She sat on the bed, thinking over her argument with Vanathi. She felt that the Kodumbalur princess was overreacting. Her decisions were certainly not influenced by the thoughts of Vanthiyathevan. Or were they?

She rolled her mind back to the last time the public court had been held, in which the Chief Minister had corrected her decisions by pointing out some facts to the princess. He had never done that before.

Was she truly getting distracted from her duty to the kingdom? To her people? If she was, she had to stop doing so at once. She couldn't forgo her work in the name of love.

"Well, at least I will have a letter from him in my hand by the end of the day." Kundavai told herself, trying to calm down, and think about it in a rational manner.

Kundavai decided to take a break. She needed to rest and clear her mind for the court. She fell on the bed heavily and closed her eyes, hoping for a good sleep, which would maybe clear her mind and show her a path to avoiding distractions.

Alas, she had no such luck. A minute after she closed her eyes, just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a knock on her door. She sighed in frustration and sat up. Could she not take a break for a couple of hours at the very least?

"Enter", she said, while disguising all traces of exasperation from her voice.

The door opened and the Prime Minister, Anuradha Brahmarayar, entered the door. The man who acted as the right hand man of Sundara Chozha, when he was the Emperor, was a man of considerable wit and talent.

Kundavai welcomed him with all due respect, "Welcome Ayya. It is quite the surprise visit from you-I was expecting you to arrive tomorrow. I hope there is nothing wrong with the preparations for today?", she asked.

"Forgive me for the intrusion Amma. It is indeed wrong on my part to intrude on your rest.", the Prime Minister replied.

"Intrusion? Let there be no talk of that Ayya. Please tell me what I can do for you."

"Princess, there are a couple of matters which I wish to consult with you in private before the court this evening."

"Of course Ayya. Please take a seat."

The venerable man sat down on a comfortable chair and stayed silent for a couple of minutes.

Then, he spoke in a calm tone, "Devi, I have come here today, firstly, to inform you about an important occurrence that I was made aware of sometime ago-it is about the Pandiya Aabathuthavigal... "

"Thirumalai has already informed me about the fact that they have been sighted in the Chera capital, Ayya. Do you have any suspicions as to what they are doing there?", Kundavai asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Ah, Thirumalai has told you about it, I see. Devi, I fear that the Pandiya Aabathuthavigal are in Mahodayapuram to negotiate an alliance with the Chera king."

Kundavai sighed. "Ayya, I have also nurtured the same suspicions and the more I think about it, the more I feel that there could be no other possible explanation for their presence there."

"Indeed Devi. I have sent some more men to confirm these reports. I believe that I will have some concrete information about them in a few days."

"Very well Ayya. Is there anything else that I need to know about?"

"Devi, you already know exactly what goes on in the kingdom. Pray what more could I add to that?"

Kundavai smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth, "Ayya, how much ever I know about this kingdom, you know a thousand times more about it."

"Devi, before I leave, I would like to consult one more matter with you."

"Of course Ayya."

"Devi, the people of the kingdom wish to know when the illustrious daughter of Sundara Chozha will enter the state of matrimony."

Kundavai was taken aback. Was this what the people were doing outside?

"Well Devi?", the Prime Minister asked. "What can I tell them?"

"What can I say, Ayya? Your question was so personal and direct that I was caught off guard."

"Your Highness must forgive me. I thought that it would be wiser to ask the question bluntly instead of beating around the bush. Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way."

"Of course not Ayya. As for your question, must I not be permitted to take my time and choice of suitor for a matter as important as marriage?"

"Of course Devi. I was merely repeating the public's opinion that you must find a suitor soon."

"And do you endorse their opinion Ayya?"

"Devi, this is a matter that does not involve me in the slightest but is about you and your wishes."

Kundavai sighed. "Thank you for informing me of these matters Ayya. I wish to think about them for some time in private."

"Certainly Devi. I shall ask your maid-servants and friends to not disturb you until the court session later today. Thank you for your time."

Saying so, the Chief Minister exited the room, closing the doors behind them.

Kundavai watched the closed doors with a distant expression, as she heard the Chief Minister giving orders to not disturb her.

The talk about her marriage had driven all thoughts about the Pandiya Aabathuthavigal from her mind. What was she going to do?

Very few knew about her love for Vanthiyathevan. Most people knew that the Ilaiya Piratti liked the young man but most people thought it was in a professional manner.

How was she to tell her family about her decision to marry a man who had just a village to his name? How would they let her marry an orphan when mighty kings and princes were waiting for her hand?

Kundavai had no answer to these questions as of now. She decided to take some time to rest as she remembered that she had a court to attend that evening.

She lay down on the comfortable bed and drifted quickly to the powerful land of dreams.

Well. There you go. I'm very sorry for not updating in a long time, but I'm back. Please tell me if you think the story is going too slow as I like to elucidate every detail. If you liked it, please vote, comment and share. Nandri!