Mishka - The gift of Love

25|| The Beautiful Annalise

Rajvardhan's POV:

A day passed and Mishka was still unconsious, even in her sleeping state she looked beautiful. I was still trying to grasp the fact that her mother didn't love her and even mistreated the pure soul she is. 

I rubbed my face with my palms in frustration of not knowing about her childhood and never even asking her about the life she was living under her father's protection. In the moment I hated myself for not paying attention towards my wife who has been the boon to my existence. 

"Why do you think it's her mother who wants her dead?" I finally asked the sultan. At first I wanted to deny the close relationship he had with my wife but as I talked to him, one thing was sure that he adored Mishka a lot but not in a romantic way. 

"There are many things you'll have to ask her which is basically not my story to tell. But I can definitely tell you that Queen Suchitra never loved her." So many things and I never realised I was wasting my time all along by not having a single decent conversation with my wife. 

Aariz started grinding the medicinal herbs and some powder in a mortar before continuing his story, " Queen Suchitra is known for her cruelty and that's what she ingrained in all of her sons, they were merciless and the especially corrupt but good warriors in the battle field. When Suryadev was chased by the enemies Mishka's mother saved his life. They fell in love and he brought her to Himgarh with intentions of marriage." 

"Was she a commoner?" I asked out of curiosity. 

"Yes, she belonged to a very powerful tribal community who were not native to our lands but rather travelled a long way from North to settle on our lands. In our royal eyes she might be a commoner but she was the eldest of the 3 women born in that community and also the daughter of their leader" I could see the Sultan's expressions changing from frown to a smile when he talked about Mishi's mother. 

"You respect her, your eyes show admiration towards Mishka's mother!" I said and he chuckled... ofc not exactly chuckling but some where near to that maybe?

"Why not admire such a brave woman? In the history from Cleopatra to Rani Lakshmibai all have been respected for being such great and fierce rulers. Annalise that's what her mother's name was, when the King brought her to Himgarh people started talking especially because she was an outsider and she looked like one as well." he said before adding some water to the paste to make it liquid before straining the potion in a glass. 

"Annalise, her beauty was renowned throughout the places she travelled with her tribe. Captivating all who beheld her with her irresistible charm and grace. But perhaps her most alluring feature was not her physical beauty alone, but the irresistible charm and intelligence that radiated from within. With her wit, charm, and keen intellect, she wielded her beauty like a weapon, captivating the hearts and minds of powerful men and leaving an indelible mark on them." he described her beauty and all I could see was her reflection in Mishka. Bold and beautiful at the same time just like her mother. 

"Hold her in a sitting position to make her drink this without choking her airways." he asked and I immediately rushed towards Mishi to make her unconsious body in a sitting position. Very patiently, drop by drop Aariz poured the potion into her mouth which made her body flinch a little. 

"Don't worry it's the body's reaction towards the potion which is bitter than you can even imagine." he said before continuing his story. "Suchitra Devi was furious when she saw Annalise and demanded her out but King Suryadev was not ready to listen, that's when they got to know that Annalise was pregnant with Mishi." 

"So then he married her despite all the nuisance created by his first wife?" I asked while gently patting Mishka's head. 

"No, Mishka's mother never married him. Suchitra Devi was smart she gave her two choices either kill the child and let her marry King Suryadev or live as her mistress. Hence, ofcourse she chose to live as a mistress but when the king started to live with her permanently the queen wanted to snatch away that too."