THE RULERS OF RISHABHAPRIYA

Meera

Surabhi's POV

"No way!! I am not sending you anywhere"

"But, Maharaj-"

"It's Bhargav for you and no. I am not allowing you to leave this palace even for an hour"

"You don't have to allow me. I'm just informing you that I'll be going"

"I'll stand my whole army in front of each entrance of the palace but you are not going anywhere. That's it"

"I've been here for six months already and not once have I stepped out of this palace. I have a life too. Let me live it. Moreover, I'll be gone for just a few weeks"

"Do you even hear yourself? How do you even think I will be able to live here without any problems arising every five minutes without you?"

"I am not your wife, Maharaj!!! And you are no baby! You are a king for god's sake"

"I don't care if you are my wife or not. I won't send you anywhere that's it. And, it's Bhargav for you"

I was panting because of all the walking I had been doing behind him as he walked around his chamber to get dressed up.

"I'll stay in the kingdom, Maharaj. I'll be back even before you know it. And I'll appoint someone to take care of your needs-"

"No one knows what I want like you do, Surabhi. They will just mess up everything and create a disaster", he stood in front of me, showing me the final look and I looked for anything wrong in his appearance. The pleats of his upper shawl were not properly set making it look crumpled. I started to set it properly making sure it didn't lose it flatness.

"Then get married. Your wife will take care of everything for you", I said while working on the pleats. He was quiet for a few moments and I was grateful for it as I could work on the shawl in some silence.

"Marry me then", my eyes snapped up to his and I asked in disbelief, "Whatt??", he just nodded while acting like setting his hair in the mirror, "Yes. Marry me and then you will have no problem in taking care of me", I looked at him in disbelief and once he looked at me I hit his arms jokingly making him laugh. "Don't joke around with serious topics like that", I warned him but he laughed at me while he looked at me through the mirror.

"Maharaj, I'm not going for a vacation. I will go there and check for any needs they have in that region and come back to inform you about it"

"I have many messengers for that, dear Surabhi. You don't have to stress yourself out for my kingdom"

I sighed and decided to use the last card I had with me. "You made me your Royal Adviser, Maharaj. I should know what to advise you when it comes to the kingdom's matters. It is very important for me", he turned towards me and said, "We don't have time for all this now. Now, come with me. We'll discuss this in the evening", he said and walked out of the chamber. I sat on the couch in defeat. I had been giving him hints about my journey to the pink palace and even after requesting a lot he hadn't agreed making me think about other options I had.

I could just leave without informing him but he would turn the whole world upside down to get me back to the palace. I was thinking of other options when an attendee informed me that the daily court had begun. I walked to the court and heard a lot of cries and chaos.

"We searched for her in the whole village. But she was no where to be found, Maharaj. Her parents have decided to disown her themselves. And bringing her back to the village would set a bad example to the other young girls", an older man said as I walked into the court. They bowed at me and I too bowed at them and took my seat near the set of stairs leading to the throne after bowing at Maharaj.

"Maharaj, please trust me. I have not done anything with any man. I had stayed at his house with his sister, my friend that night. It was not just the three of us. His whole family was there, Maharaj. My parents have taught me better than doing that, Maharaj", a young girl cried making me worry for her.

"Call this friend of yours", Maharaj ordered. Another girl of the same age as the girl in question came forward and bowed in front of the king. "Tell me what happened that night", the girl was shaking physically as she started," M-maharaj, that night, it had started to rain and my parents had suggested her not to go. That is why she had to stay back"

"Then why were you quiet when she was blamed of being with a man before her wedding?", a minister questioned. The girl looked at the girl in question for a second and then shakily answered, "Because, I s-saw her leave the house with my brother after everyone had fallen asleep", the other girl gasped and turned to Maharaj, "NO, MAHARAJJ!! I did not do anything like that. Why are you lying, Rekha?", she asked her friend and a loud chaos started in the court making the guards pull the fighting people apart.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Maharaj. We do not want that girl anywhere near our village. Our village should not turn into a brothel", the man said making the girl collapse on the ground and cry loudly. Maharaj asked the villagers to leave and looked at me. I nodded and stood up to walk to her. The young girl kept crying as she looked up at me and I sat down to console her. I asked the attendees present there to take her to my chamber and I asked them to stay with her until the court was over and I could go back.

The court continued and the others in the kingdom who had issues had arrived from long distances and were pleading their cases in front of their king. But my mind was on the girl who was in my chamber at that moment and I thought about how we were almost in the same boat. I couldn't go back to my family for the same reason. Even though my family would never disown me, the people would make assumptions and would continue to see me as an impure woman even if I was untouched. It was the way of the world. The boy's family did not want to disown him because he was a man. Even if the married men of this society visited the brothels, they weren't considered to be impure. On the other hand, if a woman was seen even touching a man accidentally, she would be called a whore for her actions.

I thought about the same thing until the court was over and it was time for lunch. I asked the attendees to send two plates to my chamber and walked towards it. I was in no mood to eat with the other officials. I walked in and heard her sobs and the other attendees trying to console her. I gestured them to leave and once we were alone, I sat on the couch and asked her to come sit beside me. She was hesitant but stood up from the ground and sat beside me while hiccupping and wiping her tears.

I waited for a few seconds and once she had calmed down a little bit, I asked her, "What is your name?", she answered slowly, "Meera", I nodded and the attendees walked in with the lunch. I stood up to go wash my hands and asked her to do the same. She said she did not want to, but when I ordered her in a stern voice, she started to eat her lunch. I once again asked the attendees to leave us alone and waited for the right time to talk to her.

"You know, Meera, this world that we live in has always been this disgusting. Even if the men did a huge mistake, they will be forgiven because they are men. Tell me, Meera. What really happened that night? If I find one ounce of lies in your words, I will make sure you will be banished from the kingdom. She immediately said, "No, your grace. Even in the court I did not lie. I haven't done anything with Rekha's brother or any other man. That night, I had stayed at her house as it was raining heavily and in the midnight, I wanted to use the washroom and that was the reason I walked out of the house. Her brother was never with me before or during or after I came back", I nodded and continued to eat.

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