Aadrika waited under the shadow of judgment in the opulent court of King Tathya, amid sculptures lined with gold threads and marble columns whispering tales of bygone kingdoms. Her once bright face, now blotted with guilt, revealed the turmoil in her heart. She was charged with an egregious crime, a most horrible murder, which rocked the pillars of noble etiquette. She was branded as the poisoned one as the entire court stood stunned by the findings and at the accusations made.
Respected noble Naksh, of pure blood, lay dead from a poisoned bite bearing the mark of Aadrika's desperation and fury. The court, resplendent in scarlet and blue silks, murmured with fervour, their eyes burning with rage. Those who had once held Aadrika in the highest regard found themselves ensnared by whispers of betrayal and treachery that danced through the air like ghosts.
With eyes that reflected the fury raging within his sovereign heart, King Tathya, ruler of vast territories and limitless dreams, looked down at Aadrika. He possessed a passion for Aadrika that went beyond mortal decree, and he had harbored this love in secret chambers hidden from court scrutiny. He struggled with denial amid the whirling eddies of judicial intrigue, his soul torn apart by the accusations that tarnished her name.
However, the truth remained hidden in the labyrinthine passages of fate, even from the most astute royal judges. Malini, a woman of wild ambition and sly wit, who had a grudge hidden in dark corners deeper than a chasm. She was the one who had discovered Naksh's evil plan, which had been hatched during the deepest moments of hatred and envy. Because it was during a moment of unguarded passion that Aadrika decided to go against Malini's plans and acted against it that enraged Malini and she decided to think of all possible options and use it to her best advantage. She knew that Naksh might use her potions against Aadrika instead of Tathya, she was prepared for both the possibilities and she knew exactly how to make it work in her favour.
Aadrika prayed to the skies for salvation as she knelt before the tribunal of fate, her wrists chained in chains that rang with the weight of approaching death. Her lips, which had once been kissed by the sweet scent of jasmine in spring, quivered with the quiet pleas of a heart bound by unfair judgment. The monarch, caught between duty and passion, observed Aadrika go through trial after trial, each experience demonstrating the brittleness of truth in the whirlwind of human weakness.
"Please allow me to explain myself my king and the trusted members of this court." Requested Aadrika.
"He is not your king, infact you betrayed our king and the kindness he has showed you." Asserted a minister of the court.
Tathya squirmed in his seat uneasily.
"I had a change of heart and I deeply admire the kindness and loyalty the king has towards his subjects, how can I intend to cause harm to such a pure soul." Defended Aadrika.
"So you deny that you are the poisoned one sent to ruin our kingdom. Do you also deny killing one of our nobel man? How do you explain finding him poisoned in your chambers, lying lifeless and having the markings of a vishkanya." Questioned another minister.
Tathya's gut wrenched hearing those words. Naksh was lying bare on the ground and he couldn't unsee what he had seen in those chambers. It was as though someone has punched the air out of his lungs.
"Yes I don't deny that I was sent with an intent to kill, I also don't deny that I killed the noble man but please give me a chance to explain myself." Pleaded Aadrika.
"What more do you have to say? This is treachery, you should be hanged." Said a noble man.
"No.no beaten to death." Said another.
"One chance to explain my truth, I beg you oh! Benevolent king." Pleaded Aadrika with tears running down her cheeks.
Tathya fought back his emotions and appeared stone faced.
"Atleast let us hear her side of the story. What do we have to loose?" Pressed Tathya.
"Thank you oh! Kind kind king, thank you for allowing me to speak my mind. I was sent by an evil socceress Malini from Palnad, she intends to subjugate this kingdom by having me poison the king since he is invincible but I realised how wrong she was about this entirely. The king was just and not anything close to the picture she painted, he was loved and was kind and just. Anyone could have changed their minds. She had evil intent and had moulded me to suit her needs but I realised how wrong that was sooner or later. I couldn't kill the king since I had fallen in love with him."
Those words pierced right through Tathya's heart like a dagger, it's attack smooth but damage - lethal.
She continued..
"I intended to atleast live for a day as his lover. I had taken an antidote to turn me back to normal, that day milk didn't curdle at my touch and the holy Tulsi didn't wither in my shadow. I was human and not a serpent anymore. I wanted to love and be loved that day, one last time, for one last breath. I wanted to feel what it was like to be alive in love, to breathe in it's essence one last time."
Tathya's insides burnt like he had swallowed fluid fire, the corner of his eyes stung but he did not speak for he knew the laws and they would not bend for him. He knew the consequences for treachery. He recalled the day they were together and how the milk didn't curdle, he recalled how he felt the essence of her love fill his being. He knew that they were real but his hands were tied.
"Also I wasn't sure how Naksh came into my chambers at night, I think I was enchanted. I found vials in my room that night that contained the magic conjured by Malini. Although my intent in the beginning was unclean, I had a change of heart." She pressed.
"You have accepted the crime and your intent was very clear and as members of the court, we announce the decision we have taken as a punishment to be given for treachery and you will be punished with death." Announced the prime minister holding out his ornate staff.
Aadrika closed her eyes shut as tears rolled down her cheeks.
King Tathya struggled with the echoes of a love that transcended the limits of crown and scepter in the seclusion of his private chambers. His heart ached to solve the mystery of Aadrika's situation as it was weighed down by the weight of sovereignty. But in the maze of charges and betrayals, the truth remained as elusive as a cloud of smoke in the wind. He never felt so helpless and in the middle of the night when he could no longer bear Aadrika being whipped in the dungeons, he set out to summon the Devaguru. He swam across to the rock in the middle of the river, to sit there in penance, to seek answers that were pressing. The flow of the river kept all enchantments at bay and all etheric forms away. None could cross a flowing stream, it's energies confounding for these entities.
Tathya sat there with his brows furrowed as he seeked the guidance of the Devaguru.
