the desert's rose

the aftermath 🏜️🌹

flashback

His eyebrows furrowed as he found his king piece caught between Jodha's queen and bishop pieces. How she defeated him at this game every single time was indeed commendable.

Sujamal did not miss the grin on her face as she concluded with a gleeful "checkmate."

His lips stretched into a smile that did not reach his face as he congratulated her for a game well-played. However, it seemed as if Sujamal had completely forgotten how observant his cousin-sister could be when she decided to be (and that was almost every time).

No one could ever get away with lying to the Rajkumari and that included him.

"Sujamal Bhaisa," her calm voice brought him back to reality. "Is this still about the upcoming coronation?"

He stared into her warm eyes and he shook his head before calling for one of the dasis to clear the table of the chest pieces. He rested his back against the seat before letting out a sigh. It was about the coronation.

"Jodha," he started, his voice more sombre than usual. "Do you think I deserve to be on that throne? I have heard words and-."

"Sujamal Bhaisa," her voice was firm, her warm eyes taking on that fire the people of Amer admired her for. "This throne has always been made for you. I know Bhapusa considers you well, why would he not crown you as his heir?"

He wanted to shut his eyes in frustration, surely, Jodha was not naive to think so. Was she trying to reassure him even though the evidence glared right at the both of them? The probability of Kaka Sa making him the crowned heir was slim at this point.

Kaka Sa needed someone who would unite Rajputana for good in case the Mughals delivered on their threat of an invasion. Sujamal, on the other hand, was not interested in attempting to unite an already divided nation. The Rajput kings rarely agreed on anything with every visit to Amer ending up in heated debates.

Sujamal knew the Rajput kings would not waste a single second to attack Amer, why try to unite them when he could crush them before they made a single attempt on Amer? Kaka Sa was no stranger to his dissent, the old man believing in the "strength in numbers" cliche and for that reason, Sujamal knew the older man had selected another person as his choice of a crown prince.

He stared back at his cousin whose eyes still stared at him, awaiting an answer to her question. How would he explain to her that Kaka Sa was not going to pass down his birthright to him? Most of all, how was he going to explain to her the letter which sat at the bottom of the chest in his quarters?

flashback over

Yet, here he stood, his eyes brimming with tears of regret as he lifted one of the ends of Jodha's palki. He had managed to sneak into the wedding entourage in Sambhar with a disguise, avoiding almost everyone but Dadi Sa.

What gave him the illusion that he could dodge being detected by the ever-observant woman? Her eyes had widened as she saw her step-grandson through his disguise, her hands quick to pull him aside to a corner as she requested he leave the tent.

Not that he could blame her or anyone for that matter.

The moment he had heard the news of Jodha's rishta fixed with none other than the very emperor he had attempted to form an alliance with, he knew he had gone too far, way too far.

Her burning hatred for Badshah Jalaluddin Mohammad and the Mughal Empire was no secret to anyone. But in his quest for the throne, Sujamal might as well have handed over his cousin on a platter to the Mughal emperor.