the desert's rose

the rose and her poisonous thorns (🏜️🌹)

opening notes: lkdaswani's The Satan and His Lilith in "Fitoori" inspired this chapter's titling. that, and my minor in biology. so, y'all know how Jodha is called the "Registan ka Gulab" which translates to the rose of the desert? on an evolutionary basis, plants found in the desert have modifications where their parts (leaves, stems, branches etc) are thornier/spikier. desert roses are not only thornier but also have poisonous saps which is why a lot of plant enthusiasts are warned against growing this type of plant if they have kids or pets at home. anyway, enough of me yapping here. some of the Hindi/Urdu words were gotten with the help of multiple translators, so I may have messed them up, please, correct me if you encounter any error 🥲🙏🏾

As they both took the path down to Jodha's hojra, the walk remained awkwardly silent between Jalal and Rani Mainavati even as he held his head up high.

Even if he was merely fulfilling his end of the agreement he had, he could not easily forego the forlorn look she had held during the shaadi.

Fair enough, she was a mother foremost before she was Rani Mainavati. Any mother would be hesitant to give their daughter away to the enemy, even if it meant the salvation of their kingdom.

From what he knew, this ritual was to be conducted by the bride's father. So, for Rani Mainavati to have accompanied Raja Bharmal meant exactly what he had thought.

She had not needed to say a single word before he offered to take her to her bete's chambers. A smile of appreciation had lit up her face as she nodded her consent and here they were.

What would make a great conversation starter for a queen who had journeyed all the way to Agra just to see her daughter? When did he start running out of words to say? He was, after all, Jalaluddin Mohammad, Shehenshah-e-Hindustan, the words always came so naturally to him.

If he needed to follow his end of the bargain with Jodha, he had better bring up something.

"I reckon your journey went as smoothly as it could," he said, breaking through the awkward silence which suffocated him. He slowly turned to see the smile which brightened the face of Rani Mainavati. He could also notice the dark circles under her eyes - she must have had sleepless nights at that as well.

"It did," she replied, her fatigue showing through her voice. "I have spent days in expectation. It has provided a source of comfort as well."

Then, she looked up at him, her brown eyes warm and a little too resemblant to those of a certain Rajvanshi begum under the roof of his harem, except those eyes blazed at him almost every time he was within proximity to their owner.

"Rana Sa had announced his journey to Agra and I knew I had to come along," she added, her hand holding on to her dupatta. "I just wanted to see for myself how well she is faring."

"She fares well, Rani Sahiba," was his response. Except for the few times after their moment in the hammam, things were back to the status quo. The only times he got to see Jodha Begum were from the view from the balcony of his chambers. She seemed to handle her stay even better than he had expected. If she was not in the garden, she was out with Malika-e-Azaam.

A soft sigh escaped Rani Mainavati at that, a look of satisfaction on her face, "She has always adapted easily to changes."

That he concurred with.

"I know my Jodha could be a bit difficult," she said, making him almost scoff. 'A bit' was way too generous to describe the difficulty Amer's rose had posed to him from the moment he had heard about her. "Ever since I first held her in my arms as an infant, I knew she would be a handful."