The Battle Of Hearts A Choice Between Power And Love

Chapter 16 The Hope And A Promise Of War

Philip's POV

Seeing the prince of Punjab here in Rajasthan like he was on vacation rubbed the wrong way with me at that moment. The messenger soon had scurried in with the news of his arrival - as if that wasn't enough! I saw the both of them together in the garden in a compromising position as I was walking.

He had appeared and just like that – poof! - my day was ruined before it even started!

All I wanted to do was throw up the breakfast I ate into a bush, for god's sake!

And thank god I got a distraction from all this!

As I went to my room after the breakfast, I got a call from my informant. He said he was here in Rajasthan with all the needed proof. He already had the office address. I called Amaia and William with me. We all took a little carriage ride to the city, to our office. The renovations had finally come to an end. As we got down, we noticed another carriage by the entrance of the office. It was Rudra Deva Singh. He came out of the carriage, his attire not revealing who he was to the others - no one would guess it was a minister. We all made ourselves comfortable in my office.

"The proof?" I cut to the chase and stretched my hand out. Getting to the point, he placed a scroll on my hand - the details of the old trade of labor between Rajasthan and Punjab. He placed another scroll.

"This one has the details of the laborers - their name, age, address and finger prints - all recorded during the time of mass recruitment of labor" he said. Finally he placed a folder on the table and slid it over to me.

"And this is the cherry on top of the cake, Secretary - written testimonies of the affected laborers. A few were willing and courageous enough - with the fingerprints, of course, to use as proof - the real one" he added. I opened the scroll and the file, making sure the prints matched. They did. A smirk graced my face.

"Good job! You have done it wonderfully!" I said. I opened my locker and handed him a pouch of gold coins "There are all pure gold" I said as I slid it over to him.

"I shall return now. I can't stay for long. The prince is here too. If he suspects me, I am done for" he got up, grabbing the pouch with a nod. He left promptly.

"Well, that went smoothly! Ok, now let's go back. We have a surprise for the royals!" I said with a smirk. Amaia looked up.

"Are you sure you should tell it to them now? It's too soon, isn't it Philip?" she asked, worried.

"Yes it is. But what is the use if we keep it to ourselves?"

"Yeah, that's right too, but -"

"Amaia, I know how you feel. But think of it from the business perspective. With him in the trade, what if the king wavers in his thoughts? We cannot take a hit like that - Annika we haven't even began talking about! Plus, we are doing them a favour, don't forget that, little one. Let's go now" I said, ending the debate. William closed the office and called for the carriage. Me and Amaia got in, followed by William. The coachman started the carriage promptly. After a short while, we reached the palace.

When we got there, the guards were everywhere and were rushing all over the place. There was some sort of horn blown from one of the towers of the palace, as if to alert the guards or someone about something – clearly something bad.

"What is happening here?" I asked, looking at William and Amaia, who responded by giving me the same confused look. Aditya appeared, dishevelled and frustrated, from the gardens.

"How can this happen?" he vented on some guard. "How can this - who the hell will get into my palace and do such a thing?! He is the KING, my father! He is not some commoner! And this palace had security and soldiers all around! How can this happen? Did someone get bribed? But who would dare to touch my father?!" he practically screamed out of rage. Annika ran out of the palace, possibly after hearing this commotion.