Adhyalekha:The Throne of Flames

07|Partner in Crime

Hey,thanks for giving your time to my work.

Adhyalekha

I was walking through the corridors of the Palace heading towards the kitchen. Today was the second day of the celebration,Mahapooja.

This tradition has been carried out from ages in our palace. It is believed on this day that my great-great-great grandfather won this kingdom. So, in honor of his victory, he started this tradition. Since then, it has been followed religiously by all the ancestors.

Our kuldevi Kaali Maa is worshipped on this event. The eldest daughter-in-law of the Palace is supposed to make the prasad for hundreds of people with her own hands. Since the Palace does not have a daughter-in-law, it is my duty as the eldest daughter to do so.

"Jiji!"

As I was walking,a voice stopped me. I turned behind to see patralekha standing behind me.

"Lekha...what happened?"I asked her.

"Are you going to prepare the prasad?"

"Yes!Do you wanna come?"

She smiled at me and nodded. I smiled back and held her hand, taking her inside with me.

Patralekha was always a bit hesitant to show herself. She always remains hidden in her shell. To date, nobody knows what's in her mind, and maybe no one will. It's not like we haven't tried. It's just that she has built a wall around herself, which she doesn't allow anyone to break.

We entered the royal kitchen together. The servants were preparing the feast for today. They greeted us and the head chef came to us.

"Baisa,all the preparations for the Mahaprashad have been done. The ingredients are ready and I have arranged the large pot as well."

"Thank-you. I will take it from here. How is the preparation for the feast going on? We have enough food right?"

"Yes Baisa! Everything will be done before the muhurat"

I nodded at him and moved towards a separate section in the kitchen. It was secluded from the main kitchen and not a lot of people were allowed here.

I saw a large pot which was kept on the coal-stove. My forehead began to sweat a little due to the heat if the pot.

I removed the pallu from my head and tucked it at my waist. I wore simple jewelry today to avoid feeling uncomfortable. I moved near the pot followed by Lekha.

This year,Badam Halwa was to be prepared as Prashad. Each year we had a slightly different menu. Kilos of fresh and expensive Almonds were being roasted in the pot.

I followed the procedure to make the Halwa and Patralekha helped me with it.
We laughed and talked about random things while preparing the food.

After the hardwork of about 2 hours we were finally done with the prashad.

After adding dry fruits and Kesar as the garnish I stepped out of the kitchen instructing the Head chef to look after it.

I asked Patralekha to accompany me to my chamber to spend some time. The muhurat for the Pooja was at 4:30 pm in the evening. We still had about 5-6 hours.

As we were heading towards my chamber I observed my surroundings. The security of the Palace was visibly increased and the soldiers were present at every 10 step distance.

All the servants were checked for any weapons or other harmful things before entering the Palace. This was expected after yesterday's incident.

I haven't given much of a thought to it since it took my attention straight to that intruder and my dagger. I haven't told about it to anyone yet and neither was I planning to.