Slave princess

the curse

The curse

"Uncle Roy please tell me . I need to know." Aliya pleaded him.

"I will dear. But, you need to calm down first. Please sit down " He pulled the near by chair for Aliya and made her sit and Ahil offered her a glass of water which she rejected ...

"Oh princess. you need to trust me. I will do what ever it takes to get you out of this situation. and I have been trying to do that since I made you go to the boarding school."

"Wait.. Is that you who decided to send me off.?" She questioned him confused.

"Yes dear. It was me. I had to do that in order to keep you away from all these. I was not expecting them to find out about you until you are 18. And that way you would be entirely at your free will and all this wouldn't have worked."

It was very hard for Aliya to concentrate with out passing out "But I thought sister already knows about my whereabouts, as my school was constantly sending my reports "

"No.. I was misleading them to my place. But the last one I have no idea how it landed here."

"Oh uncle.. I don't understand anything . I am so confused."

"I understand your confusion dear." He placed his hand on hers and patted it warmly in assurance.

Nothing can assure her right now than the words that ' this is all a dream . Wake up' but, no she did not hear them. She took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself and decided to face it.

"Please tell me what this curse is about." she asked

"It was 300 years back. Your great great grandfather was a womanizer and he laid his eyes on a girl who was the daughter of the temples priest." Uncle Roy started explaining her.

"How is that related to any of this ?" She questioned him feeling puzzled.

" You will understand dear, when you listen to the whole story " he stated.

Aliya turned towards Ahil who was also looking at her and looked back at Mr Roy when he started speaking again .
"Her name was Ahalya and she was very beautiful and she would spend most of her time in the temple offering prayers to god . One day the king, your great grandfather ordered his men to bring her to his palace and make her his slave. "
Aliya still looked confused but she tried to calm herself and listen to Mr Roy.

"But some of the courageous ministers reminded him that she was the priests daughter and she should not be humiliated and it would give disgrace to the kingdom. But the king too much smitten by the beauty of Ahalya, did not listen to his ministers and asked his men to do what he said."

" Are you saying that my ancestors have dishonored a holy women?" she asked in shock.

Mr Roy  smiled at Aliya's reaction

" There is more to this story dear?" He said. Aliya decided to calm down and let him finish the story.

"When Ahalya was brought to the palace she rejected the king saying, she has dedicated her life to serving the god and decided to never marry. But the king did not listen to her and pursued her with out her approval and that night out of humiliation she killed herself. "
Aliya shook her head disapprovingly . She started to despise being born in a family who had no respect for women.

"The poor priest who was very enraged by what the king did, came to the palace and cursed the king, that he and his kingdom would be extinct in no time." Aliya looked scared by his words. Noticing Aliya's fear, uncle Roy moved his hand forward and held Aliyas.

" The king bound the poor priest in the dungeon and treated him very ill listening to the curse. "
Aliya cut him "why didn't someone stop the king ?" 
" No one had the gall to talk to the king" he said sadly .
" Tell me what happened next , Uncle."
She urged him curiously

"This news of the priest's curse spread all over the kingdom and panic raised in people. And with in few years many people died of plague and cholera epidemics and the kingdom was turning in to a grave yard. That was when the king realized his mistake and went to the dungeon and begged the priest to take back his curse."
" What's the point of realizing the mistake once committed ? " she spoke out looking blankly into space .

Mr Roy continued " The priest felt pity for the kingdom but not the king and told the king, from now on one girl out of the children born to the crowned king will be sold and made as slave. That way the ARYAN empire will always remember the pain he went through seeing his daughter as a slave."

Aliya brought her hands near her chest in shock.
"The king agreed to this as he had no other choice because as a king he had to take care of his kingdom. Fortunately the diseases settled and the king did not have a female child and the things went uneventfully until .."

He stopped finishing the sentence  expecting her to understand .

Slowly Aliya's vision cleared about her situation .
"Your father had three girls and realized what fate has in store for one of his daughters. Relatives weren't easy on him. They constantly reminded him of his curse. He decided to give up the crown, if that would save his daughters but before he could do anything he died in an accident along with your mother. And sunayna became the crown princess."

Listening to the whole story with out passing out was very hard for Aliya.. It took several moments for her to comprehend to her surroundings..

Uncle Roy and Ahil were looking at Aliya with so much concern, waiting for her to respond.

"So why does it have to be me ?  It could be any one of us three right ?" She tried to reason though she knew it was silly to ask.

"Your elder sister is smart Aliya. She waited for this long to locate you, only so she and Alisha would be above 18 and you would still be under her gaurdianship and you would not have any say in this until you are 18. So this way she could totally decide what happens to you." He explained her in detail

"Uncle... This is too much to take in. Why does she hate me soo much. What did I do to her.?" She asked him at the verge of breaking.

"You did nothing dear. You are innocent just like your mother. But sunayna always hated your mother and if she had to pick one between her sister and step sister. Its just obvious."

"But.. but.. You told my father was about to give up the crown in order to save us. Why wont my sister do that. That way we are all safe. "

"I know. I have tried to convince her to do that several times. but I should say your sister loves the crown better than you." He told her regretting his every word.

Listening to that Aliya broke into tears. She didn't  know whom to trust anymore. She felt lonely. She stood up silently and walked back to her room

Once inside her room, she went to her suitcase and took the book Cinderella and hugged it and cried her heart out.