Chasing the Sun

||INTERLUDE||

|| - Interlude -||

Agra (The Mughal capital), in a distant past…

The drummer looked like a human version of the Thabla* that he played. He was a round man with a shining bald patch in the middle of his head. His stout fingers created thunderous vibes on the membrane as the man himself bounced to the vibrations he created. The gungroo* of the dancer rang like a drizzle that followed the thunder. Ram let his eyes drift from the dancers, over the crowd of men and lifted his gaze towards the assembly of women in the upper level watching the dance through a translucent curtain.

His eyes immediately met those of his wife. Narmada sat in the front left corner her fingers unconsciously tapping against her knee. Her long luxurious hair braided and coiled into a bun and a large dot of red vermillion sat between her eyebrows. Catching his eye she beamed at him her golden face glowing.

She looked happy he noted basking in the warmth of her smile. Since returning from their last battle Ram did not get a chance to meet his wife. Instead he was being swept into a cloud of celebrations that followed the announcement of the victory. The emperor was content and so was Akif.

The latter raised his chalice at him once his eyes found their way back to the mehfil. Ram wondered if Akif’s thoughts were on their last conversation – as his had been. ‘Narmada is going to be furious’ he added an afterthought as the music reached a crescendo and died to shower of applause and praise from the assembled men.

The women in the gallery exchanged comments in whisper, their smiles hidden behind their purdahs. Ram watched as Narmada rose to her feet, muttering something to her neighbour which sent her into a fit of giggles she caught his eye again. An invitation to follow sparkled in the depths of her eyes. She blinked once before turning and leaving the crowd of women, down the stairs that he knew led into the portico outside.

“Shehezade huzur* has eyes only for his begum*,” a soft voice complained in his ear. Ram reined his gaze back and noticed the petite woman offering him a chalice of wine. He accepted the drink but corrected her nevertheless.

“I’m not a prince –“

“Anymore,” Akif edited his statement. “I must confess I’m conflicted whether to be impressed or annoyed with the ease with which you accepted the loss of your title.”

“Title which I did not earn...” Ram reminded him wishing to end the bitter conversation. The two men held their gazes for a while and the woman noticing she was no longer privy to any of their attention huffed a little and made her way towards an already woozy young noble who was swaying to an imaginary tone nearby. “Therefore means a little compared to my family.”

“I’ll drink to that,” offered Akif, his eyes however remained narrowed. “This could be your chance to even the field with her, you know?”

“I’m not a man of revenge Akif,” Ram clarified. “Especially so when it comes to battle... Personal feelings compromise your focus. I’d rather leave my grudges home.”

“Then what about your affections, my dear friend?” Akif surveyed his reaction over the rim of his chalice.

“Does this hint towards an insecurity you harbour towards my loyalty?” Ram’s voice was sharp and Akif chuckled a little.

“If I would ever trust a man with my life that would be you,” he said honestly. “But for the particular battle we would need something more than you and I – we need Narmada.”

“Narmada isn’t a part of my arsenal as you very well know. To join you or not will be her decision to make and as far as I know she does not wish to part take in anymore battles.”

“Well, approach her for me, will you?” Akif suggested lightly. “For all I know war is an addiction with hardly any cure.”

“I will certainly inform her of your proposal – but do not pin your hopes on my persuasion skills, dear friend.”

“Let us hope it will not come down to my persuasion skills.” Akif clapped his hands, keeping his chalice away after one last deep swig. “I must not keep you away from your prearranged meeting with her. I’m sure she has a lot of news to fill you in.”

The men clasped hands in a parting gesture. Ram had almost walked away when Akif called after him.

“Do ask her if your son is enjoying his uncle’s company and convey my sincere apologies for having to cut his visit short.”

**

||Glossary||

*Thabla – A classical drum

*Gungroo – Anklet bells that dancers tie to their feet

*Shehezade Huzur – prince with more honorifics

*Begum – Lady / Wife
___
I'm back!
A bit early than I had predicted but the official updates will start from Monday! I suppose this structure is a bit unfamiliar to you so give me a moment to explain.
This is an interlude, a glimpse that does not follow the main storyline but is more inline with the prologue or chapter zero.
A part of the story ends with Kashi stepping into the light - hence the page break. With this interlude a new phase of the journey Chasing the Sun is starting!
I'm looking forward to see you all aboard once more!
Thanks for reading!