SURIRATHNA: TALE OF A WARRIOR QUEEN

Chapter 2

"Suro".

Srirathna shuddered.

"My king! I think I didn't hear it properly; can you repeat the name for me?" The queen whispered in disbelief.

"Kim. Su. Ro." The king repeated, his eyes staring at the nothingness.

Srirathna tried to remember all her lessons, all the Sanskrit mantras that she had remembered by-heart in order to try to remember if any character in the stories or gods had this name. She failed to remember anything remotely similar to what she had heard just now. Curiously, she looked at her mothers direction and then her father.

"My king! What is the meaning of this? What kind of name is that? And who is this person? I have memorized the names of Kings and queens from faraway lands, but I have never heard of a name like that! Please tell me this is one of the satire jokes of yours! What are his whereabouts? What land does he rule? How big is his dynasty? How prosper are they?"

The queen said, still in disbelief.

When she didnt get any reply, the queen lost her patience and proceeded to demand for answers in a more annoyed tone.

Clearly agitated, the king desperately tried to calm his queen by saying

My queen! I finally got the dream yesterday. The dream that I was told I would have when the time was right by the royal Purohits. That one dream we both prayed to all our gods that I get. I finally got it yesterday, but-The king paused.

After a full minute of struggling how to form words, the king inhaled deeply and continued- It is true. In my dream, I clearly kept hearing the words Kim Suro. That Suro is the person destined to be our child's husband. I clearly saw it and heard it in my dreams yesterday.

This is clearly the sign we have been waiting for, since years.

This is the god's decision. He is the one for my daughter." Said the king, emotionlessly.

"But who is Kim Suro? Do you know anything about him? Does a person named Suro even exist? And where does he live? Which land does he rule? How many wives does he have already?" Asked the queen.

"I have been told in my dreams that he lives in a faraway land. He is not a king yet-".

"So you want me to send my beautiful, yet innocent daughter to a person, whose residence is unknown, let alone residence, his existance itself is not confirmed!

You expect me to send my daughter to a foreign land, to an unknown person who is not even a ruler, all solely based on a dream of yours?! Unbelievable! How accurate is your dream? Are you sure you heard the words right? How sure can we be that this not your desperate mind making things up because we werent getting the signs? Lord Shiva, please help us!"

The queen collapsed on the floor in despair.

"Don't let the emotions take over you, my queen. Srirathna is precious to me also. I'll not let anyone or anything bring harm to her.

I am worried myself. After I've dreamt about this person, would you think I would stay idle? Im doing my best gather all the information about this person Suro that I can!"

"So what do you know about him so far?" The queen said, in dispair.

"So far, I have confirmed that a person called Suro actually exists." The king said scornfully.

"This is not the time to be joking around, my Lord. Please tell me everything you know!" Said the queen.

"Patience, my dear! So far I know that Suro lives in a faraway place named Gaya. He is the main officer there. Gaya is a peaceful place, a prosperous small village which is known for the sea track, fishery and its iron ore.