Mayanshi - The Disgraced Queen

Chapter 21 - Partial Revelation

"Yuvarani, Senapati garu has ordered all injured civilians and soldiers to get some rest." Dushyanta informed Mayanshi, who had been running around to assist the healers.

"Thank you for delivering the message, Lord Dushyanta." She said absentmindedly, without stopping.

He blocked her way. "And that includes you." He bowed to her. "Senapati's orders."

Mayanshi, though not gravely injured, didn't want to disobey Jayendra. "Alright. May I ask who you are attending to?" She observed Dushyanta carrying medicines.

"This is for Samarjit. His wound needs to be cleaned again."

"Always at his service?"

"Brother's duty." He grinned. "Wait. It should be you. My apologies. I should have realized. I won't mind if you want to." He offered the medicines to her, only to see an artificial smile on her face. "I know you are dispirited after listening to people's comments yesterday. Seek Samarjit's help. Ask him to support you publicly. If they see the prince on your side, they might change their opinion."

"I don't think he noticed it. Even if he did, why would he do anything about it?"

"He was busy planning the rescue operation. He might have felt it was unimportant compared to what we were about to face." Dushyanta's tone was defensive. He was evidently annoyed by her. "You need to ask him. How else would he know that you require his help?"

'But he didn't need to ask me to save his life. I helped him because I wanted to.' She thought to herself. She decided against seeking Samarjit's assistance. He was still her rival. It would only make her look weak.

Nevertheless, she decided to ask him how he felt about the baseless accusations against her. For some reason, she felt the need to know.

She composed herself and smiled. "I will take those medicines to my husband. You are right. I need to spend time with him."

---***---

Mayanshi entered Samarjit's chambers unannounced. She found him sitting in a corner, with his head buried in a book. 

"Pleased to see you, my beloved." He greeted her without sparing a glance.

"How did you know it's me?"

"I can sense your presence." He grinned, only to see that she wasn't amused. "I mean, no one is brave enough to visit me without announcing themselves. No one but you."

She seemed satisfied by the answer. She signaled him to sit on the bed. "I brought medicines to clean your wound."

"They already did it last night."

"It's been half a day." She was in no mood to listen. He nodded and let her do the job. "I thought we have to remove the toenail. But it doesn't look that bad. Let's wait for few more days--"

"Please don't." He sounded worried. 

She realized what she has spoken, and tried to make damage control. "Let's talk about something else. I need to discuss something with you." She tried changing the subject.

"I know what it is. It has been bothering me too." 

"Really?" She felt happy.

"Yes. Venu is my friend. I'm worried about him."

Mayanshi's face fell. "Oh! Venu. Right." She unintentionally pressed the wound, making him flinch. "Forgive me. I wasn't paying attention."

"That's fine." He waved his hand, completely missing her downcast look. "I was searching for a way to reduce his punishment. I can pardon him. But it will send a wrong message that anyone who is close to the prince can mess with the law and get away with it. We can't have our subjects think that their prince shows favouritism when his friends are involved."