The Village Girl

Chapter Six - [Aaryan]

I had certainly been hearing the rumours that had been spreading among my men over the past few days. Rumours always came back to me... I wouldn't be a good leader if I didn't know what my men were talking about.

This one, however, took me by surprise.

Men liked to gossip as much as women did, though women were the ones who were scrutinized for it. Usually it was about something negative... about a noble who had done something suspicious, or betrayals within the army, or women you could not trust. It was rare to hear about something positive.

That was what was happening now.

Rumours of Seetha's kindness had filled the minds of my warriors. Images of a humble, noble family had replaced the old ones of a family who just wanted my riches.

Suddenly, Seetha had gone from being unknown and unworthy to suddenly being like a sister.

Those were precisely the words I heard.

They called her little sister.

They talked about how she would make them tea, how the family would cook for them and how they would all eat together too.

They also shared stories about how Seetha's mother and sister-in-laws would happily wash their clothes for them and return it with all the holes patched up and looking brand new. And how Seetha's father would sit with them when he had a chance and talk to them, asking how they were doing, looking like he sincerely cared about them even though they did not know each other.

And most importantly, they talked about how Seetha treated them with respect... like her equal... or like her brothers.

They spoke with particular kindness about how she let the guards hold Aathavan without any hesitation. I had to say, even I was hesitant when I saw that happen. I specifically remembered one day when one of her nephews fell on the floor and hurt himself in front of Seetha. Her hands were full with Aathavan, so she simply handed him to one of the guards before running to help her nephew.

I remember flinching when I saw her hand our son to a guard. Even he seemed surprised, not knowing what to do or how to hold a future King. I was going to go to him and take Aathi from him, but I saw the look on his face and hesitated.

I was surprised to see a sincere look of care on the face of such a man.

I suppose I was so used to seeing these men handle weapons and learn to kill other men that when I saw them handling an innocent, helpless child, I was taken aback.

And then, as I watched another one of the guards roll his eyes at the clueless man and then help him hold my son, I reminded myself that these men were just that... men. They were men before warriors. And some of them were fathers.

It seemed like Seetha knew that innately.

Whereas I needed to be reminded of that.

And after helping her nephew up, stopping his tears and returning to the guards, I watched her smile warmly at them before commenting on how Aathi seemed to like them, seeing as he did not cry.

Then they all proceeded to take turns holding my son, all of them considering it a great honor, though Seetha didn't seem to realize that.

She was a princess now, but did not act like one. She did not let it get to her head.

And for that, they respected her.

These men were used to dealing with snobby royals or men and women who thought they were better than them. They were used to these people yelling at them or commanding them or using them and not being grateful... for all I knew, maybe they lumped me into that too. So from them, Seetha must have felt like a breath of fresh air.

Whatever the case, it was strange how ten guards were able to paint such a picture of my wife for all the other warriors.

The strangeness of it all didn't really matter though. All that mattered was that my warriors were seeing her the was I did... the way the nobles didn't.

And they were excited to see her as Queen.