THE MINI ADVENTURES OF SHRUTI

CHAPTER 9

Only Vijay, Jayant and Mahesh had arrived. Mahesh seemed to arrive first to the court almost every day. Vijay and Jayant waved to Shruti and she too responded with a wave. Mahesh never said anything to anyone, as always. She took her seat. Jayant said to Vijay and Shruti, "There might be a lot of cases today. I had seen a big crowd outside, while coming here." Vijay said, "Then we'll solve all of them today. We are appointed for that purpose only." Shruti smiled at Vijay. Jayant said to Shruti, "Where do you stay?"

"In the palace itself. Queen Sumitra allowed me to stay here."

Vijay nodded and Jayant smiled.

Mahesh's voice had a sense of disgust in it. "That means you have not earned your place here. It has been given to you!"

Shruti smiled. "See how lucky I am! I didn't even have to do anything to get a place in the palace!"

Vijay and Jayant giggled while Mahesh grinded his teeth. When the giggling and grinding came to a halt, Nanda arrived. Vijay and Jayant waved to him too, and looking at them, Shruti too waved at him. He waved back to them. He sat down on his seat and looked at Mahesh, then whispered to Vijay, who was on his right, "His mood is not good today also. Is it?" Vijay shook his head disapprovingly. Nanda sighed and put his head down. Shruti had guessed that the topic of whispering was Mahesh.

She smiled a little smile and looked at the entrance, waiting for the others to come, who did not make her wait for long. They soon arrived. They too were greeted by waves and they replied in waves. After a short while since their arrival, the trumpets sounded and the royal family arrived. When everyone had taken their seats, the court began. All the cases went on smoothly. And so did the whole week and the week following. Hiraman's wings had got enough practise and were ready for a flight test.

Shruti had promised him that she will accompany him in it after she came back from the court that day. This is why she was waiting for the court to get over. But it seemed like this time, the court had a very serious issue to deal with.

A crowd came in and complained of their children not being found yet. Ram asked Mahesh, "What have you found out about the children?"

"Your Majesty, I have searched a lot, but I have not yet found the place where the ascetics are hiding."

"Do whatever you can and find the children."

Mahesh nodded and the villagers were assured that their children would be found soon. They all went back and this happened to be the last case of the day. Shruti became thoughtful about this and walked back to her room slowly. Hiraman was already flapping his wings, eager to fly. Shruti smiled and stood a short distance away from him. "Now, don't feel scared. Flap your wings and jump towards me."

Hiraman flapped his wings with all his might but did not jump.

"Jump Hiraman. I'm right here."

Hiraman jumped after a short while, and successfully perched on Shruti's arm. Shruti patted him lightly. "Very good. See? You flew!"

Hiraman squawked in reply. He practised flying from her arm to his perch, and back. He did it till he was tired. Shruti let him rest for a while. The rest of the day, they spent practising and chatting.

The next morning, in court, Ram inquired about the children. But no progress had been made in the investigation. Ram was disappointed. "Do you want me to give the responsibility of this case to someone else? You have disappointed me greatly. Nanda, haven't you made any findings?"

"How can I your majesty? He doesn't allow me to take part in the investigation at all. He doesn't even let me know about his findings either."

Ram frowned at Mahesh. "What is this I hear? You both were responsible for this case."