Fuck you...Your Majesty!

3

It had been two weeks since Salil had sent the secret message to his brother. He knew his brother had already started working on ways to take him back to his homeland but that still needed some time and if his memories served right, it was around this time concubine Mayuri had caused a commotion inside the palace by faking a fall when she had come to visit him in his last life. He remembers being reprimanded by the King for his apparent 'jealously' and being excluded from all the royal proceedings for a month with concubine Mayuri acting as the queen in his place for that while. The king stopped visiting him after some time and eventually, all the maids and guards were transferred to Mayuri's service, leaving the actual queen to cook and clean for himself on his own.

That incident was the root cause of all the mess but not this time. This time Salil was prepared. So when Mayuri requested an audience with him the next day he refused her, complaining about the backaches he had been having for the past week making him unable to meet her.

The concubine gritted her teeth and stomped away. Next, there were various noblemen in the court complaining of the High King's obnoxious behaviour and how he should respect the rules and ways of the royal harem and treat concubines as equals, as Salil had expected. He was prepared to keep his side of the case in front of the king because he didn't expect the king to take his side on the matter as usual but none of it was required.

Atharva on the other hand was furious when he heard the noblemen complaining about his high king. He remembers how Mayuri had framed his queen and he blindly believed her but this time he had pledged not to make the same mistake again. This time his High King Salil will get the respect he deserves, the love he deserves.

"What happens in the royal household isn't something the court and the noblemen should worry about. My High King refused to meet the concubine due to health reasons. He understands the rules better than most of us and none of his actions have been against the royal code of conduct. A concubine is just a concubine. She needs to learn her place and respect the High King. And the ones who dared to slander my husband today are expected to take back their words and apologize or there will be consequences. A court is a place where we discuss the grievances of countrymen... I hope in the future no such slip will happen." said Atharva shocking the entire court. The Noblemen were quick to bow and apologise for their mistake, who knew what would the king do if they tried to argue further?

Salil stared at his husband, mouth agape, trying to process what just happened. Did his rebirth change fate's design? He couldn't understand.

Atharva winked at his husband when he felt his eyes on him making Salil choke on his breath. Madhur quickly rushed to his coughing master's aid while Atharva continued with the court proceedings with a poker face on, eyeing every person present there closely, trying to assess if there were more enemies than friends in the court. This time he won't fall into the trap of their devious words. This time he won't lose his beloved and child.

*******

"Madhur...Bring out my swords. I want to train today." said Salil as sat before the mirror, gazing at his reflection while Madhur accompanied by other maids combed and scented his long dark hair.

The words made Madhur freeze in his place. He was surprised to hear Salil's request for training with weapons when the latter was the one who vowed not to use them as it wasn't liked by his husband. And thus he couldn't help but ask,

"But you said you won't train with weapons anymore when you entered the palace..."

Seeing his master smile at the question was quite confusing for Madhur but what can he say, Salil was surprising him every day ever since the king's birthday celebration.

"This place has changed me so much Madhur... I renounced the things that made me happy just to fit in but now... I want to go back to the way I was.... just for a change..." said Salil after he dismissed the rest of his maids except Madhur.

Walking towards a lone wooden casket in his room he had a calm smile on his face. Lifting the lid, he took out his most loved possession, his sword. It was only fair if he opened the casket, the cause was the one to lock them away. Holding this sword brought a flood of bittersweet memories. Like the first time he held a sword, the first time he defeated his father in sparing, the times his mother would fuss over his sore hands after hours of practice, scolding his older brother for his injuries and he would smile at the misery of his brother. Good old times.

He picked up a few more of his favourite accessories, like the white combat outfit his mother had sewn for him and the shield his father had had the best craftsmen in Kaveri craft for his precious son. Hugging these valuable items close to his chest, he slammed the casket close and rushed to change into them. Staying away from them anymore was out of option. His husband and the royal protocol could go fuck themselves.

Seeing his friend smile and jump around like a kid made Madhur smile. It was after so long that he had seen his friendly smile, and wasn't going to snatch it from him nor let anyone dampen it.

*******

Salil felt nostalgic wearing the two-piece, white, silk outfit with the safa turban that held his long ravine hair in place, stopping them from interfering with his vision. How he would spar with his brother for hours and hours, till one of them yielded. Today he wanted to feel it again but for that, he needed a partner and he knew where to find one.

*******

The shadowing guards curiously watched their High king march into the garden before his palace with a sword and shield in his hand. Some of them scoffed at the said High King while others tried to assess his mindset. They had previously heard some rumours that the High King was a shield maiden before getting married to their king and some out worldly praises about his talent as a warrior. Was it the day they get to know whether those were just some rumours or the truth?  

"Can one of you guards come out? I need a partner to spar," said Salil thrusting his sword in the air, swinging it, spinning it in his hands, trying to get a hang of holding it after such a long time. One of the regular guards started to step forward to the High king's aid but stopped when he saw him shaking his head. Another one stepped forward but went back to his post when he heard the High king say,

"I'm not talking about the ones guarding the palace, I'm talking about the ones hiding on the roof and trees."

To say that the shadow guards were shocked would be an understatement. They didn't know how to act on the news. All the while they had been here, the High King was aware of their presence. It if was so then they were losing their touch. The shadow guards weren't supposed to be noticed by anyone. But keeping all these thoughts aside, Chandra, the leader of the troop signalled one of the junior guards at the High king's service.

The guards and maids around Salil were shocked to their core when a man in jet-black clothing appeared out of nowhere and bowed to the High King. He was dressed the same as the High King, except his safa turban was tied in such a way that only his eyes were visible.

"You haven't lost your touch in hiding... It's just my training that made me so vigilant and observant. And today I invited you to spar just to see if I have lost my touch or if I can still spar like I used to back in Kaveri." said a smiling Salil as he took his fighting stance. He wasn't gonna be the perfect trophy wife that this Kingdom had made him be anymore. He was going back to his shield maiden ways, fighting, protecting, and never submitting.

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