Fuck you...Your Majesty!

4

Swords clashed making sparks fly. Shadow guards and Madhur watched in awe as the High King of Antharv fought Chandra, the leader of shadow guards, rest of the guards and maids were dismissed even before beginning his training. It was hard for everyone to remove their eyes from the sparing duo, none of them wanting to yield. It was the second match of the day. The first match was interesting but not as interesting as this one. The junior guard had strong attacking techniques but his defence was poor and thus wasn't able to hold the fort against the High king for more than half an hour.

And pumped up with the rush of sparing, holding his sword after a long time, Salil challenged the leader of shadow guards for a match. Chandra tried to go easy on the High king in fear of harming him but Salil taunted him for having poor technique and the fight took a one-eighty-degree turn.

Salil was really loving every moment of his training. Little did he know about the trouble coming his way.

                          *******

"Look, your Highness! Is this a way the high king should behave?! He didn't even bother to stop at your arrival. " exclaimed Mayuri in a sick nasally voice to the Queen Mother whom she had dragged along to meet Salil when she got the wind of Salil sparing from one of her spies she had planted in the High king's palace. She smirked thinking how she had finally managed to land the so-called High king in trouble.

The Queen Mother on the other hand quietly observed the fight, the concubine's words ignored. Let's just say she was impressed by Salil's fighting skills and refusal to yield.

Salil on the other hand was getting agitated and the one to face the burn of his anger was Chandra. His attacks were now even more fierce and faster than before. Chandra was trying his best to retaliate with the same vigour but the constantly babbling concubine wasn't letting him focus and in one such moment when he was a bit unfocused, Salil kicked his leg and pointed his sword at his throat, forcing him to yield.

"You were a great opponent, Chief Chandra but you need to work on your concentration. I hope you won't mind helping me train in the future," said Salil with a smile after the match was declared finished with Salil as the winner. The chief couldn't help but laugh at the High king's cheekiness.

"Still hung up on your old ways, I see. Why don't you quit playing around and pay attention to your duties as a husband, as a High king?" asked the Queen Mother as she walked towards the High after watching the shadow guard, he had been training with leave. Salil immediately bowed to her as a courtesy not missing the smirking concubine. He was sure that some trouble was about to come. 

"It is a pleasure to have you here at my humble abode, Queen Mother. I would be grateful if you have tea with me but before that, I would like to change out of these sweaty clothes first. Madhur will escort you to the lounge, please allow me to take my leave and make myself presentable enough to meet you first. " said Salil with a sweet smile to which the Queen Mother responded with a firm nod and followed Madhur to the lounge of the High King's palace.

                             *******

"Tell me High King Salil, when will you start taking your responsibilities seriously? You should remember that you are a High king, not a warrior anymore," said Queen Mother in a stern voice, sipping her tea. Salil hadn't really expected her to return so soon from her pilgrimage. In his past life, Queen Mother didn't return before he died. As for her return later, he can't say.

"Yes, High King, why waste time in all that when you have the entire Kingdom of Antharv to protect you? Looks like you are still hung up on your days as a military general of the Kaveri Kingdom. It's high time you snap out of it, after all, it's not like we are at war." Interjected Mayuri, with a teasing smile on her face which clearly said that she was hell-bent on getting him in trouble. But Salil wasn't a fool.