Ira heard muffled voices as she approached her chambers. Her antaḥṛpā, Rohini, was standing outside along with the others, whispering up a storm.
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“What is the meaning of this gathering you have made?” Ira tried her best to hide the smile threatening to climb onto her face. “Did it not occur to you to send word to me as well?”
Rohini jumped and began apologizing profusely for her behaviour, insisting she deserved to be thrown into the dungeons for such insolence.
Ira laughed, "Don't be ridiculous. I simply say so in jest, you should know this by now.” Rohini gave her a weak smile as she blushed a deeper red than the roses of her mother’s garden. Ira laughed again as the other two antaḥṛpās bowed behind Rohini.
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When they were alone in her chambers she and her antaḥṛpās would gossip and talk all evening long of the matters of the palace. Matters only antaḥṛpās would have the knowledge of.
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Matters of the cook fighting with his wife, who suspected him of straying—though Rohini insisted he spent his nights gambling instead.
Matters of the new stable boy, a charmer who had already broken two maids’ hearts.
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Rohini had been there through her worst years.
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When her mother passed away. She was incredibly patient to all of Ira’s tantrums, all her illogical actions of throwing around her plates and refusing to eat for weeks. Ira had only been eight, she was so small she remembered finding it difficult to climb into bed. She remembered being terrified, alone in her chambers. So she had always kept at least three of the brightest burning lamps in her room, lit throughout the night.
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Rohini had stood by her side despite all this, and patiently fed her every morsel of her favourite dishes. Telling her she had it made especially for her. That the late Maharani would want her to have at least three spoons of this. Other than the boy she occasionally met near the palace walls, her antaḥṛpās were her only ‘friends’ so to say. At times, she had even asked Rohini to leave her service along with the other antaḥṛpās that had come of age, after all Rohini was only three years elder to her.
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But they had all refused.
They said they would happily serve the Rajkumari instead. That they wished to see her grow and live happily while standing beside her.
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Ira was forever grateful, of course she was.
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She just found it difficult to understand.
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Rohini, joined by Malini and Savitri, were the only people who kept her sane within the palace walls now.
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Malini raised her head first, giggling she said, "There's a present for you inside, Rajkumari-” she yelped and jumped away from Savitri. “Pay her no mind, Your Majesty. She's simply had too much time on her hands lately, she began to forget the palace etiquettes.”
Malini grumbled something and Savitri glared at her in response. Both of them always bickered as such, and Ira never paid much mind to it.
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“What is happening inside? Why is everyone gathered here?”
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Rohini raised her head and glanced unsurely at the hall leading to Ira’s chambers, “The new royal guard is inside, Rajkumari.”
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Oh.
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“I expected him to freshen up and then enter my chambers, did he get a tour of the palace?”118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DwZ0l67kH
“No Rajkumari, he wished to serve you before he received a tour. He said he did not require one, as he would simply need to remain by your side to fulfill his duty.”
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“He freshened up Rajkumari. We made sure of it.” Malini spoke up again, the suggestiveness in her tone was not missed by Ira.
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Just what on earth were these girls up to while she was gone.
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“Do not scare him away just yet. Father has asked me to be kind to him. We must wait for at least a month or two before we make it so that he tucks his tail between his legs and never enters the Aryavartha palace grounds.”
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“Ji Rajkumari. Would you like us to prepare a bath for you?”
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“That would be lovely.” She unbuckled the belt on which her swords were sheathed and handed it to Rohini. “Tell the head chef I will be skipping dinner tonight.”
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“But Rajkumari you must-”
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“I know.” She didn't look at Rohini as she said this. Instead, she pretended to struggle with removing her sand-streaked leather vest.
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“I am busy, Rohini. I have some affairs to set in order.” Malini and Savitri came to her side to help her pull the vest off, leaving only the cotton cloth that bound her chest and fell over her shoulder.
Ira pulled the free cloth hanging on her back to tuck it into the waist of her pleated antarīya in the front.
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The once-white cloth now dulled with dust and mud.
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She began walking down the hall that led to her chambers followed by her antaḥṛpās. Ira owned an entire wing of the main palace. Separate guards stood watch over all who entered or left. Her wing was the most peaceful part of the palace. The only people who would occasionally enter would be her Ācārya and her father. Not even her step mother bothered to set foot into this place.
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“Did Ācārya come here asking for my attendance?”
Rohini said he had not, that she would send out someone to go enquire where he was. Ira waved a hand at her, “It isn't needed. What I need is that bath. I will come down to the baths myself once I have finished speaking to him.”
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“Shall I call for a royal guard, Rajkumari?”
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Ira laughed, “Whatever would you do that for?”
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“They say he's from Thamravansh, that he is a slave.” Ira smiled, nothing could be kept secret for too long in the palace. The walls had ears in this place, the floors whispered secrets. She was sure she heard Malini whisper and excited ‘he's a fine slave for sure’ before Savitri found a way to shut her mouth.
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“I will speak to him alone. Should he try to harm me, it will make it all the more easier to kick him out. Freeing me from this new shackle Father has placed upon me.”
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“Then I shall ask the royal guards to be placed outside your chambers. I shall go to prepare your bath.”
Ira hummed in response, and all her antaḥṛpās bid her farewell formally before they turned around and shuffled out of the hallway.
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Ira walked a little further till she reached the doors to her chambers. The royal guards would take at least five minutes to take their station in front of her chambers. She should wait for.
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That would be sensible.
Safer.
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She had the memory of seeing him, the slave, for the first time in the royal court flash in her mind. How his head had been slightly ducked, avoiding the eye of everyone, even the messenger that brought him. How he had been dressed from head to toe in black, Thamravansh’s common color, save for the golden collar that had glinted in the torches lit nearby. The chain that ran from the collar to the cuffs he had been bound in.
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The boy hadn't seemed any older than she was, Ira remembered. She remembered how he seemed used to all the curses unbecoming language her kingdom’s courtiers had thrown at the boy this afternoon.
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How he hadn't even flinched at any decision made upon his life. Like it didn't matter to him at all. Like his life wasn't even his own.
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A faint shudder ran through her.
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She would give him that much respect, she decided. She would be kind to him while he served her.
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Her father wished for that much anyway.
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She opened the doors to her chambers and entered, taking long and what she hoped looked like powerful strides inside.
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“Rajkumari—Sūryasya anugrahaḥ tvayi bhavatu.”
May the Lord Surya’s blessing be upon you.
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A royal guard was already inside her chambers. Ira felt a little foolish waiting out deliberating whether walking inside was the right move. She nodded at the guard as a tell to make him raise his head. He stood in attention, his left leg landing with a loud thump on the carpeted floor, before he resumed his report.
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“He refuses to remove the cloth covering his face, Rajkumari, we had to restrain him to remove it while he washed. But he is ready to serve you, Rajkumari.” behind the royal guard that stood in attention, wearing the royal seal on his attire, kneeled her new guard.
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Her Aṅgarakṣaka.
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He was dressed in a deep maroon, the shade of dye extracted from the royal day-flowers. The cloth that sat as a hood around his head, was bordered with a golden pattern, a similar deep maroon scarf covered the lower half of his face, leaving only his eyes, and his thick brows for view.
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He kneeled on one knee, bowing deep before her.
How respectful for a slave from the enemy kingdom.
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“Leave us.” she ordered.
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She would need to be alone to exchange what she must with him.
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Antaḥṛpā- The Rajkumari’s personal maids.
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will be deducted 
and then Add to home screen.