Capítulo 8: For Her - III
Veer along with his younger brother reached the gate of the courtroom. Bhim Singh and his other bodyguards remained outside. Courtroom guards announced the arrival of the crown prince and Veer and Ritu Raj entered the room.
Veer entered the courtroom and observed the people present. Head Priest, Prime Minister, Other Ministers, His uncle Bhishma Raj and his two sons, Army commanders of four side and also city governers of all ten main cities were present. And sitting at the main chair of the leader is his father, King Bhoj Raj. King's seat is at a bit higher level than other people and one server was standing behind him at a distance to serve or fan if needed. In-room there are also some more servers present in other corners to serve the people attending.
Veer and Ritu Raj bowed to the King and said "Bow to father" and then toward everyone present "Bow to all the elders present".
King Bhoj Raj mentioned toward two empty chairs near his seat on the same level as everyone else and said "Come and have a seat first." and then toward everyone "Times are changing and we need to address some issues as soon as possible. Let us start the meeting." And then he waited for Veer and his younger brother to sit and looked around the courtroom to everyone present.
Just after the Veer and his younger brother took their seats, Prime minister Brahma Gupta stood up and toward Bhishma Raj and said: "We should first welcome our lion army commander Great warrior Bhishma Raj for returning from the fight against invaders." Prime Minister sat down and after that everyone expressed their gratitude.
King Bhoj Raj and said toward Bhishma Raj "Elder brother! Can you please let us know how are the circumstances outside the kingdom and also your experience in this 8-year long expedition. I am very curious as well as all the people present. We would really like to know and decide our kingdom's future accordingly."
Bhishma Raj looked at all the curious faces in the room. He understood what everyone wants to know. They wanted to know what is the current power of the lion army. Would they be able to keep their kingdom protected and powerful now that he has returned?
Bhishma Raj smiled and he said "When I left 8 years ago, our Lion army had 30,000 warriors. I left 10,000 to protect our kingdom and left with 20,000. In these 8 years, our army joined with armies of other kingdoms and also fought under King Skandgupta directly. We have lost many of our brave warriors but we are still able to return with more than 10,000 warriors. We have earned great merit and many kingdoms know about the brave warriors of the Kingdom of Ratanpur."
He stopped for a few moments and then continued "All the kingdoms our Bharatvarsha are thinking on how to stop the problem of invasion, so there is very less chance of internal conflicts within and for next 10 to 20 years we won't have any wars within kingdoms in Bharatvarsha." His forehead shrunk and then he said with some anxiety "But still the problems are there. Now that the great king Skandgupta has gone, I am afraid next Gupta king will not care about the north westerns fronts of Bharatvarsha and those kingdoms will fall to Huna invaders in next 10 to 20 years and there might come some royal families to settle in our kingdom also." He sighed and said, "Not every king is so broad hearted and forward-looking like king Skandgupta."
Prime Minister also sighed and said "Yes, I have heard that message was sent to King Skandagupta at the border that his cousin was trying to usurp the throne but he just said that stopping invaders from entering our motherland is more important than stopping his cousin. He did not want his own people to fight with each other. So, he stayed at the border of Bhartvarsh for 20 years until his last breath to fight against invaders."
Veer heard this discussion and he also felt said on the demise of such a great king. He remembered the lines of the letter Priya wrote to him "The hope I had in my heart that Emperor Skandgupta will return triumphant and after that, due to the contribution of your family during the war, we will be able to reunite. But now Emperor Skandgupta has died in Panchnad state and Purugupta has become the emperor, I don't see a way of freeing myself from this political marriage." He felt sad about human selfishness and politics. Just because one good person died, his selfish brother has usurped the throne and it has indirectly affected the love of Veer and Priya. It also involved the greed and selfishness of many people including her father and other family members.
Veer felt sad and remembering Priya his eyes almost teared up. He lamented "It was really very regretful."
Veer's comment attracted everyone's attention and many people nodded on that. King turned his head toward Veer and said "Crown prince! I have heard that you visited Ambikapur a few weeks back and have declared an unknown princess as your wife. What is this all about?"
Veer lifted his head, coming out of his memories and looked toward his uncle and said mournfully "Her name was Priya. She was a princess of Ambikapur born from the King's fifth wife. We loved each other. Her family betrothed her to a family in Pataliputra for political alliance despite knowing that we loved each other. I asked for her hand but they did not reply to my letter. When she heard the death of King Skandagupta, her last hope was destroyed and she committed suicide because she did not want to marry anyone else." His tears fell but he wiped them instantly.
Many people present sighed. Young people were really quick to fall in love. They love at the level of fanatism. They wanted to see what type of outburst crown prince Veer will show. Veer is a scholar and he remains solemn and never talks too much. This is the first time most of the people have seen him showing so many of his feelings and talking this much. Many of the people present sympathize with Veer but no one wants to comment anything and their eyes looked toward king waiting for his next words.
There was a small girl sitting on his lap who was oblivious to all the discussions happening around. She is eating the grapes kept on the table in front of Veer's chair. Veer hugged her tightly and tried to console himself.
King Bhoj Raj kept silent. He saw Veer's eyes toward his uncle Bhishma Raj. Very few people know about the story of Bhishma Raj. He fell in love with one of the maids and married her in secret. Their father scolded him and asked for an explanation and he also asked him to leave the girl. But Bhishma Raj left his place as crown prince and promised that his descendants also will never vie for the throne. Brothers really love each other, so there never was a conflict between them. This was also one of the main reason why Bhishma Raj does not want to be king with the other reason him liking the battlefield more than the courtroom. King Bhoj Raj understood the intention of Veer. Veer wants his uncle to speak.
Bhishma Raj is also looking at the expression of Veer. He also is feeling turmoil in his heart. The story of Veer is sadder than his own. He looked at the cute girl in his lap and smiled and asked "Who is this little girl? Don't say you have a child with your princess lover?"
Veer felt sad and shook his head and said: "It would have been better if I had such a memorable gift from her. We have not married, we just promised each other." He looked lovingly at the girl "Her name is Arya. Her father was in lion army and died at the border. Both her parents are dead, so I decided to adopt her as my daughter." He looked into his uncle's eyes and smiled sadly "Her eyes and her smile look like Priya. If we had a daughter, she will probably look like her."
Everyone's eyes looked at the girl. The girl seemed to sense all the eyes on herself. She just finished eating grapes. She raised her head and looked around with her innocent eyes. She wiped her hand in her frock and smiled. She looked beautiful. Many people smiled at her and other sighed listening to Veer's lamenting. Many of the people felt their eyes turn misty. There is no sneering and no criticism, it is said well that as is the King that way will be his subjects.
Bhishma Raj looked at his brother, the King and having a tactic understanding between them he continued and asked "What do you want us to do? People of Ambikapur have of course disrespected us by their behavior. Do you want us to ask a proper explanation and compensation from them?" Many people present nodded. Of course, this was the right course to follow.
Veer shook his head and said "What is there to explain? She died and I have nothing to do with those people. But still, I have made a promise to them to marry their princess to the crown prince of Ratanpur." The expression on Veer's face of full of guilt.
King Bhoj Raj broke his silence and said "Yes, we have received the letter from King of Ambikapur regarding this. Because you have made this promise, let us know how you wish to handle this matter?"
All the curious gazes were concentrated on Veer. Veer smiled and lamented "In our Ratanpur, the trend is totally different. The younger brother, my father is ruling and elder brother is a subordinate. In us brothers, two cousin brothers always keep away from politics and my own younger brother has become a wanderer and our sisters are happily playing in the palace away from politics. One of our younger sisters even has married a soldier whom she loved and no elder in family objected. In all the royal families brothers fight for the throne, but in our kingdom of Ratanpur they keep running away from it."
All the people nodded and even few people showed proud expression on their faces. The royal family which is so close to their own people, who won't feel proud of being ruled by such King?
Veer smiled and continued "I have loved someone and loved wholeheartedly and do not wish to marry anyone else. Also as per my teachings, I am not interested in politics. My younger brother Ritu Raj has traveled outside the Kingdom for almost 6-7 years and have learned a lot. He is also good in archery and swordsmanship. He also loves his cousin brothers and sisters. I wish for him to be crown prince."
King Bhij Raj again asked, "But you have not addressed the issue of your promise."
Prince Veer looked at his younger brother Ritu Raj and then at his uncle and said "The words I have written was to marry their princess Shri to our Crown prince. I have not written the name there. So, whoever is the crown prince of Ratanpur, will marry princess Shri of Ambikapur." and then he smiled at his father, the king and said "And my younger brother likes the princess Shri of Ambikapur. Making him crown prince will also help complete the promise."
Ritu Raj understood why his brother has said in the morning that he will help him marry princess Shri. His brother has lost his love and in return, he himself got to marry the girl he liked. He has seen how princess Shri treated Priya when he stayed in Ambikapur. He really did not feel happy even after knowing that he could marry the girl he liked. He looked at his brother who was looking at him and smiling.
Bhishma Raj said without any further delay "That is fine then. After this court meeting, we can announce that new crown prince with be Prince Ritu Raj."
"Elder brother! should we not discuss the positive and negative effects of this decision? What if later we found that our decision was wrong?" King Bhoj Raj mentioned. Many people present nodded on this.
Bhishma Raj said "Who else is there other than Ritu Raj? His cousins are younger than him and even if they were elder I won't allow them to be in politics. Veer is feeling sad and does not wish to be a king and also the teaching he has received does not coincide with the politics. The only person who is eligible and also agrees is Ritu Raj. There is no use in thinking pros and cons. Ha ha ha." he laughed and looked at Prince Ritu Raj who was sitting there silently beside his elder brother like an obedient younger brother. Everyone is smiling at him and he smiled back awkwardly.
Prime minister stood up and said, "So, it is decided that Prince Ritu Raj will be made crown prince and he will marry Princess Shri of Ambikapur."
"Prince Veer has adopted the girl Arya and has set an example for everyone. Everyone has their own reason but I wish that other people also will adopt the orphaned children of our brave warriors. What does everyone think?" King Bhoj Raj asked.
Veer sighed and said "I thought I will have to face so much criticism today but how can everything be so smooth? I really do not know if the way things are moving is good or not."
"Everyone cares for each other and respects each other's feelings. How can it be bad? It is not like we are doing against Kingdom or it's people. Everyone has the right to be happy" Prince Ritu Raj said while he stroked the head of the little girl. Everyone looked at the girl lovingly and thought that Prince Ritu Raj is also not a bad choice as crown prince.
King Bhoj Raj laughed and said "Well said. After being declared crown prince, the words said by Prince Ritu Raj are exactly as my beliefs are. I am really happy about this." He looked at his elder brother and said "Now meeting is adjourned and everyone can go back. If anyone has any problem, we can also talk later, now we are in hurry to introduce ourselves to our adopted granddaughter. Ha ha ha." Everyone laughed at the words of the king.
Everyone left in the mood of jubilance. Soon the news of Prince Ritu Raj being declared as crown prince spread everywhere. In the event of that morning, people have almost accepted Veer as the crown prince but after this news, many people sighed and thought it was regretful.
Soon many orphaned children of warriors of the army were adopted by high officials and ministers. Kingdom has also established welfare system for the families and orphaned children of warriors. People of the Kingdom of Ratanpur will never know that the girl who made this happen is called Priya and is the mysterious wife of Prince Veer. People can only make up stories about Priya and Veer because no one knew for certain about her until later when the beloved wife Meena of King Ritu Raj told her story to some of her friends.
After few days king of Ambikapur received a message from King of Ratanpur. It was mentioned in the letter that Ratanpur will fulfill its promise and crown prince Ritu Raj will marry Princess Shri of Ambikapur. It was also asked in the letter to decide an auspicious date for marriage and send back to Ratanpur royal family.
Palace of Ambikapur:
King Mahendra Dev of Ambikapur did a meeting with his wives and children. He informed the matter in the letter to Queen Devyani.
"What about Veer? How did his younger brother become the crown prince?" Princess Devyani asked in surprise.
King Mahendra Dev said "He is a person with no ambition in life. I found the information from our links in Ratanpur that he requested personally to leave the seat and his younger brother to be appointed as crown prince."
Princess Shri said "Father! Can we ask them to marry prince Veer? I wish to marry prince Veer."
"My Dear! There is no benefit in marrying a prince who is not the crown prince. If you marry a normal prince, you won't have any impact on your state's politics and will be of no use to your home kingdom. So, for the benefit of your father's kingdom, you should only marry the crown prince." King Mahendra Dev looked at his dearest daughter expectantly.
Lady Mandakini was also present in the meeting. She seldom spoke but now she smiled and said to Queen Devyani "Congratulations to elder sister. Marrying the crown prince of Ratanpur is a really great thing. That family has love among brothers and sisters and there is no conflict of interest. I am sure princess Shri will be happy there." Lady Mandakini really felt envious and thought it was so unfortunate for her daughter.
Princess Shri sneered "You are making fun of me on my misfortune. Don't show off as if you care about me. Your daughter did not care about anyone and now you are mocking me."
Lady Mandakini said "Princess Shri! You don't understand. I am just talking about how everyone will feel if you marry the crown prince of Ratanpur. The people and also the royal family of Ambikapur will feel gratitude toward you for being a bridge between Ratanpur and Ambikapur." She fell silent for a moment then said "Of course my daughter was stupid and did not see the big picture. How can the prince she loved will be good enough to be crown prince."
Princess Shri looked pitifully at her father and mother and then other brothers and sisters but no one spoke anything again. It was decided that Princess Shri will marry crown prince Ritu Raj.
Now she understood how it feels to sacrifice your own happiness for the kingdom but she was not so deep in love like Priya. She felt remorseful and muttered "Prince Veer! I hate you. Once I became the queen of Ratanpur, I will make your life hell."
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Veer's life was calm in the palace of Ratanpur. His adopted daughter Arya lived with him. Meena also loves Arya so much. She and Prince Ritu Raj has grown close and he has also introduced her to his mother. Queen Vishakha is a simple family woman and really does not care about the girl's status, she feels happy as long as her children are happy. She can not wait for crown prince Ritu Raj and Princess Shri's wedding to see grandchildren. She has decided that she will marry Meena with Ritu Raj within few weeks in a simple ceremony within the family. Veer has shown his support and happiness with his mother's decision.
Arya has become the beloved of the whole family. Veer likes to play with her and seeing her smile. He really felt happy when she called him father. After few weeks Meena got married to Prince Ritu Raj in presence of about twenty family members. Even King Bhoj Raj gave her his blessings. Meena really felt so fortunate to have found such family. Her eyes turned misty when she thought that this was the family of Priya and this blessing she is going to experience instead of Priya. She also received blessings from Lady Mandakini through a letter in which she has shown her happiness.
It has been almost one month after the marriage of Meena and Ritu Raj. Veer really felt happy for his brother's love and care toward his wife. He felt guilty toward his brother for his own selfishness but seeing how happy Meena has made his mother, father, and uncle by her care and kindness, he felt his guilt vanishing. He felt that Priya will feel happy if she sees the current life of Meena.
As time went, Veer started missing Priya more and more. He felt like he could not participate in the happiness of his family. He felt more lonely when there was some celebration.
Veer was sitting in an inclined chair in the courtyard looking into the stars in the sky. He felt in the daze looking into the sea of stars in the sky. This vast sky makes him feel more lonely.
"Priya! This world is so vast. Living in it is so lonely." Veer looked around and said.
"I am always with you. How can you be lonely?" Priya said. Veer turned and saw those eye filled with love and those lips with a lazy smile.
Veer looked at her and walked to her and said with a smile "Our daughter Arya is just like you. She is so mischevious and after doing something wrong plays innocent."
"When did I play innocent after doing something wrong? You are the one who blames wrongly." Priya said with a sassy expression.
Veer laughed and said, "Come here and I will tell you."
"No. I will stand here and once you tell me, then only I will come." Priya smiled mischievously and said.
"See. This is what I was talking about. I have missed you so much but you are still not allowing me to hold you. Are you not my wife?" Veer said making his expression sad.
Priya felt speechless and then she walked and came into his arms and whined: "You really know how to change your words to suit yourself."
Veer tightened his embrace around Priya. He lowered his head and inhaled the scent of her hairs and then said "Now it is good. Now it feels like this world is so peaceful and filled with happiness."
Veer opened his eyes and felt his empty arms and then looked into the black sky. The shimmering stars in the sky seem to be calling him. He missed Priya more. He muttered "Priya! Where are you? I want to come there. He closed his eyes and two drops of tears flew out on his cheeks." He didn't feel like wiping the tears. He felt his mind empty.
Veer silently stood from the chair and looked toward the exit from the palace. Veer still lives in crown prince palace. His brother Ritu Raj and his family has occupied one part of the same palace. His daughter Arya accompanies them most of the time. Veer understood that his daughter needed the care of a motherly figure, So he asked Meena and Ritu Raj to take care of her. Arya also likes to get together with the whole family, her father, uncles, aunts and other elders.
Dreams of Priya make him feel lonelier and sadder but today he is feeling more empty. He does not know what is this feeling but it seems like the whole world does not matter anymore. He can not understand what is the reason for his existence. There is no happiness if there is no Priya.
He looked toward the part of the palace where his daughter is sleeping with her uncle and aunt. He knows that his daughter will be happy with her family because everyone dotes on her.
Veer picked a quill and ink and wrote on the table in front. After he finished writing he stood in front of the table and read what he has written. After a few moments, He smiled sadly and turned and walked toward the exit of the palace.
The guards on the two doors he crossed saluted him, veer nodded at them and kept walking. He stopped the guards who tried to follow him. Guards are familiar with Veer's habit of venturing out alone so they did not follow him. The figure of Veer walked out of crown prince palace and walked into the darkness of one alley and soon vanished.
In the courtyard of the crown prince palace, there was a table in the center which has some letters written on them "Dear Daughter! Please forgive the father for leaving. Father is lonely and misses mother. Your mother is the aim of my life, So I am going to live for her. Be happy with the love of uncles, aunts and Grand Parents. Father loves you. Father will come back to see you later. "
This table became an item of inheritance for the royal family of Ratanpur after Veer came to visit his daughter in the future. This message was named by the royal family as "Leaving for her." Meena has also provided the content of the last letter of Priya and both these letters were recorded in the history of Kingdom of Ratanpur.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Kritdeo
Kritdeo India is known as Bhartavarsha in history. There were incidents where many brothers left thrones for their younger brothers. There is one in Gupta dynasty as well. King Skandgupta was a great king of Gupta dynasty.
This chapter is equal to the 2 chapters in size. I have completed my promise for this week.
I will complete 1-2 chapters per week from now own.
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