บท 108: Flash Foods And Betarayl ( Part 7 )
'It's not about love. Grass is a mud brain! He is like an orphan who muddles through everything on his own. No one ever tells him what to do. If he doesn't have something, he can only earn it using his own blood and flesh as the price!' Vajra sniffled. 'It's the same thing every time. No one ever looks out for him! He is all alone with no one to consult when he doesn't know what to do…'
Seeing her brother get agitated, Sarapriya tightly hugged him. 'Okay…I get it. Sshh…'
Sara knew her brother was very sensitive when it comes to certain people. One was his big brother who died when he was nine. The other was his fourth sister Varunapriya. And the last was this jungle boy who he met during a time of great adversity. He also loved his grandfather, but no one else evoked such sentiment in him as these three people did.
After rubbing his back for a long time, Sara said cautiously. 'But you know, Little Cactus, you said that Grass is like an orphan, when in fact he has three sets of parents.'
'Three sets?'
'Indeed. His biological parents raised him until he was six…later he was adopted by this divine couple we know as well as the god and goddess of Manas. That makes it three sets…'
'Yeah, I guess.'
'But you know who genuinely an orphan…' Sara rubbed the king's head. 'is you.'
Vajra looked like he was frozen, he didn't have any response. Sarapriya combed his hair with her fingers and continued. 'And who do you have to seek advice when you have a problem? The only one in this family as smart as you is Varuna, but let's face it, that girl is acting up in so many ways that it is difficult just to be near her. Grandfather can help, of course, but he is old and his thoughts are all archaic. His ideas might not really suit the current political situation. As for your eldest sister, she is always more worried about you and your health than care about your career as the leader of all people. Eldest uncle is a traitor who had to be put down. The new Rajaguru still sees you as a kid who doesn't like to do homework. So I am concerned as well little brother. Little Grass has three sets of parents, a temple full of priests who had been waiting for his advent for two centuries, a plethora of loyal subordinates who he subdued with his own power and could do so again if need be. Who does my little brother have? Who can he turn to when he runs into a big problem that he cannot solve himself?'
Vajra screwed his eyebrows and thought for a while to find an answer to his sister's question. But ever since his brother died, there was truly no one Vajra could depend on completely. As far as the destiny of kings go, he could tell this was going to be the case his entire life.
Sarapriya patted his hand and comforted, 'Little brother, Prince Hara only wants to make sure you understand that friendship must be reciprocated. If he didn't care about you, he wouldn't come all this way to warn you that you are being taken advantage of. If the worst comes to pass and Yuga-dheera does ally with the Asuras, we still don't know how Little Grass will react, do we?'
At that point, Vajradandaka really had no words to say. He could not even say Kush would never bring his armies to Rtadhara. He just hoped he wouldn't. Among friendship and rivalry, Vajra long ago chose friendship, but Kush chose rivalry. Kush accepts his advice and his support because he acknowledged the friendship. In the same way, when the time comes, Vajra must accept his hostility and destructiveness to acknowledge the rivalry. This was the unspoken agreement between them. But whether the agreement would come to pass so soon or whether it would take a few more decades was the only thing that remains to be seen.
Logically, in anticipation of such an event, Vajra must try to weaken Kush, not strengthen him. Just like Hara said, he was certainly arming the boy and arming him to the teeth. In only two years, everything south of the plateau up to the Southern Valleys were connected by the trade routes set up by the Asuras. Even parts of the Eastern Prairies were covered. Vajra reckoned that once these routes were secured, it would only take a few more years for Kush to bring his armies to lead a conquest of the entire area. Whether because of his advice or it was his own idea, this time, Kush is not using the Asura factions to go up against the Plateau like they normally do. He is going to conquer all the other areas first before touching the plateau and all its allied kingdoms. This way he can further consolidate his forces and take Amaravati in one fell swoop. Whether his ambition lasts until then or whether he will settle for this large swathe of land after establishing the new kingdom was anyone's guess. Either way, there was no reason why the drylands should be left untouched when he was taking everything south of the Plateau.
And yet, Cactus keeps empowering Grass. The compulsion was impossible to understand. Perhaps only those who understood the true meaning of friendship could begin to imagine.
'Eldest sister, are you saying I shouldn't help Grass because I am more pitiable than him?'
'No sweetheart, I am saying man must help himself before he helps others.'
At that time, Vajradandaka couldn't think of a situation where he would really need someone's advice. He thought he was perfectly capable of handling anything that comes his way. Not now. He did not think so anymore.
Because the one person who he could talk to whenever he arrived at a difficult problem completely betrayed his trust.
The downpour abated slightly and Vajradandaka could see the midnight blue of the sky, the splendid moon that appeared when the rain clouds disappeared. The desert rain was no ordinary phenomenon. The moon concurred with the idea and shone with valor. If this was just any other day, Vajra would pick up his pen to draw. Not tonight.
"Why?" His voice was low and disturbed.
"Why what?" The princess was utterly without remorse as she sat casually on a cushion and reached for a grape.
"Why would you do this? Why would you betray me? Betray Rtadhara!"
"Betray you?" the beautiful girl scoffed. "Pranaya is a much better ally to Rtadhara than Abhaya. Father-Indra was simply too stubborn to see it! And yet, you followed right in his footsteps and never rethought Rtadhara's position when it comes to the trade coalition. No matter what, trade is just trade! The mainland keeps getting richer and more developed, yet we remain the same because apparently, certain mountain hillbillies are the only ones we can trust to tell us who to mix with."
Vajradandaka refused to discuss his stand with her. He couldn't even recognise the words in her arguments. It was like someone put them in her mouth and she was all along not speaking. Not one bit.
"So you just plan to force an alliance on us by marrying Yuga-dheera."
Varuna's silence was her answer.
"You do realise this will turn Abhaya into our enemy if you do this…Abhaya where our sister is going to be married!"
"Good thing you stalled it until now then. Come on little brother, don't tell me this is not what you wanted all along."
"To wrest eldest sister away from the one she loves?" Vajradandaka couldn't believe this was his own favorite sister anymore. He was at a total loss that words refused to come out of his mouth.
"Some love that is…" Varunapriya was relentless though. "If that man really loved eldest sister, he would've taken her away with or without her agreement."
All thoughts of continuing the conversation ceased in Vajra's mind right that second. It was his woman-code intuition decryption mechanism running again.
He knew exactly what his older sister's words translated to at that moment. 'If Yuga-dheera takes me away by force, I will let him.'
The fear in his mind made him swallow and not dare to look at her. Any slight gesture or statement might push her deeper into the decision.
But he still felt very disappointed in Varu. He thought at least she was smart enough to understand Hara's true intentions. Hara was never someone who took his relationship with eldest sister lightly. The fact that he did not forcefully snatch away Sarapriya was in fact a true testament of his love. Sure, in the beginning he tried to take advantage of Vajra by allowing Sara to stay. He not only got many consolation gifts from Rtadhara, his true aim was even bigger. He wanted to influence young Vajra's thoughts and character and turn him subservient to Abhaya's goals. His constant interactions with Vajra and the fact that he had his sister's heart could've easily done that over the years. And yet, Hara changed. He was the one who had ultimately come to care for Vajra. One more reason he did not take Sarapriya away despite all the pressures in court was because he too shared her worries about this little brother-in-law. It wasn't because he pitied him, wasn't because he was a good person. It was simply because sharing in his wife's concerns was for him, the way Rta flows. The two of them may have yet to be married in body, but they had long since married in mind.
And yet, Varu had the gall to say that was not true love, and her infatuation with Yuga-dheera is! That man was clearly influencing her thoughts, to the extent that he was even putting words in her mouth. Vajra's heart burned in anger because of that.
"Do all women become stupid when they fall in love?"
Stupid.
That was the one word fourth princess truly hated. Only men were supposed to be smart? Is that why they were allowed to rule?
"Well, you would never find out, would you? Sister-in-law will never love you," she said in spite and stormed out of the tent. "Not even as her child!"
"Thanks for confirming the hypothesis," Vajra muttered blankly into damp night.
A moment later, he hollered into the emptiness. "Show yourself Sheesha."
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