The king's first wife

Happiness

He was frowning as he stared at the letter in his hands when she walked in, and for the first time in his entire life, he hadn't noticed her jingling payals.

He stared into the words written on the paper, putting all his life and soul into those words while she just stood there, knowing that he had something important on his hands.

Yes, it had happened too many times that he'd been too busy in his work to acknowledge her presence.
But it never happened before that day that she came into a room and he didn't notice.

" What happened?" And she could see the tension in his eyes as he read the paper before his eyes. She had actually come to tell him the current state of the Royal family but instead asked out of worry and immediately got a reply
" They are calling me for a "friendly meet"," he frowned harder, looking up at her in tone that did not sit well with either of them.

Who did he mean by them? And what friendly meet? Why did he seem so skeptical if it was just a friendly meet?

" Who?" She, too, arched her eyebrows and joined him in his worry as he kept staring into her worriful blue eyes
" Badi ma and all? Or...?"
" The outside people,"

That struck a chord with her.

Outside people?

Amber had always closed its doors to the rest of the world.

It was a peaceful kingdom. Never had any fights with anyone because it chose never to communicate with anyone.

Placed between dense forests, it was a place very hard to get into from the outside world because there were rare, wild animals present in the dense forest.
It was a forest where even the sunlight didn't reach because of the tree tops.

No man dared to venture into that forest, and those who dared to never returned.

Only those within the kingdom knew of the various underground and secret pathways to the other side of the forest.

The forest was like a barrier. It kept the others away and the insiders safe.
It also acted as a boundary for the Kings, reminding them not to be too greedy for more power.

Had been a century old practice for the Kings to never go against mother nature and according to the wise old men, mother nature had asked the Kings to stop at the beginning of the forests around their kingdom. So, the old Kings had never tried to go against mother nature and never tried to have any conversation with the outside world.

They never had any good relations with any country or kingdom from outside. Nor did they have any bad relations. They just didn't seem too keen on having any contact, and that is what made that kingdom so mysterious.

Because it had been centuries, but that kingdom had still stood its ground. It hadn't moved anywhere.

Sure, with the last few kings, a few points of communication had begun with the outside world. A few book exchanges had been done, but I never had anyone from the royal family actively participate in going outside.

Nor had most people read those books that came from outside... Except.

Sohit.

He had read every single one of them.

He was just too interested.
To know how much development had happened out there. To know how things were different. To read about new and different things.
He was always too keen at the new books that came from there, and that was the only reason his father even had established any communication with that world.

" They said that they contacted Baba and Dada too, but none of them agreed to meet outside... Now they are hoping I will change the years long tradition and go outside to visit them..."
" Sohit..." she was in shock.
It was too soon to process everything that he said. And he seemed too darn excited for this meeting
" I. I. Should not go," and after hearing her tone and the few tears in her eyes, he immediately shook his hope aside.

It was always his dream to go out and see the world for himself. To see everything different. To learn everything new. To know more than he ever could know in that Kingdom.

" Your coronation as the queen is in 6 months and the kingdom needs a king-"
" You should go... Sohit," but by the time he backtracked, she'd processed it all. By the time he began talking like a king once again, she walked up to him. By the time he lost the innocent hope that he had as a child, she'd held his hand
" A lone wolf is strong, but he is a beast when he is in his pack,"
" That sounded so wrong in so many senses, Pari. What are you even trying to say? That did not make any sense because," he pressed and sighed
" What I am trying to say is that you should go and make a few friends. I think the new technologies from outside can help the Kingdom out a lot. I heard they have solutions for famines and droughts... And also so many cures for all the illnesses like small pox," she explained and kept a hand over his cheek, " Besides... You did always want to go out there at least once. Right? This is your chance to make your dream come true,"
" It's wrong, Pari! I'll be going against century long traditions!"
" Like century long traditions ever stopped you. Did they stop you from bringing me back from Raniganj? Or did they stop you from getting all those troubled women here? Centuries old traditions say that royal men, especially the King, must not be bothered by those women, but you've done so much for them! They are living good lives now only because of you! And what about your coronation day? You killed people that day! Was that not against century old traditions?" She asked him
" That was different! I did all that for you! To keep you safe and happy! This is so different!"
" Sohit," her hand moved downwards and stopped at his chest, " just like you want to see me safe and happy... I, too, wish to see you happy, and if this is making you happy, I want you to go. Consider that you are doing it for my happiness again. Because my happiness lies in your happiness in the end. Please?"