Thirteen Lullabies | ✓

VI.II

The pensive look on your face morphed into one of conviction.

"Brace yourself. I doubt you have heard anything like it in your life. And I am only telling you because I suspect you will be dead by week's end." The last sentence was tacked on, as if you needed to justify telling a stranger your life story.

"My father was Someshvara the Second, elder brother to my uncle, who now sits atop the throne. When I was only five years old, Vikramaditya used the Chola invasion as a means to place himself in power. Rather than help my father, he betrayed him and helped the Chola's to defeat him. My uncle was placed in power, and my father was imprisoned. Vikramaditya later killed my father." Surprise was written across my face, clear as day.

"I thought Vikramaditya was your father." I whispered the words softly, placing my hand slightly closer to yours in a show of comfort.

You threw your head back, an angry laugh pushing its way past your beautifully painted lips.

"Bhagavaan, no. He raised me, an outcast in my own home, and he treated me as such. He couldn't kill me without being considered cruel, but he didn't want me to know the real story, so he told me that my father died a valiant death at the hands of the Cholas."

"And how did you come to learn the truth?"

"He made a mistake in keeping my ayah, my maid. She remained loyal to my father. As I grew up, every night she would tell me the story of how my father died. And every night, I grew more and more enraged at the idea that my uncle, who had pretended to love me, or at least had pretended to not hate me, had been so willing to murder his own loving brother in cold blood."

"And yet, you do his bidding? You are okay with being married off to a man you don't know, one who could kill you?"

"Well, uncle dearest found out about my plans to end him. I was biding my time, acting innocent, but one of my closest ladies was having an affair with one of my uncle's advisors. She told him everything. I had it all planned out, too. I only needed a few more days, but I was too late."

Scooting even closer to me, you whispered the next part. "So now, he has sent me off to marry his enemy, knowing full well that the union will work in his favor no matter what. If Kulottunga kills me, he would be free of me. If Kulottunga decides he actually wants to marry me? Then he has successfully created a union between the two warring kingdoms."

I was a bit confused, and it must have shown on my face, because you elaborated. "The kingdom he is sending me to is that of his enemy, Kulottunga Chola." I nodded. This, I knew.

"My uncle actually wanted Athirajendra Chola on the throne, not Kulottunga. Basically, my uncle was married to Athirajendra's sister, so when her father died and there was a lot of unrest in that kingdom, my uncle went and ended any sort of rebellion. He then put his wife's brother on the throne, as that benefited him most. It is said that Kulottunga killed him off quickly after, although his followers claimed that the rebellion had restarted. My uncle marched against him, and made him his enemy, although Kulottunga always won." You drew in a breath, turning to face me.

"My uncle couldn't control Kulottunga the way he could control Athirajendra. That is why he was so upset about the change in reign. Perhaps he thinks I will appease the king, will bring about a peace to end the years of war. Either way, when we arrive, we will all either die or we will create an alliance the likes of which haven't been seen in some time here."

That is when I realized why Vikramaditya had been so willing to embrace my foreign identity. He didn't care what happened to you, so long as you remained away from his kingdom, unable to avenge your father by killing him. So, even if I were to kill you, he wouldn't care.