The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

Ravan, King of Lanka

It was a party as usual. Curvy demonesses, with long, black hair, and small, red eyes, danced along the edges as perverted generals feasted on mead and nectar. Wine and alcohol spilled on the shiny white tablecloth. High ranking officials clinked their glasses together, and guards, who had also been snuck some alcohol, thumped their spears against the ground. At the head of this table sat Ravan, the King of Lanka.

He was of immense size. He had brown hair, not black, which formed a large beard. His ten heads didn't show at that point. He wore a shining golden armor that plated across his vast chest, and his curly hair was tucked under his humongous crown, adorned with two horns. From his mouth escaped a loud booming laughs he watched his best demons enjoy themselves under his watch. He was King of the Demons. King of the most marvelous city in the world. He was Ravan. The very demon Vishnu vowed to destroy.

But his head immediately darted up from his meat when Surpanakha stormed in, with large white bandages on her nose. Ravan raised a fist and all the partying, music, and laughter stopped. Even drunken generals knew to follow the orders of their king. Surpanakha's eyes narrowed shrewdly as she looked at the celebrations around her. All so happy. All so careless and carefree. As she was before she lost her nose.

She walked up to Ravan, eyes flashing with anger, and crossed her arms across her chest. "What has happened?" he asked gruffly, his eyes darting to her nose, which seemingly was still there through the mound of bandages. "Sister, why have you taken the burden of coming to my island? To join the party perhaps? I mean, we have plenty of space here!" He spread his arms out and everybody burst into sluggish laughter.

Surpanakha gritted her teeth. Her brother was ferocious, but when he was carefree, no one could take him seriously. "This has happened to me." she spat out, and with a pull of her bandages, everything fell off, revealing a mass of blood, flesh, and a source of humiliation for the spoiled rakshasi princess, but certainly not a nose. "While you were celebrating and dancing, I was getting mutilated by a-"

Ravan cut her off, immediately standing up and hitting his fists on the table so that the loud thumping sound echoed throughout the long, narrow room, and the wooden table splintered underneath his hands. "WHO?" he roared. "Who was it that dared attempt to invoke my wrath by harming my sister?!" Ravan was not an overprotective brother like Khar and Dushan. He just didn't like anyone hurting his sister, and thus challenging him. Surpanakha smirked internally, but walked closer, pretending to make her feet tremble and her lips quiver.

"I was going towards the Chitrakoot forest. It's very lush and thick, and I didn't think anyone would be there, so I went in, thinking myself quite safe under your most great protection, brother," Ravan puffed his chest out, flattered, and Surpanakha almost smiled, before hastily continuing her tale of woes. "I was looking for food and a good place for our army to forage, when I found a cottage. I went inside, of course. There, one man mutilated my nose!"

Ravan shook his head, walking back. "You shouldn't just walk into a cottage like it's your own, Surpanakha. You should burn it first, make sure everyone inside is dead, and then you should walk in. No wonder you were mutilated! They were mere mortals, of course! They know no better than to invoke my wrath! But you must understand, some of this is obviously your fault too. Walking into cottages like they're your own!" He shrugged.

Surpanakha seethed. If only there was another way. Then she blinked. But there was! "Two mortal men were inside the cottage. One was married, and his wife was there, and one was not. The one that was not married cut off my nose. But-" she leaned in closer, her eyes wide. "I only paid attention to the woman! I planned to take her back to Lanka for you! That is why I went into the cottage in the first place! I thought that someone as great as the very King of Lanka deserved a queen as great!"