Tasmina's Tale

16. Onions in the Dal

Tasmina

The king’s funeral was a huge affair. Royalty poured in from different lands, nobility came from across all of Zamee to mourn the great king. Even the great enemy of Zamee, the Bear King Artur, sent an emissary to send his respectful condolences.

Queen Maha had reacted calmly to the death of her husband, shedding a tear only when Rikom had whispered something in her ear. She had wiped it away quickly, her face a mask, before reaching for Rikom’s hand and kissing his ring.

“Long live the king,” she murmured. 

His face was unreadable. He had kindly offered to stand my mother’s pyre alongside the king’s, but we had politely declined as a family. 

“She would absolutely loathe that,” Felan had said.

I had almost laughed. But all joy had left this world alongside Mama. Telling Ruki had been hard. She had dropped to her knees and wept. She looked up at me, her eyes wild. 

“Did you try to bring her back?” 

I shook my head.

“That is dark mysticism, Ruki. I tried to heal her but it was too late.”

She glared at me angrily for a moment. She then quietly stood and walked to our room and closed the door behind her. When she had emerged, she had been dry eyed and practical, her navy eyes giving nothing away as she arranged where we would hold Mama’s funeral while the kingdom mourned the king.  

Faris spent the entire day building a pyre on the outskirts of the village outside the gates of Daro. There was a small forest there, where Mama had taken us to pick berries from the bushes when we were little. The forest where Ruki and I had trained with her each morning. Where I had trained with her as far back as I could remember. We held her funeral there. One by one, we kissed her forehead as she lay upon the pyre, the moonlight on her face. My throat closed. What if I forgot the way her eyes danced when she laughed? What if I forgot the sound of her voice? I hadn’t had enough time to remember all the things about her that completed my world, without which the world suddenly seemed vast and empty. 

“Who will light the pyre?” I asked, turning to my brothers. 

“We all will,” Faris said, quietly.

He held out the torch, and Felan, Ruki and I placed a hand on it. As the fire caught, we stood back and watched as the flames rose to the dark night sky, each of us murmuring a silent prayer for our Mama. 

We walked back home quietly, unable to speak to one another. For the first time in two years, Rikom didn’t link me. I was grateful for it. The only company I wished for was that of my family and my grief. I cooked dal, having sorted the lentils with Ruki. No one spoke, all of us alone in our pain. I poured the soupy dal into everyone’s bowl one by one, and we sat on the floor with our spoons. 

“It smells wonderful,” Ruki said, with a small smile. 

“Yeah, Mina, it looks great,” Faris said, giving me a weak smile of his own. 

I looked down into my bowl.

“I forgot to put the onions in.”

They all looked into their bowls. 

“That’s alright, Mina, it’s nice withou—”

“Mama always puts fried onions in at the end. We can’t eat it like this,” I said, standing up quickly.

Faris got to his feet, slowly. 

“Tasmina, it’s fine, you don’t need to—”

“It is not fine,” I replied, through gritted teeth. “Nothing about this is fine. I need to put the f*cking onions into the f*cking dal, because that’s the way Mama did it. And if I’m forgetting that already, what else will I forget?”

Faris stepped to me and grabbed me in his arms as I broke down. Tears fell and I could do nothing to stop them.

“We won’t forget, Mina. We will never forget,” he murmured, holding me tightly. 

—

Rikom

Once the funeral was finally over, I sat with Rodin and Mama in the dining chambers. 

“The King’s wives wish to know if they will still have a home here… as dowager queens,” Mama said. 

I nodded.

“This is their home. If they choose to stay, then so be it. If they choose to return to the homes they had before they married Baba, then no one will be held here against their will.” 

We were quiet for a moment before Mama spoke again. 

“We must plan your coronation by the end of this week.” 

A deep feeling of dread settled over me. While I had bragged about being the Crown Prince for most of my adolescent life, I had seen the throne as a far off thought, something that would happen perhaps when I was well into my thirties. Truth be told, I had wanted more time with Tasmina before I took upon that burden. 

I sighed deeply. 

“This isn’t fair on Tasmina. She will be thrust into a role she had no intention of taking, not any time soon, anyway.” 

“I will do my best to guide her, if she will let me. I don’t think I’ve done a terrible job of being the Luna of this kingdom,” Mama said, smiling wryly. 

“You are a wonderful queen, Mama,” Rodin said, beaming at her. 

It came easy to him. Words of affection, knowing what to say and when. I, on the other hand, struggled with it greatly. I nodded in agreement. 

“I will marry her before I am crowned,” I said, abruptly. 

“What?” they both said in unison. 

“If I marry her after, people will think she married me only for my crown. We will announce her as queen the same time I am crowned. That way, people can speculate for themselves when we were married. But I wish to announce her as my Queen and my mate.” 

“Do you think it is wise, Rikom?” Mama asked.

“Do you have any other suggestions, Queen Maha?” 

I was so accustomed to calling her by her title, rather than Mama. It had been part of my strict upbringing, my training so to speak. I formed little attachment to those around me, although I tried to love them in my own way. 

Mama thought about it carefully, then shook her head. 

“No, perhaps you are right. It won’t be easy for the poor girl either way. Have you told her of your intentions?” 

I shook my head.

“I do not wish to disturb her. It has merely been a day since her mother passed… I do not wish to burden her so soon.” 

Rodin shook his head, mournfully. 

“I regret not being able to speak with her. She seemed like a wonderful woman. But you are lucky, brother! Blessed be the king of Zamee that finds his mate. Who would have thought this would happen!” 

I nodded at him gratefully while he beamed at me. Maha sighed deeply, and for the first time, I saw her veil of propriety slip as she rubbed her temples wearily. 

“Get some sleep tonight, my sons. We have a wedding to prepare.”