The Obligated Empire

The morning sun has started to peek from behind the floating clouds shading the corner of the sky in a hue of soft orange. This is a common occurrence for the subjects of the Shaivya Kingdom. It is like an alarm that reminds them the day has begun so does their time for work.  Women started with their daily cooking and cleaning duties while males proceeded with their preparation for the outer work. After breakfast, everyone will resume their duties. Farmers will go to the field, businessmen will open their shops, soldiers will switch their duties and laborers will start with their assigned jobs.  "Hey lord Narayan, bless Shaivya. May the empire live in peace. May goddess Shree bless us with her presence" The priest chanted finishing the morning prayers.  Shaivya is a small kingdom at the farthest end of the north. People work in fields and mines for their occupations. Some perform some sort of business for livelihood.  "What happens when the dose is prepared?" A soldier asked an elderly woman. "No, we need some chidchida's berk to finish the potion. This is one special kind of poison. No enemy has its antidote. That's why before testing it we need to finish the antidote." The elderly woman finishes with a hint of pride in her voice.  The thing which made Shaivya stand out is the deadliest poisons in the world. This kingdom has the most venomous snakes and poisonous plants.  "Don't worry I will instruct today's troop specifically to bring this berk along with another poisonous plant. It will be delivered to you before sunset." The soldier finished his statement before taking charge towards the royal palace to inform about the progress.   This is their biggest defense against armies in battle.  "Your highness according to the latest report this potion will be completed till tomorrow. After that, we are ready to test the poison." "Hmm make sure everything they need will be delivered on time. Also, inform me at the time of testing I want to keep a tab on the result myself. Dismiss." The king dismisses the informer only to find his beautiful queen walking towards him with a morning prayers plate.  After applying tilak to her husband the queen ordered a maid to wake up their only child Princess Kriya. The royal couple takes a morning walk in the garden before leaving for the dining hall for breakfast. The royalty is nice and generous. The nobility is generous and loyal too. Meanwhile at the other wing of the palace:- An angelic face is sleeping comfortably on the plush mattress wrapped in a fine piece of silk. Her dark black hair is sprawled on the pillows enhancing the white complexion well. Her plump lips are twitching as the light falls on her face disturbing her sleep. She opened her black orbs only to stare at her maids angrily. "Who the hell opened the curtains this early? Don't you guys remember I hate any disturbance in my morning sleep? Now close it and let me sleep."  "But princess" "You dared to argue with me. Did you forget who I am? I am Kriya princess of Shaivya. Nobody here dares to question it and argue with me." She rambled annoyed.  "They are just following the queen's order princess. Venting your anger on them will do you no good. Her highness has returned from her morning prayers and taking a stroll in the garden. Now hurry up and get ready so you won't be late for breakfast." Princess's trusted handmaid enters the room gesturing to the other maids to go out. She knew if they remained here, the princess would surely punish them.  "You always know how to speak vainly. You saved them again. Now tell me, is my bath prepared?" The princess asked with a sigh. "It's my job, your highness, and of course everything is well prepared. I did the supervision personally. Now come out of the bed." Vaani smiled at the princess's childishness.  Princess Kriya was almost ready to go when queen Dhara entered her daughter's chamber.  "Good Morning mother. You are looking beautiful and fresh this morning. Tell me how I am looking?" Princess asked chirpily.  "Did you ever fail to look mesmerizing my dear? My daughter is the most beautiful royalty for a reason. May the Lord save you from evil eyes." The queen gushes over her daughter and puts a black dot behind her ears. Both the ladies left for breakfast chatting about looks and dresses on the way. Princess Kriya is the most popular princess known for her enchanting beauty. She is considered the most beautiful royalty. A woman of everyone's dream indeed. After exchanging greetings on the breakfast table, the royal family started their breakfast in silence. "I wanted to talk to both of you about something." The king broke the silence. Both the ladies look up from their plates and focus on the king's face. Before he started, one of the royal guards interrupted their conversation.  "Your highness we found some strange signs at the western gates. The Prime minister and Army chief requested your presence during the further investigation." King sighed at the sudden interruption before leaving his plate to go with the soldier.  "You guys finish your breakfast and go with the day. I will meet you both at dinner. Then we will finish this conversation." King Samarth pecked his daughter's forehead and left for inspection. Queen Dhara too left to complete her palace duties leaving Kriya and Vaani alone.  "So your highness, what is your plan for today? Want to play chausar or go for a stroll? Or better should I call dancers and musicians at your palace to entertain you." Vaani asked Kriya, raising her eyebrow mischievously.  "We will pay a visit to the nearby market and the surrounding villages. Being a crown princess it's my responsibility to make sure my subjects are doing fine. Father will like it too." Kriya flashed her infamous Cheshire grin.  "As you say, your highness. I will ask the helpers to prepare the royal carriage and your knight for this tour. Till then ask the queen otherwise she will worry. I don't want a repeat telecast of last time you went unattended." Vaani repeated before leaving the dining area for further preparation. Kriya too left in search of her mother for permission.  After persuading her mother for taking all safety precautions and safe traveling Kriya left for her visit with her troop. Meanwhile at the western gate:-  King Samarth arrived at the western gates as per reports. Upon arriving he found the border patrol team had tied two people's hands behind their back and they were kneeling on the ground while the prime minister and commander were busy interrogating him. Everyone greeted the king before reporting the whole matter. “Greeting your highness, these two are caught trying to break our security and enter the potion lab. They have these strange-looking blades. It proves they are not one of us. On further investigation, they refuse to tell us who they work for.  The king became surprised hearing this, this is a new occurrence of their empire. He came forward steadily and scrutinized them for a while. When both of them refused to speak anything he decided to interrogate them on his own. "Tell me who you work for while I’m asking you nicely. Who sent you and what is your purpose? Hiding information won't do you any good.” he asked them in a threatening voice.  They both had emotionless faces even though they were facing the king. The king got pissed at their ignorance and refusal to answer anything. They remained quiet with their usual stoned face and fearless glare. Guards tortured them to answer after watching their stubbornness and attitude but the result remained the same.  After getting tortured one of them laughed wickedly while the other spoke in a challenging tone," Do your best but it will do you no good. You can't get any answer from us. We will never open our secrets."  "You have to. We never gave you any choice. If not now then in prison but we will break your resolve anyhow." The commander in chief smirked at their sudden challenge.  "We are neither going to prison nor be tortured by you. Our secret will always remain a secret."  As if it was a signal they both fell together. A guard went forward to check on them only to find them dead. They remain rooted at their place for this sudden change of scene. Looking at their shocked faces, the king asked for the reason.  "Your highness, they are dead,” they answered, still astonished. "How come this happened? Check them carefully for any clues. This is a grave situation. How can you guys make such blunders?" The king ordered them frustrated. After searching they weren't able to find any specific clue for their death.  “They weren’t able to send any messages or steal anything, right?” the king asked tiredly.  The commander came forward and answered, “No your highness they were caught before anything could happen, guards doubted them when they were trying to enter the reformatory and gave nothing that could prove their identification or anything else. They were avoiding answering the reason for their visit. But what shall we do now when they are dead? How will we get to know the actual truth?”  The king nodded, thinking everything carefully before replying, “Since we couldn’t find anything, send them to our royal medical reformatory for further investigation. Also, increase the border security and the security around every high official place including the royal palace and poison reformatory. This shouldn’t happen again. Anish, you keep a keen eye on this matter. This is a question of our empires and our people. Their safety is our responsibility and we can't trust anyone in this matter. We have no idea who else is with them on this matter. Two suspicious men with unidentified weapons are found near a heavily guarded place, this is not a small matter. I don't want any negligence on this matter.” The king ordered his commander. He nodded and turned to instruct the border patrol team. King then moved towards his horse to leave the place. "Gagan, are there any other outdoor matters we have to solve? If not, let's go to the reformatory and check the progress of the new poison formula. In the sudden changing dynamics we should be ready for the upcoming.” The king asked his prime minister who gave his confirmation in reply Both men took their horses and left for the lab for further details.  After a while, the king and prime ministers were facing the potion and poison master and their team in the highly secured reformatory. "Your highness and royal chief, what do we owe the pleasure of your sudden visit. We weren't even informed earlier regarding this."  "Hello, potion chief, sorry for our unannounced arrival. Hope we didn't interrupt any serious experiment. We are here to check on the progress of the latest potion. Also, we want to be a part of poison testing." The prime minister replied calmly.  "I am sorry but it can be risky and I won't allow you both to be a part of it. I understand your sentiments but this can be dangerous." The potion chief strictly refused, thinking about the risk.   "Don't worry, we are aware of the risk. We know the consequences but we still want to be a part of it. We will take care of ourselves and we assure you we will follow every instruction. Now lead the way." This time the king ordered tired of all the mishaps of the day not in a mood for further debate.  The potion chief nodded and left with both the men and their team behind closely. Everyone waited anxiously holding their breaths to see the testing and results. This sudden change of scenarios left everyone wondering about the forthcoming; no one wants to live in confusion and threat. This is their ultimate weapon and they simply want it to be the deadliest.