THE GHOST
-5. Witty Queen

As King Mahirat thought about his Queen, he realized the irony of life. All this while when he was free of this curse, he had every opportunity to be with his Queen and make her happy in which he failed. Now, when he wanted to mend his ways and testify before her his gradual metamorphosis, she could not even feel him! The King knew that there was a lesson for him to learn from this event in his life!

In the days that came by kings of such territories, which Mahirat had laid his hands upon and then allowed their rulers to continue ruling their kingdoms strictly under his directions, came to see Mandira. These rulers actually possessed only animosity against Mahirat for he had not only grabbed their land but also had treated them very hoarsely. As they did not want to give an impression to the Queen of not having come and offered their moral support in her hour of grief, they had unwillingly come to see her. One such ruler was King Veerbhadra. At one time, he had even risen in revolt against the inferior treatment which Mahirat had subjected them to. It was only when Mahirat threatened him and his family of dire consequences did Veerbhadra part with his dissenting approach.

Queen Mandira made it a point to somehow bring to the notice of these rulers Aditya’s evil plans and how the ‘divine force’ had come to her rescue. When Veerbhadra heard this, his face showed that he did not believe a word of this ‘divine force’ that the Queen was talking about. As they were conversing, a servant from the royal kitchen hurriedly came to the Queen. “Maharani! Something very strange is happening in the kitchen. It appears to be the divine force which you were referring to!”

Surprised, Mandira excused herself and followed the servant to the kitchen. With his interest aroused, Veerbhadra followed suit. And there in the royal kitchen a strange sight met their eyes. On a raised marble platform, the outer shell of an orange was peeling off all by itself! Thereby, the pulp inside segregated on its own and arranged itself neatly in a plate kept below! Then a bunch of grapes from a brass bowl rose, moved in the air and landed in the plate where the orange pulp was kept. The plate rose and came close towards an astounded Veerbhadra!   He swallowed hard and looked at the Queen who, too, was aghast witnessing this event. However, as was customary of her, she admirably did not show this on her face. Yet again displaying admirable presence of mind, she spoke with Veerbhadra, “I told you about my divine force, O King! While it punishes my adversaries it also serves my well-wishers! Please accept its offering!”

Veerbhadra took the plate of fruits in his hand very reluctantly. He was almost trembling in fear!

King Mahirat was immensely pleased to see the wittiness of his Queen. The moment he felt that Veerbhadra disbelieved Mandira’s narration of the orange saving her from the evil clutches of Aditya, he somehow wanted to make his guest believe in her theory. He had then hurried to the kitchen where he took a plate and an orange from a bowl. This caused an alarm among all those who were witness to this incident in the kitchen. One of them hurried to tell the Queen about this event which was as the King had expected. What happened thereafter was exactly as he had surmised. The King knew that Veerbhadra was no longer a threat to his kingdom. He was also aware that once this incident gained publicity, even his other adversaries would think twice before causing any harm both to his kingdom and the Queen for they would get vary about this ‘divine force’.

After Veerbhadra’s departure, Mandira sat in deep thought in her chamber. Who could be behind all this, she wondered? Was it a mere coincidence that all this strange occurrences were happening only after the King’s disappearance? She failed to reach any conclusion.

The King with whose sister Mahirat was having an affair also met Mandira. He clarified that the King was not in his kingdom to which the Queen readily agreed.

More days passed by. The King spent most of his time with his Queen whom he had now begun to admire and adore!   He was pleased in the excellent manner in which she was conducting herself as a ruler. She treated her subjects with utmost veneration and had no qualms in meeting them even during odd hours to hear their grievances. She treated her ministers with great respect but was also equally strict with them when it came to discharging their duties diligently. She gave her men a timeframe for accomplishing their tasks and kept a vigil on the progress made by them. Those who performed to her satisfaction were duly rewarded while those who disappointed were foremost warned and then accorded stringent punishment if they continued to fail in discharging their duties.

King Mahirat was glad to see the Queen accomplish what he could not do as a ruler. At times, when he took a round in the kingdom he felt proud when he found the people praising the Queen. It hurt his heart when his subjects criticized his tyrannical rule but he knew that this was a plain truth. It also strung his heart when he found some people having the opinion that the Queen had hatched a conspiracy to get rid of her husband so that she succeeds in ascending his throne and also avenge his disloyalty towards her! He moved away from there shaking his head in disgust.

Slowly, the King was getting used to his new lifestyle! There were agonizing moments when he just could not do what he intended in his mind like his inability to drink water and wash his mouth. However, by now he was learning to adapt himself to these limitations and was in fact encouraging such thoughts in his mind that if not for this curse, he would have still been a wicked ruler and never known the gem of a person that his Queen was! As for his food, he avoided taking such fruits where he had to throw off the waste. He did not want to raise any suspicion in the gardener that there was someone who was secretly eating away the fruits in the garden! He added Tulsi leaves, petals of roses and pomegranate to his simple yet nutritious appetite.

During his normal days, the King felt miserable if he could not take an early bath. He now found it quite amazing that he never felt the need to take bath owing to the few but crucial relaxations the sage had offered him against the dreadful curse.

The King also spent some time in the night meditating which gave him tranquility of mind.

Mahirat could now easily penetrate through thick pillars, walls and the huge iron gates of the palace with ease owing to the curse of the sage which did provide him with some cheery moments in this time of anxiety and uncertainty.

One day, as was his daily routine those days, the King woke up early in the morning, freshened himself and ate some fruits in the garden. Thereafter he came to the Queen’s chamber where he found her in conversation with her father, Neelkanth.

“…I have tried to meet him so many times but in vain. He continues to be in mediation.” The Queen informed her father.

Mahirat at once realized that Mandira was referring to Sage Pariketu. He felt that had he come a little earlier, he may have found out the reason behind the Queen’s desperateness to meet the sage.