Bijjaladeva, the father of the erstwhile king, Bhallaladeva, chaffed and struggled against the iron manacles that bound his hands. Broken and hoarse mutterings like "Life is unfair", "You'll all pay", "What goes up, comes down", "I'll wring your necks" came at regular intervals out of his foul mouth as he occasionally spat aside and ground his teeth.

One of the guards who sat in watch over him lost his cool. He lifted him off the ground by the cuff of his silken shirt and shook him.

"If you don't shut your mouth..."

The other guards freed Bijjaladeva from his grasp, "Cool down, friend. I know he is trying and obnoxious. But there will be a public trial after the coronation."

He dropped Bijjaladeva in an unceremonious heap on the ground. He pounded his fists on the hard ground as he warned, "If I hear one more croak or squeak..."

Bijjaladeva cowered as the man came nearer and whispered in his ears, "You will have your revenge, but not now. We will help you. In return, you must help us."

"Psst...Athikay, the old man is wanted for some coronation rituals", a soldier said running up to the man who continued glaring at the aged patriarch who beheld him with a stunned silence.

"Here. Hold this platter with the crown straight, old fool", the soldier who was leading Bijjaladeva prodded him ahead with his spear.

"Why is he here now?" Mahendra Baahubali asked. The distaste and hatred in his voice and face were very evident.

"That's the protocol, I gather, son", Devasena icily replied.

Sanga, Mahendra's foster-mother, her face brimming with smiles and tears of happiness, stepped ahead with a plate of arati. She waved the auspicious lamp around his face three times before she applied the victory tilak on his forehead and sprinkled turmeric-stained rice grains over him. Mahendra grinned, catching Avantika's eye with a playful wink sideways. She blushed and hung her head down.

None of this had missed Devasena's razor-sharp observation. She glanced back and forth between her son and Avantika before her eyes settled down on Avantika with an unreadable expression.

Realizing that the people were waiting, she broke from her reverie. She picked the crown from the platter held by Bijjaladeva. She ignored his dirty expression as he shrunk away from her and tried to keep the crown away from her grasp. She placed it gently on her son's head. Her face beamed with pride as the fulfilment of this one moment washed over her.

Loud shouts and cheers of "Long live the King" Mahendra Baahubali ki Jai" spontaneously errupted from the crowd.

Kattappa indicated with a quiet nod to the soldier to lead away Bijjaladeva, who stood scowling and fulminating in the background, from there.

"All army divisions step forward", Kattappa called out in a loud voice.

Division after division marched to the front and saluted their new sovereign on bended knees.

"Noble houses of Mahishmati will now pay tributes to the new King", Kattappa declared.

All the prominent families and nobles of Mahishmati queued up with gifts and tributes that they had brought for their new sovereign.

Mahendra acknowledged them with a nod and placed his palm over each of the gifts. Devasena stood beside him. Sanga and Avantika were occupied in overseeing the maids who were keeping all the gifts aside carefully. Mahendra cleared his throat, "There is something I wanted to tell you since this morning."

Devasena's eyes looked tired and exhausted, "The people are awaiting your first public address, Mahendra. After that, we have the public trial of Bijjaladeva for his crimes against the people of Mahishmati
Can we talk about whatever you wanted to discuss with me later?"

As though on cue, Kattappa looked in their direction, indicating that it was time for Mahendra to address his people for the first time as the King of Mahishmati. Mahendra rose up from his throne and stepped forward  as everyone looked at him with anticipation in their eyes.

"Esteemed Rajamata, valorous generals and brave soldiers of Mahishmati, famed noble houses of Mahishmati, and all of you who have gathered here on this momentous occasion, it is my proud privilege to.........."

Mahendra's voice trailed off. His brow was filled with furrows and his nose was pinched as though he was trying very hard to remember the next lines he was supposed to say. Realizing the futility of this attempt, he waved this aside with his hands. He could feel thousands of eyes boring into him with a myriad questions in them. There was pin drop silence. Kattappa stepped forward as though making a move to try and help Mahendra.

Mahendra held his hand to stop him, "This is not working, Thatha. At least, not the way you wanted to."

Devasena said in an aside to Kattappa, "Let him do it his way, Kattappa. He is Mahendra Baahubali not Amarendra for whom you are looking in him."

"My people..."

Mahendra's bass voice resonated throughout the arena. The people clapped and cheered loudly at these two words literally bringing down the roof along with them.

"For that is who you all are to me. I care about each and everyone of you."

He had to pause again at this point because the people responded to his declaration with their own affirmations of love and adoration for him.

"We love you."

"You are the King of our hearts."

"We pledge our undying loyalty towards you."

"I can't speak flowery language. I won't beat about the bush. With my grandmother, Rajamata Sivagami Devi from the Heavens, as my witness, I proclaim that any citizen of Mahishmati who works with honesty and sincerity, will lead their lives with their heads held high. And whoever tries to harm such a person, will find their heads rolling in the deepest depths of hell. This is my word. And my word is law."

Everyone in the arena broke into thunderous applause at the end of this speech. The break from the past, and the new direction the future was about to take, was evident to everyone. They welcomed it with open arms. 

"The coronation ceremony is over. The trial of Bijjaladeva will begin after a short break", Kattappa announced.

The crowds relaxed themselves as they walked around visiting various stalls selling fancy items and knick-knacks. They gossiped and occasionally greeted an acquaintance as they made their way through the crowds.

The wind had changed direction. It was blowing in an unusually contrary manner. Most  streamers and decorations that had been strung up for the function were lying on the ground. They occasionally tangled and got caught in to the feet of unsuspecting passersby who tripped on their way.

All the soldiers were sitting in a lethargic manner. They rubbed their eyes vigorously as they attempted to ward off the yawns and nods they were feeling. It, however, seemed very contagious. Every once in a while, a soldier could be seen stretched in a corner, with eyes closed.

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion. The bustle was coming from behind the podium. Voices were heard arguing; one, accusatory, and the other, feeble and plaintive.

Avantika was dragging the maid, about whom she had been gossiping with Aditya Varma, along with her.

"Shut your mouth! The King will decide your fate."

"Please, madam. I didn't do anything wrong", the maid wined.

"I saw you mixing something in those drinks", Avantika said, pointing her index finger towards her.

Mahendra immediately ran towards Avantika with concern and worry etched over his features, "What happened, Avantika? Who is she?"

"Her name is Dharini. I saw her mixing something in the drinks being served while I was organizing the gifts with Sanga Amma.  I even showed Amma what she was doing before I ran to catch her red-handed in her act."

Mahendra turned towards Sanga and asked her, "Did you see her, Amma?"

Sanga stepped forward hesitantly. Her voice was faltering, "It all happened in a flash. But I am sure if Avantika is telling so confidently, it must be true."

At this point, Dharini proceeded to wring her hands and blow her nose as loudly as she could, "Hear, hear, people of Mahishmati. Nothing has changed. 'Any citizen of Mahishmati who works with honesty and sincerity, will lead their lives with their heads held high. And whoever tries to harm such a person, will find their heads rolling in the deepest depths of hell. This is my word. And my word is law.' All those are empty words then. I was doing my job honestly. But I am being unjustly accused. I am not powerful. I am not even close to the King as some people here are.  I won't get justice."

The maid hinted not so subtly before she turned towards Avantika with a slightly smug expression as she continued to create a ruckus, drawing the receding crowds back towards the podium.

"Accusations must be substantiated with evidence, Avantika", reprimanded Devasena. "Sanga says she is not sure she saw anything at all."

The crowds were whispering vociferously among themselves. Aditya stepped forward in defense of his old comrade, "Where are the spiked drinks? If this maid is as innocent as she says she is, she must be ready to drink them to prove her innocence."

Kattappa also agreed to this suggestion, "Yes, this is right, my King. If, indeed, she was mixing something, the only way to test it, is to make her drink it."

Dharini protested as the tray of drinks was brought before her, "I didn't do anything. I was simply mixing a few traditional spices."

Avantika rolled her eyes at Dharini's histrionics. The soldiers brought the tray of  drinks Dharini had been mixing. Dharini picked up a glass and gulped it down her throat.

"See, nothing happened to me. All of you are mistaken", she argued.

"You're forgetting the three more glasses on the tray", Avantika deadpanned.

"Drink them all", Mahendra said in a quietly authoritarian voice. The underlying menace in his voice seeping through in his utterance. The maid looked a bit rattled and unsettled. However, she drank the rest of the glasses with no apparent ill effects upon her.

Avantika was at a loss to explain this, "I am not sure how she did this. But there must be some explanation. If we investigate, we will find..."

At this juncture, a soldier barged in. He was panting for breath as he uttered in a frightened tone, "Bijjaladeva has escaped."

"How did this happen?" Mahendra's tone was rising, as he clenched his fists.

"When this issue happened, we were all so engrossed in finding what the outcome would be that we did not observe when Bijjaladeva had managed to slip through our hands into the crowd."

The man hung his head down as Mahendra glowered with anger and fury. Kattappa swung into action, rattling off orders, "Organize a search for Bijjaladeva. I want him before me in the next one hour."

Devasena spoke, "Summon the emergency council meeting to deal with the situation, Kattappa."

She rested her palm upon Mahendra's shoulder, "This is not good, son. Our ancestors say that one should never leave any traces of fire, debt or enemies. They will come back to bite us. One of our biggest and most dangerous enemies is on the loose. Rectify this situation before it's too late, or else..."

Devasena turned back towards Avantika with a hard look, "I expected better from you."

Avantika looked crestfallen. Only now did the true enormity of what she had done sink in. She had bungled everything spectacularly. Her eyes started watering at the edges. She tugged at Mahendra's arm, "I didn't know this was going to happen. I'm..."

She fumbled for her words. Mahendra held his palm in front of her,"We'll talk later. I must go now."

Everyone left the place, one by one, leaving Avantika on the empty podium, all alone. It started raining. A tiny sob escaped her lips. She  stifled it up and bit down upon it. However, the torrent of her emotions refused to hold up. The dam of her fortitude burst open as she broke down crying in the rain.