"Yu-Yuvarani?" Manikantha stuttered. "I am afraid, I don't understand you."

"We both know very well that you do understand. But if you claim to be ignorant, perhaps a week in the dungeons with no food might loosen your tongue, cousin Govardhana." Mayanshi threatened him, addressing him by his real name.

He lowered his eyes. "Maya, please listen--"

"It's Yuvarani!" Mayanshi roared. "You are no one to call me by my given name."

"I am your brother, Maya." He replied.

"Brother?" She laughed humorlessly. "Your father was once my late father's brother. They were both known for their mutual love and respect. Ideal siblings, people used to call them. And then one of them ended up killing the other brutally."

"That's a lie. My father didn't kill him."

Mayanshi ignored this. "I wasn't even allowed to look at his dead body. It was so disturbing to look at, that his own daughter is not allowed to attend his funeral. I lay awake the entire night, staring at the door, hoping he would emerge from it. But all I received were the ashes. All because of your traitor father."

"Maya, please. Try to think. You only know what you have been told. How can you be certain that it was he who planned to kill King Mahadeva? If you remember, it was Mahamantri Vasishtha, who made this accusation against my father and made the courtiers believe it. Why do you think they banished my family, including my father, when the punishment for killing the king is death sentence? "

Mayanshi opened her mouth to speak. But her voice seemed to have disowned her.

"They didn't want to publicize this. If the common folk knew they executed my father, they would revolt. My family was punished without even a trial. He wasn't even given an opportunity to prove his innocence." 

"What!" Mayanshi was shocked. "No trial for the King's murder? But why?"

"Don't you see it? A week after the funeral, it was decided that Mahamantri would be the substitute ruler. Is it not suspicious?" asked Govardhana.

"It's because he was the only one efficient enough to rule Virata." Mayanshi tried to convince herself that it was the only reason.

"Let me ask you this, Maya. If you were the minister of an empire like Virata and you have been told to rule in until the heir comes of age, would you sit on the throne?" 

Mayanshi closed her eyes. She still remembered the scene like it happened the previous day. Vasishtha and Vaishali climbed the stairs and ascended the throne, beaming at each other. "No. It is against my principles."

"And why have there been so many changes in the council of ministers? Why was everyone loyal to our family forced to retire from services?"

"Not everyone. Senapati Jayendra--"

"Too powerful to be messed with." Govardhana interrupted her. 

Mayanshi had to agree with him. Except for a handful of people, most of the courtiers were new and appointed during Vasishtha's reign. "I fail to understand what you are trying to convey here. Even if they are somehow involved, which I hope is untrue, you should approach the court instead of disguising yourself and spying on me. You know very well that I can have you beheaded for this."

"Would you?" He looked dejected. "You really think I was spying on you?"

"What else could be the reason?"

"Maya, I was protecting you. When we were banished, we wanted to take you with us. But they wouldn't let us anywhere near you. It was impossible. We were relieved when your uncle King Raghuveera took you to Srimukha, despite Vasishtha's protests. We were happy as long as you were safe. But now you have returned. And this place was never as dangerous as it is now. Listen to me. Your life is in danger." He whispered the last part. "Someone clearly doesn't want you to return."

"Wait. Let me just stop you there. What do you mean Vasishtha protested?" Mayanshi was confused.

"I am not sure about this. There has been a rumour that Vasishtha didn't like sending you to Srimukha. He wanted you to stay here in the palace. He said his wife would look after you. But Maharani Bhargavi was adamant. She made it clear that her niece won't be staying here when she has got a family in Srimukha." He informed her.

"Vaishali and Vasishtha wanted me to live here?" Mayanshi was surprised by this piece of information. "Why would they?"

"We are not certain of their intentions. But one thing is for sure. It is not because they carried immense love for you in their hearts." He concluded.

Mayanshi didn't speak for a long time. She drank some water and sat down. "Govardhana. I appreciate what you did for me today. But I cannot let you be my bodyguard anymore." She held her hand up, signaling him to not interrupt her. "You have to leave. Your family has been banished from the empire. I am willing to disregard the fact that you lied to me all these days. But I cannot break the law. You must go away by the second prahar tomorrow. I promise you, when my reign begins, I would order an official investigation regarding my father's murder."

"What about your safety?"

"I will be safe. Nothing to worry about." She stood up. He seemed like he wanted to say something. "That's an order."

---***---

"That arrogant, brainless woman could have gotten herself killed." Dushyanta didn't bother to keep his voice down. 

"Are you worried for her now? That's news to me." Samarjit chuckled.

"For her?" Dushyanta crushed the goblet he was holding, with his bare hands. "She is trying to steal my cousin's crown. Why would I be worried for her? I am only worried about our reputation. Had something happened to her today, we would have been blamed."

"Brother, let us have this discussion tomorrow. It's getting very late. You must be exhausted." Dhruvin suggested. 

Samarjit nodded and took their leave. He reached his bed chambers to find his adviser, Venu, waiting for him. "You didn't leave?"

"I wanted to leave, Yuvaraja. But I thought you might need me. You wouldn't sleep without solving this case" said Venu.

"You know me very well, Venu. Let's put forward our suspicions and see if they make sense" said Samarjit. Venu sat down, facing him. He continued. "What is everyone saying?"

"Not many are aware of this attack, Yuvaraja. And those who do, think it is Maharani garu." Venu lowered his eyes.

"And what do you think? Could this be true?" Samarjit asked calmly.

"If we look from an outsider's perspective, er, well..." Venu hesitated.

"It's alright. No one can hear you. Speak clearly." Samarjit encouraged him.

"As you say, Yuvaraja. I mean, if something happens to Princess Mayanshi the first suspect will be the Queen. She has a reason to do this."

"Right. She does have a reason to get rid of Mayanshi. Everyone knows that. And she really is capable of getting Mayanshi murdered. I don't deny that. But," Samarjit paused, "it wasn't her."

Venu frowned. "How could you be so sure?"

"Because of the improper planning. A Queen as powerful and wise as my mother would never plan something like this. Mayanshi was attacked just a few streets away from the ground. And only five assassins to defeat a warrior like her. Mother knows it is impossible. If this was her doing, she would have made a better plan. And also there is the fact that she knows the Princess's protection is her duty. She also knows that Srimukha will attack if something happened to their precious girl. Mother won't risk ruining her reputation at this time. Not when she needs all the support she could get." Samarjit explained.

"Right you are, Yuvaraja." Venu agreed with him.

"So, who is the second person on your list?"

"You wouldn't believe it, if I told you." Venu sighed.

"At this stage, I don't think anything could surprise me." Samarjit remarked.

"I think, I am not sure, but I feel it is Princess Mayanshi who planned this attack." Venu spoke the last part quickly.

"She is on my list too" said Samarjit. "Plan an attack on yourself, hurt yourself and blame the Queen. Very good strategy. I wouldn't put it past her. But," he paused again, "it wasn't her."

"Why?" Venu asked impatiently waiting for the prince to explain. 

"Let's just say she arranged for this. What was the purpose?"

"Like you said. To blame the Queen and gain sympathy from courtiers and subjects." Venu answered.

"And yet she didn't publicize the incident. If she wanted sympathy she would have left no stone unturned in convincing people that my mother wanted her dead. She would have shown her injuries to the courtiers as proof. But her behavior is the exact opposite. She neither spoke nor informed anyone about the attack. She seems to believe that they were robbers trying to steal her ornaments. If I were her, and I wanted the throne so badly, I would have ordered an official enquiry to make the Queen look evil." Samarjit denied the second theory too.

"I didn't think about this, Yuvaraja." Venu admitted.

"Also, she knows to strike when the iron is hot. Yet she is silent. When I visited her to see how she was faring, she looked embarrassed and hid her injury with her saree. I mean, the end of her green saree was wrapped around her shoulders, thus covering the wound on the right elbow. She has worn that green saree before too. But she didn't wrap it around her shoulders back then. She just left it flow free on the left side."

Venu cleared his throat loudly. He looked amused. "Yuvaraja?" He spoke, trying to suppress a smile.

"I'm not obsessed with her. It is always advisable to have good observation skills" said Samarjit. "What I mean to say is that, it wasn't her. This is what I gathered from her reaction."

"So, who was it?"

"Who?" Samarjit ran his fingers through his hair. "Who has got a powerful reason to kill Mayanshi?"

"Correct me if I am wrong, Yuvaraja. The attack happened at the Lotus pond. And no one would expect her to be there at that time. She had no reason to go there again. Yet the assassins were present, waiting to strike, as if they have been informed beforehand." Venu said, thoughtfully.

"Right." Samarjit nodded. He couldn't understand where Venu was going with this. But he seemed to make sense.

"So, it has to be someone who knew where she would be at a particular point of time. In other words, someone who knew Princess Mayanshi well enough to conclude that she would go back to the Lotus pond."

"Who?" Samarjit listened to Venu with rapt attention.

"Who is allowed to stay right next to her all the time? Who is the person that is always informed of her schedule for the day? Who feels threatened due to Princess Mayanshi's popularity in Srimukha, but cannot express it to anyone? Who is forced to be the second fiddle to Mayanshi despite himself being a great warrior and a skilled administrator? Who reached the place of attack first, when the soldiers, who have lived here their entire life, couldn't get there on time? Who pretends to be Princess Mayanshi's well-wisher in public and offers to make sacrifices for her which no sane person would make? And finally who does the princess trust blindly and would never suspect of harming her?" asked Venu.

Samarjit's eyes widened as he reached the conclusion. Only one person he knew, was the answer to all the questions. "Abhimanyu"

---***---

Let me ask you a simple question.

Who attacked Mayanshi? 

You can place your bet on only one character. And you are not allowed to change your answer later.

Don't forget to comment and vote. Thank you.