" Shehensha, you shouldn't have left the soldiers " Adgah Saheb was melting under the sun. And he could only imagine what his Shahenshah was feeling wearing all the expensive silk out in the city.

" I just wanted a stroll Adgah Saheb..." Shahenshah was adamant. He started taking off the extra layers of expensive silks, and quickly bought a loose shawl to wrap around in order to fight the loo. " You should go with the soldiers and Maan Singh. It would be disrespectful if both of us are absent"

" And leave you alone here?"

" Adgah Saheb... I am Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammad. I can protect myself" The Shahenshah beckoned him to leave, and Adgah Saheb did so reluctantly, although both knew a second more would have proved to be fatal for the latter.

As soon as he went out of sight, Shahenshah started roaming around freely, watching children play, women and men working, the old people gossiping. It was a lively Kingdom, going by the name of Mahanagar.

It had been just two months since he had visited a Hindu Kingdom, may it be for war or alliance. He was hoping for a war this time, but instead he got invited over by the Raja of the Kingdom for an alliance.

The ministers of Shahenshah's court had laughed about the small Kingdom's quick conclusion to an alliance, but seeing how happy its citizens were, the Shehensha was relieved that he did not wage a war on such a land.

" I don't want another marriage " the 25 year old Shahenshah already had lot of focus on, and marrying the Rajput princess of Jodhpur had been a trip for him. First the war, then the alliance, everything about his last marriage gave him a migraine. He knew, he had done great injustice to his begum Jodha, but her unyeilding nature made him irked towards her even more.

And he didn't want another marriage like that.

" THAT WHORE NEEDS TO STAY AT HER PLACE "

The Shahenshah's stroll was quickly interrupted by a horde of people surrounding a table, where a gambling match was taking place. His interest piqued up, as he swerved through the crowd to claim the closest position to the argument. He thought it would be between two men, seeing how burly of a man was shouting curses, but instead he found two women standing against the man who was a foot taller than both of them.

" This is wrong " The Shahenshah took a step towards the center to help the fight dissipate, but instead saw the girl clad in a heavy dress push the other girl behind her, and step upto the man.

" No one calls a woman by such names in this Kingdom "

The command in her voice was similar. The Shehensha sighed, he realised that the girl had to be the one he was supposed to form an alliance with. The Princess of Mahanagar.

" Its not my fault that her drunkard husband gambled her and her son away and then went on to kill himself! If you cannot face the consequences, then don't play!" The man shrieked, as half of the crowd agreed with him.

" It was not her or her son who played. And you are not allowed to gamble in this Kingdom anyways, so you are either way guilty of a list of crimes" the woman spoke. " but I will look over it"

" What!?" The whole crowd gasped, even the Shahenshah.

" What do you mean?" the man raised his eyebrow, his mouth contorted at the confusion.

" I will play against you, for everything that her husband has lost. I will play one game. If I win, she wins back everything her husband has lost to you. If you win, you get 4 gold coins"

" Gold coins!" The group gasped again, anticipation making their hairs stand up.

" Are you sure young lady?" The man smiled, and took his seat on one side of the table. He gestured the woman to take the opposite seat and laid down the cards.

" Miss, are you sure?" The wife cried, holding back the woman, " what will happen to me if you lose?"

" He is money minded" The Shahenshah heard the woman whisper, "even if I lose, I will buy you and your son from him. Sadly I cannot afford to buy back all that your husband lost. But I think the odds are great, in any way you would be getting out"

The wife nodded and let the woman continue with the game. Under an hour, it was over.

The Shahenshah was amused, by the sheer audacity of the girl to hold up her head even after losing. It was funny, stupid, embarrassing, but entertaining.

The man was also confused, why would a novice challenge him to a game like this? Did she have no shame? But anyways, he stood up and through his smug face asked her to give up the prize.

The woman's face carried no shame, just a wee bit disappointment, as if she lost a game to a friend. "How about one more round?" She pleaded, almost as if begging an older brother.

" First pay me what was decided" the man stated, and the woman pouted.

"Here" she handed him four gold coins, and the next rounds started.

Thankfully, the woman was a quick learner. She even got the whole crowd cheering for her. A few men came up to advise her, as the opponent allowed it because he could also see that she didn't quite know the rules. Both won a few, and lost a few. But the heat of the day was enough for them to stop the game as the sun rose overhead.

The man left, without even caring about the wife and her son, carrying away all he won and leaving back all that he lost. The crowd too dissipated, a few assuring the woman that she played well as she reciprocated their compliment with a warm smile.

" Sorry for making you wait for so long" she said to the mother and the son, " let me take you to the doctor's. You both look sick"

" It's fine Madam, we are just famished" the woman smiled, knowing well that she was now safe.

" I guess then you should head to the ration store. Let me take you there. Come by the court yesterday and register yourself in the Vridhashram as a worker. You will be able to earn as well as keep your son safe"

The Shahenshah heard the whole exchange, thinking what had gone through the woman's mind when she challenged the man. Did she know she would lose? Did she know that the man would leave by himself?

He was curious, too curious to leave her alone till the day of their wedding.

" Excuse me Madam" he called to her as they reached the ration place, " can I have some water please?"

"Sure!" The woman replied, and scurried inside to fetch water for him. "Here sir" she handed him a glass filled with cool water to the brim, as he gulped it down. He didn't quite realise how thirsty he was till the water touched his tongue.

" I haven't seen you around here sir" the woman asked, " are you a traveller?"

" I just set foot in the Kingdom today" Shehenshah replied, " and I was fortunate enough to come across your game Rajkumari"

"Oh! You can tell that I am a Rajkumari?" The woman said with her eyes widening by the second, " don't tell me by 'game' you mean the gamble"

"Yes"

"Oh no" the woman hid her face behind her hands, her ears behind which her long thick hair was tucked behind getting red out of embarrassment. "It was so embarrassing to lose that many games"

"Haha" the Shehenshah laughed, " it was kind of entertaining Rajkumari. But I wonder, why did you challenge him if you didn't know how to play?"

"Umm.." the Rajkumari fidgeted, " I just wanted to gamble once in my life. My brothers always play cards with each other, but because of my mother they never taught me how to"

The Shehenshah closed his mouth and stared at the girl. Seconds passed, but he couldn't make himself understand how it was a plausible explanation for her actions.

"So you gambled on the woman and her son out of...fun?"

"When did I gamble on them?" The Rajkumari spoke, faking offence to Shehenshah 's words, " they were already bought by the man because of another man's stupidity"

" I don't understand..." The Shehenshah couldn't connect the dots. Was the Rajkumari a messiah or just someone who wanted to gamble? "Did you want to help those two?"

"What's there to help?" The Rajkumari laughed, " the man would have never been allowed to take the wife and the son as slaves or the woman as his wife without their consent. Gambling is banned in our Kingdom, so anything and everything he won through it will be confiscated as soon as the news goes to the King. I only knew about him because my brothers were already looking to arrest him. My brother was actually in the crowd. He probably left once he saw me lose the first match though. He cannot handle any kind of embarrassment" the Rajkumari kept laughing at herself, unlike a person that the Shehenshah came to know two months ago.

"Your brother? How many brothers do you have Rajkumari?" The Shehenshah wanted to keep the company going on for a bit longer. He would be meeting her soon enough, but the freedom he felt disguised as a commoner and talking to her, he knew the rapport will change once he puts the vermillion on her part.

"I have seven brothers" she beamed with pride. "My oldest brother is now the King. So many visitors mistake me as his daughter but I don't blame them. He is 40 and I am 23 so it's kind of possible"

"You're 23?" The Shehenshah was taken aback. By 23 any Rajkumari should have been married off, and already have had children. But here she was, acting like a child herself.

" Ah yes, I know I am too old" the Rajkumari laughed, " the thing is my parents are too busy with all of my brothers. And I too did not really heed to the prospect of marriage and leaving my family behind. They always told me that I will get to marry the man I will fall in love with because I am the youngest, but sadly I never met anyone who shares similar minds with me"

" Is that so?" The Shehenshah felt assured. He knew his Begum Jodha had a fiance, who was killed by his soldiers. But here, with this Rajkumari, there wasn't any aspect that could lead to hatred between them. Maybe, this Rajkumari won't be as stressful to his life as his Begum.

"Hmm. But the sad part is, my brother- I mean my twin brother vowed to not marry unless I married. I kind of felt bad for him, so I gave in haha. My father made me look at possible prospects for a month before I stumbled upon one of them"

"Oh? And who was it?" The Shehenshah was intrigued.

She shifted closer to him, which made bim nervous. Was she allowed to be so close to a strange man before her wedding?

She brought herself closer to his ears and whispered, " Shehenshah of the Mughals". A faint blush appeared on her face as she retreated back to her position and focused her gaze onto the floor. She didn't hate him, and that was enough for the Shehenshah to feel relieved.

" May I ask why you chose him, Rajkumari? Isn't he just a cold hearted murderer?"

"Umm..." Rajkumari put a finger on her chin, " He has a lot of Begums, that's why"

"Huh?" The Shehenshah couldn't stop such a sudden confused tone leaving his lips. "Uh... I am confused"

" Haha I know... Most people would be" the Rajkumari looked at her hands as she fidgeted a bit, " I love the feeling of being the youngest. I would love to surround myself with a lot of older Begums with whom I can play around and not really... Think about marriage and all the responsibilities that come with it"

The Shehenshah was again in a dilemma. Did she hate the prospect of getting married? Won't she be happy if she gets married into the Mughal family? He wanted to keep asking her about herself, but alas the Rajkumari had too much on her plate. A horse's neighing was enough to alert her of her brother's arrival to the ration house, as she stood up to receive him.

" Did you catch him?" She asked instantly, as the young man nodded. But his face contorted as he saw the Shehenshah staring at them.

"Ah" the Rajkumari realised she hadn't introduced her brother to the man she had been talking to for the past few minutes, " this is my twin brother sir. Don't we look alike?"

The Shehenshah smiled, the two did look similar. The only distinguishing factor was their built, and the light stubble that the young man had on his chin.

"Yes you do".

The Rajkumar bowed his head slightly to acknowledge the Shehenshah's presence, but turned to his sister quickly as to ask her who he was.

"Don't worry brother, I just met him. I am not associating with strange men" she laughed, her eyes squinting as her smile grew wider.

"Whatever, just leave with my horse. The Emperor's procession has already reached the palace, although they said that the Shehenshah is not with them. A Hindu minister said that the Shehenshah wanted to roam around for a bit but I wonder if he's okay in this heat. Even I feel like fainting any second"

"Not everyone is as weak as you Jaswant" The Rajkumari laughed, and to the Shehenshah's awe, she received a blow on the head in return from her brother. A light blow, but a painful hit nonetheless.

As he controlled his laughter at the antics of the twins, he saw the Rajkumari leave as she massaged her head, and rode a white horse towards the palace, but not before waving him goodbye.

"Sir, may I ask who you are? I have never seen you around" Jaswant asked, his eyes focused on the expensive jewelleries that the Shehenshah wore, which contrasted with the cheap shawl that covered him and a part of his face.

"Rajkumar, I need to go to the palace. I will tell you who I am later" The Shehenshah humored as he could see that the young Rajkumar was already doubting him to be the emperor. " But first, can I ask the name of your sister?"

"Of course " Jaswant was now a bit more sure that the man in front of him was the Shehenshah he was looking for. Happy to see that he seemed interested in his sister, he obliged to tell him her name, "her name, fitting to her warm and bright personality , is Jyoti ".

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

This is going to be a story that follows the Jodha-Akbar serial plot but with my character named "Jyoti". This is not a Jodha X Akbar book.

Just a heads-up.