Page 209 of A King's Oath

“What happened with the princess of Orissa?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Then who was in the stall?”

His breath caught in his throat. When he didn’t answer, she hesitated. He thought she would change the topic.

“Was it your mother?”

“No,” Samarth shook his head, trying to find a laugh. She was there but her leaving the stall or being inside did not mean anything. She went, but did not take her along.

“Samarth…”

“I didn’t want you to go inside the stall,” he confessed to keep her offthatquestion.

Rajmata smiled — “I know. You yelled it. A time or two.”

“Sorry.”

She shook her head, her eyes filled with sleep but still looking at him like she would stay awake and help him spend the night without getting caught up in his cough or his thoughts.

“When you came to my house and took that oath, then when I married and came to Nawanagar, a lot happened in a short while. There were moments when I couldn’t get out of my own head and then there were moments when I couldn’t look you in the eyes. We swept it under the rug and moved on, kept moving. And in the process, I could not become to you what probably… I had wanted to.”

In the dead of the night and the haze of illness and sleep, Samarth asked the question — “What was that?”

“Somebody you had complete right over.”

Mother.

“Then Sharan came, and life sped. We froze there.”

“I never expected that from you, Rajmata. Or anything. If you think I am disappointed…”

“You are the kind of boy who would not be disappointed in the executioner who asked you for your head. But you must expect,you must accept, you must get disappointed and fight to get what you want.”

“I have everything.”

“No, yougiveeverything.”

“Sleep is catching up with you now,” he chuckled, hoping to bury this topic.

“Look here,” she turned even more serious. “What you once wished for Papa is what Papa now wishes for you. Is there nobody you want to think about for yourself? No girlfriend? No princess? No pretty polo player in your circle? There must be somebody you must have wanted at some point in life?”

Samarth smiled — “Sharan’s favourite topic and Sharan isn’t there.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “Go to this holiday. One step at a time.”

“What? This is a bootcamp in steps for marriage?”

“This is a bootcamp in steps to return the smirking, polo-playing Samarth to the palace.”

“I still smirk up a storm,” he smirked.

“It’s a grimace.”

“Really?” He began to playfully pull up his camera app to check but she grabbed the phone from his hand.

“Go to sleep now. Has your cough settled?”

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