Page 75 of A King's Oath

“I did not ask you if you can accept it or no. I command you that this will happen.”

Samarth shook his head, his head lowering — “You are my king, but I swore that oath to god, to water. I am sorry, Rawal.”

“What do you mean you are sorry?!” Papa shot to his feet, his voice rattling from the walls of his office. “You think you broke an antique in the palace? That’s what sorry is for, not for this!”

“I am still sorry, Rawal…”

“You. Will. Be. King. No question about that.”

“I can’t.”

Papa stared at him, then took a deep breath.

“Fine,” he said. “Then let her go.”

Samarth’s eyes widened. “Let who go? Maarani?”

“Yes. I do not want a marriage over my son, my heir, my kingdom’s future…”

“You will not talk about Nawanagar’s Maarani like that!” He roared back. This was his limit. For the first time in his life, he fought back. “We didn’t bring her to our palace to send her away.”

“I didn’t bring her to this palace to snatch the rights of my son!”

“You are angry, Papa, please calm down. Maarani is a good person, she has made your life very good. You are angry that is why you are thinking like this…”

Papa sat down, desperation storming his face.

“I will not have any more children,” he decreed. “You will be my only heir.”

Desperation bled into Samarth’s blood as well.

“I have sworn to enable Maarani’s heirs to rule Nawanagar. If you do this, Rawal, I will leave. I will accept the honorary citizenship that Argentina has offered me and leave forever.”

They hadn’t offered anything on paper yet, but his global under-16 polo ranking had gotten him a letter from the Argentinian government that hinted at something similar.

“Listen, Samarth,” his father shot back up, pushing his face over his desk — “Don’t you dare blackmail me.”

“I am sorry. But Papa,” his face rose, tears blinding his eyes — “I cannot go back on the word I gave Maarani’s parents. What will my Rawal’s reputation amount to? What will Solanki’s reputation amount to if I do that?”

That brought his Papa up short. There was no answer to that. Because a Solanki’s word was just as heavy today as it had been 800 years ago. It was given, it was kept, and hence it was trusted. In the silence that his last plea brought, Samarth could see his father’s cavalry crumble.

————————————————————

Rawal interrogated me,Harsh gestured.

“What did you tell him?” Samarth asked, knowing if his father had directly run the interrogation then Harsh would have definitely been broken. Papa knew people’s pain points.

Everything.

“What did he say?”

Harsh shrugged, then shook his head.

He knows about your promise to never marry. He was angry. My father will bury me tonight when I go home.

Samarth laughed despite the situation. Harsh was a solid, sensible guy. But with the authority that his father wielded over him, he turned into a dramatic little boy. Always scared. Always wary.

Star refused to make you take your oath back.

---