Queen Jayara gave me a warm smile before she assumed her place in front of the stage. Amarisa took a seat beside her mother instead. I tried not to show my disappointment.
"I came here to ensure that your first lesson with my dear daughter is at your convenience," the Queen said. "Since you both haven't gotten acquainted yet, I hope you would take this opportunity to tie a friendship bond."
"That's very kind of you, Your Majesty," I said with a bow again. "I also feel that Her Royal Highness and I shall do more than just getting to know each other. We seem to get along much like the paddles of a rowing boat."
Amarisa shot me a burning look.
“I'm pleased that you both are already fast friends. It puts my heart at ease to hear that. Amarisa is a demure darling girl, and I was worried that she might prefer her own company too much,” Queen Jayara said and turned to her daughter. “And it seems you have started speaking like one of us! Is that right, my dear?"
"Indeed, mother," she said, but no one could hear a tone of displease in her voice except me. I bit my lips from giggling.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." I smiled back.
"Very well then," Queen Jayara said. "Now let us teach you the knowledge that fine ladies in our kingdom have to acquire."
She motioned to a group of maids. They immediately brought a golden tray of jasmine to us. I stared at the white petals and tools then looked up again.
"Are we supposed to make a flower garland, Your Majesty?" I asked.
The Queen nodded with a smile.
"Before you learn anything, first you must begin with this simple yet delicate task," she said. She picked up a tiny white flower from her tray and a long needle with a red threat attached. "It's not that simple as you think, young Nikita. Jasmine is a symbolic flower of our beautiful land. A garland of jasmine is given only to those you love and honor. It's the offering flowers to the gods who make one's heart as pure as the white flowers."
"But...I have poor handicraft. I might mess it up," I said.
"Oh, worry not, for my dear Amarisa will assist you with the art," Queen Jayara said and looked at the princess. "Go on now, my sweet girl, help our Nikita with her garland."
Amarisa didn't seem so pleased with the request, but she was unable to voice her opinion. The princess merely nodded and went over to sit next to me again. I held back an amused smile as I stared at her adorable blushed face.
She began to show me how to do it, but the whole time I could only focus on her delicate hands. My eyes traced from her slender fingers picking the white buds to her smooth inviting pink cheeks. It took everything I had in me not to lean over and inhale her sweet smell again.
Once in a while, she would catch me staring at her, and she would frown back in disgust. I tried to work on my own garland, but the mere closeness of her body next to mine made my mind swim in a joyful daze.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp sting on my hand.
"Ow!" I yelped, seeing a fat drop of red blood on the tip of my finger.
"Are you alright, dear?" the Queen looked at me with concern.
"Oh, it's nothing, Your Majesty." I shook my head. "I just pricked myself with the needle."
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Amarisa pressed her lips together in amusement. The Queen frowned a little when she saw that.
"That's not kind, Amarisa dear," the Queen said to her with a motherly tone. "This happens all the time. Now would you please inspect her injury and medicate it if need be?"
"Yes, mother." Amarisa bowed and came over to me. It was my turn to hide a smirk from her. I held out my injured hand to the princess eagerly.
Amarisa looked at me with her arching eyebrows furrowed together. Yet she did a bit of looking until she decided to ask one of the maids for a medical kit.
After she got what she needed, Amarisa started tending to my wound with the most gentle touch I'd ever felt. The stinging sensation no longer bothered me as her touch already cured me right to my soul. My heart tingled when she held my hand, and her skin felt like silk.
I kept staring at Amarisa's concentrating face while she was cleaning my bloody puncture and applied a small amount of natural balm to it. Then she bandaged my finger neatly.
I could tell she did everything with genuine care regardless of how much she may dislike me. The thought of her unbiased kindness made me fall for this lovely princess even more.
After we finished, I started my work again with the rest of my good fingers. Gradually, I began to get accustomed to the task and even found myself being absorbed in it.
"By the way, Nikita dear," the Queen spoke again. "I have been curious about you. Is it much of a burden to tell me a little of your beloved parents?"
"Oh, not at all," I said with a shake of my head. "My father is an archaeologist. He is sort of like a miner except he digs up something from the past and learns about its origin."
"Oh, so he's a recorder of time, is that right?" the Queen said, sounding astonished.
“Yes, something like that, Your Majesty,” I said.
"What a holy task he performs!” she said. “If he were here with us now, he would be placed alongside our good Hora."
I giggled back, imagining my father meeting the Oracle and how he would react.
"And what about your beloved mother, dear child?"
"Well," I breathed. "My mother passed away when I was very little."
"Oh, poor girl. My deep condolence to you," she said with a saddened face. "I shall pray to the Great Lord asking him to guide her way to heaven."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," I said. "I believe my mother's last wish would have been to return to her birthplace. Indeed, I must tell you that she was originated from this very kingdom."
Amarisa's face lifted up when she heard that. The Queen's steady eyes widened as they rested on mine.
"My dear child, would you kindly tell me where your mother was from again?"
"My mother was born a native of this land," I said. "She was married to my father, who is from another side of the world, but her bloodline belonged to this place and it still runs through my veins just as thick."
"Oh Lord, have mercy," the Queen breathed, putting her hand to her mouth. "If it is so, this means you are a part of our Naga race!"
"I'm honored to be considered as one of your people, Your Majesty," I said with a bow. "Also there is one thing that keeps my mind unsettled. I'm hesitant whether to confide this thought for I might risk offending you."
"Nikita dear, you must not behave in such a modest way," the Queen said. "Do tell me what thought is troubling you."
"Well, the thing is..." I inhaled and let the air out of my lung again, but my heart started to pound. "The first time I saw you, you reminded me so much of someone. In truth, you bear an uncanny resemblance to my birth mother to a point I couldn't tell you apart from her."
As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt as if the veil had been lifted from our faces at the same time. The Queen and I held each other's gaze. The only sounds we heard were the water dancing underneath the house and the breeze whizzing through the open windows.
Queen Jayara stared at me with a trance-like look. Then she turned her face away and put her hand to her chest. She went pale and her hands trembled.
"Mother!" Amarisa said and rushed over to aid the Queen. "Are you not well, mother?"
I was also on edge as we watched the Queen shook her head to reassure her daughter.
"I am fine, my dear girl," she said. "Maybe I am tired from the morning prayer. With a short moment of rest, I shall be fine."
"Then we must escort you back to your chamber, mother," the princess said and gave the order to the maids.
"No, you stay here with the holy one," the Queen said. "Carry on with your lesson and worry not of my health."
With the assistance of the palace women, the Queen rose from her seat and exited through the door. The thing that made my heart heavy was how the Queen couldn't bring herself to look at me again before she
left.
Deep in the pit of my stomach, I knew Queen Jayarajadevi had sensed something unusual in me. I just didn't know what it was that made her fall into such a distress.
CHAPTER 17
After the Queen was gone, Amarisa twirled around to look at me with furious eyes. I blinked back at the princess blankly, not knowing why she seemed so angry.
"What did you do to my mother?" she hissed, storming back towards me. I recoiled on my seat and stared at her in confusion.
"I did nothing!"
"Yes, you did! You lied!"
"What?" I said. "No! Your Highness, I swear I didn't—"
But Amarisa already turned her face away and called out the name that caused my hair to stand on end. "Malis!"
I gasped.
"Oh no, no! Please, don't call her!" I begged, putting my palms together. My eyes nervously darted around in panic, but Amarisa didn't comply.
Kesar and the others also stared at us in alarm.
Then we heard a powerful growl from another room. Malis appeared through the curtained doorway. Her back almost brushed the top of the doorframe. The beast trotted into the hall like a circus tiger. Her whiskers twitched, and her horribly sharp teeth bared. When Malis saw me, she gave a throaty hiss that sent me screaming and crawling out of my seat in fright.
As if the big cat already knew what her mistress wanted, she jumped over with her floaty striped body towards me. A frightened high-pitch cry escaped my lips again. Those bright orange eyes never left me. The giant tiger growled. I yelped and jumped around the hall, almost causing a stampede among the palace maids. The Mohoris and Mahoras also scurried away from my path as I threw everyone into a fit of chaos.
"Your Highness, please!" I cried, stumbling my way through the Apsaras. "I swear I did not lie about anything!"
I tripped and fell to the floor but continued to crawl on all four to a corner. The tiger leaped after me again.
"Oh dear!" I cried. Out of nowhere, Kesar came to place herself in front of me. Her arms wrapped around my body as if to shield me from the beast.
"Princess, please forgive my lady," Kesar pleaded. "I believe it wasn't in her nature to speak the untruth."
"Kesar, help me!" I said and burrowed myself into my maiden in fear.
Amarisa's sparkling black eyes burned and for a moment I didn't understand what made her even more furious.
"Malis, get over here!" she finally said, but her eyes still glared at me. The giant tiger turned her fat furry head away from us at last. I was able to breathe again.
Malis leaped back and circled herself around the princess then sat down.
Amarisa looked at us in disdain then wheeled on her heels and strode out of the hall. The rest of the maidens and dancers quickly followed after her.
I sat there, panting in after-shock. Kesar wiped the panic sweats off my forehead. Everyone else began to exit the house one by one, leaving us alone.
"Kesar, I didn't lie," I said again.
"I know, my lady, I know," she said.
~*~
The next day, I went back to my training as usual. Although the King and Queens didn't attend, we still had a chariot race at the Elephant Terrace. But my heart wasn't in it.
Atith and Tusita took me to the stable where the horses were being harnessed to the chariots.
There I saw four huge fiery-white horses before a golden chariot. Atith walked up to them. The horses had golden hooves with golden manes and hot amber eyes. When they neighed, their breath was fire.
"Holy smoke! Are they real?" I said in awe, unable to believe my eyes.
"This chariot is a gift from my divine father," Atith told me as he stood at the head of his golden vehicle. His hand kept stroking one of his fire-breathing horses.
"So you godlings always get fabulous gifts like that all the time?" I said.
"We were born to fight in their honor," Tusita said with a shrug. "The gods would at least let us indulge ourselves."
"Our team has the best charioteers among the avatars," Tepi told me reassuringly. "You need not worry about winning the race today."
"Of course, it would be a shame if we lost," Vorac said. "Atith still need to polish his horsemanship though."
"Aw, Vorac, you shall see who would beat whom in the race this time around," Atith shot back.
"Well, last time I already proved who's the best," she said with a grin.
Atith's lips pouted. The great fiery horses dropped their heads over his shoulder and whinnied softly. I watched the golden flames of their breath flickered upon his armored body. Atith jumped back with a surprised yelp, but he was not harmed by it. We giggled at him. For the first time, I was curious about his holy parentage.
"So who inspired your birth, Atith?" I asked. He just smiled brightly before boarding the golden chariot. Another bizarre thing halted my breath. The moment he stepped onto the brilliant vehicle, the two great wheels rose four inches off the ground. Atith turned his head back to me with a blinding smile.
"My father is Lord Surya, god of the blazing sun, the eye of the universe, the soul of all existence, and origin of all life."
~*~
Afterward, they spent sometimes preparing me for the race. We began to move our chariots to the starting line. Issarak and his team stood at the other side. They waved at me and laughed among themselves.
Tepi let me use her chariot made of light fine woods. The four horses were said to be the swiftest of all breeds though they didn't breathe fire. Some parts of the chariot were encased in polished bronze. The two wheels didn't hover off the ground like Atith's, but they were light and flexible.
Vorac also joined the race. Walking beside her shimmering chariot was Tusita, who was waving at us. I noticed Vorac's chariot was an open shell of silver, which also hovered above the earth. Her four strong horses were as beautiful and slender as reindeer. Their manes sparkled like tiny diamonds in the sunlight.
"Vorac!" Atith said. "You're ready for the race?"
"I shall not lag behind," she called back. "I am longing for victory yet again."
"Nikita, are you ready?" Tepi's voice spoke to me.
"I guess so." I shrugged. "It's not like I'm going to miraculously win you godlings anyway."
"Miracles do happen," she reassured me. "You just have to believe that they do."
The sun burned bright and hot over us. People gathered to watch the race from the pavilions. Tusita gave Vorac a kiss on the cheek for good luck. Tepi was talking to the horses, calling them by names — Champa, Champei, Romdul, and Pidor.
"Go easy today, my swift ones. Go at a wise trot and do not stray from the path. You have a new rider today."
The horses whinnied and bobbed their heads as if they understood. Tepi nodded at me in encouragement and stepped away. She and Tusita didn't join us. I noticed the other avatars also stayed behind. Ravi, Samudra, and the twin brothers stood, looking from the sideline.
After the chariots were all aligned, the gong was struck as a signal to start the race. The riders flicked their reins. The sounds of horses galloping and wheels rolling burst through the field.
I jerked on my horses, afraid to upset them. My chariot crawled forward at a slow pace while the others flew off. Issarak lashed his whip at his horses. His chariot was oily bronze and pulled by four black stallions.
"Nikita, urge the horses harder!" Tepi yelled.
I tugged on the reins as I was advised. My horses lurched forward and went into a speedy gallop. From afar, I could see Atith and Vorac were skimming alongside each other. They could have reached the speed of a flying arrow if the distance allowed.
My chariot was faster than I thought. Soon I gained on the others. Issarak looked over his shoulder and sneered at me. When I cruised beside his chariot, he whipped one of my horses on the butt, causing the animal to wail and swerve away. My chariot swayed a little. Issarak laughed and drove off, leaving me in the dust.
I continued to race along with the others. Then Morokot came up from
behind. I tugged the reins harder to steer clear from that girl. She kept chasing me until she came beside my chariot. When we were about to reach the bend of the track, Morokot held her hand up with her palm out.
I frowned back at her in confusion. But then sparks of fire flared out and burst into flames around her fingers. My eyes widened in shock. Morokot thrust her hand down, releasing a stream of red fire all over my chariot's wheels.
"Oh no!" I cried. "No!"
The red angry flames started to spread out, leaving a black plume of smoke trailing behind.
Morokot was cackling like a sadist. I could have jumped off, but I couldn't leave the horses to burn to death. I looked around and spotted the water Baray up ahead. My hands steered the chariot straight towards it.
"Get out! Hot stuff coming through!" I yelled at the mermaids who were swimming about in the water.
Once the mermaids looked up and saw a chariot on fire, they let out a scream and swam away as fast as their tails could flap.
Before I could reach the pool, one of the wheels broke. The entire chariot flipped, and I plunged into the water with everything else. Fortunately, the horses snapped out of their harness and scattered away.
The water was cold against my skin. I kicked my feet and swam to the surface again. My scorched chariot was sinking beside me. Morokot's flames still danced over it.
A group of machas swam over to help me out. They brought me closer to the bank. Their eyes stared at me with curiosity. Some circled around my body and giggled. Others were bold enough to reach their hands out and touched my hair. I felt like I was some exotic animal.
"Look! Have we not seen anyone's hair this golden and eyes this bright?" they said. "Her clothes are strange, even her skin is different. Surely she is a denizen of heaven."
I could feel their scaly tails brushed against my legs. Their topless bodies made me blush.
"Are you good, pale one? Or do you need help?" a male voice called out. It was the sea god's son, Samudra.
"Well, if you could help me from these fishy ladies, I would really appreciate it."
He nodded and snapped his fingers at the macha maidens.
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