Tales of the Southern Kingdoms (One Volume Edition) Page 5

  Ramesh pulled him away as Meghana took what she wanted.

  ***

  Dharuna reached Argantael, capital or Rajendra, alone and on foot. He had been kicked out of the Arquon Royal Council after years of faithful service, but his own disgrace was nothing compared to what he had witnessed since the death of Queen Sharmila. He felt the kingdom of Arquon was doomed and that former Princess Priyanka, now queen of Rajendra, needed to know what had befallen her brother.

  King Arjun welcomed him as if he were still the Chief Adviser of the Arquon Council, and even when he told him he had been dismissed, King Arjun insisted on paying respect to his gray beard. The king of Rajendra was hungry for news as in the past two months his beloved Priyanka had vainly waited for a letter from her brother. King Arjun wanted Dharuna to speak in front of his wife, but he begged to speak with him in private first.

  Thus King Arjun sat with him in a cabinet and he related the death of Queen Sharmila, saying the good news first: little Mahesh would probably survive his mother. Then it was time for the bad news.

  "King Kushan meant to marry the slave you sent him, your majesty. Apparently Queen Sharmila had given him her permission."

  "But she wasn't noble, and a foreigner," King Arjun said, puzzled.

  Dharuna nodded with a sigh. "That's exactly what Prince Neeraj said. Either his father married someone from the southern kingdoms or he shouldn't remarry. The king had told the slave he'd marry her, but she wasn't very interested. Not if that meant he must abdicate and be exiled."

  Kind Arjun nodded, thoughtful. "I knew he'd like her. She was wise," he said.

  "Unfortunately the Sect had infiltrated the palace. They High Priest had seduced Prince Neeraj, and with their help Meghana killed the slave. And the king..."

  Dharuna paused, thinking back at what his beloved king had become. "They broke his heart and he lost his mind. He allowed Ramesh and Ajay in the Royal Council – two Sect members of dubious origins – and let them and Neeraj rule while he had daily orgies with Meghana and the other women of his Garden. He ignored his children, his subjects, and let everything in Ramesh's hands. They had kicked me out of the Council, but I still had access to the palace so I saw... I witnessed..."

  He paused again, looked at King Arjun's worried face. He wasn't sure how to proceed.

  "Is Kushan still alive?" the king of Rajendra asked.

  "No." Dharuna shook his head. "One night at an orgy someone strangled him. He died of erotic asphyxiation."

  King Arjun's jaw dropped.

  "Now you know why I didn't want to speak with his sister," Dharuna said. "I hear she's pregnant."

  "Our second baby is on its way," King Arjun nodded, still incredulous. "Oh, Gods, how am I going to tell her that her beloved brother is dead?"

  "Maybe we should tell her the Sect killed him, which is the truth," Dharuna suggested.

  King Arjun nodded, thoughtful. His wife was much younger than her late brother and she adored him. Maybe they should wait to tell her the sad news.

  But then she came in the cabinet, with her big belly and holding little Tarun's hand.

  "Dharuna!" She brightened, recognizing her father and brother's counselor. It became impossible hiding the truth from her.

  Her sorrow took her to the tomb shortly after the deliver of a baby girl she named Indira like her mother. Dharuna and King Arjun both knew if it were a boy she'd have called him Kushan.

  The Orphans

  Part one: Keiko

  "Are you sure they will be released today?" Hayato asked for the third time, worried.

  "Yes," Keiko answered, absently. It had cost her some cajoling of one of the guards, well, actually a lot more than cajoling to learn their friends were bound to be released after their one year stay. She was worried, though, worried for them. Well, mostly for one of them who never complained, but took everything on his shoulders.

  "When will they come out, then?"

  "I don't know."

  "What if they're not released today?"

  Hayato continued his questions, as worried as she was, but she couldn't be more precise. And she wouldn't tell him how she got the information either. They were twins, but still she refused to discuss certain matters with him.

  "We come back tomorrow."

  "But..."

  "Hayato, enough!" she snapped. "Do we have anything better to do than wait out here?"

  "Uh... no," Hayato lowered his head, beaten. "But if they don't come out today..."

  The door of the Correction House opened and Keiko brightened. "They're here."

  Hayato looked up and smiled, relieved, seeing his friends exiting the ugly building that had no outside windows.

  "Kumar, Shafiq, we're here!" he called cheerfully, waving his hand to attract their attention in the traffic of the cobbled street. Keiko was happy his voice had come out, because hers was choked in her throat as she stared at the one she cared for: he had lost weight, and color. And his rare smile.

  The three teenagers that had just come out of the Correction House joined them with puzzled expressions. The youngest, Jayanta, brightened up, but the other two looked wary.

  "What are you doing here?" the leader asked bluntly.

  "I thought your parents had taken you away," Shafiq added, staring at Keiko adoringly, which she barely noticed because he was standing next to the leader, fifteen-year-old Kumar. And she couldn't take her eyes off of the latter, trying to read him. The blunt manners didn't mean he was mad at them, she knew that, so maybe he was surprised.

  "They had taken us to Agharek, but we came back," she said defiantly. "Took us some time to get back here." The good thing about still having parents was she and Hayato had been bailed out. But their parents had decided to move back to the capital of Akkora, which neither she nor her twin had liked.

  "But we arrived almost two months ago, and we were wondering if they'd ever release you," Hayato added. They had spent one painful month in the correction house before their parents picked them up – painful for Keiko because she was in the girls section, separated from them. But Hayato had obviously bonded with their friends, so he had immediately accepted to go back to Leland when she suggested it, after almost six months in Agharek with their family. One month to go south with their father's cart, two to come back on foot, hiding from highway patrols and stealing food on the way.

  "Well, we're out," Kumar said. "Have you been to the shelter?"

  "It had been usurped by another gang, but we got it back," Keiko answered.

  "They thought that the Orphans were history, but we proved them wrong," Hayato added proudly. Keiko scoffed at the memory of the scrawny children three or four years younger than them they had found in their shelter when they had reached Leland. Even if their new leader was almost fourteen, it had been easy for her and her twin to get rid of them.

  "Let's go, then," Kumar concluded, leading the way towards their shelter, an abandoned house in the outskirts of Leland. Not much of a place, she had to admit. No furniture and it was crumbling. It rained inside when the monsoon came. But it was the best a street gang like them could afford.

  Keiko was happy that they were together again. She had missed Kumar, and she found him even more attractive than when he had been arrested. Being away from him had made her realize her feelings and she had looked forward to seeing him again. She had dreamed for days of finding the right moment and telling him her feelings. Not now, though, she better wait another day or two. The others were present and he was still frowning after the detention. The Correction House couldn't have been that bad.

  But as the hours passed, she noticed he was even less talkative than usual. He had been hurt, but he said nothing about the correction house – she could only imagine what had happened. Again she could only try to read him, imagine what he thought or how he felt because he wouldn't talk about it.

  "Is there something I can do for you?" she asked while they prepared for bed after a meager dinner.

  "No," he said sharply
. "Just leave me alone."

  She sighed, but obeyed. She had some idea what might have happened to him in the past year. She wished she could have spared him that time in prison. He had probably spent that year defending Shafiq and Jayanta, and taking everything on himself, as usual.

  She watched him sleep restlessly, wishing she had the courage to touch him. But he looked more unreachable than ever.

  ***

  "Where is Kumar?" Keiko asked, seeing Hayato, Shafiq and Jayanta seated in their corner without the leader.

  "He went out," Hayato answered, looking unhappy.

  "Alone?" she insisted, even if it was obvious. They usually went out in couples in order to protect each other. Usually Hayato went with him and played the bait while Kumar did the robbery.

  "I think he went to talk to Maya," Shafiq said, sarcastic.

  Keiko frowned. "The fortune teller?" she asked, incredulous.

  "I don't think he goes to her because he wants to know his future," Shafiq kept the same tone. "He doesn't give a shit about his future."

  She knew that, hence the question. What was he doing with a fortune teller? That woman had her own house and even looked rich, but he couldn't be planning to steal her jewels, could he? He would have told them, and besides they weren't burglars yet.

  "Maybe he likes her," Hayato suggested, uncomfortable.

  "Of course he likes her, she's beautiful," Shafiq replied. "I think Keiko is better, but I can see what he sees in Maya."

  "She's old," fourteen-year-old Jayanta quipped in. "She's like twenty-five!"

  "And I don't think he needs to know women more deeply, does he?" Keiko glared at all of them, knowing they kept her out of some 'boy things'.

  "We know everything about women bodies," Shafiq assured with a smile. No thanks to her, of course, but she had had enough of unwanted attentions. And she knew how to keep her friends away. Not that any of them had ever tried something...

  "Then what does he want with her?" she insisted.

  "You'll have to ask him," Hayato shrugged. She knew Kumar wouldn't answer, so she spared herself the humiliation. Besides, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear him say "I love her and want to spend my life with her" when she wanted to tell him those exacts words.

  He came back frowning and of course didn't bother discuss with the others where he had been and with whom.

  "Everything fine?" Hayato asked, worried.

  "Yes," was the quick answer, as Kumar averted his eyes to hide whatever was passing through his head. Keiko sighed. Eventually he'd tell them, she knew.

  She felt relieved when Kumar said they were leaving town on their own. No more dirty streets of Leland – no more Maya the fortune teller. And his decision came the day after he had supposedly talked to her.

  "Where shall we go?" Shafiq asked, worried.

  "Anywhere is better than this shitty town," Kumar grumbled. "I'm sick of the perverts around here, let's find ourselves a better life."

  "Where?" Hayato insisted. "North, south?"

  "Let's follow the road out here."

  They packed their few belongings and walked out of the shelter, following the unpaved road passing nearby towards the unknown.

  ***

  Keiko was a lot less happy when they entered the jungle. She didn't like the dense tropical forest, nor the swamps. The tangled undergrowth was hard to get through, so they learned to climb trees and use lianas to move faster, like human monkeys finding their way in the tallest trees.

  They found a nice spot with a little waterfall and a small fresh pond, good for both drinking and bathing. Nearby there was a huge tree, and in its branches they made a sort of hut, a covered shelter to sleep above the ground.

  That was a little better, but Keiko still didn't much like being a woman in the jungle. She often wondered if she should go back to town, mostly when she had her period, but a simple look at Kumar, and she changed her mind.

  He looked wilder than ever, and was a ruthless hunter. He provided food for everybody, leaving in the morning and coming back after a couple of hours with his prey.

  Shafiq was very good at preparing those animals, and Hayato and Jayanta usually found the best fruits. Keiko felt useless, so she practiced archery, hoping Kumar would take her with him when he went hunting.

  They kept snake skins and sometimes they went to a village to sell them. Once or twice a tiger passed by their shelter, but decided they were too much trouble to attack.

  One day they were waiting for Kumar to come back from the hunt when they heard an elephant approach. Shafiq and Hayato took their lances, Keiko and Jayanta their bows, only to discover Kumar had found a new four-legged friend.

  "This is Maya," he announced proudly, hopping off the back of the elephant. "She lost her family, so I thought we could adopt her."

  "Great!" Hayato enthused. "She can take us further away!"

  "I like it here," Keiko said, wary of the big animal.

  "I wouldn't mind some female company every now and then," Shafiq mocked her.

  She ignored him, staring at Kumar who had named an elephant for the woman he loved. Then she looked at the pachyderm, and smiled against her will: this Maya looked much nicer than the woman she was named after.

  "Hello, Maya." She offered her hand to the elephant's trunk and laughed at the strange handshake. But the best feeling came from Kumar's smiling approval while Hayato, Shafiq and Jayanta decided to imitate her.

  "Five boys and an elephant could do wonders!" Shafiq exclaimed.

  "Four boys and two girls," Keiko corrected, checking Kumar's reaction to her words.

  "Keiko is right," he said. "But so are you, Shafiq. This new team will do wonders."

  Keiko was so happy to see him smile again, she found herself privately thanking the elephant for coming their way. Maya's answer sounded like a "my pleasure, Keiko", and she wondered if the elephant could actually be more human than the woman Maya.

  No, that was because she never liked the woman. Because Maya, the woman, never respected Kumar like everybody else did. She teased him, used him, did everything she wanted to him, and he never reacted like he did with everybody else. He must be very much in love with that damn woman. Keiko often wondered what he found in Maya. But she was overcome with shyness whenever she wanted to become more personal with Kumar. Maybe because she knew well, after eight years, how good he was at keeping people at a distance, friends included.

  ***

  "Keiko, when will you stop dreaming of Kumar?"

  Shafiq was serious, not mocking as usual.

  "Never, Shafiq."

  "Our Little Prince considers you a sister..."

  "I know, but I'll show him I'm not his sister nor a child anymore soon."

  "No, you're definitely a young woman. And if he turns you down, you know who to call."

  He turned his back on her and never brought up that topic again. Either he thought Kumar was more worthy than him or he didn't want to hear another "no thanks", which suited Keiko. She was becoming way too obsessed with conquering Kumar's heart to bother with somebody else.

  Still, she was restless. When they rode Maya, Kumar up front, she was squeezed between him and Hayato, and all she wanted to do was caress and kiss him. She didn't dare without his permission or in front of everybody, but she really must tell him how she felt.

  They were moving in the jungle and eventually reached the base of a mountain they couldn't really climb because Maya wouldn't have enough food. They knew nothing of geography and were by now completely lost, with no idea of how to go back to Leland, but they didn't care. They didn't want to go back, but sometimes knowing they were lost in the jungle wasn't a good feeling.

  By the mountain they found a small cavern that looked like an excellent shelter for the upcoming rain season. So they stopped, and again Kumar was the hunter, and Hayato and Jayanta the fruit gatherers.

  "May I come with you?" Keiko asked him. "You've seen how my arrows never miss their target..."

  "Sure,"
he shrugged.

  At last now she had a chance to be alone with him. He wasn't very talkative, but when they went back to the cave with their prey, he didn't mind exchanging a few words. Small talk, mostly, as her voice refused to express her feelings while marching in the jungle. If only she could grab his wrist and stop him and... All she could do was stare at his back.

  Until they met the tiger. They were alone and the wild beast must have considered them easy prey. They shot their arrows, but it jumped on Kumar, unscathed. Keiko screamed and drew her knife while he struggled against claws and fangs, trying to keep the tiger's head away from him.

  She stabbed the animal, but it only made it more furious. Maya saved the day, attacking the tiger and tossing it away with her trunk.

  Upset and sobbing, Keiko hugged Kumar.

  "I'm fine, let me go," he said weakly.

  "Oh, Kumar, you could have died!" she cried.

  "It wouldn't have been the first time."

  "I don't want to lose you! I love you, Kumar!"

  "I know, but my heart is already taken. I'm sorry."

  She calmed down and pulled back, her pride wounded. "Maya, the woman!"

  He nodded, averting his eyes.

  "Why didn't you bring her, then?"

  "She didn't want to come."

  "She refused you?"

  Keiko couldn't believe her ears, but from his face it was obvious that her rival had dared the unthinkable.

  She pulled him closer. "Why don't you let me ease your pain?"

  He pulled back, annoyed. "It would be just sex, and I've had enough of it."

  "Just because adults abused you..."

  "Exactly. My love for Maya was something different. It could never happen with you."

  "Why not?"

  "Because you're like a sister to me."

  "I'm not your sister!" she exploded. "I'm sixteen and I want to make love with someone that I love and trust for once in my life!"

  "I'm sorry, I can't."

  He rose, picked up his weapons, and walked to Maya. "Are you coming or not?" he asked without turning to look at her.

  Frustrated, Keiko followed him.

  ***