Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

I

99 Years ago

The night was shivering, perhaps because of the near-winter or did he have a premonition of what was to come?

Chandragarh, a country with a population of slightly under 50,000, is divided into five Zilla* – Central, North, South, East & West.

The royal palace is a magnificent building located in Central Zilla where the king lives. It occupies the same square foot area as the other Zilla. The exterior of the building is ornate enough to give a fair picture to first-time visitors of what lies behind it.

The guard uniforms were decorated with the roaring lion capital emblem and the large statue of the people greeting as they entered the main door of the castle.

The royal motto is – 'Courage & Pride' that follows it, Chandragarh has fought in many wars in the past and managed to position itself in enviable strategic locations, where it has access to land on three sides and sea on one side. There are enough rivers flowing through the various Zilla to keep the soil fertile.

They are surrounded by a powerful kingdom but most of them are currently ruled by a weak king who happens to have peaceful if not friendly relations with Chandragarh.

All of this had been achieved by the previous rulers, whose fruits were enjoyed by the current king.

King Chandranarayan, forty years old and the only descendant of the throne, is enjoying his fifth, or sixth, wine? Does it matter? After a long day of boring country affairs, it is time to enjoy wine and the ladies.

"My lord, the general of South Zilla is here to meet you. He said it was urgent. Can I bring him in?" ask one of the waiters.

"Isn't everything urgent? Have him come tomorrow morning to the palace," said the king indifferently.

"Uh. I actually told him. But he was really insistent," the officer's voice trembled.

He was well aware of the violent nature of the king. But to his surprise, the king thought for a moment and then replied calmly asking him to bring the general in and give him other instructions to obey, simultaneously.

Five scantily clad women who danced to appease the king were escorted out by other servants, along with the musicians.

"Don't go anywhere. The king will call you as soon as he is done with his meeting," the servant instructed them.

In his room, general Vallabh entered and gave his greetings to the king.

"So, what's so urgent that you can't wait a few more hours?" ask the king in a cold voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your night, Your Majesty. But I bring the most troubling news that needs to get to your ears before it is distorted or thwarted by the perpetrators" the general urged.

"Okay, you caught my attention. What's up?" Chandranarayan asked.

Vallabh took a deep breath before starting, "A few weeks ago, some village chief came to our military camp. Since I was in charge of border security in the Southern zone, my interactions with civilians did not exist until now. I was shocked when they asked for my help. Apparently, the head of South Zilla has levied taxes on top of what your court has imposed. They charge even for things that are excluded, such as religious pilgrimages, water-cooling communities and many more such things."

The king's face remained expressionless and Vallabh felt a slight discomfort. He had thought that the king would at least show shock if not furious at the news.

He continues with his narrative. He has promised justice to those who put their trust in him.

"I am well aware that this issue is not under my purview but those people came to me as a last resort in the hope that I will bring this matter to your attention" he said.

"So, what do you do next? As you said, they came to you a few weeks ago. So why did you come today?" asked the king, one eyebrow raised.

Vallabh was tinged with condemnation in the voice of the king. But it gave him hope that the king was affected by the news.

"As you know, I can't leave the border in such a short time, but those people are confused. So, as I began to prepare to depart for Middle Zilla to meet you, in the meantime I went and talked to you." Head of state. Although I did not expect Sivakumar to admit his mistake but his reaction was beyond my imagination. He had the courage to utter such an outrageous lie that surprised me.”

As he said those last words, a bad premonition crept down his neck.

The type leaned against the ornate sofa and said gently, "Interesting. So, what lie did Siva say?"

Before Vallabh could speak any further, the door was opened and officers entered with several people following behind.

The king motioned for them to advance to where he was sitting. As the men came under the flaming lights, Vallabh turned to look at them and was shocked.

Sivakumar stood there with the village chiefs who had left and petitioned Vallabh.

"ah! It's good you're here. We just talked about you," said the king in a joyful tone.

He had never seen a good show lately and unexpectedly, the night became interesting.

"The king has been in a meeting for over an hour. Don't you think she'll be too tired after that for us" scowled one of the girls.

The officer who had just walked out of the room told him, "After this meeting, I think the king will be in a good mood. If I were you, I would take this opportunity to please her with all my might. Who knows what? A reward that one could earn in return!"

The girls looked at each other and silent messages were communicated between them.

These entertainers included and worked under Devyani bai. He was the clan head of all the prostitutes, musicians and servants who worked in Central Zilla.

She was a fierce woman who, at thirty, had achieved enough wealth to last several generations and had an information network to rival the spy networks of any country. She takes care of all her girls, eunuchs, and men in the way a mother does, firm but affectionate.

Starting out as a prostitute at the age of twelve, she has seen and experienced all the evils that may occur for a lifetime.

Instead of regretting her luck, she turned things around by learning from the various women who had been in trading longer.

By the time he was seventeen, there was no man who did not want him and not many could have him.

She was picked up from a dirty brothel by one of her strong protectors and given her own little house where she could entertain anyone she wanted.

Devyani begins to search for and hire girls who have similar potential to her and who she prepares to form an army of girls that red-blooded men can't fight.

She is enterprising enough to have attractive options for strong women, too, who want a little fun outside of their marriage and even for people whose preferences don't go mainstream.

Slowly, the various brothels began to complain about all the big businesses running, which he responded by asking them to abide by his rules and regulations, afterwards, which he responded to, he would send quite a number of clients towards them.

Within a few years, he had the entire Central Zilla under his command and placed some of his trusted senior girls in other Zillas to represent him and create a similar network. He does not want money but the loyalty of this network.

On his thirty-third birthday last month, he not only managed to get all the brothels across the country under his command, but it has also established rules and regulations on hygiene and safety that every client should adhere to.

This was his dream since he had experienced the persecution that had befallen him since the age of twelve.

Of course, he needed to give a legitimate reason for it, such as health, hygiene, or protective cruelty. This diktat caused a commotion among clients and they refused to comply with it.

Undaunted, he had petitioned the king thinking that he would not reject him! After all, she also relies on the guile and charm of the girls that Devyani trained.

Much to his surprise, Chandranarayan not only rejected him, he even humiliated him by bringing him there and then, in front of the people present in the palace.

With his clothes tattered and his pride torn to shreds, Devyani had walked out of the palace with the king's hateful words ringing in his ears, "Perhaps under all those shiny clothes and glittering ornaments, you forget that you are a woman and on top of that, very few prostitutes. How dare you issue orders to your customers! Women are creatures, designed, only to serve and please men. Never forget that!"

The muffled booing and laughter from the court that day, haunted Devyani from then on and she almost went crazy due to her thirst for revenge.

Before him, he had revoked all his codes of conduct and let customers feel that they had won.

But inside, she began to channel all her sources, whether it was servants stationed in the homes of high-ranking officials or prostitutes serving the rich and powerful.

His entire clan stood behind him, not because he was feeding them and clothing.

But because he has done what no one has done before – treat them as human beings, not commodities!

She has broken the norm and taken care of their health, education and future, even taking care of their extended family. To that end, he had earned the eternal loyalty of these seemingly insignificant people.

And with all the wealth he has earned, Devyani has started a small educational and vocational institution specifically for girls from poor families who consider their daughters burdensome without the skills or means to earn money for the family and eventually sell it with very little amount.

...****************...

Inside the Royal Palace

"You said .." The king urged Vallabh to finish his sentence.

Although he sensed something was wrong, Vallabh did not back down from what he said.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "I was told that the additional tax was levied by Zilla's head under your direct but unofficial orders. In fact, you have given the freedom to the four heads of Zilla to come up with innovative ways to tax the highest paying people and provinces annually."

There was a shocking silence after his words.

Neither the zilla chief nor the village chief would have thought that Vallabh would actually say this out loud in front of the king.

What followed was the laughter of the king.

Vallabh was a simple man who rose to the rank of general thanks to his hard work, honesty, and intelligence. Coming from a poor family, he joined the army twenty-five years ago, at the age of fourteen.

But today was the first time she felt the burden of her age.

He turned to look at the closed door of the king's room behind him, for the last time.

Voices of ridicule and laughter continued to flow through the door where she came out a few minutes ago and she felt renewed disappointment and her slowly smoldering self-esteem.

The village chief who came to him with a complaint about the head of Zilla, actually did it not to improve the state of their village, but because they ended up fighting with the head of Zilla.

Instead of teaching him a lesson, they use Vallabh as a pawn.

They expected a show of force by him using his troops to scare Zilla's head into submission. But did not expect him to be 'stupid' enough to bring the matter to the King!

As soon as they heard it, the head of Zilla and the village chief united and made up a story to dedicate to king Chandranarayan.

They implied that it was Vallabh who became power-hungry and tried to violate Zilla's political problems.

Otherwise, why would a military commander whose sole responsibility was to handle border security, involve himself into the internal affairs of the province?

They had looked forward enough to reach the capital earlier than him and ambushed.

Tonight, it was the culmination of that planning. They not only proved that he was a liar but also questioned his loyalty to the throne.

Vallabh was embarrassed, angry, disappointed…

He stepped out of the ornate palace door and stood there confused. Where should he go now?

Go back to his post or should he try and meet some friends in Middle Zilla who can guide him on what to do?

He is completely incompetent in politics. The mechanism escaped him.

"Greetings, General. You look tired. On behalf of Devyani bai, I am here to invite you to a night filled with wonderful possibilities," the smile of a dazzling young girl, who emerged from the shadows.

Despite being placed in the far corners of the country, he also knew the famous 'queen of brothels.

But he only had a dislike and disinterest for the whole concept.

He looked at the girl who looked young enough to be his daughter and replied neutrally, She said,

"Please offer my apology for refusing such a generous offer. I'm having trouble this time."

The girl smiled at him in unaffected clothes and wordlessly handed the parchment scroll to him.

Walking towards the flaming lamp in the corner of the palace, Vallabh opened the scroll with a barely suppressed impatience.

She had no idea how the whore knew that she was here and secondly why she cared about people like her.

"One should not shut oneself off against the possibility of something extraordinary emerging from the ashes. It is said that any unwanted departure will get its payback. Looking forward to the fun with you tonight…"

......................

*Zilla - Province/state