Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

V

Although it was a matriarchal rule, administrative decisions were in the hands of the Royal Committee.

Consisting of four members, one from each Zilla, the committee has strict qualification rules for someone to be selected.

The committee is replaced every ten years and most members of the royal committee nominate several candidates from each of their provinces for the formation of the next team.

In addition, each administration came up with stricter criteria to make the lives of the participants more difficult.

But it did not dampen the intentions of the applicants, even the state managed to produce better committee at all times.

This is reflected in the stable socioeconomic disparity index which is the right policy indicator to implement.

Once an applicant is elected a member of the Royal Committee, his life becomes a mixture of stressful working hours and enjoying unimaginable profits.

One of the benefits is the annual supervision of the Queen's performance.

All four members were allowed to question and criticize every decision made by him.

It is very important for the Queen to be able to give a valid answer.

If he fails to convince the committee of the wisdom behind his actions, the members have the authority to overturn that decision.

On the other hand, it was you who took the final decision in the selection of committee members in the last interview.

There are checks and balances to ensure that there is no absolute power with one person.

But, as always, there are ways and means for power to find its hungry owner.

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

Northern Zilla

"I err, want to talk to you about something," Mriga wakes up very early and walks to the police station to arrest her mother right after her night shift ends.

Bela hid the shock of seeing her daughter at the station early in the morning, behind a smile, "Sure, let's talk. Should we stop by for a jalebis* and a cup of caesar* milk before going home?"

Mriga nodded enthusiastically and started walking down the hill towards the market.

Being the main security checkpoint for North Zilla, the station is located on a hilltop, providing sweeping views over the entire region.

At the age of fourteen, Mriga's body had not shown any signs of femininity. She has grown tall enough to reach her mother's height of 5'2 inches but no indentations have been seen yet.

His slender body was toned and agile with all the strenuous physical activity.

Her hair fell right under her shoulders in a rippling cascade and those sparkling brown eyes had an unusual embarrassment in them this morning.

"So tell Mama which man encouraged you to give up your sleep early in the morning" asked her mother, holding a cup of sweet and crunchy sweetened milk and jalebi.

Mriga looked at her mother in surprise, "How did Mama know that I wanted to talk about a man?"

Bela hid her smile behind her own glass and gestured for her daughter to continue whatever she wanted to say.

"Err, did Mama remember that I mentioned about a classmate who had helped me with my luggage during the last trip home? In the chaos of carrying younger children, I had misplaced my suitcase and after searching for half an hour, I was ready to accept defeat. Suddenly, this man from the classki came panting and dragging my luggage with him," he said, the memory subconsciously carrying a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Yes, Mama remembered. You were very grateful to her, especially since her cart was about to leave but she took the risk of carrying your luggage" her mother recalled.

"Yes, the same guy! He..err, a member of South Zilla, so he traveled by road to reach his place. From the day he joined Gurukul, he had always excelled in every exam. His focus and dedication are legendary." he explained in a proud tone.

Bela maintains a flat face on her daughter's enthusiastic description of the man. He could already see how enamored his little girl was with his benefactor.

Meanwhile, Mriga continued his story, "Eh, so we became good friends after we returned from that vacation. He was very helpful, also quite attentive. He's also great at sports."

"Alright, mama understands that she is a model of virtue. So, are you trying to say that you look at her as a role model, like an older brother?" ask her mother naughty.

Mriga gave her mother a growing look of horror, "Tidaaaak, I mean. I did look at her for inspiration, but not like you said."

She could not let her mother get the wrong impression of her feelings towards him.

"We err. good friend. It's just that some silly girl from class started teasing me, connecting us... Mama knows how it is, right, not because there's something going on between her and me" he added hurriedly.

With no reaction coming from her mother, she decided to take the plunge and said, "Just I think I've started to like her and everything about her. Did Mama know, she had a sweet smile and dimples appeared on her cheeks when she smiled wide enough."

Bela looked at her daughter's smitten expression, "Mama can see how much you like her. But the question is, does he like you too?"

Mriga heaved a sigh of relief at the lack of condemnation in her mother's voice.

She had been arguing endlessly with herself before returning home about whether she should discuss this with him or not.

But then there was no one else he could go to.

Throughout her childhood, her parents have been her biggest supporters, friends, and best friends.

Every decision at home is taken after noisy, sometimes loud conversations, and he has been a part of that since he was seven.

Looking at her mother's current calm face, she knew that she had properly come and discussed this sea of puzzling emotions with him.

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

Northern Zilla

"She hasn't told me that yet but I think she likes me too. I mean he does things for me that he doesn't do for others, even if it's the smallest gesture. When I fell ill at the beginning of this semester, she had sent fruits to my room with classmates. Every day he looked for me after college to chat about what he had been taught all day. We are talking about politics, finance, culture, sports, everything" Mriga said.

"That sounds good. But why do you feel you're nervous about something?" ask Bela.

Mriga stopped and then spoke softly, "I... I'm afraid of being rejected. What if he finds that I am not as good as him in many ways, when I am not? I'm far from being the prettiest girl, I'm a stable value but on average, I can be awkward by the time I'm immersed in my thoughts. I don't know how to behave like a woman. So, I wonder if I should hold back and see where this went before investing too much of myself into it?"

Waving her arms around her daughter's shoulder, Bela said, "The important thing is to enjoy the moment and take the things that come. There is no point in thinking too much about this matter. You love it, you enjoy it together - isn't that enough for Now?"

Mriga looked at her mother in surprise. He has an uncanny ability to understand the most chaotic scenarios.

Both Raghu and Mriga are too reactive and prone to theatrics. It is buying that makes them grounded and pervasive in reality.

"Thank you, maa, I know mama will help me," she hugged her mother.

"You're always welcome. But didn't you forget to tell me something?" she asked.

Mriga gave him a puzzled look, "I promise to tell you everything…"

"No, you missed the most important part. What's name?" bela asked with a clinking laugh.

"Oh!! Name Yashvardhan. She's taller than me, has wavy hair.." she blabbed.

"No, no, I don't need a physical description. Name is enough for now. I think we should start going home before your father throws a search party for you and me" he said.

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

South Zilla

"It has been two weeks since you returned from Gurukul. But it looks like you left something precious," Yashvardhan's father called out to him from behind.

Yash turned his gaze from the lake to look at his father.

"I just admire the view. It's very peaceful here" he replied as he stood up to greet his father.

Yash looked at his father with a cautious expression before taking a leap of faith, "How could my father be wrong in his judgment. That's .. I mean, not because I miss anyone. But the goose that just flew into the lake reminds me of someone."

"Aha. You mean he's as handsome as a swan" asked his father with a twinkle in his eye.

Yash tried to hold back the smile on the corner of his lips, "No, quite the opposite."

With that faint remark, he got up, "I have some tasks to complete. I'll see you for dinner tonight."

"This boy is too serious for his own good," his father murmured, staring at his backward back.

The first signs of young adulthood are seen from Yash's deepening voice and growing muscles.

Harshvardhan only realized that his son had reached the height of his eyes.

She inherited good looks from her mother along with her bright coloring.

He was the perfect son that anyone wanted, except that he was too obedient.

Sometimes, Harshvardhan wished for his son to rebel, only to grow a backbone.

Yash breathed a sigh of relief from barely escaping his father. He did not want his father to guess the depth of his emotions at this stage.

Knowing him, he will not leave Yash until he squeezes every detail out of him.

Harshvardhan is a fifth-generation money lender but unlike his predecessors, he does not believe in handing out loans at interest rates to people who cannot afford to pay later.

It's not that he doesn't want to make money in this Capitalist economy. It's just that according to him a growing business means having money that continues to flow in the form of interest rather than buying the land of the person.

He was patient enough to collect 'golden eggs from hens' every day.

In his experience, he realized that it not only made him better and a longer return, but also gave him a lot of goodwill, attracting potential customers from inside and outside Zilla.

One does not need to squeeze out a borrower to get the most out of it and his business model has demonstrated just that.

As a policy, he tends to maintain a healthy work-life balance, unlike his inedible wife by turning South Zilla into a kind of trophy province.

"Your mother will be joining us tonight. So, make sure you're not late to reach the dinner table" his father said, retreating.

Ujjwala was a member of the Royal Committee representing South Zilla. She is beautiful, ambitious, and a strict administrator.

Although there was no open competition among the four Zillas but each wanted to seize the other.

Ujjwala, actually has the maximum reason to do it.

More than two decades ago, she had become one of the last two contestants to the queen's throne.

In the end, Samyukta was elected and Ujjwala never recovered from the humiliation.

The daughter of a rich merchant, she had an unparalleled beauty in her youth.

His father's family was very close to the reigning queen of the time, who had encouraged Ujjwala to train for the Queen's pageant since childhood. There was nothing he could not do, be it excelling in studies or politics or sports.

Even so, the orphan girl out of nowhere managed to defeat him.

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

After spending years licking his wounds, Ujjwala finally applied for the royal committee exam three years ago and was elected.

"Mama looks too stressed, Maa. Is the work pressure too heavy?" Yash spoke to his mother after bending over to touch her feet respectfully, that night.

"Mama can say the same thing about you. Are you not eating well? Gurukul has always been famous for its exemplary kitchens, but I think you are thinner. Maybe you need to complain to the Queen's office about it" he said.

Ever since he took over the role as a member of the royal committee, he has been looking for considerable trouble to raise against Rani Samyukta.

She still believed that the woman was the wrong choice as their queen.

"Ahem. Sometimes there are other contributing factors as well. Our son seems to be suffering from one of those unnamed factors" Harshvardhan said faintly before sitting in his chair for dinner.

The heat crawled Yash's face. He knew it was a bad idea to say something to his father, who was born naughty.

Thankfully her mother seemed busy enough to miss the meaning behind her husband's words.

Frowning impatiently at Harshvardhan, he spoke to Yash, "Dad is back tonight especially, to have an important conversation with you. I have to go back to the nearest coffee farm early in the morning."

"But Maa, I didn't spend any time with you during this vacation at all. I will return to Gurukul by the end of next week and will not see you for another four months" he protested.

Smiling fondly at his son, he replied, "I know and I'm sorry. But I want to make sure that Southern Zilla reports the best profit for the year and for that I will need to do a private tour of the entire region now. We have successfully resolved the old feud between landowners and workers. Negotiations are tough but I think productivity will double now."

"Can we avoid the politics at the dinner table?" harshvardhan said slowly.

In Chandragarh, four Zillas reported balance sheets, new policies, issues, and more during a comprehensive conclave at the end of each winter to the central zone.

If one Zilla comes up with best practices that can be replicated across the country, the Zilla is recognized and rewarded through tax redemption, which in turn means more money in the coffers of the Zilla.

In the last ten years, Zilla North has won this award four times.

They have reported the lowest crime rates, also finding waste disposal methods that have been adopted across the country, maximum new work has been created by them in one year and they have found a method to store and utilize rainwater around the world this year.

Ujjwala could not bear to see the head of North Zilla and told himself that in his tenure, he would surpass that winning record.

Hence, he doubled his efforts to improve his area, ensuring that all his subordinates worked equally hard.

"By being complacent about your family's money lending business, what would you understand about hard work and rewards?" she scoffed at her husband.

Yash jumped into the conversation before the argument flared further, "Eh, Mama wants to discuss something important with me, Maa?"

Ujjwala paused to take a breath before speaking to his son, “Last month we received a letter from the queen's office regarding the process of selecting a new queen. The four members of the royal committee were asked to give their views on the existing process and whether any changes should be made."

"But this is the twenty-fourth year of the queen's reign. So why did the preparations start so quickly?" he asked with interest.

"It appears that this queen wants a longer, more comprehensive assessment of the candidate. In any case, an important part of this whole process is the fact that mama has identified the most suitable candidate for the throne" Ujjwala announced dramatically.

Both father and son looked at him with emotions ranging from shock to alertness. Harshvardhan knew about his wife's anxiety towards the current queen and did not support her entering the political arena.

But he couldn't hold it back anymore and had already run out of excuses three years ago when he applied for the position of the royal committee.

Due to the ten-year tenure of the committee, he said the term was long enough for Ujjwala to feel important and short enough to avoid a political accident.

But the spirit that radiated in his eyes, right now, was stirring up his spirit.

"Regardless of when or who the queen chooses, it should have nothing to do with us. We have no candidates to offer from our homes" Harshvardhan said on purpose.

"Who's fault is that? According to the rules of the queen, if a family is blessed with a daughter, they cannot bear any more children. But if a boy is born, they are allowed to try another girl. But you didn't let that happen. Had we tried to have another child after Yash was born, who knows, we could have made our daughter eligible for the competition as well. Akj doesn't need to see anyone else," he gets restless.

"Where is the guarantee that a girl will be born? I don't want to risk your health after a baby born earlier. Yash is a healthy child and you are healthy. That's enough for me. Why are we talking about the past? The fact is that we have an amazing son and while the parents of qualified girls will work hard nervously to prepare for the competition, the, Yash and I are going boating and fishing," he winks at his son.

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

Jalebi – Fries, sweets made of flour, orange in color

Caesar – Saffron