6- Past
Beneath all the turmoil and beyond all the bravery , this act gathered a rather courageous group and precise execution . While the kingdom knew very little of what went on about in other kingdoms that lay beyond the sea and for thirteen odd years they lay dispatched from the rest of the world , but this plethora of stupidity and nonsense was about to end as Serena herself had taken reins to orchestrate a rather arrogance opposed escape , people took her to be a rather sensitive queen , but as they say " a person you know very little of could either kindle you with a smile or kill with it " and moreover she was a beautiful woman with history no one knew much about except for Creed ofcourse , it was in his innate nature to know about everyone especially about the ones who posed a threat to him or his status . His knowledge about Serena and her past could mean he saw her as a threat for reasons only he could know .
Daughter of King Dhruv and Reena from far east , the land of mystic arts , the kingdom of Kriya . kings feared to wage war against the mighty Dhruv and his hostile warriors , thousands of elephants posed a big threat to the enemies . Beyond the magic the land held , was a treasure , Shriya . The princess was loved , accepted and feared by the people all the same . A valiant fighter , skilled swordsman , and a rather mysterious mastermind beyond all of it .
Dhruv was a fierce king , but what stood most of all was a rumoured curse he befell when he sacrificed a newborn of a woman in the kingdom after having heard of a ritual that could bring death to all his mortal enemies making him and his subjects supreme . " A child born on the tenth day after a full moon before the dawn to a woman without a husband , has to undergo Rutyu to attain the supremacy in Warfield and destroy the oppressors conpletely assuring the victory of the oppressed ". Rutyu was a ritual where the person to be sacrificed will be covered in palm and eucalyptus oil and then has to be bathed with turmeric mixed almond milk , a dried coconut to be broken on ther right foot of the person , to signify the unification of life and death . The person will then be covered in banana leaves and burnt alive . This was one of the extreme rituals that people rarely performed .
Trisha was a woman of ecstasy and lust , did drugs and got laid for money most of her life , loyal to none but herself and her body , she caressed herself with utmost care as did all the whores in the Kanpaly area of the kingdom . She was one of the most desired women , and hence cost a lot . The only person she ever loved was herself until she had a baby on one fateful night , she could give her life for the child as soon as she looked into his eyes crying for breath . "oh my precious baby " she said and held her on her chest for some time . The news reached the king , the baby ticked all the requirements so he ordered for the baby to be taken by any means .
The ritual was to be performed in the evening just before the stars clearly shone . It rained plenty that day , the roads were muddy , horses slower than usual , homes with lanterns on , the whole city looked cynical , everyone knew the king was waiting for a timely birth of an unlucky child who the king tagged to be the saviour of the kingdom . Trisha , a happy mother couldn't even fathom what was to come to her . People began gathering out of their homes with jute sacks over their head hanging till below their knees , rain turned fierce , thunder and lightening , like the mystical land was singing sadly for the inevitable demise of an innocent creation. People , with lantern in one of their hands and their loved ones in another began walking behind the men sent by the king . These men knew the task at hand , their hands shivered even as they walked with frightening pace towards Trisha's house . The clouds rumbled , people gathering in crowds , none bothering to close the doors behind , kept walking , stomping the mud and then , they all stopped .
The kingsmen knocked on Trisha's door . " look who it is " told tired yet smiling Trisha to the maid . Thud " the guards rushed in as soon as the door was opened and hurried to Trisha ,trying to grab her baby . "stop , let go ,let go , he's my son " yelled the scared mother . she held on to the baby so tightly , the soldiers had to let go . They decided to bring her along with the baby . They pulled her arms and kept dragging her on the muddy streets , rain drops hitting their eyes ,strong as pelted stones . All this while she held her baby , they knew what they were doing , while Trisha cried in disbelief the soldiers cried in pain and agony , even the rain couldn't hide their tears . But , orders were to be followed as they swore their life on it and hence they brought her and the baby to the cave where Rutyu was to be performed . The cave was as the end of the beach where the waves could be seen from but not felt , the entrance was huge , but shrunk as they went inside , it was damp and cold but tolerable , poorly lit as only few dry wooden sticks caught fire at one end were stuck on the sides and water dribbled through rocks . She was pulled into the cave while people stopped at the entrance , their whispers could invite a sleeping whale . The view was as dramatic as it could be , thunder claps making people nervous , pity for woman and her baby , fear for themselves.
The soldiers dragged her to far end of the cave , she laid there with her baby in her arms , crying . " you must be blessed , you are truly a gift to the kingdom , the child with such power is not just your's , he belongs to the people , he was born to bring power to all of us " the king told in a rather soothing and cunning way while pointing at soldiers to take the baby from her , she couldn't struggle further and lost the baby , two people held her to the cave wall while the fire was lit in the middle . Yajur , the powerful and pious priest was the one performing the ritual , a saffron shawl draped across his chest , his forehead covered with white ash , and hands holding a red cloth , a scary figure who was frighteningly loud while chanting the deeds . The baby was brought to him and he signalled them to put the baby on his lap. He didn't dare to look baby in the eye , cause he knew that it could never be said if one soul's sacrifice for a million souls is excusable .Yajur dipped his hands in Oil pots beside him and rubbed the baby's body , he continued the procedure while the mother wept in horror , the soldiers with fear lurking in their heart , but the king stood still , his conscious was clear of any evil doing , he thought he's doing what had to be done .
The preperation was complete , Yajur took a dry coconut , raised his right hand and kept asking forgiveness , everyone in the cave were shaking with grief and fear , king wouldn't even finch until he the priest fiercely lowered his arm and bashed the coconut over the foot of baby , while it's cries could not get any louder , the bleeding from a broken leg spoke enough of the immesurable pain it could be feeling , Trisha stopped struggling and fell to ground , moist floor with sand itched her thighs .
The whole cave went dumb as they watched the priest coverd banana leaves over baby , he touched it's foot as a sign of apology , held the covered baby and thre it in the fire while the king watched with blurry eyes . Trisha stands up gulping her whine and slowly walks towards the king , who's stood beside by the priest . the soldiers slowly waking up from a deep sorrow rush to catch hold of her , she runs and falls on the king's body , clinging his cloth tightly she wishpered something in agony and anger . The priest could hear it too and was left shell faced so was the king who yelled " take her away" . Soldiers pulled her off of the king's body while she kept yelling "I curse you so king , I curse you so ".
Shriya hated her father for what he had done and so did the citizens . There were a few untimely deaths of kings who posed a threat to King Dhruv , but no ond felt a need to connect them to a ritual , the cause being the worth . Was their deaths worth the henious act .
Years passed , Shriya was given away in marriage through a humongous ceremony to Orion who made noise in matters of war and trade . Shriya renamed herself to what people now knew as Serena . The queen who has seen it all , lived it all , seen the pain of people , heard their cries , learnt to figh , learnt politics and economics , married to a powerful king . She was a calm queen for many long years until Aeon was born , but now she couldn't see this anymore , orion remembered her of her father who took stupid decisions in life at times . So now , she had to get involved , for betterment of her son's future . And above all this there was a secret , the CURSE , none other than King Dhruv and priest Yajur knew what it was , and they never spoke of it to anyone . But there was one person to whom secrets meant power , secrets that could befall a kingdom , Creed . He knew something the world didn't , no one could even say if he knew something that deeply burried . Yet , he did not know one thing , Serena was no ordinary queen , she and creed together planned Aeon's escape along with others , but she knew when to draw her sword and whose throat to slash . Creed had a move planned , while Serena had the whole game planned .
Aeon kept running , orion kept chasing , Serena looked down the window to see Creed looking above closing his eyes and saying something to himself .
" The king must know " whispered creed .
Serena smiled hesitantly to herself and says " The king will know .... , of your death ".