Visitors?

He checked everything and was satisfied with the arrangements. It was noon now and Adi asked everybody to have lunch. The men should be full of energy when the ship reaches the shore. They do not know if its an enemy or not, so they should be ready for battle. After lunch, Adi along with Pratap, Kaif, Kali and Shane, waited near the shore with the army.

As the Sun started to move towards west, the group of people on the shore could see a small dot in the horizon. Everyone quickly became serious and the atmosphere turned somber.

Adi signaled to Pratap and he shouted out his command, "All men, ready your weapons." Every soldier readied their weapons to prepare for the probable conflict.

Soon, the dot gradually became bigger and bigger and the ship become clear in their eyes. The ship soon reached near the newly started dock and released the anchor.

Meanwhile, Adi relaxed a little when he saw the flag erected on the ship. The flag was familiar to him.

As a prince, he had been taught well so as to not sully the reputation of the Royal Family. It was like, even if you are trash, you are still a Royal trash. Some minimum standards has to be kept so that the prestige of Royal blood is maintained.

So, he had the knowledge about the other kingdoms, their flags and some insignia of famous and major houses across the continent. The flag currently erected on the ship belonged to one of the kingdom, Magadh.

Magadh was one of the major kingdom in continent of Gandhar. But it shared no boundaries with Kalinga. It was almost at the other side of the continent with few other kingdoms in between them.

They were also rumored to be less aggressive. So, the chances of conflict arising should be minimal. But since there was still a chance of conflict, however minimal, he did not reduce his caution.

Meanwhile, the people in the ship could also see the situation on the land and they could understand that situation doesn't seem right. The sailors and people aboard the ship started shuffling uneasily and whispering among them.

Soon, two people came out of the crowd and reached the edge of deck. One of them seemed like a captain or something while another one was surprisingly a woman. The man was holding a pole and raising a white flag atop it. This was to show that they come in peace.

Seeing the white flag, Adi and Pratap looked at each other and he asked Pratap, "General, ask them their identity and purpose of coming here. "

Pratap nodded to Adi, and asked in a loud voice, "The people on the ship, state your identities and purpose of coming here. Make sure to say the truth and do not hide anything or you will not be spared."

The leading man and woman looked at each other and conversed something before the flag bearing man replied in a similar loud voice,

"We come from the Kingdom of Magadh and in our presence is the third princess of Magadh, Her Highness Sandhya. We are here to re-fill our supplies as we lost much time in a storm. We come in peace with no ill-intention."

Adi and his group were surprised when they heard it was a princess from the Magadh kingdom. Adi and Pratap had recognized the flag of Magadh previously but they were also surprised as they did not expect a princess to be in the ship.

It was a big thing for a Royal to visit somewhere. They needed to be welcomed and treated in highest etiquette, befitting a Royal. Now that they knew their reason for the visit, they could be allowed to disembark from the ship.

Pratap turned towards Adi to get his answer and Adi nodded, "Let them disembark and follow the etiquette. We should not show any disrespect or negligence on our part.

But make sure to contain the people here, except for the princess and her retinue. We may never know if someone among them is a spy."

Pratap confirmed, "We will follow your command, Your Majesty."

He then waved towards the ship and said, "We welcome the princess. Now, you can disembark."

The people on the ship clearly heaved a sigh of relief when they heard they could come down. Soon, the ladders and ropes were put and few people came down.

First, there were four armored knights in the led who got down, followed by the princess and the flag bearing man. After them a couple of sailors got down, but they were conscious enough to stay put in their place.

The princess and her retinue walked towards Pratap and Adi, and the people around him readied themselves. The soldiers watched every movement of the group in fear of a sneak attack. Pratap went few steps forward and the group stopped before him.

Everyone among the group was looking at Pratap except for the princess. She had her eyes fixed on Adi. She could see from the ship that he was the leader here and Pratap took orders from him. Even now, everyone in front of her were in a position were they could protect him in any moment.

So, he was clearly very important person. Also, after the captain introduced her, he did not kneel or bow down to her. In this continent, even if a Royal is visiting other kingdoms, their status is the same everywhere. Even the Dukes from other kingdom would bow as a greeting to a Royal member. This proved that maybe the young man was also of equal status, that means he is a Royal too.

Adi could also see that the princess was staring at him. He also stared back. They both locked their eyes for a few moments, and the atmosphere became serious. Nobody said a word, and all watched the two leaders.

Soon, the princess could not hold it anymore and said, "Greetings, I am Sandhya from the Magadh Kingdom."

Adi nodded and introduced himself, "Greetings Princess Sandhya, I, Adi, welcome you and your group to the Kingdom of Rai."

Sandhya and her group were stunned at the introduction. They did not know of any Kingdom of Rai in Gandhar. They looked at each other and wondered if they had arrived in another continent.

Pratap could understand their confusion, so he clarified, "Your Highness Princess, you are in Kingdom of Rai, formerly the state of Rai of Kalinga Kingdom, and standing in the presence of His Majesty King Adi, former prince of Kalinga, and the present King of Rai."

Sandhya stared at Adi with wide eyes while her group was astounded. Sandhya then bowed to Adi and said, "I didn't know that we had Your Majesty here. Please accept my apology for the negligence."

Her people also woke up from their reverie, quickly kneeled down and said together, "We greet Your Majesty."

Adi stopped them as he waved his hand, "Don't worry Princess. I won't hold this against you or your people. Also, there is no need to kneel. We don't require people to kneel in Rai. Stand up all of you."

Sandhya was surprised for the third time. She was more surprised in these few minutes, than she had been in previous year.

One must know that disrespecting the King was a major crime, where the scope of punishment ranges from slavery of generations to death, or in severe cases, a life full of agony.

Even if she is a Royal, she too would not have escaped unscathed, where her kingdom might need to pay compensation to get her back. Now, she was happy that Adi didn't hold it against them for disrespecting, but to hear that the people do not need to kneel was completely unexpected.

She had a hard time believing it as it was a custom followed from the start of known history and regardless of Kingdoms or their changes, it remained same.

She thought that maybe he was just saying it to get some goodwill, as she had heard a few things about the unfavoured prince of Kalinga. She determined to now the truth while she is here.

Adi saw the doubtful look on her face and inwardly smiled. Nobody would believe what he said, as it has no precedence and no one ever thought about it. He didn't clarify anything but motioned Sandhya,

"Lets go to the castle Princess. We will have a feast in your welcome. You are after all the first foreign guest Rai received after its separation. Also, your people will need to stay here for a while. I ask for your understanding."

Sandhya nodded, "No problem, we will do as you say."

Adi was relieved that the princess did not show arrogance and throw a tantrum. Otherwise, the situation would have become complicated. He said, "Please follow me."

Sandhya gestured, "After you, Your Majesty."

Adi signaled Pratap to look after the ship and the people, while he led the Magadh group and his ministers towards the castle.