7) The truth

After both of them climbed out of the fountain, they sat on the bench placed under the Ashoka tree. 

"What exactly were you trying to do, Princess Bhanumati? "

Aryan asked helplessly as he looked at the completely drenched princees sitting opposite him, with his own robe draped over her body. 

"I... I, was just trying to scare you. I didn't really mean to push you... Acchooo... into the fountain. "

Bhanumati said guiltily. 

Out of the corner of her eyes she secretly looked at his six pack abs and streamlined muscles, blushing even more and tightened the robe around her body. 

Aryan couldn't help but chuckle at Bhanumati's explanation, her adorable guiltiness, and her blushing cheeks. He didn't mind the unexpected dip in the fountain; in fact, he found the situation quite amusing.

"Well, you certainly succeeded in scaring me," he admitted, a playful glint in his eyes. "I'll remember not to underestimate your mischievous side, Princess."

He watched as Bhanumati discreetly adjusted the robe he had offered her, a faint smile playing on his lips. The moment was filled with a sense of camaraderie and a shared secret, making their growing connection even stronger.

"Perhaps next time, we can find a less watery way to surprise each other."

Aryan suggested with a wink, enjoying the lightheartedness of the moment.

"I'm sorry. "

Bhanumati said embarrassedly. 

"No need to apologize, princess Bhanumati. It's all in good fun. And look on the good side, it gave us a memorable moment."

Aryan waved off her apology, still amused by the situation.

He glanced at the Ashoka tree under which they sat, its branches casting dappled shadows on the ground. The tranquility of the garden provided a welcome respite from the intrigues of the court and the seriousness of their recent discussions.

"Thank you for understanding, Prince Mahendra. You have an odd way of making even unexpected situations enjoyable."

Bhanumati smiled, feeling a sense of relief.

As they sat together under the Ashoka tree, their laughter filled the air, and for a moment, it felt as if the weight of their responsibilities had lifted. 

Amidst the relaxed atmosphere under the Ashoka tree, Aryan decided to bring up the conversation he had with Shubh earlier in the day.

"Bhanumati," he began, "Earlier, when I crossed paths with Shubh in the corridor, he mentioned something about the reason for the ambush. He implied there was something Princess Bhanumati didn't tell me. Can you shed some light on that?"

Aryan's tone was gentle, but there was a curiosity in his eyes. He wanted to understand if there were any hidden motives or secrets behind the recent events, as the mention of such information had piqued his interest.

"What? Oh, I mean there is nothing like that. He was just trying to... Sigh, alright, I'll tell you the truth Prince Mahendra. I can't bear to lie to my benefactor, that's why I was hoping that you wouldn't find out about it and that way I won't have to face the current dilemma. "

After a fierce mental struggle, Bhanumati finally decided to tell him the truth. 

"Let's start from the beginning. Our ancestor, Sage Dirghatamas, one of the Angirasa Rishis was troubled by a bad marriage, unvirtuous sons, and, ultimately, abandonment by other sages and the community.

His children grew up to be covetous and they brought a bad name upon themselves and their father. Ultimately, the fellow sages and students of Dirghatamas abandoned him, for having raised bad sons which raised question on his teachings. 

Dirgatamas, dejected and utterly alone, sought consolation from his wife, Pradeshwari.

He asked her whether she was also upset with him. And to his surprise, she said she was. She said he was not a real husband, neither a protector (Pati) nor a supporter (Bhartri), and she had had to raise the children all alone.

The hurt sage angrily berated her. But it only ended fuel to the fire. 

Enraged, Pradeshwari asked her sons to throw their father into the Ganga River. So Gautama and his brother tied Dirghatamas to a raft and threw him into the water.

At that time, King Bali happened to be performing ritual ablutions in the holy river Ganga and saw the sage and rescued him.

His life now saved, the sage asked King Bali what he could do in return to repay this life saving grace. 

When he was asked this question, the troubled king asked Dirghatamas to engage in Niyoga with his wife so that Queen Sudeshna might be able to have children.

Although he was a very powerful king, blessed with great knowledge, the love of his subjects and invincibility in battle. There was one thing that troubled him very much. He was unable to have children even after many years of marriage and seeing many doctors. 

Dirghatamas finally assented to his request. 

But the Queen was disgusted with this idea so she sent the blind sage a woman of low birth instead and with that woman Dirghatamas sired Kakshivata and ten more sons.

Later, Dirghatamas came to learn that he had been deceived and informed King Bali.

However King Bali ultimately managed to make Queen Sudeshna agree to this plan and gave birth to six sons, bequeathing them their namesake kingdoms of Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Pundra, Cumbha, and Odra.

During the subsequent generations, among the five kingdoms, some drifted apart due to conflict of interests while some came together as allies.

And the present situation is such that Paundraka Vasudeva, the ambitious king of Pundra kingdom, who considers himself the avatar of Lord Vishnu, 

wants to reunite all the six kingdoms to restore the grandeur of the ancestors. 

He thinks that only that reunited kingdom is truly worthy of being ruled by his proud self. 

But naturally, the other five kingdoms resisted against this. Although they couldn't do anything Paundrak's power.

Just two months ago, Udra and Kalinga were the only independent kingdoms left behind and the rest were all subdued by Paundrak. 

Although after he had a conflict with Hastinapur, Bhisma himself led the battle and as a result Paundrak had to abandon Anga. But naturally his pride couldn't take it. He couldn't let Hastinapur have the last laugh so just before the end of the war he gifted Anga kingdom to Jaraasandh. So now, Anga kingdom is in a state where both Hastinapur and Magadha declare their territory. 

Aside from that, we received news from our spies that Paundrak used deception and schemes to assassinate the King of Udra kingdom and made it his subsidiary kingdom. 

That only left us, the Kalinga kingdom. And this attack of Shubh was actually part of Paundrak's schemes. He wanted to use me as a bargaining chip to subdue Kalinga without much bloodshed.

Even some of our own people have sided with him, making our situation even more delicate. But I didn't want to involve you in all this. That's why I thought it would be best if you don't find out about it. But since it has come to this....."