Off To Vijaysthal!

"Ma…uh…um…Ma! When did you come here?", Deepshikha asked her mother, trying to sound happy to see her rather than scared.

"Just now", Queen Jyoti replied. "So, what were you girls planning? May I join in too?"

"Oh, we weren't exactly planning to do anything; we were just having a... discussion?", Chandrika said, looking at the other two for support.

"Uh, yes! Yes, your majesty!", Asha chimed in. "We were definitely not scheming anything."

"Is that so?", asked the Queen, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, Ma, actually it is that…", Deepshikha tried to respond, but Asha held her hand. She answered in her stead, "You see, your majesty, it's only been a few days since the two princesses met each other, but they have become such good friends that it's like they have known each other forever. I have also become good friends with Chandrika. But, as you know, The Spring Festival ends the day after tomorrow, and all the guests will return to their kingdoms, along with Chandrika. The two of them were feeling very down, especially after having spent such a great day together. So, we were just thinking about how we can extend the time we can spend together, even if it means for a few more days… or maybe weeks?"

Queen Jyoti came near to them and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked at Asha and asked in a facetiously serious tone, "And exactly how are you planning to do so, dear?"

"Um, your majesty…", Asha looked down and twiddled her thumbs. Then she looked back up and said with a smile, "Your majesty! How about we go for a visit to Vijaysthal? Like, me and Deepshikha will go along with Chandrika to her kingdom and... uh... and".

The other girls looked at her with surprise, joy, and relief glittering in their eyes.

"All right, I get it", Queen Jyoti laughed. "Hmm", She thought deeply for a while. Then she looked at Deepshikha and asked, "Well, to be honest, we shouldn't be having any problems with your visit to Vijaysthal. After all, King Virdutta has been a good friend and ally to us for many years, since the time when he and your father were kids and went to the same gurukul. But Deepshikha, my child, this is the first time you will be going outside the kingdom all by yourself. This will be a big step in your life. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course I will be!", Deepshikha replied. She folded her hands, puffed her cheeks, and glanced away. "You can trust me to be able to take care of myself, right, Ma? After all, I am not a kid anymore."

"Yes, I do trust you", Queen Jyoti said, holding her hand on Deepshikha's shoulder. "But…"

"Please, no more 'buts', Aunt Jyoti", Chandrika interrupted the queen, jumping across the bed towards her. "You might not trust your daughter, but you do trust me, right? After all, am I not your favorite niece? I am more than capable of taking care of my friends. And they will be in my kingdom! Of course, I can handle that". Chandrika looked at Queen Jyoti with sad eyes before looking downward.

Queen Jyoti smiled and patted her head.

"Fine", she said, and all of the girls looked at her with eagerness. "You can go there together, but…"

"Yeah!", Chandrika hugged Queen Jyoti from behind, while Deepshikha hugged her from the front.

"You are the best aunt, Aunt Jyoti! I love you!", Chandrika shouted in her ear.

"I love you too, Ma!", Deepshikha joined in the shouts of joy.

Queen Jyoti was smiling at each one of them, then, holding out her hand to Asha, she said, "Why are you far away, Asha? You may join in too."

Asha gave her a big smile and a big hug.

The queen kissed their foreheads and said, "Tomorrow, I will tell this to King Virdutta. I am sure he won't mind inviting her friend's daughter and her friend to his palace. But promise me, you two. You will absolutely stay away from any kind of trouble. And Chandrika, you will ensure that they stay good girls. Or else I will ground them in this palace for life."

"Yes, we will!", the three girls replied with a shout. Queen Jyoti stuck her fingers in her ears. "Oh dear", she said. "You three sure can be a loud bunch". She patted their heads, smiled again, and left the room.

After she was gone, Chandrika's friends turned around and looked at her, their arms folded. Chandrika looked at them one by one and shrugged her shoulders.

"What?", she asked.

"Aunt Jyoti?", asked Deepshikha.

"Favorite niece?", asked Asha.

"Um, yes, why not? I am her niece, right? Baba and King Devdutta being good friends, like brothers and all that…", Chandrika replied.

"But her favorite niece? She just met you a few days ago!", Deepshikha pointed out.

"But do you have any other cousins, let alone your mother having any other nieces? Doesn't that make me her only niece, and thus her favorite?", Chandrika countered.

"Hmm, I can't argue with that", said Deepshikha.

"Neither can I", Asha agreed with her.

"But all this isn't important right now", said Chandrika. "Asha?"

She turned toward her. "It's not that I am not happy to have you at my place. In fact, I am feeling great! But how will this help with our little problem here?" She pointed at me.

"Yes, that's right", Deepshikha agreed with her. "We can't figure out anything about it here. What better will it be there?"

"I don't know", Asha replied. "I really didn't think about it at that moment. Yes, it will be great to visit another kingdom, but... I guess we just have to bide our time and wait to see how things turn out. For now, all we can do is hope to find an answer to this mystery."

Chandrika flopped down on the bed, her hands under her head.

"Don't worry about it", she said lazily. "If everything fails, we will still have my Mama to help us with it."

"Your Mama?", asked Deepshikha, flopping next to her, supporting her head with one hand, and looking at her.

"Yes, he's the royal scholar", Chandrika replied. "But say, you two did choose the most boring place for a visit."

"Why so?", asked Asha, placing her head on her palms.

"Oh, that you will realize when you get there", Chandrika answered.

"It can't be any worse than my palace, right?", asked Deepshikha.

"It won't be any better", said Chandrika.

Then she stretched her hands and adjusted herself on the bed.

"Ahhhh-hhaaaaaaa", she yawned loudly. "I am too tired to move anywhere", she said drowsily. "Guess I'll just sleep here for tonight. Alright girls, sweet dreams. See you in the morning."

She turned to her side and started snoring softly.

Deepshikha and Asha stared at her and then at each other in awe.

Then, both of them smiled at each other mischievously.

"Say, Asha", Deepshikha said in a slightly high tone. "It looks like we have a sleepover at hand here."

"Yes, Deepshikha", Asha replied in the same tone. "So it seems."

"Then we too must treat our guest to our special hospitality, right?", Deepshikha asked her again in the same tone.

"Of course we must", replied Asha, winking at her.

Both of them lifted their hands, their fingers crooked.

Then, both of them shouted loudly, "Tickles!", and violently tickled Chandrika, who immediately started to rock on the bed in reaction, laughing uncontrollably. She got up and counter-attacked her assailants.

And so, the great tickle battle ensued, which continued until the rocking got too out of hand for the bed to handle, and all three of them fell off it, a bundle of laughing, crazy girls in utter chaos.

The morning brought a great deal of huffing, shoving, pulling, and dragging.

The closing of The Spring Festival was apparently finished in great fashion, as the sky was colored in the bright colors of spring by the pyrotechnics, who, with the help of special fireworks, shot up flower petals and gulaal, sending a wave of amazement and excitement through the audience, which responded with loud cheers and songs.

I spent the day trapped underneath another stone on Deepshikha's desk, with the views and sounds of the event visible from the window in front. At night, the pyrotechnics switched to proper fireworks, the ones that lit up the sky in a thousand colors like the stars in heaven.

But my captors had little time to spend on these events.

In the morning itself, Asha had dragged in gigantic trunks to pack their things in. With Deepshikha's help, by the time it was evening, they had packed almost everything that was in that room. Clothes, shoes, bedsheets, curtains, Deepshikha's writing supplies, jewelry—the hulking masses of iron had consumed them all. As both of them sat on top of one trunk each, Chandrika came to check on them. She looked around the room in surprise, her mouth wide open.

"What have you two been doing all day?", she asked. "Are you planning to take the whole palace with you?"

Chandrika then had to explain to her friends the proper rules and regulations one must follow to pack their belongings for a long trip. Her two students smiled sheepishly, realizing the mess they had created, as none of them had really gone anywhere outside the kingdom before and, hence, did not know how to pack their things. With Chandrika supervising them with a stick in her hand, which only she knew where it came from, they had re-opened their trunks and repacked everything from the beginning. When they were finally finished, they had successfully brought down the count of trunks to one. Both of them fell on the floor, utterly exhausted, while Chandrika beamed with satisfaction at her teaching skills, twirling the stick around.

The next day, all the esteemed guests left for their respective kingdoms while taking part in a royal parade. Every royal family sat in their royal carriages, acknowledging the cheering crowd as they passed them on to The Raj Marg. Their escorting guards marched grandly, their legs rising and falling in sync with the drum beat. Trumpeters blew on their shringas and other sorts of trumpets to announce the departure of the royal families and, hence, the end of the royal parade.

The only family that hadn't taken part in the parade until now was that of Vijaysthal itself. That's because we—that is, me and my captors, along with King Virdutta—were to be a part of it.

The crowd waited in bated anticipation of the first public appearance of their beloved Princess Deepshikha, who has only been seen from afar inside the palace, and that too only in slight glimpses. When she finally stepped out of those huge doors with her family and friends, the crowd broke into a loud cheer. Everyone wished her a long and prosperous life and also wished for her safe return from her trip to Vijaysthal. The Princess too smiled brightly, eagerly waving at each one of her subjects, which gave them even greater joy.

But even then, it seemed uncertain that she would depart at all, for her parents had been dragging their feet when they came to see her off. King Dharmaraj asked his friend, King Virdutta, for the hundredth time that day itself to take care of his innocent, fragile child and that he may forgive any mistakes that she might commit during her stay. King Virdutta assured him of her safety and said, "My friend, you should really stop worrying about your daughter. She might not have the same age and experience as us. But she has the skills and intelligence to make up for both. You admitted that to me once. Therefore, let go of your fears about her. If push comes to shove, she will have me to protect her from any harm". King Dharmaraj finally felt relieved after hearing these words. He embraced his friend, wished him a safe journey, and invited him to come visit Dharmaskhetra again.

Queen Jyoti, meanwhile, had patted the heads of Deepshikha and Asha for the thousandth time, each time followed by a silent sob. Her daughter and her friends tried their best to console her, but the best she could do was give them a sad smile.

At last, it was time for us to leave. King Virdutta got on his horse, and the girls boarded the royal carriage. The Royal Escorts of Vijaysthal fell into formation as the drummer beat his drum to announce their departure. As the procession passed by the citizens of the kingdom, they bid farewell with teary eyes and warm smiles. When it went past the gates of the city, Deepshikha took a deep breath, taking in her newfound freedom. Her eyes glittered with excitement, and a bright smile came to her face.

The future was looking bright.