Page 20 of The Prince Without Sorrow

Chapter Nineteen

Ashoka

‘T AKSILA IS FATHER’S GREATEST FAILURE. ’

From his periphery, Ashoka saw Sau’s eyes widen to owlish proportions. Seated around them at a large, circular table, the remaining council members gazed at him with thinly veiled shock. His father was rarely – if ever – criticized for his tactics. Such was the way of a monarchy. This, he had realized in his adolescence.

He and Sau sat beside each other as they presented their joint plan to the general council regarding Taksila. They had holed themselves in his study for days on end following the reading of his father’s will, poring over local maps, the governor, and civilian reports on the nature spirit rampages. His brother’s main goal was to stop them, and perhaps reverse the slow death of the land in the process. This was not for altruistic reasons, however. Ashoka knew that all his siblings cared about was the unimpeded access into forestland to obtain iron ore.

Aarya’s face pinched at his open accusation.

‘Ashoka,’ she replied forcefully, ‘be careful of what you say and who you accuse.’

‘Yes, Prince Ashoka,’ Saudamini dropped her voice low enough that no one except him could hear, ‘ideally I’d want your sister in a more forgiving mood.’

‘Then resurrect my father,’ Ashoka replied and slumped back in his chair.

Sau raised her eyebrows at him. ‘When he’s already ashes in the wind?’ she queried. ‘My chances would be quite slim.’

‘Anything to add, Saudamini?’

Sau jumped at Arush’s voice. From his seat at the head of the table, he threw them a suspicious look. His hulking figure cast a brooding shadow over the room.

Arush had settled quite comfortably into his new role as emperor, but Ashoka could tell that his interest waned during council meetings that weren’t focused on expansion. His eyes began to droop, his posture slackened, and his gaze became distant. Up until Ashoka had insulted their father, he’d appeared quite uninterested.

Sau cleared her throat. ‘Forgive my impertinence, Emperor Arush,’ she said smoothly, ‘but I agree with Prince Ashoka. Taksila was annexed without preparing for the consequences.’

‘Being an advisor to Ashoka doesn’t mean you can parrot him, Saudamini,’ Aarya replied with a haughty expression. Ashoka shot his older sister an exasperated look which she ignored. She was trying to irritate him by needling Sau, and they both knew it.

Aarya had become especially thorny once the news of his deal with Arush had been relayed. Maintaining power was important to his sister, so losing it would have grated at her. Still, she could not argue against Arush now; a sentiment that brought Ashoka some comfort.

‘It may be upsetting to hear, but it’s true,’ Sau replied. ‘Emperor Adil left the region unchecked. Land in the north is dying and no one knows why, ironwood is plundered in areas absent of Great Spirits, and the mayakari resistance is retaliating over these forests being cut down. Frankly, I am surprised that the city is not in worse shape than it already is.’

‘I think you forgot to breathe during that harangue, advisor,’ Arush told her.

Next to him, Councillor Hiranya, one of his father’s closest aides, nodded along. ‘The mayakari resistance is not an issue, advisor,’ she contested. ‘These “retaliations” you speak of are mere nuisances for our soldiers. They are quickly taken care of, I assure you.’

‘ Nuisance is too tame a word,’ piped up another councillor. ‘The witches have asked minor spirits to guard ironwood and ward off suppliers in undamaged forestland. They are not Great Spirits but... it makes the extraction more troublesome.’

Ashoka locked eyes with Sau. Their attitudes would make the next suggestion even more unpalatable, but he had to hold firm in their position. This was no time for diffidence.

‘My most pressing concern is to stop the rampaging of the Great Spirits and uncover why the land continues to die,’ Ashoka stated loudly. ‘For that, I will need to enlist the help of the mayakari resistance.’

The subsequent silence was thunderous.

Ashoka had expected it. The idea itself was plausible in theory but putting it into practice would be difficult. No intelligent mayakari would willingly choose to aid the crown – not when they knew of its history. Not when they valued their lives. If he was a mayakari, he wouldn’t have gambled his life either – not even for a thousand gold coins.

Aarya’s voice rose two octaves. ‘You wish to enlist the mayakari?’

‘How else am I to solve a problem that we don’t have the answer to?’ he retorted. ‘If we come to some sort of agreement with the resistance—’

‘No,’ Arush interrupted, thumping his hand on the table. ‘That goes against everything father stood for.’

‘What father stood for was violence,’ Ashoka replied, keeping his voice as calm as possible. ‘We have a chance to right his wrongs. We don’t have to be like him.’

‘Right his wrongs?’ Aarya repeated in disbelief. ‘Little brother, you’re the only one who sees father as the villain. You and your rotten ideas of mayakari and peace . They will destroy us all if that little resistance overwhelms you.’

‘Oh, please,’ Ashoka replied. ‘You’re spitting out the exact same spiel father gave me. You’re just his copy.’

‘You think that’s an insult?’ Aarya hissed, her lips curling into a sneer. Before he could retort with words that pierced like needles, Sau jumped in to help.

‘What Prince Ashoka means to say, Princess Aarya,’ Saudamini began hastily, ‘is that we cannot speak to nature spirits, so there is no way to reverse the damage without a mayakari. It cannot be done by our own hands. Like it or not, we need them.’

The tension in the room was high. Aarya was still seething, and Ashoka needed to defuse her. He turned his gaze to Arush.

‘Brother,’ he pleaded.

Though Arush appeared less unconvinced than he had before, he poured salt over Ashoka’s wounds.

‘I know that the two of you would’ve made multiple plans on the very issue,’ he said. ‘So, find an alternative. One that doesn’t use the mayakari resistance as an aid. I will not have father’s legacy ruined this way.’

It was as if a thousand rocks were piled onto Ashoka’s back. His chest suddenly constricted, as if it were being caged in without a way out. There is no other way , he wanted to scream. Pride and stubbornness were the reigning vices of the royal family. They wore them as proudly as they wore their silks and jewellery.

Sau’s voice hitched, ‘But, Emperor Arush—’

‘ Silence , advisor,’ Arush’s voice was a pair of footsteps crackling on eggshells. ‘My commands will not be refuted. And, Ashoka, I will have the governor correspond with me to make sure you follow my orders.’

Ashoka shook his head at Sau. There was no point trying to convince Arush any further. Meanwhile, he sensed Aarya’s gaze on them. Ashoka knew that look. It was the same one Aarya had when she first realized she could not separate Rahil from him. She had understood something; gathered information and tucked it away for later use. It made him unsettled; nothing was worse than Aarya having an idea.

‘Ashoka.’ Arush’s voice broke him out of his reverie. ‘You will do as I say. Go against me and your request will be denied – do you understand?’

Underneath the table, Ashoka clenched his fists, his left foot tapping irately on the wooden floor. He didn’t answer. If he did, he knew that it would only lead to another argument. Spirits, did they want him to fail? Did they not want the land restored or did they simply not care?

‘Ashoka?’ Arush raised an eyebrow. ‘Have you finally gone silent, brother?’

He felt a swift kick on his shin. Sau’s foot had found him. Ashoka started, the rage vanishing like grey mist in the morning.

‘I understand,’ he said. ‘I will do as you say.’

‘Good.’ Arush rapped his knuckles on the table. ‘The matter is settled, then. You will depart for Taksila in two days. Now, I must discuss this vexing matter of the Ridi crown prince wanting to remove his soldiers from our northern and southern borders.’

‘The Ridi prince, yes,’ Aarya piped up, ‘but I want to put forward a new proposal, brother: sending soldiers out to locate deadlands.’

Arush raised an eyebrow. ‘Deadlands?’ he repeated. ‘Father stopped looking for them decades ago, sister. Why the sudden interest?’

Why indeed. Deadlands were uncommon: vast stretches of land where a Great Spirit had died from unnatural causes. What did Aarya want with them?

‘If you listen to my ideas, you will find out soon enough,’ Aarya replied.

‘All right,’ Ashoka’s brother agreed, shrugging before turning to him. ‘You are not needed here, Ashoka, although you may observe if you wish.’

He saw Sau sag in her chair. Since she was now his advisor, it meant that if he was not privy to this meeting, she would not be either. He knew that she would rather him stay and observe, but he didn’t. The Ridi prince and the deadlands were not his concern – Taksila was.

As he stood up, the chair made an unseemly scraping sound. ‘No need, brother,’ he said. ‘I will retire from this meeting.’

‘I hope you govern better than I think you will, little brother.’ Aarya offered him a sweet smile. If that smile was a fruit, the flesh would be bitter to the tongue.

Before Ashoka could utter a response, Sau stood up with him. ‘You underestimate him, princess,’ she said to his sister, polite as usual. ‘Prince Ashoka shall govern exceptionally, and I will aid him in doing so.’

‘Together,’ Aarya murmured. ‘Yes, of course you would.’

Ashoka’s left eye twitched. ‘I beg your pardon, Aarya?’

Aarya shot him an impish smile and waved her hand dismissively, topaz-studded bracelets clinking. ‘It’s nothing that concerns you, Ashoka. Off you go.’

Gritting his teeth, Ashoka turned and stalked off towards the entrance where Rahil waited with the other guards. When his eyes met Rahil’s warm brown ones, Ashoka felt his stomach swoop. He had been observing them quietly from his post – what would he say about his conduct?

You are a prince , the logical side of his mind reminded. Why do you care what your guard thinks?

His sentimental side was quick to respond. Because it is Rahil.

He thought no more of it until he spotted the small smirk on Rahil’s lips after they exited the hall. ‘Admirable work there, Ashoka,’ he said.

‘Did you expect me to adopt the patience of an ascetic?’ Ashoka responded, running a hand aggravatedly over his close-cropped hair. ‘They are ridiculous.’

‘For what it’s worth,’ Rahil began, ‘I think you did well despite the circumstances.’

Ashoka flushed. ‘Yes. Well. Would Sau agree with you, though?’

Sau’s voice came from behind them. ‘I most certainly would not ,’ she huffed as he turned around. ‘You need to learn not to enrage your siblings, Prince Ashoka.’

He groaned. ‘The very thing that inflames them within seconds is the very problem I’m trying to fix, Sau.’

‘I know,’ she said. ‘In the future, try not to insult Emperor Adil while doing it.’

Rahil harrumphed. ‘Asking this one to remain polite about his father is like asking you to stay away from playing cards and a bet.’

Both he and Sau spun to face Rahil with similar expressions of incredulity plastered on their faces.

‘I can stay away from bets,’ Sau remarked.

‘I can be polite about father,’ Ashoka refuted.

Rahil sighed.

‘Of course you can,’ he said sardonically before ruffling Ashoka’s head. The action caused his spine to feel as if it were dislocating without pain. ‘Let’s take our leave, shall we?’

‘Yes, let’s,’ said Sau before snapping her fingers sharply. ‘Princess Aarya is up to something. She was staring at me far too hard.’

The statement was about as unsurprising as seeing rain during the monsoon season. Nonetheless, Ashoka agreed with her observation.

He had not liked that look at all. It spoke of a thousand sharp paper cuts and a world of disappointment.

Ashoka’s gold-hilted dagger hit the wooden shelf with a dull thunk .

‘Try not to kill me, will you?’ Sau muttered sardonically as she adjusted a thick stack of parchment between her hands. They had retired to his quarters after the meeting, trying to think of a solution to the spirit rampages that didn’t involve the mayakari. Unsurprisingly, both had hit a wall.

‘ Don’t use the mayakari for help ,’ Ashoka put on Arush’s low growl, ‘ you will do as I say .’

‘If you’re trying to imitate Arush, you’re failing,’ Rahil told him.

‘How else am I supposed to resolve a problem that needs the witches?’ Ashoka thundered. ‘Pathetic, the both of them.’

‘Careful,’ Rahil joked. ‘Aarya hears insults about her like a cat and she’ll come running at full speed to scratch you.’

‘Ah, yes,’ Saudamini said. ‘We’d all love to see you be chastised by your serpentine sister.’

‘Be louder, why don’t you?’ Rahil remarked pointedly as Sau poked her tongue out at him. Ashoka ignored their repartee.

Why did his siblings refuse to see logic? He had the ideas, he had the strategies, but they closed the door on him so quickly he didn’t have time to think of an alternative. Though he needed to prove himself in Taksila, Arush had given him an unsolvable puzzle.

Playing by such narrow rules would end in disaster for him. Winning the bet and taking leadership of the war council was paramount, so he needed to go against Arush. He had to break the rules.

‘There’s no alternative,’ he said aloud. ‘I need to ask the mayakari for help, even if it goes against the grain. I can’t have nature spirit rampages continue during my governorship. How useless I would be.’

Rahil’s face went slack. ‘Go against Arush?’ he asked. ‘Do you want to lead the war council or not?’

‘Perhaps we can do it in secret.’ Ignoring Rahil’s incredulity, Sau jumped in to offer her own thoughts. Unlike Rahil, who had law-abiding tendencies, Sau was more likely to tweak the rules. ‘Contact the mayakari resistance without alerting the governor. He’ll be watching you closely if Arush wants regular correspondence about your activities.’

‘We might have to operate in the dead of the night, then,’ he mused, moving to remove the lodged dagger. ‘There are so many soldiers stationed there, I cannot risk wandering during the day. It will be safer for Harini to accompany me at night then, too.’

‘I see that my scepticism has gone unnoticed,’ Ashoka heard Rahil mutter.

‘It hasn’t,’ he promised. The dagger finally tugged free. ‘Arush’s original bet was that I restore Taksila to its former self. He didn’t provide stipulations then.’

‘You’re arguing on a technicality,’ said Rahil. ‘Doing that will leave you in trouble.’

‘Must you be so pessimistic, Rahil?’ Sau asked.

A sigh escaped Rahil’s lips. ‘You’re thinking of how to succeed,’ he replied. ‘I’m thinking of the likelihood of the plan leaving this idiot –’ he jabbed Ashoka’s arm ‘– dead.’ Ashoka watched, amused, as Sau considered Rahil’s remark, agreed with it, and return to her reading.

Ashoka found himself focusing on a flat macule on Rahil’s neck, off-centre at the base of his throat. ‘Potential trouble is a small price to pay if I can work with the mayakari and right Taksila,’ he said softly. ‘A period of peace created by a child of Adil Maurya – is that not worth something?’

Creating peace through destroying everything father has achieved , was what he kept to himself.

The rigidness that possessed Rahil seemed to vanish.

‘Worth is subjective,’ he said, shooting a half-bemused, half-defeated smile, one that sent Ashoka’s thoughts scattering into a hundred different directions. ‘So, make yours count.’