Amrendra

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "You should see Kartik using them!" he enthused. "And he learned to shoot arrows the same way! When I was his target boy in Jevina..."

  "You were his target boy?" Rohit blurted out, incredulous. His twin has survived twenty-five years of hardship and risked his life as target boy?

  "Yes." Rahul beamed. "I can be very still if I need to." He had showed off his acrobatic skills in the courtyard already, but Rohit didn't think playing the target boy was a good idea.

  "It's very dangerous!" he scolded. "Don't you dare ever do it again!"

  "Well, they took Kartik's throwing knives away," Rahul retorted. "But we can still show you our juggling skills if you allow us."

  "Rahul, you're a prince, not a jester!" Rohit snapped. "There's no need for any of that!"

  "It's more fun than learning the alphabet." Rahul shrugged. He saw a bowl of fruit on a table and took a few apples to keep his hands busy. Rohit had to admit he was good at throwing and catching them.

  "So, when did you meet Kartik?" Rohit continued his inquiry. He couldn't deny the obvious love Rahul felt for the gypsy that slept with him, and was curious to hear how it started. Was it because Rahul didn't have an alternative, sleeping in a wagon with other young men?

  "He joined the circus about ten years ago," Rahul answered, still juggling.

  "And that's when you fell in love with him?"

  "No." Rahul stopped throwing the apples to ponder. "No, I think I fell in love when we ran away from the circus." He looked his twin in the eyes, serious now. "I have always admired him, because he was free and independent and Master Zahin never tried to pimp him. Well, he tried once to suggest Kartik privately entertain a rich man down in Arquon, but Kartik refused and Master Zahin didn't insist. When I tried to refuse, I was beaten and sent off anyway. So I decided to become as strong and determined as Kartik – and hoped he'd protect me when I managed to stand up for myself."

  Rohit marveled at hearing the story. So his twin had been a male prostitute as well. And the only person who had never abused him and always tried to protect him was Kartik.

  "I thought it would disgust you of men's touch," he said, pointing at the door for a stroll in the courtyard and palace gardens.

  Rahul put down the apples before following him outside.

  "It did," he said, thoughtful. "But Kartik was always very nice, and when he dragged me away from the circus, I began seeing him as my savior. I was no longer a slave at the whim of Master Zahin, but a free jester – except I didn't know what to do with myself. I'd been ordered around all my life... but Kartik knew what to do, and took the reins of our career, and he was so good at it! He even told me to underplay when we were invited to perform for King Vijay, but I forgot..." Rahul hung his head, looking dejected.

  "So King Vijay noticed you and ordered you to his bed," Rohit said.

  "Yes." Rahul glanced at him. "His daughter, your wife, is nice, but he... he is just like the other men I had met before him."

  "And what makes Kartik different?"

  "He said he'd been in love with me for five years, but never expressed it, for fear of hurting me. I thought his was brotherly love and that he wouldn't consider me as a lover because my body had been overused already... But after we escaped from King Vijay and were living in the village in the jungle, we finally managed to express our feelings. It was the best time of my life." Rahul grinned proudly.

  Rohit calculated that he and his twin had fallen in love for the first time at the same moment. Rahul had discovered his feelings for Kartik when Rohit had discovered Gaia was a woman. Rahul had expressed his love for Kartik at the same time Rohit had brought Gaia to his bedroom. They'd been very happy for the same period – and their hearts had been broken at the same time.

  Rahul's eyes widened in surprise when Rohit told him of Gaia and that she had left more or less when King Vijay had found Kartik and Harish and brought them back to Jevina. That was why it had hurt so much – because they'd each been sharing the other's pain. Fortunately, the pain had numbed down after a few days. Neither of them could take it.

  "Luckily for you, Vivek went home after attending his sister's wedding and choosing Kareena for his brother." Rohit smiled. "And now here we are, both alive and happy again."

  "Are you happy?" Rahul asked, worried. "I mean, I'm with my beloved now, but don't you miss Gaia?"

  Rohit looked in the distance, not really focusing on anything.

  "Sometimes I still yearn to be with her. I wished I could run away with her, but she refused."

  "She's a mercenary, right?"

  "Yes, a nomad, much like jesters."

  "So when she left, you lost track of her?"

  "Actually, no." Rohit smiled. "The Gallians were pressing on our borders, so I suggested to my father that we hire a couple of Gallian mercenaries to lead our troops. They know the enemy better than our generals."

  Rahul chuckled. "You're smart! So where is Gaia now?"

  "Protecting our borders, with her partner, Kenuwee. They each lead a patrol of frontier troops, and are successfully shielding us. By the way, the long hair is typical of northern barbarians – that's why we gave you a haircut."

  "I see. So you're over her?"

  "Sort of... I'm a prince heir, and I know my duty. I wasn't a slave, but I did have a very programmed life. And, like you say, Laxmi is nice. It's not the burning passion I felt for Gaia, but I do love her."

  "The burning passion doesn't last." Rahul smiled sheepishly. "Since we've come here, my love for Kartik is much quieter. Deeper, stronger, but less sex-oriented. I think it will last forever."

  Rohit chuckled. "It seems that miles apart or close as we are now, we share the same feelings."

  "Do you think it's because we're twins?"

  "Definitely."

  "Why don't you tell me more about a prince's programmed life?"

  ***

  Harish adapted fairly quickly to his new life – and new name – with the help of his twin. He learned what having a family meant, and even how to tell his father from his uncle. He got along fine with everybody except for a veiled hostility from his cousin Ajay, who seemed to be the only one unhappy with his presence.

  Rohit explained that, before his arrival, Ajay was the second heir of Amrendra. When their fathers died, Rohit and Ajay would have reigned together – a responsibility that was now on Rahul's shoulders. And the next twin king would be the first pair of male twins coming from the heirs, except Rahul didn't plan on having any children.

  So Ajay's position was rickety at the moment, at least until King Daruka Dahana issued an edict about the succession. Both Rohit's wife, Laxmi, and Nisha, Ajay's wife, were now pregnant, and Rohit predicted that soon the king's private council would meet to solve the issue before the babies came into the world.

  Therefore Harish wasn't really surprised when Rohit summoned him one morning to attend his first Private Council session. The discussion would include the twin kings and their firstborns, Rohit and Rahul, as well as Ajay, who sat at the other end of the table with a brooding expression.

  Harish had learned to distinguish the twin kings from their behavior towards him. His father was always warm and kind, but his uncle mostly gave him the cold shoulder. He was supposed to be the shadow king, but he often bordered on mute when Harish was around, and he often wondered what the problem was. He felt some similarities with his uncle, but couldn't pinpoint them since Dahana didn't talk to him.

  The table in the king's private office was covered with scrolls and parchments. King Daruka Dahana had obviously been studying the kingdom's history to find out if a case like this one had happened before. Harish was curious to hear the results, since Rohit had no idea, either. It was comforting to know that for once his princely twin was as ignorant as he.

  King Daruka opened the session by recounting some history. As main ruler and voice of the kingdom, he reminded his relatives how the first twin kings had come to power, reigning for years in harmony and strengthening their father's
kingdom. Since the joint rule had worked so well for their ancestors, bringing Amrendra up to par with the other southern kingdoms, the law had been written for a continuous double rule. Like Rohit had said, twins sat on the throne and the throne would pass to the first line to produce another pair of boys.

  "Dahana and I have reigned for almost twenty years now," King Daruka continued. "When our firstborns arrived, we rejoiced, because even though Ajay was one, I'd had the required twins for the succession. Hence I became the main heir, although my second boy was very sickly."

  He smiled at Harish who hid his malformed hand under the other.

  "In spite of being a royal baby, I thought my Rahul didn't make it during a particularly harsh winter, and so we were left with two single boys born one day apart..."

  "How could you think I was dead, if you didn't bury me?" Harish asked.

  "We buried so many babies that winter, I assumed you were one of them," his father replied. "I should have checked all the little corpses personally, but we were in a state of emergency and only in the spring did we realize there were only two boys in the nursery instead of three."

  Harish nodded, blushing under Ajay's glare. As if it were my fault that I was born sickly. He'd been a sickly child all right, who knew what Master Zahin had seen in him to decide to buy him and train him as an acrobat.

  "Years went by and we both failed to deliver more twin boys," King Daruka continued. "So we decided to bend the rules and have two 'almost twins' who had grown up together and surely could rule in harmony like we and our ancestors have done."

  It made sense. What didn't make much sense was putting a jester in such a position. Harish decided to speak his mind. If Ajay had been raised to rule, who was he to take his place? He'd have no idea where to start from or what to do.

  "Can I be just Rohit's shadow with no power whatsoever?" he concluded with a pleading look at his father.

  "You have just proven you'd be an excellent ruler. Your brother is prepared to be the main voice, but your common sense can help him to deal with some issues more than any instruction we could give him," King Daruka replied, staring fondly at him.

  "I understand you are the main speaker, but I would also like to hear my uncle's opinion," Harish said, determined, staring at King Dahana, who, to his surprise, lost his coldness. Ajay, Rohit and King Daruka were just as startled, and all turned to look at the "shadow" twin.

  King Dahana thinned his lips and stared briefly at the table before looking at Harish. Not so hostile any more, rather... sorrowful.

  "Dahana?" King Daruka asked, puzzled.

  King Dahana took in a deep breath before speaking, never taking his eyes off of Harish's face.

  "Rahul, you most certainly have the royal blood of Amrendra running in your veins, and therefore I'm almost certain that you will forgive me for what I'm about to say. Since you came here, I'm sure you felt the bond between you and Rohit, and know there is something very similar between my brother and me."

  Harish nodded. "I can feel what he feels. And I can feel a parallelism between us as well. You are much like me, the silent twin, with a hidden sorrow that you will never express. I know what it means to feel ashamed of oneself."

  "You are ashamed of things that were beyond your control," Rohit said quietly.

  "Thinking of killing myself was well in my control," Harish retorted. "I didn't do it only because Kartik told me not to."

  "If you hadn't loved that man enough to listen to him, you wouldn't be here today," King Daruka said. "And that's why he is allowed to stay by your side even though he's not of noble birth. He saved your life. He deserves the honor to stand by you."

  "There was a time where I also considered killing myself, feeling unworthy of the life and love I'd been given," King Dahana said with a rueful smile.

  "Father!" Ajay exclaimed, shocked. King Daruka simply gaped at his twin, speechless.

  "You are a kindred soul, Rahul, and I'm sorry I tried to get rid of you," King Dahana continued. "I'm sure you've felt fear or jealousy or some other violent feeling that almost pushed you over the edge."

  Harish nodded. "The only thing that kept me afloat was the thought of Kartik."

  "And the only thing that kept me alive but silent until today was the love for my twin brother. I hurt him the most and almost couldn't live with the guilt of what I'd done. But time heals everything – and I hope you will both forgive me, now that my misdeed has come back to haunt me."

  Dahana turned to his twin. "I was the one who gave away the sickly baby. I was jealous that you'd had twins while I didn't. And I thought the ugly baby – 'cause you were ugly, Rahul, dear – didn't deserve to sit on the Amrendran throne. I couldn't imagine he'd survive and become as handsome as Rohit."

  "Father, you have an identical twin, how could you not consider that Rahul and Rohit would be identical, too?" Ajay protested.

  "Weren't you the one who complained it wasn't fair that a twin out of nowhere was taking your place?" his father chided. "Well, now you know, Rahul doesn't come out of nowhere. He survived what I tried to do twenty-five years ago, and is proving to be more than worthy to sit on the throne. And now I have to ask for your forgiveness as well."

  Ajay stared at his father, his eyes wide with shock. Harish felt sympathetic with him – and Rohit and Daruka who had been betrayed by Dahana's sudden, irrational jealousy at his birth.

  "I don't have anything to forgive you for, Uncle," Harish said, breaking the shocked silence. "Maybe it was my destiny to grow up among the commoners and see more of the southern kingdoms than either of you ever will." He smiled fondly at all of them – his newfound family he never knew he'd missed.

  "I think if Ajay has twins before Rohit, they should be considered for the succession," he continued. "I will be the shadow king only while Rohit lives."

  "Twin kings tend to die at the same time," Rohit informed him with a grin. "And I won't let my wretched cousin produce the heirs before me!"

  "Just because you married one month before me, doesn't mean you'll beat me to it!" Ajay retorted.

  "Aah! See what I mean about our wretched cousin?" Rohit winked at Harish, who understood the old Ajay had come back. He looked forward to the brotherly bickering Rohit had described between him and his almost-twin.

  "So, am I still prince heir or not?" Ajay asked their fathers.

  The twin kings exchanged a glance and smiled.

  "The next king will be Rohit Rahul," Daruka said.

  "But if you provide twins before Rohit, the following heirs will come from your loins," Dahana added.

  "Sounds fair." Ajay conceded. He glared at Rohit. "You can't always win, you know?"

  "I believe this matter is in our wives' hands," Rohit retorted. Then he turned to Harish. "Thank you, Rahul. I'm very happy that you have come home."

  "And I'm very happy I finally have a home," Harish replied with a grin.

  "Welcome back, oh Mighty Prince Heir!" Ajay exclaimed. "How was your tour of the southern kingdoms?"

  "Neverending," Harish replied. "But interesting."

  "You missed Master Hiro. Lucky bum, you won't have to learn sword fighting from him."

  "Ajay! I could call one of our mercenary commanders to give you lessons!" Rohit threatened.

  "Really? Well I'm sure I'll get Gaia as teacher, since your brother will definitely prefer Kenu-whatsisname!"

  "The borders aren't secure yet, so Rohit will have to teach Rahul for now," King Daruka interjected, amused.

  "Or he could just skip the sword fight," Ajay shrugged. "After all, the shadow king isn't a warrior..." He stared fondly at his father who smiled.

  Harish decided he still had a lot to learn about twin royalty.

  The Conspiracy

  The rain kept pouring outside of his window, matching his mood. Harish lay on his plush curtained bed in the fetal position, barely listening to the sound. It was morning, but the light had gone away and the room was bathed in a dim gray light.

  A gush o
f wind brought in the smell of earth and leaves. That season when they changed colors and fell still felt new to him after five years in the royal palace of Amrendra. Not a golden prison, but home, on the hills of Delen, facing the ocean.

  When he'd first set foot in the three-room apartment five years earlier, his eyes were wide in wonder at his sudden change of status. From jester to prince heir of the most northern southern kingdom, that was quite a jump!

  But then, he was an acrobat, jumps were never a problem. He'd jumped off Master Zahin's wagon to run away from his itinerant circus with Kartik. He'd jumped down the wall of the royal palace gardens of Lakeshi, to escape from the king's lust. And he'd jumped into his new life with the same ease. Because Kartik was by his side.

  His savior, his protector, his lover, his world. The one and only he cared for. The hero he had admired for ten years in the itinerant circus and who had finally admitted he loved him. They'd been so happy together, whether wandering through Lakeshi, hiding in its jungle, or even here, in the Amrendran palace, in this very room that now felt so empty and cold...

  He heard voices and footsteps. Servants were bringing lamps for him, but he wasn't going to get out of bed anyway. He barely watched as they set down the flickering flames and left with deep bows.

  The shadows started dancing on the white walls and the downpour slowly stopped. It was still a gray day, but it was less dark outside. Inside, nothing had changed. Not for him and his empty bed.

  "What do you mean my wretched cousin is still in bed?" Ajay's voice erupted from the antechamber, sounding indignant.

  Harish didn't move. Not even his twin had managed to shake him so far.

  Ajay muttered something and then everything was quiet. A redbreast sat on his balcony and sang, which made him cry.

  Rohit stepped into the room unannounced and came to sit on the edge of the mattress.

  "Rahul," he called softly. "Will you come downstairs to eat?"

  "No," he answered with a lump in his throat.