Two Kings

by Neo B.

  “Sorry to disturb you at this time of the night,” the man said in a deep voice.

  Vidur suddenly realised that he was in the company of a man who fitted the description of the man that had been going around trying to turn people against Karkish.

  “Well, you have disturbed me, and since you have, it would be better if you come to the point so that we can both be free,” replied Vidur.

  “You know the soldier who was lying unconscious in the palace for the past few days,” the man said, “he has woken up and I want him dead.”

  Vidur looked up in surprise. So, he was right. This was the man behind the conspiracy to kill the king.

  “Why do you want him dead?” Vidur asked cautiously.

  “Because he knows something that he shouldn’t. As you must have guessed by now, I am the one behind the attack on the king.”

  It was a night for surprises. Vidur did not expect someone to come up to him and claim to be the brain behind the attack on the king. He knew this also meant that this man was serious. As the tall dark man stepped from the darkness into the light, Vidur realised that he was wearing a mask.

  “Why are you telling me this? I am one of the king’s most trusted men. I am going to tell the king who you are,” Vidur said, “I have soldiers on the ready, who will put you in prison… and tomorrow you will be tried in front of the king.”

  “You won’t do any such thing, because you don’t know who I am,” the tall dark man said.

  “Right. You want me to trust you, but you come wearing a mask,” Vidur asked as he tried to silently move towards the door.

  “I wear a mask because secrecy is my best weapon, and behind this mask is a wrong that I have to avenge, and why you must listen to me is because of this,” the tall dark man said, as he laid the seals of the five kingdoms on his table.

  “I have the support of the five kings, and I shall rule Pataliputra in some time. I wanted to do it with the least amount of blood being shed, but I think that is not an option unless you help me. So you have to choose whether you are with me, or against me…” the man said, as he drew his sword, “You will be dead even before any sound comes out of your throat.”

  The tall dark man had moved dangerously close to Vidur with the naked blade in his hand, and was standing between the door and Vidur.

  Vidur was not afraid in the least. He was an expert swordsman and had proved himself in many wars. He did not want to start a fight at this point. He wanted to know what this man was all about.

  “”How can I help you?” asked Vidur.

  “You have access to the king’s inner chambers. Kill the soldier for me to start with,” the tall, dark man said.

  Vidur tried to look at the man’s features for a while, but the tall dark man had half his face covered with a black cloth. It was impossible to see his face or features in the light of the lamps. His voice was obviously made up. It would be impossible to recognise his voice if Vidur met him on the street.

  With a swift movement, Vidur moved away from the tall dark man, and said, “My loyalties lie with the king, and Pataliputra. As long as I am alive you will not be the king.”

  “It does not matter since I have the support of the five kings, and many in your court support me. It is only a matter of time. What you have to choose is whether your loyalty for Pataliputra is more than your loyalty to the king. In order to save the king, you will destroy the kingdom. Think about it. If I hear the news about the man’s death tomorrow, I will know the side you have chosen and will contact you again,” said the man.

  “What is in it for me?” Vidur asked.

  “Whatever you want? Once I am the king you can have anything you want. I know you have always wanted to be higher up on the ladder. You could even be king of one of the five kingdoms if you want,” the tall man said, and quickly slipped out of the room.

  Vidur wasn’t sure whether to ask his men to follow the man or not. He decided not to.

  13. Vidur Decides

  Vidur spent a sleepless night, and went straight to Karkish in the morning.

  “What’s the rush?” Karkish inquired. He had barely got ready for the morning meetings.

  “I have some important information that I wanted you to know as soon as possible. It concerns the attack on you,” said Vidur.

  The king was all ears now.

  “Tell me.”

  “A man came to visit me last night, and he told me that he was responsible for the attack on you.”

  “Where is he? I hope you have caught him,” Karkish asked.

  “He seemed to be a skilled swordsman, and he came late in the night when most of the guards were sleeping, I am sorry that I could not capture him at that time,” replied Vidur.

  Karkish was disappointed. They had a chance to capture the man behind the attack, and the chance was lost.

  “Why did you not come to me earlier? Maybe we could have sent our soldiers after him and prevented him from getting away,” said Karkish, angrily.

  “Your anger is justified, lord, but after what he told me I wasn’t sure what to do. The man wants to replace you as the king of Pataliputra, and he has the support of the five kings,” said Vidur.

  “How is that possible?” Karkish asked.

  He knew that the five kings never saw eye to eye with each other, and would break into fights with each other at the first instance. That they had come together for a common cause was almost impossible to believe.

  “He claims to have been harmed by someone or something in Pataliputra, and he wants revenge for that. He told me a lot of things that I didn’t want to believe. He wanted me to join him,” said Vidur.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Nothing. He said I had to choose between you and the welfare of Pataliputra, because if I don’t help him in defeating you, he will cause a full scale war between Pataliputra and the five kingdoms. He said he will win the war and then he will rule Pataliputra. So I had to decide between your one life and the many lives of the people of Pataliputra,” Vidur replied.

  “But, why of all people did he come to you?” the king asked

  Vidur had been asking himself the same question over and over again. Was it by chance that Dinul had chosen him, or was it because of something in his character that made Dinul decide upon him as the most likely target.

  “I have no idea, but he did come to me, my lord, and I have made my decision to stay with you, but there is something we must do,” said Vidur.

  “What is it, Vidur?” asked Karkish.

  “For now we must make the evil believe that I am with him. Maybe he will disclose some secrets that we may not find out otherwise,” Vidur suggested.

  Karkish thought that this was a good plan.

  “How can we make him believe that?” asked Karkish.

  “By killing the soldier who did not support the others in the attack against you.” replied Vidur.

  “Are you serious? I cannot allow that. He almost lost his life for my sake once, now I can’t let him die again,” Karkish said.

  “I am not saying that we kill him, I am saying that we spread the news that someone killed him in the night. We will take him to a secret place and only a few people will know that he is alive.”

  Karkish smiled as he understood Vidur’s plan.

  14. Another Visit by Dinul

  As decided by the king and Vidur, the news had been spread that the soldier who had been wounded in the attack on the king had died. To make it look real, his family had been handed over a body that had been wrapped in royal robes. The king had proclaimed that he would be cremated with royal honours, so no one got a good chance to look at the dead man’s face.

  It was only Vidur, the king, the doctor who was looking after the soldier, and two other soldiers selected by the king himself for the man’s protection, who knew the truth. The truth had to be kept a secret because not only would it help them find out the truth about Dinul, but if the truth came out, Vidur’s life could be in danger.
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  Karkish wanted to put extra protection in place for Vidur to ensure his safety, and so that Dinul could be captured easily when he came to visit Vidur. But Vidur was against it.

  “Dinul, or some of his spies, might be watching the palace, and if he became suspicious, he might not come,” Vidur had said.

  Karkish had to admit that Vidur was right.

  It was one of the nights after the man’s death had been made public, that Dinul came to see Vidur. This time he came in without being announced.

  “You must keep better guards. Anyone can walk in here without being stopped. That won't do for a minister of my kingdom,” Dinul said, startling Vidur.

  Vidur had been expecting the visit, but when it came he was least prepared for it.

  “A king usually has better guards,” Vidur responded.

  “Aha, so you have decided your price?” Dinul asked.

  “It was an offer that was too good to refuse. So, what’s your next plan?” Vidur asked, and immediately regretted it. He might seem too curious and give his plan away.

  “There is no plan yet. I just came to tell you that you have been accepted into the side. I will come for you when I need you to do something,” Dinul said and was about to leave.

  Vidur had to do something.

  “Wait,” Vidur said, “You can’t come in and go like this. If someone sees you, and they are on the lookout, it will be all over for me. I am taking such a huge risk. You have to tell me something and you have to warn me of your arrival before you come so that I can arrange for the guards not to be around when you come.”

  “Afraid of the king, are we? A king whose bodyguards turn against him can’t be a great king, can he?” mocked Dinul.

  “You don’t have to worry about the guards for me. I am waiting for the kings to tell me that they are going to attack Pataliputra. I will make my plan then, and will let you know. Look for me around this time, next week.”

  Saying that, Dinul left as quietly as he had come. Vidur was glad that their plan had paid off. They had some idea of Dinul’s plan now and if they were lucky they would be able to capture him when he came there next week. Vidur could not wait to visit the king in the morning, and tell him the good news.

  15. The Birth of the King

  It was a day for celebration and every house in the kingdom was awash with lights. Every house in the kingdom, even those who had undergone a tragedy in the last year, was celebrating the birth of the prince or the princess of Pataliputra. The King had made an announcement that regardless of the sex of the child, he or she shall be the ascendant to the throne when the time came.

  Everyone was waiting in anticipation, but the wait was most eager in the king’s palace. The King, Dhumarketu, was with a group of close ministers in his royal chamber. He was excited but he was not showing it. His excitement was visible only in the form of a smile that broke out on his face every now and then. Dhumarketu had just returned from a great victory in a war and his mood was upbeat.

  The queen was lying in bed, and the labour pains had started. It was not considered queen like to scream so she was trying her best to control her voice. The best dai in the kingdom had been called in to aid the birth. She was alone with the queen holding her hand and encouraging her to hold on.

  “How long,” the queen asked between gasps.

  “Not too long, my queen,” The dai replied.

  “I am not too sure how long I can hold on,” the queen replied, “I want to scream.”

  “You can scream if you want to, my queen,” the dai replied.

  The midwife was a little worried. It had been a while since the queen had been in labour and she hoped that the queen would be able to make it through. She had witnessed thousands of childbirths and every one still made her nervous. Giving birth to a child was a miracle, and she had been the cause of many of them. Sometimes, very few times, the miracle turned into a disaster. She was fervently hoping that this did not turn out to be one such time. The hopes of the king and the kingdom were relying on the birth.

  Soon, the moment arrived. The queen gave birth to a healthy young boy, but as she gave birth to the boy, she lost consciousness, and the dai was surprised to see that the queen was not yet out of labour.

  “The Queen is having twins,” the dai realised and muttered under her breath for not being able to judge that in time. This is why she was having such a difficult time, she thought. After she had wrapped the first child in the royal cloth, she got ready to clean up and wrap the second child.

  As she got ready to wrap the second child in the wraps, she was shocked to see the child covered in a strange, pink growth. It looked like a monster. The queen had become unconscious after the first birth, and she had not realised that she had had two children. She was still unconscious.

  The dai was scared to tell the king about the second child. She did not know the king well, but she had heard stories about the king’s anger. She quickly decided that she won’t tell the king about the second child. She did not want to be the bearer of the bad news.

  The dai was not a cruel lady and she did not mean to kill the child, but keeping the child a secret would be difficult. Any moment now someone would come into the room as the children were crying at the top of their voice. She quickly stuffed a piece of small soft cloth in the child’s mouth and wrapped the child in a bundle that she was carrying. She did not know what she was going to do with the child, but she had decided that she would not tell the king about the second child.

  She had hardly hidden the child in the bundle she was carrying, when the king himself rushed in.

  “What is it?” the king asked, his excitement clearly showing.

  “It is a baby boy,” the dai replied, feeling relieved that she did not have to tell the king about the second child.

  The king’s face was glowing with the happy news he had just received, completely oblivious to the muffled cry of a baby in the bag. Then the king saw the queen lying unconscious on the bed.

  “How is the queen?” he asked, worried for her.

  “The queen is fine,” the queen herself replied in a barely audible tone. The dai had thought that she was still unconscious, and hearing her voice came as a shock to her. She was worried that she might have realised that she had given birth to a second child.

  “I had a weird dream,” the queen said, as the king came to her side,” I dreamt I gave birth to a second child.” The queen was smiling.

  The dai froze. She looked at the queen and realised that the queen actually thought that she was dreaming. The pain must have done that to her. The dai wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, as she was not sure how long the baby would survive in the bundle. She was awaiting her reward, as she didn’t want to go empty handed; especially after the big risk she had taken.

  “It is a beautiful baby, my lord,” The dai said, placing the baby by the queen’s side. Dhumarketu was immensely pleased to see the mother and the son side by side and handed over a bag filled with gold to the dai.

  As soon as she had received her reward, she quietly left the room, leaving the king and the queen with the heir to their kingdom, and taking one of their sons with her.

  16. Failed Attempt

  A complete week had passed since the last visit by Dinul. Vidur was expecting another visit tonight. He had told Karkish about the visit, and they had decided to lay a trap for him. They had hidden a group of soldiers inside Vidur’s room, and they would capture Dinul when Vidur gave them the signal.

  It was a patient wait as time seemed to be passing slowly. Vidur had told the soldiers to be very quiet as Dinul had this habit of appearing suddenly, and he did not want to scare him off. Late at night, suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Dinul appeared.

  “Waiting for me?” Dinul asked.

  “I am indeed,” replied Vidur, “What’s the news from the five kings?”

  “They have agreed to attack Pataliputra, when I told them about my plan.”

  “When are you going to t
ell me?”

  “You are a curious one,” Dinul remarked.

  “I have to be, my life is on the line here.”

  “So, it is.”

  Dinul was about to say something when he stiffened. “We are not alone in this room, are we? I can hear breathing.”

  Dinul started walking towards the chest behind which a soldier was hiding. There was no time now, and Vidur gave the signal for the attack.

  “I should have known better than to trust a coward,” Dinul yelled and drew out his sword. It turned out that they had grossly underestimated Dinul. He was fighting like a hurricane and managed to find an escape route through the middle of the soldiers. They had no chance as he managed to get through them, and out of the door.

  “Run after him, you fools.” Vidur yelled as he picked up his own sword and ran after them.

  Dinul was too fast for the soldiers and as they ran after him, they could only see that he had run towards the king’s palace. Vidur shouted for one of the soldiers to raise the alarm and warn the king and his guards. As soon as the alarm was raised there were soldiers everywhere and they began to look for Dinul. A circle of soldiers was drawn around the palaces to avoid his escape and enough soldiers were placed so that he could not get away this time.

  Karkish had come out and was asking what was happening. Vidur quickly related what had happened.

  “Search every nook and corner of the place and find him,” the king instructed his guards. He himself went with a group of soldiers to his room to ensure the safety of the queen and his son. A few hours later the soldiers returned empty-handed.

  “The soldiers could not find him anywhere,” Vidur said, who had walked in along with the guards.

  “How is that possible? If he came to this side then he could not have left.”

  “He seems to have been too fast for our soldiers,” Vidur said apologetically, “we could not follow him.”

  “Keep looking, search again before you give up,” Karkish ordered, though in his heart he knew that Dinul had left Pataliputra by now.