Chapter 54: chapter 54

S A N M A Y I The night we had spent among the fireflies, in the stillness of the garden, was a rare and fleeting peace. For once, the weight of the kingdom, the politics, the battles, and the history between Ranajay and I had seemed distant—like the faintest shadow on the horizon. But, as is often the case, when a moment of tranquility settles over the land, the past comes crashing back with all its old, heavy burdens.I had been standing by the window the next morning, watching the mist swirl around the distant hills when the sound of hooves reached my ears. At first, I thought it was just the wind stirring the trees, but then it became clearer. A group of riders, their horses’ hooves drumming against the earth like the warning of an approaching storm. I could feel my pulse quicken, a chill running through me, even though the warmth of the sun had already begun to fill the room.I turned around to face Ranajay, who was sitting near the fire, reading over some letters from the court. His expression was unreadable, but there was a quiet intensity about him, the kind that had become all too familiar over the last few weeks. The same intensity that had kept him grounded even as everything around him seemed to shift.“Someone is coming,” I said, my voice betraying the anxiety I could not hide.Ranajay set the letter down and stood, walking over to the window. “We were expecting visitors, though I had thought they would come later in the day.”My breath caught in my throat as I recognized the banners of an old ally from my past. It was not the kind of visit one looked forward to, especially not after all that had transpired. As the riders drew closer, a figure on horseback stood out among the others—a woman, her cloak billowing behind her like the storm I felt in my heart. My heart sank as I saw her face, though time had changed it, leaving behind the sharpness of youth, replaced by bitterness and something far colder.“Sanmayi,” Ranajay’s voice was soft, but there was an edge to it now. “Do you recognize her?”I nodded, feeling the walls of the past close in around me once again. “It’s her. Priya.”Her name, spoken aloud after all these years, felt like a stone being thrown into the still waters of my soul, creating ripples that I could not stop. Priya, the sister of my mother’s late confidante, and someone I had once trusted more than I should have. She had been my friend when I was younger, but it had all changed once the rebellion had begun—once the pain of loss had twisted everything I thought I knew into something unrecognizable.I had never expected to see her again. I had never wanted to.The door creaked open, and I found myself standing face to face with the very woman who had once been a symbol of the innocent world I had lost. She was older now, her face drawn and hard, her eyes filled with a storm of emotion—anger, betrayal, and something darker, something I could not place. She wore the same bitterness that she had when I had last seen her—on the day she betrayed me.“Sanmayi,” she said my name as if it were a curse. She had not changed in her capacity for venom. “I should have known you’d be here, hiding away in this little sanctuary you’ve carved for yourself. How quaint.”My breath caught in my throat, and I felt the old resentments rise again. It had been Priya who had whispered lies about me to my enemies, who had claimed I had abandoned the very ideals I had once fought for. She was the one who had made sure that my name had been dragged through the mud when I was forced to run into exile.“What do you want, Priya?” I said, my voice steady despite the storm that churned within me.Her eyes flashed, and she took a step closer, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. “What do I want?” she echoed bitterly. “I want to know if you’re finally ready to face the consequences of your actions. I want to know if you’ve finally realized how many people you’ve destroyed in your pursuit of this foolish rebellion.”I felt my hands tighten into fists, but I stayed still. This was a confrontation I had never wanted. It was too late for regrets, too late for apologies, too late for everything. All that was left now was to face the truth she was forcing upon me.“I have faced the consequences,” I said, each word a dagger of truth, my voice cold. “I have lived through them. Every day. The lives lost, the people betrayed, the families broken—do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I haven’t felt every wound from this war?”Her eyes narrowed, a sharp smile crossing her lips. “Oh, I know you’ve suffered. But not nearly as much as those you left behind. Your ‘kingdom,’ your ‘cause,’ they were all nothing more than empty promises. You have blood on your hands, Sanmayi. And now, it’s time for you to face the music. Are you ready for that?”I looked over to Ranajay, who had remained silent, his face a mask of calm. He stepped forward, his presence like a shield between Priya and me. “I believe the lady has had her say,” he said, his voice low but firm. “But I’d ask you, Priya, to consider the bigger picture. Sanmayi is not the only one who’s suffered from this conflict. And I’ve seen the toll it’s taken on her.”She turned to him with a sneer, dismissing him with a glance. “You—” she spat. “You’ve always been a coward, Ranajay. A puppet to your father’s ambitions, and now you’re playing at being a king. You’ve no idea what true leadership is. You’re all just a bunch of fools who have fooled yourselves into believing you can undo the damage that’s already been done.”I stepped forward then, pushing past Ranajay, my voice strong despite the ache in my chest. “I’ve never claimed to be perfect. I’ve never claimed to undo the past. But I will fight for the future, for those who still believe there is one to be had.”Priya looked at me, a strange, hollow laugh escaping her lips. “How noble,” she mocked. “But it’s too late for nobility. The only thing left now is reckoning.”She turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, her accusations hanging in the air like a poison I could not escape. I wanted to shout after her, to throw her words back at her, but I couldn’t. I had no strength left for that.As she disappeared into the night, I turned to Ranajay, his eyes full of understanding. He reached for me, his hand warm and steady on my arm.“I didn’t expect this,” I said, my voice quieter than before. “I didn’t expect her to come back. Not like this.”He squeezed my arm gently. “She’s part of the past, Sanmayi. The past we can’t change. But we can move forward, together.”I nodded, feeling the weight of her accusations settle deep inside me. “I don’t know if I can ever truly move forward from this. But I’ll try. For us.”Ranajay smiled then, a small but reassuring smile. “We’ll face whatever comes, side by side.”And for the first time in a long time, I believed him.