Page 106 of Sumanika

A smile crept onto my face as I watched her hide her blush and smile while walking away from me.

I gulped silently and stood up from the bed to take a quick bath.

After taking a bath, I walked out to meet King Abhinandan in his guest chamber.

“Pranam, Abhinandan,” I muttered as I entered the meeting area of his guest chamber and found him savoring breakfast with his twin sons, enjoying the fruits.

“Pranam, Kunwar Agastya,” he said, stepping forward to give me a loose hug.

“Where have you been? I couldn’t find you during the entire ceremony,” he said. I smiled weakly and replied as I took a seat on the couch.

“Um, I had been watching a few activities,” I said as I looked at him, picking up one of his crying sons.

“Ohhh, my baby,” he muttered, patting his chest, and I inhaled sharply, realizing that my Bhabhisa was his sister. That meant my niece was in a relationship with this crying child. They shared the same genes, which meant that when she got a little older, she would cry like him.

"Oh God!"

“What happened?” Abhinandan asked, and I couldn’t believe I had said that out loud.

"Ahh, nothing, he is cute and lovely and beautiful, I mean children!"

Wait! I’d also have children one day.

I exhaled deeply, trying to focus on one thing at a time.

Girls are definitely better than boys. My niece was better than those twins.

"So, where have you been?" he asked again, and I smiled.

"Um, you were right to doubt," I couldn’t help but declare.

His eyes widened. "What? Is that true?" he asked in shock, while the child cried even more intensely.

"Aaauuuuuuujajauaaaaammmmmaaaa,"

"Awwwlllleeeeeooooohhhhhhuuuuuuuuu," Abhinandan sang him a lullaby in his language, and I swallowed hard in silence.

"Then?" He asked.

"Um, I went to see that, and yes, it was there. I do not know what to call them," I said. The other child also started crying.

"Aaaaaaaaammmmmuuuuuuppppaaaaa,"

He exhaled in frustration. "Trisha," he called, then called louder. "Trisha, they are crying." I saw his wife running to him, and I stood up.

"Pranam, Ranisa," I bowed slightly, and she nodded.

"Ji, pranam," she replied.

"Take them away for a bit," he muttered slowly, and I didn’t catch her response, but it sounded like, "Want more babies?" I struggled to suppress my laughter and glanced at Abhinandan's face, which flushed a bit as she took the babies away with the attendant.

"So, yes, where were we?" he said, scratching his brow and muttering, "Canons; these are called canons. My cousin in the Sultanate of Darmiyan, Kainat, and one more—I forget the name—owns them; I think it's Hamid Sultanate."

He continued, and I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"So, is there a chance they could be the same people?" I asked, and he shook his head, confused.

"No, but the area they cover is vast, and they own the northern Arab region without any clue about what’s in the south. It could be them, or it might be someone else, or it could be someone we’ve never heard of," he replied, and I bit my lip.

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