Page 11 of Twisted Alliance

But what Shivay didn’t mention was that it would be a twisted alliance.

CHAPTER 3

The marriage festivities were done in a grand, elaborate style and traditional manner.

The ceremonies began in the early morning before sunrise at the small temple within the Thakvar family mansion. The sound of the conch shells and drums could be heard outside.

Shivay stood still while a small team worked on his wedding attire. They adjusted his long, heavy ethnic tunic. A dark red turban with the Thakvar insignia was placed on his head. Layers of pearls were arranged on the tunic with a distinct pendant and the insignia surrounded by gold-rimmed tiger nails. A ceremonial sword with a jeweled handle and an ornately decorated gold case was placed on his side.

Shivay’s eyes fell on the heavy ring on his left hand with the Thakvar insignia that could only be worn by the Thakvar family heirs. His father had given it to him after publicly announcing Shivay as his son and arranging for the alliance.

“I need to speak with my son alone. Please leave.” At Mihir Thakvar’s command, the room emptied.

Shivay’s father was dressed similarly, but unlike his son’s stoic expression, the older man had a worried look.

“Are you sure, son?” Mihir Thakvar asked. The same question had been repeated dozens of times over the past week.

“Yes, Dad. I am sure.”

Shivay’s father continued to look worried. “It’s not too late,” he said. “You can change your mind even now. I can give an excuse and make the necessary reparations with the Gujjars.”

Shivay looked at his father. “This marriage will take place today no matter what, Dad. This alliance will help both the region and us.”

His father’s face fell, and then he took a deep breath. “All right. I know I cannot convince you otherwise.” Mihir Thakvar’s face softened with a faraway look. “I can only pray that you will be happy in this marriage like I was with your mother.”

Shivay nodded without saying anything. He didn’t want to worry his father by revealing that the alliance wasn’t going to be a conventional marriage. Far from it.

***

Shivay and his father stepped out and stood at the top of the mansion steps. Hundreds of men and women stood in rows playing the drums and blowing conch shells.

Every Thakvar clan member and people from the Thakvar villages were assembled outside. Soon, Shivay and his father sat inside an SUV while the large crowd traveled mostly by foot and camels through the desert. They were going to a temple where every heir of the Singoor clans was married.

It wasn’t until much later that the Singoor temple came into view. It was a tall, massive structure with heavy carvings on the walls. Shivay was surprised that something of that scale could be built hundreds of years ago in the middle of the desert.

Before Shivay stepped inside, a small group of older half-naked men wearing only loin cloths approached him. The men’s bodies and faces were covered in ash and had long matted hair. All of them held a long vertical stick with a skull-shaped top. One of those men dipped his fingers into a shell that held ash and ran his three fingers horizontally across Shivay’s forehead. The man then followed it by placing a red dot at the center.

“You are now a protector of Sands of Singoor,” the man announced.

The tempo of the drums and conch shells increased while Shivay was led inside the temple. The inside was surprisingly and significantly cooler

He was asked to sit in front of the large form of a deity made of natural black rock with water gushing around it. Shivay noticed that the water was from a natural source underneath, and it kept the place cooler. His eyes then fell to the spot that was left vacant.

“This is where the Goddess Shakti statue used to be,” one of the Thakvar clan priests informed grimly. “For the wedding, we will use another form that will not anger our God.”

A goddess form was made using flowers and leaves and placed in the vacant spot.

Although Shivay had already given the necessary instructions to search for the missing goddess statue, he knew it would be hard without knowing how it looked. It would be time-consuming as he expected. So until then, the alliance was the only way to bring the warring clans to an understanding.

The sound of conch shells and drums grew louder outside, along with trumpets, before an announcement was made.

“The Gujjars are here!”

Shivay knew his soon-to-be bride had arrived.

He looked towards the temple’s entrance. A large, heavily decorated box-like structure covered by thick curtains was carried by a group of men and lowered. A woman got down from it.

She was wearing a dark red traditional outfit with a lot of heavy jewelry and was soon surrounded by a group of men and women who led her inside.

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