The palace of Vyangadesh glittered like gold under the rising sun, but within its walls, shadows whispered in every corner.
A week had passed since the prince's birth, yet joy had not touched the royal halls. Courtiers who once showered the queen with praises now spoke her name with cautious silence. Servants bowed lower when she passed — not out of respect, but out of fear of being seen with her.
Something in the air had changed.
In the grand hall, King Raghunath sat in quiet conversation with Lady Damini, his once-gentle eyes now heavy with doubt.
"Tell me truly," he said, voice low. "You think the child is cursed?"
Damini lowered her gaze modestly, the faintest tremble in her tone. "My king, I only wish for your safety. The temple astrologers said the storm that night was not a blessing. It was the sky's warning. And now… look at the queen's strange secrecy."
The king frowned. "You mean her refusal to allow the astrologer?"
Damini nodded, sighing. "If she hides nothing, why would she fear a blessing? Perhaps she knows something we do not."
Her words slid into the air like poison.
Raghunath rubbed his temples. "Vasundhara was never one for deceit…"
"And yet," Damini interrupted gently, "even love blinds kings."
He looked at her sharply. For a heartbeat, neither spoke. Then he rose and walked away, but his silence said enough. The seed had been planted.
That evening, in her private garden, Queen Vasundhara sat beside a still pond, holding her son close. The faint reflection of the two shimmered in the water — a queen and her newborn, alone beneath the crimson sky.
"Dasi," she murmured, her voice hollow, "the court grows quieter each day. They whisper when I enter. They avert their eyes when I speak."
The maid knelt beside her. "The king listens too much to Damini. She speaks of omens and curses in the court. They fear what they do not understand."
Vasundhara's lips tightened. "Fear is a blade sharper than any sword."
The baby stirred softly, his tiny fingers clutching her silken robe. The faint warmth of his mark pulsed through the cloth.
She looked down, her voice softening."Perhaps they will never understand. Perhaps he must walk a different path."
"Do you think he truly bears destiny's mark?" Dasi asked carefully.
Vasundhara's eyes lifted to the horizon, where the last light of the sun touched the palace towers."I do not know," she whispered. "But I feel the world will either rise beneath his feet… or burn because of him."
Days turned into weeks.
Rumors grew like weeds in the cracks of marble halls.Whispers of the queen's "unnatural" child reached the nobles, twisted by fear and envy.
Damini, always patient, fanned the flames. She would sigh and shake her head during gatherings, murmuring, "The poor king… burdened by omens before joy."
By the time the royal astrologer returned from pilgrimage, the court was ready to believe anything.
That night, as thunder rolled once again in the distance, Vasundhara awoke to the sound of footsteps outside her chamber.
She turned sharply. "Dasi?"
The Dasi hurried inside, breathless. "My queen! Soldiers… they are coming this way. The king—he demands to see the child!"
The queen's heart dropped. "Now?"
"Yes. Lady Damini stands beside him."
For a moment, silence filled the room. Then Vasundhara stood, her expression fierce despite her frailness.
"Hide him," she whispered.
"My queen—"
"Do as I say, Dasi! If they see his mark tonight, he will not live to see another dawn."
The maid trembled, clutching the sleeping infant. "Where shall I take him?"
Vasundhara's eyes darted to the secret passage behind the tapestries — an old escape tunnel built for times of war.
"Through the servant halls," she said quickly. "Find shelter beyond the city walls. Do not return until I send for you."
"But you—"
"I am the queen," Vasundhara said firmly, brushing a kiss against her son's forehead. "I will face what comes."
The faint glow of the sun mark flickered once more — like a heartbeat of destiny.
And then, the door burst open.