Akdha Threeshot: Jodha POV update pg 11 - Page 7

Originally posted by: -DEATHmusic-

Great Two shots 👍🏼
Read both the update in one go.
Brilliant witting and the way Akbar found his true love in Jodha was well-written. 😃

Originally posted by: sharneil92

@piu: WOMAN! Don't put ideas in my brain now! I've still not finished my bloody IPK and Gulaal FF! UGH. And HARRY POTTER! 😭

A special place in hell will be reserved for my indolence. 🤢

Originally posted by: manzilmukul

"Empires are forged in blood"
This expression itself left me Bereft of any prejudice.Loved it .ABSOLUTELY!!NO DOUBT QBOUT IT.it set the pace of my connection with Jalaal.Wonderfully traced every bit .His journey made me a witness to the PRIDE AND ARROGANCE of a COQUETTISH EMPEROR ,YOU THEN SLIVERED HIM INTO BITS WHILE TRACING HIS JOURNEY WITH THE WHOLE ATTACK AND POSSESSION OF JODHA .I love this humanization of Jalaal. It was a treat to read all the facets from his POV.The way he sees and imbibes Jodha's words and VALUES finally understanding that the RULE OF THE SWORD is merely a NOTION IN HIS HEAD perpetrated and propagated by his MENTORS .
The journey is remarkable👏👏👏BEAUTIFUL⭐️LOVED IT!!

Originally posted by: aanchal_c

hey i know u r busy with madhubala ff's but plz plz do make a proper ff for jodha akbar also...it will be a treat to read.

Originally posted by: apolloartemis

Much as I want to, as you said I do have MEIEJ. HOHP is ongoing, and I've finished two chapters of another fic. Once I finish that one, then maybe a JA one, depending on where they are going with the show. Until then, it's going to be OS or two shots.

Jodha: Victory from loss

The only time in the entire situation that Jodha has come to tears is when they bring Suryabhan's body to Raja Bharmal. Seeing her beloved lying cold and dead tears her heart.

What of your promise to me? She screams inwardly. We were supposed to live happily together after you bought me his head!

"We have to cremate him here." Bharmal's voice breaks into her thoughts. "We're under siege. There is no way to send him back. Perhaps we can send a messenger with his ashes."

Jodha closes her eyes. You will be in Amer forevermore, my Love. She thinks. And I will be here with you.

After all, their defeat is now imminent, and jauher is their only hope. Jodha looks forward to feeding herself into the flames, of being with Suryabhan.

Until Jalal sends his proposition.

XXX

No sound of protest escapes her when her father informs her of her impending marriage to the Mughal Emperor. She can feel the anger churning deep inside her, but quells it, knowing that it will be needed for an opportune time.

Jodha returns to her room, resisting the urge to fling her things about. Suryabhan is dead, Amer captured. Indulging in a temper tantrum will aid nothing.

She wants his blood on her hands. Jodha is a daughter of proud Rajputana. And every inch of her is screaming for her enemy's head. Jalaludin Mohammad's proud head should be decorating Kali Ma's feet.

But above everything else, Jodha is a dutiful daughter. She loves her people. She loves her Amer. And if Jodha has to suffer for the rest of her life, torn from everything she held dear, she will do it. All for the sake of her people.

Suryabhan gave up his life for Amer. Now Jodha will do the same.

Forgive me, she beseeches him it will take longer than I imagined for us to reunite.

Wiping away the few traitorious tears that have escaped, she makes her way out of her chambers. Jodha will have to ask her mother to help her prepare.

Nothing but the best for the Mughal Emperor after all.

XXX

The night before she is to be married, her mother comes into Jodha's room. Her sisters are sleeping on the bed, dried tear tracks still visible. Manavati too sports a few tears in her eyes, the reddened iris's proof of her own despair.

She presses a vial into Jodha's hands.

"Poison?" Jodha breaths out the question. Menavati nods, pressing Jodha's fingers closed around the object.

"The strongest there is, taken from the snakes of the desert. Should he…before he dishonors you in any way, take it."

Jodha inhales sharply, eyes flying to her mothers. Menavati's eyes are now dry, the resolve in them implacable.

"Death before dishonor." She says.

"Death before dishonor." Jodha echoes, falling into her mother's embrace.

"You will make me proud Jodha." Menavati whispers into her daughter's ears. "Bring him to his knees before you."

"I will."

XXX

She does not see her husband until the palki is set down in the Mughal encampment. He orders her out like a dasi and Jodha seethes, taking a few breaths to calm herself down. It will not do for the Mughals to see her as anything less than she is: Amer is not the Mughal Empire, but the blood in Jodha's veins is far purer than the filth in Jalal's.

She steps out, head high, locking eyes with her enemy. His gaze is stunned, looking at her with hunger. Jalal steps upto her, holding her hands in his.

"My bride," His voice rumbles, "My bride," he says again, taking her fingers and pressing his lips against them. Jodha resists the shivers that long to wrack through her frame.

"My prize."

Never, she screams internally. Never, never, never…

Jodha breaks the gaze, eye's flickering across the camp. One face catches her eyes- a slender young woman, beautiful but delicate, who has a calculating look on her face. Jodha does not know why, but she feels her fate is connected to that girl.

She turns away. There is nothing for her here.

XXX

Contrary to what she knows her husband thinks, Jodha had not planned on killing him. Oh, she had strapped the dagger to her thigh, but she had never thought she would actually use it. But when he came near her, running those long fingers over her arms, she could not help it. Unsheathing the dagger in one swift move, Jodha moved against him. Jalal countered her, and two fought for a few moments before Jalal wrestled the dagger from her hand, pinning her to the bed.

"What about your precious Amer?" He asked her. Jodha turned her head, ashamed at her weakness. As a Rajput, it was her duty to endure, to do what she could for her people. And now thanks to her folly, her people would suffer. But she would let Jalal know a few truths first.

When she finished her tirade, Jodha had expected Jalal to get on with his business and take what he had fought so hard for. Yet, he surprised by moving to the entrance of the tent. The nights events caught up to Jodha and she could help but let a tear escape her eye, loathing herself for the weakness.

"I don't take unwilling women." Jalal's voice drifted back to her. Jodha could not help but let out a sob of relief as he left, and she pressed her face into a pillow, shouting into it to muffle the noise.

And thus passed her first night as Jalal's third chief wife.

XXX

The harem is filled with catty women and cattier eunuchs. It only takes a few days for Jodha to be tired of both. The chatter is nonsensical, and she wants to scream at these fools, snap them out of their dreams.

The attention Jalal pays towards her does not go unnoticed. Her indifference to his attention is even more visible, and all heap scorn upon her.

Jodha does not care at all for these women and their common husband. Don't they understand that?

"What does Her Majesty wish for?" Her personal eunuch asks one day as she lies on the cushions, hair fanned around her, eyes closed. "Surely there must be something to bring you joy."

Jodha opens her eyes, pinning him with her gaze. "You want to make me happy, Bahadur?" She asks. The eunuch gulps, but nods.

"Get me a sword."

XXX

A few weeks into her stay in the harem, Jodha is playing with the birds when all activity ceases. She looks upward to see the young woman from that night in the encampment coming towards her, every inch a queen. Jodha stands. She is a princess of Amer. She will not kneel before a Mughal. The woman stops before her, looking her over. Jodha raises an eyebrow in question.

"I am Ruquiaya." The woman says, lifting her chin in challenge.

Why on earth does she think Jodha cares?

"I am the Emperor's favorite wife, his first wife and childhood friend. Do not seek to usurp his affections, Princess. You will lose."

"I wish you all joy to him, Queen." Jodha answers evenly. "I care little for your husband and his regard."

Any reply Ruqaiya is to make is halted by the arrival of her eunuch.

"My Queens." The…man? Jodha is never sure how to address them, "The Emperor has sent you both gifts. Would you like to retire to your rooms so you can see them?"

"Both of us? Never mind. Bring them forth" Ruqaiya commands. The man hides a grimace but nods.

Ruqaiya's gift is a necklace, beautiful almost beyond words. There are so many jewels on the thing that Jodha wonders if Ruqaiya will be able to wear it around her delicate neck.

"And what is Jodha's gift?" The other queen demands, ignoring the offering.

The men bring out a cage, with exotic birds inside. Jodha can hear the gasps and the flash of envy in Ruqaiya's eyes that is quickly banished.

"Animals for the savage, how sweet!" She sneers. Jodha ignores her, standing in front of the cage.

"The Emperor asks for your presence at dinner, Queen Jodha. He sends you this gift and hopes for your amiability in return." The messenger intones.

Jodha stares at the birds inside that golden cage. One twist of her hand and the door is open, the birds flying free. Gasps echo around the courtyard and Ruqaiya's eyes widen.

"Tell your Emperor I thank him for his honors." Jodha tells the messenger. "And I shall thank him even more if he withdraws his attentions," here her gaze flicks to Ruqaiya who colors in indignation "And bestows them on one who desires them."
"But My Queen…"

"That will be all." Jodha sweeps away from the courtyard to her room.

"Queen Jodha," Abdul says from the shadows, a smile upon his lips, "You may survive the harem yet."

XXX

When Jalal asks her about Suryabhan Jodha is surprised to note that the pain has faded, a distant echo instead of the rendering agony it used to be. Even the longing for Amer is muted. Her entire life seems to be muted, Jodha forever waiting for something she cannot define.

She answers him absently, and hears him stomp away. Strangely, Jodha resists the urge to giggle- the Emperor of India, acting as a toddler denied a treat!

XXX

When he asks her to visit his mother, Jodha is surprised. She is even more surprised when he takes her to Hamida Begum, and not Mahamanga.

The other woman is an unexpected delight. Learned, articulate, tolerant…Jodha spends hours talking to her about matters of state and poking fun at the harem. Perhaps when she had first arrived she would not have been so welcoming, but Jodha has spent many lonely months in Jalal's harem. Conversation is welcome. And Hamida Bagum is a wonderful balm to her lonely soul.

When she leaves she tells Jalal how much she loved her visit. His honestly regarding the hurt he received from his mother, hidden as it is in the conversation, surprises her. Her disbelief is even great when she realizes that has comforted him, in a strange way. So, Jodha takes a leap of faith, and asks Jalal to come visit his mother with her. If a Mughal hating Rajputni can find the woman a delight, surely her son can be persuaded to think the same?

Jalal manages to get her to agree to spar with him regularly in exchange for the visits, but for the first time since she came to the harem, Jodha feels like she has accomplished something worthwhile.

XXX

Months pass. Ruquaiya's plots make her laugh- as if her absence would make so much of of a difference!

But as time goes on life in the harem becomes tolerable as Jalal comes to visit her often. They play chess. They spar. Jodha finds that beneath the faade of a cruel king there lies a lonely boy, seeking reassurance at every turn. Jalal is a contrary man in everything he does. He holds loyalty to be of paramount importance and cares little for the rank of those he holds close. A sharp mind, a loyal heart, charisma that would charm stone, and a will of steel. Jodha can see why Jalal has conquered so many in such a short time, and why so many hold his loyalty.

But in one aspect of his kingship he falls short, and that is why she cannot give herself to him- Jalal does not understand his Hindu subjects. He thinks of himself as a Mughal Emperor first, and the Emperor of Hindusthan next. Jodha wishes he could see what she has come to see throughout their time together.

Hindusthan is in is blood.

XXX

When Jalal comes to her that day, Jodha has no inkling of the storm that is about to be unleashed. She only knows something is wrong when he bursts into her rooms, scattering her maids and shouting out accusations. Jodha sees the letter in his hand and knows that this is either Mahamanga or the Chief Queen at play. A letter written during a time that was friendless and drowning in loneliness has dammed her.

If Jalal trusts her so little that he will not allow her to defend herself, than Jodha has little use for him. He orders her to return to Amer, but she cannot help but leave some bitter words behind.

You may conquer, Jallad," Jodha spits as she turns, mounting her horse, "but you will never rule. Because you don't know how. This empire will crumble because you know nothing of your people."

She prays her words come true. If the Jalal she has come to love is only an illusion, it is fitting that he lose everything as she has.

Jodha spurs her horse and rides to Amer. She does not look back even though everything inside her is screaming to do so.

XXX

Amer is, strangely, exactly the same as she remembers, yet completely different. As she wanders through the familiar corridors and runs through the palace rooms, Jodha realizes it is because it she has changed.

She goes to the spot where Suryabhan was cremated. His ashes were delivered to Bhanpor, yet she knows a little must have mingled with the soil of Amer- it is as she told Jalal- some part of Suryabhan must still be in her kingdom.

What would he have thought of this new Jodha? She and Suryabhan knew so little of each other, caught in the flush of first love. Jodha knows with the passion of certainty that she and Suryabhan would have been happy together. But now, she also knows this: Jalal makes her feel alive. With him, the insanity around her fades and the world makes sense again. With him, Jodha feels that no matter what happens around her, she would have the strength to get up and face the next day.

Without knowing it, she had fallen in love with her husband.

Jodha kneels to the ground, holding the soil in the palm of her hand.

You were my first love she addresses Suryabhan but he is the love of my life. Forgive me and find peace.

Farewell my dear.

Jodha closes her eyes, and lets go of Suryabhan's ghost.

XXX

Jalal comes to fetch her back, apologies tumbling from his lips. He has banished Mahamanga, the apparent perpetrator of the plot, and wants Jodha to return with him.

Jodha surprises herself and him, when she refuses. They fight. Again. Finally Jodha tells Jalal what will make her return.

"You were born here," She says softly, "Umarkot, you told me. You are a son of this soil. Rule as a ruler of Hindustan, Jalal, not as a Mughal invader. And when you do, when you show me you have learned…then I will return."

Jalal needs to become the great ruler that Jodha knows he can be in order for her to reconcile herself to come back. Jodha has married a good man. But she will come back, after her dignity has been trampled, after her honor has been questioned, only when that good man becomes a great one.

Nothing else will suffice.

XXX

When she hears that Jalal has banished jirzra she knows he understands finally what she meant. Jalal has begun to understand his subjects, has started on his path to become a great king.

She can go home now.

XXX

When Jodha sees Jalal again, it is strangely as if she is meeting him for the first time. Everything around her fades and all Jodha can see is the passion in his eyes, and more importantly, the peace he has achieved. Jalal is at peace with himself finally. And Jodha can now put down her arms and surrender with honor.

"I will never leave." She promises.

I am yours forever is what she does not say. When Jalal smiles, Jodha knows he understands anyway.

XXX

Years pass. Jodha bears Jalal three sons. He forsakes all his other wives and comes only to her. A part of Jodha feels for the women, for Ruquaiya, but she cannot find it in herself to regret the circumstances. She is Jalal's. Jalal is hers. That is the way fate was written and that is the way it shall be.

Jalal gives Salim to Ruquaiya. Jodha does not mind too much. She, after all, was the interloper that stole Ruquaiya heart. A child is no compensation, but sharing motherhood is one way to make up for the loss.

Sometimes Jodha thinks upon her life. To be by Jalal's side she had lost everything- her kingdom, the respect of all of Rajputana…Suryabhan. But here she stands, triumphant above all others. Jodha is Jalal's beloved Chief Queen. More importantly, she is his heart. And he is hers.

Her story, Jodha muses as her eyes close for the last time, is a true example of how victory can come from loss.