FF: Royal Pain Season 2: link pg 140 - Page 77

so you know how to comeback? I see how it is...shucks I is out of one liners. koyi nahi hamara bhi din aayega😈

Haan aur aapka din tab aayega jab aap update karoge...😛

hola hola hola coming yo. me nan wants attention too😆 I am in many places at the same time.

talk about demanding😆

chalo wait some more. just some more time.

ok

only ten people responded so far. so, looks like it is a long road ahead.

sorry. there is only so much I can do.

until then, you always have haq

😆good luck then!

Chapter 16

(Six months later)

Madhubala had fulfilled her foremost duty as the human shield for her King. She dragged out Ranima's plans to the verge of non-existence. The conspiracy among the Royals was revealed to the public so gently they almost forgot it hurt. First came the names of the hired assassins throughout the years. Then, it was the declaration of full frontal attack by Deepali and Sikander. As for the rest, the King didn't have to move a finger. The press put two and two together, targeting the high queen mother as the prime suspect. Madhu and Rishabh played the oblivious, supportive couple who just wanted their ageing mother out of trouble. When the misdeeds of Ranima went public, even her former loyals wanted no association with her name. The doors of all safehouses were closed on her and she finally surrendered. Now, the witch lives her days in a maximum security prison in the backwaters of Maldives. As for Deepali and Sikander, they are frequent targets of tabloid shaming on their way in and out court trial.

The queen had to managed her king's life around in more ways than one. His political career was looking up. The monarch on the blacklist of the free world's war drones was now a respected leader who held his citizens' best interest at heart. The only problem was, his wife had not told him anything about Stanford or her panic attacks. It was though that part of their life never happened. Although Kesh's girlfriend was no longer a corpse on the morning news still, Rishabh worried about her murderer running loose. He did some investigation of his own back in the States but, the killer left no trail. His only chance at knowing the full truth was to confront Madhubala.

It wasn't easy knowing the word separation always sat on the tip of her tongue.

"Madhu gadhu", he jumped on her back trying to sense her temperament.

"Stop calling me that, will ya?"

So, she was playful and not expecting a call out. Here he went with the first set of interrogations.

"Why did Kesh transfer to Stanford without notifying me?"

He felt her nerves tense up at the mention of the incident.

"It was not important sir. Considering the amount of pressure you were in, I chose to keep the information to myself. Now, can we get back to business as usual?"

She had now tackled him down to the corner couch. Even with the protests, Rishabh was determined to get some answers today.

"Why are you not concerned about the girl who got killed?"

Now, he was stepping into some dangerous territory. Accusing his queen of carelessness was synonymous to stealing cubs from a lioness. She was not going to give what she knew without a fight.

"I am very much concerned, my Lord. You just happen to be too busy to notice".

"Okay, what about the stretch of panic attacks in the hotel?"

"Like I said, I was and to this day, remain concerned. Kesh was going to propose. She was practically family. Hold on, where are going with this?"

Now she had gotten him in the bear trap.

"Your Majesty should have thought this through", she smirked knowing full well she had the king under her thumb. But, Madhubala seemed to have forgotten the first rule of combat: never underestimate the power of the monarch.

"I have some women coming over from the Miss Universe Pageant. I was thinking of taking you with but, you have been a pain in the ass lately. So, sit your precious touch in front of the TV and watch me flirt".

She wore a defeated look on her face again; the kind that had been creeping more than it should.

"Have fun", she left misty eyed but not before slamming the door on Rishabh.

-----------------------

"What's up with her?"

The brother in law had been getting a tad too friendly for Rishabh's liking. Not that the king was an unfriendly man but, when someone who wrongfully used your money to spend on a honeymoon with his dead girlfriend shows up to your house, you have the right to get suspicious. Cranky even, when he offers you a six pack of beers.

"Keshab, she is the queen. Have some respect".

"If your majesty says so. I came here for business. I need to tell you something".

"Please do"

"Your wife was acting strange after my girlfriend…………. So anyways, I never asked questions. Never have, never will. She trained me that way. I thought that you should know she induces vomiting from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I am not calling her bulimic or anything. She…….just……..I saw it once in Stanford when she came alone. And now….just a few days ago, I walked in on her with two fingers down her throat trying to do it in a trashcan. Do something sir".

"This conversation never happened".

Rishabh had just watched the scared child who ran away from him years ago turn into a decent young man. Defensive but, decent.

"I will take care of it. Her". The king escorted a nervous visitor out of his chambers with the six pack. "Thank you Kesh. Please knock next time".

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Rishabh tiptoed into his bedroom trying not to bother an already agitated queen.

"The palace guards tell me someone has been washing vomit down the sink. Are you aware of anything?"

"Since when does the king concern himself with how often his servants suffer from indigestion?"

"The queen should open up her horizons to the new drug in town. It's called optimism. Works wonder for non-believers and cynics".

"Banter, your majesty. The language of peasants. You should not have wed a commoner if you did not share her sense of humour".

"Do you know anything about the vomit?"
Madhu shook her head in a no. There was no trace of a lie hidden behind her batting eyelids. But, he was adamant.

"Do you need help Madhu?"

"Yes. But only I can help myself. You just have to watch from the sidelines".

"Doctor, counsellor, money, anything you ask for".

"I love you Rishabh but you're going to hate me one day. I think we should stop trying for the baby just a little while".

"Yeah, okay. Is it serious?"

"No. I was just paranoid someone poisoned me. Nothing happened. It's all in my head. I'll make it go away. I know I've not been the best wife. I'll fix it if you give me some time".

Just as his majesty was about to excuse himself, he sneaked an empty cardboard box of pharmaceuticals out of the queen's vanity. The labels on the front indicated a common laxative but the INTEL told him otherwise. The pathology lab report came out positive for methotrexate: a drug used in the past as a multispectrum antibiotic targeting the folic acid pathway in bacterial cells. Today, its uses are limited to a chemotherapeutic cocktail mix as well as an orally ingested abortion drug.

Whatever use the queen found out of it, she was now answerable to a very angry emperor.