Lakshman expelled a sharp breath as they emerged from the cool shadow of the bridge's overhang and
stepped onto the dusty surface of the raj-marg once more. "Amazing! Bhai, if we knew that trick, we
could get into any place we wanted!" He dug an elbow into Rama's ribs. "Even the princesses' quarters atUncle Maharaja Janak's palace!"
Rama grinned at the thought of Lakshman loose in their uncle's palace at Mithila. "You need to get
married soon, brother. Before you become a father!"
Lakshman winked slyly. "And you need to get married before you become a monk!"
Rama shrugged good-naturedly. "I'll marry when the right girl comes along."
"You mean you'll marry Sita when she comes of age! Don't deny it, bhai.
You've always had a soft spot for Maharaja Janak's eldest." Lakshman added sotto voce: "Or should I say, ahard spot!"
Rama colored. "Don't get vulgar, Lakshman. Sita's our cousin-sister."
"Thrice removed. Manu's Lawbook says anything beyond first cousin is marriageable material. So she's fair game. And ripe for the hunting, from what I hear."
Rama felt a tiny pinprick of irritation. He didn't like Lakshman speaking of Sita that way.Although I
haven't seen her in years, so why should I care? "You're probably thinking of her younger sisters.
Urmila, was it? The one with whom you were caught swimming naked in the fountain?"
It was Lakshman's turn to be embarrassed. He punched his brother in the shoulder hard enough to hurt.
"She talked me into it. Besides, we were just babes. Barely weaned."
Rama replied with deceptive innocence, "So when we meet her next, you'll be sure to tell her that you've been fully weaned now, right?"
He dodged his brother's fist this time.
Lakshman raised his hands in surrender. "All right, you got me. I always did like Urmi. Why deny it? In
fact, I can't count the number of times I've heard Susama-daiimaaa and my mother talk about making a match with Janak-Chacha's four daughters and the four of us. Always when Shatrugan or I was within hearing distance."
It was a logical match. Ayodhya and Mithila were sister cities, identical in architectural planning and most other ways. Both the clans were descendants of Ikshvaaku, with the Ayodhyan Ikshvaakus tracing their
descent through Surya, and the Mithilan Ikshvaakus through Chandra: Mithila's lunar to Ayodhya's solar.
A marital alliance between the sunwood and silvermoon thrones would cement the already healthy
relationship between the two powerful kingdoms and almost double the size of Ayodhya's fighting forces.
An alliance that strong could make the difference between success and failure when faced with an
imminent Asura invasion.
Rama was about to say this aloud when the seer-mage slowed ahead of them. For a moment he thought
the seer was stopping to admonish them for their mischievous banter. Both Rama and Lakshman
prepared themselves for a tongue-lashing.
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