Chapter 20: The Lotus Pond

POV: Prince Karna

If there was one place in the high upper palace that felt completely different from the dusty stables, the loud barracks, and the formal council halls, it was the inner lotus conservatory.

Built over a subterranean warm spring, the wide stone pavilion was always humid and mild, smelling of damp moss, blooming white lilies, and sweet marsh silt. Water trickled continuously through carved stone lion heads into a deep, clear pool where fat gold-and-black carp swam lazily between the lotus pads.

Vasundhara Di had just set down the dry lacquer dish on the side step, having helped us bring the little river creature safely down from the breakfast tables before she had to head off to her own afternoon reading pavilion. I squatted by the water's edge, my trousers rolled up above my knees, watching Shivsundari kneel on a flat green marble slab near the water.

Beside her stood Meena, her twelve-year-old personal maidservant. Meena was a sharp, quick-witted girl from the lower artisan district whom Mother had chosen specifically to look after Shivsundari. While most maidservants were timid around royal children, Meena understood Shivsundari's quiet habits completely—she always kept a small damp cloth ready for dirt-smudged hands and never chattered unnecessary gossip when the little princess was thinking.

"Hold your sleeve up, Princess Shivsundari," Meena warned gently, kneeling behind her to hold back the trailing silk of her sleeve. "If Maharani Sumati sees pond mud on your fresh tunic, she'll make me wash the silk three times over!"

"I won't drop it, Meena," Shivsundari replied softly, her small hands holding the tiny river turtle right over the surface of the warm water.

"Let him go close to the big lotus leaf, little sister!" I suggested, pointing toward a broad green pad floating near the stone edge. "That's where the water bugs hang out."

Shivsundari leaned over carefully. Instead of just plopping the turtle into the water, she lowered her hands until her fingers dipped into the warm pool, letting the tiny creature swim off her flat palm on its own. The little turtle paddled its legs frantically for a second before scrambling onto the floating lotus leaf, tucking its dark head in to take in its grand new surroundings.

A rare, quiet smile lit up Shivsundari's face as she watched it.

"He likes it," she whispered, leaning back on her heels.

Meena handed her a damp linen cloth, watching the little princess with an affectionate, fond smile. "You have a softer touch with animals than Prince Karna, Princess. When he brought a river frog into the sitting room last month, it jumped right onto Senior Steward Malati's formal headpiece!"

"It was a very athletic frog, Meena!" I protested, puffing out my chest while Shivsundari let out a tiny, soft giggle into her sleeve.

As Shivsundari stood up, I noticed how light and nimble her footing was on the slippery, wet marble flags. Most children her age wobbled or slipped on damp stone, but Shivsundari moved with a quiet, centered balance—her weight always evenly distributed over her feet.

"Hey," I said, my eyes brightening with a sudden thought. "Where did you learn to walk on wet stone like that without sliding?"

Shivsundari paused, looking down at her boots, then up at me. "If you don't rush your heels, the stone doesn't push back."

"That's footwork!" I declared, jumping up from the edge of the pool. "That's basic martial footwork! Senior General Devavrat makes the new guardsmen practice walking across greased timber logs to learn that exact same balance!"

Meena shook her head, laughing softly as she straightened Shivsundari's plum-colored mantle. "Prince Karna, please do not go putting ideas of greased logs into the little princess's head!"

"I'm serious!" I insisted, stepping in front of Shivsundari and dropping into a low, wide riding stance. "Look, Sundari! When Aditya Bhaiya and I practice our basic forms, we keep our weight low like this so nobody can sweep our feet out. Like a mountain cat!"

Shivsundari watched my stance intently. She didn't laugh or brush it off. Instead, her quiet green eyes carefully analyzed the angle of my knees, the placement of my feet, and how my shoulders aligned over my hips.

Without a word, she tried to mimic the posture, stepping her right foot back slightly to lower her center of gravity. But a six-year-old's short, chubby legs didn't quite listen to her brain. Her left boot slid a little too far out on the damp marble flags, her balance tipped, and she ended up over-correcting so wildly that her arms started windmilling in the air.

I reached out and caught her elbow just before her plum mantle went flying into the mud, pulling her back up as she let out a small, startled huff. Her face turned a tiny bit pink, looking thoroughly annoyed that her own feet had betrayed her.

"See! You have to keep the knees bent more!" I laughed, leaning down to manually nudge her boot into the right spot. "Your upper half knows what to do, but your legs are too short right now. If you keep your feet too close together on the wet stone, you'll just tip right over like a broken stool."

Shivsundari straightened back up, dusting off her mantle with a small, innocent tilt of her chin, trying very hard to look like she hadn't just almost tumbled into the carp pool.

Before I could ask her to try a dagger stance again, I suddenly remembered what the stable hands had been talking about during the morning watch.

"Oh! Sundari!" My eyes went wide with excitement. "The stable masters just finished moving those two white mountain colts we saw in the paddock into the lower stalls for their first evening feeding! Chief Groom Bhima said we could go see them up close before the handlers close the gate!"

Shivsundari's eyes brightened with quiet interest. "The ones from the mountains?"

"Yes! The ones Chief Tenzin sent down with Aditya Bhaiya," I said, already turning toward the exit. "Come on! Let's get out of this humid pavilion and head down to the lower stalls before Aditya Bhaiya and Vardhan Bhaiya finish their archive work!"

Meena quickly gathered Shivsundari's small lacquer tray, smiling as the little princess dusted off her mantle and took quick, eager steps right alongside me toward the main colonnade.