Episode 23: The Life & Exploits of Princess Amodini
“I don’t understand,” Satya said. “Are you saying that Maharaj Yusha of Videha sent an assassin to kill his own dancer?”
“We have no proof,” Veerata replied. “We still haven’t been able to establish what kind of poison was given to her.”
“Are you sure,” Uncle Madhava asked, “she didn’t take the poison herself?”
“We did consider that possibility. She could have consumed it under threat or perhaps out of some twisted sense of patriotism.”
Vidyuta added. “We knew early on she had no wish to end her life. She cooperated with Rajvaidya’s treatment. Her will to live is very strong. That’s probably why she’s stayed alive until now.”
Veerata nodded. “In any case, if she’d taken any kind of poison herself, then we would have found traces of it in her chambers. We searched everywhere. We found nothing. Not even an empty bottle.”
“May I ask,” Uncle Madhava said, “how did you manage to keep her condition a secret for so long?”
“About a week after she arrived, we found another dancer to impersonate her and move into her new home in the capital city. We declared she’d recovered from her illness. Only a chosen few maids, guards and doctors are allowed to visit her under oath. It’s an elaborate, but necessary deception to avoid war.”
Vidyuta turned to Satya. “But we won’t be able to keep up the deception for long. That’s why we need your help.”
Satya shook her head. “What if I can’t help her? My uncle is right. I still have much to learn. I’m not a real physician… just a student.”
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