Mirror Images: Chapter One (Words That Were Never Said)
Where was her Akka when she needed her? Where was her Arulmozhi?
No, not her Arulmozhi. Even the dream of him ever being such was fading away. For who was she? An orphan who had riches but not parents and too weak a heart to survive in a land of snakes. Wasn't that what everyone thought of her?
"Oh, Ponniyin Selvare!" she cried, "I hoped you would mend me and heal my soul! I found a sister in yours and a husband in you! I thought you would give me the family I'd been deprived of for so long! Instead, I have allowed myself to be ruined further by the shadow of a promise that came from everyone's lips but your own. No more. Do not hear my pleas or confessions, Lord! For they are not for your ears any longer, but for my heart alone."
The Ilaya Raani of Pazhavur could have sworn she heard crying down the hallway from the chambers of the Kodambalur Ilavarasi again. What was her name? Vanathi?
Her name left a bitter taste in Nandhini's mouth. It was no secret how the young girl felt about Arulmozhi Varman. Everyone who met her could see it. It reminded Nandhini a bit of herself at that age, bright-eyed and smitten with one of the sons of Sundara Chozhan. But unlike Nandhini, all the odds were in Vanathi's favour. The elders encouraged it to her face rather than whisper about it behind her back. Sembiyan Madeviyar smiled at the prospect instead of donning a frown. Most of all, that meddlesome Kundavai approved of it - pushed for it even. Not like Nandhini, whose affections had been doomed before they'd even been born.
She raised a hand to knock on the door. Vanathi opened it, eyes puffy and red. Her mouth was kept in a hard set, though it did little to hide the fact that she had been crying. For a moment, just a single one, the silver-tongued Queen of Pazhavur was left speechless. Nandhini was taken back to the day she and her family had been exiled and she’d been forced to act like her heart did not scream and tear itself apart. She was taken back to the day Karikalan, who had once claimed to love her, severed the head of Veerapandiyan from his body and she had to remain strong for Amurabujangan and lead the Pandiyas to victory on their path for revenge.
“I bow down before the illustrious Kodambalur Ilavarasi, favoured by the Ilaya Piratti, and the future Queen of Arulmozhi Varman’s heart.”
“Do not address me as such.” Vanathi said, eyes flashing in anger. “Ponniyin Selvan does not want me. He would rather marry Samudra Kumari than even dream of marrying me.”
Nandhini felt a smirk tug at the corners of her mouth. So the younger tiger was no different from the older one, was he? Same as Karikalan, he too did not mcare enough for a woman who would have given her life for him.
“I know what that’s like.” Nandhini said, stepping into the room.
A gentle breeze wafted through the room and the room glowed with a soft light. So pure and innocent, much like Vanathi herself. Unfortunately, the world was cruel and had no tolerance for people like the pride of the Velaar Clan and the orphaned girl who grew up in a temple.
“You-you do?” Vanathi asked, unable to hide the shock in her voice.
“I too had dreams, Vanathi. Dreams of rising above what I was born with and being seen as more than just a girl who could not stand on her own two feet. Dreams that had been planted by a man whose words were just as false as the love he showered with his eyes.”
Even now, if Nandhini closed her eyes, she could envision his reassuring smile, the one he gave her whenever people gossipped about seeing them together. She could still feel his hands, gentle but firm on her waist, as he paraded her around on his horse, supposedly proud of loving her.
“They will see reason, Nandhini. Soon, they will see you just as I do.”
“You and I… we’re not that different, Vanathi.”
"I'm not you." Vanathi insisted.
Nandhini's voice was soft with her next sentence, not honeyed as it had been before. For a moment, Vanathi saw a crack in her self-confident mask: a hint of fear and sadness in her eyes, a trained firmness in her stance, and reluctant bravery in the way she held herself. All signs she recognized. All signs she saw in the mirror.
"That's where you're wrong, Vanathi Devi. You are my reflection just as much as I am yours."
“You did what?” Kundavai demanded.
“I said I saw the Kodambalur Ilavarasi earlier, what more do you want from me?”
“And you didn’t acknowledge her?!”
“What is there to acknowledge?!”
Karikalan watched with mild amusement as his younger siblings argued with each other. Kundavai was exasperated and Arulmozhi remained oblivious as ever. Vanthiyathevan looked too afraid to involve himself in the conversation.
Kundavai massaged her temples.
“Let me get this straight. You placed her upon the royal elephant-”
“Escorted her to Thanjai-”
“Watched her give up the throne of the Chozhas-”
Karikalan raised an eyebrow at that one. She gave up her right to the throne? Perhaps Vanathi was stronger than he’d given her credit for.
He was starting to get why Kundavai dragged Arulmozhi all the way to Kadambur to complain to him.
“There was nothing to say, Akka! Vanathi made a choice, what was I to do?”
“Appreciate her.” Karikalan found himself saying before he could stop himself, “It’s no easy feat for a princess to relinquish that which should be hers.”
Arulmozhi groaned. “Whatever the reason, I didn’t ask her to do it! Can’t you just tell Kundavai Akka to not involve herself in my love life, Anna?”
“Hm, I don’t know, can I? Kundavai has a habit of intruding in other people’s private lives.”
Kundavai rounded on Karikalan, a few strands of hair escaping her braid and brushing her neck.
“Do you have to bring Nandhini into every conversation?!”
“I don’t know, do I, Kundavai? You tell me, since you seem so determined to control every aspect of my life. Or would you rather I ask Sembiyan Paati what to do?”
“Vanthiyathevan!” she cried.
“Tell both my brothers that they’re idiots and don’t deserve my affection or help.”
Vanthiyathevan gulped nervously, eyes darting between the three of them. Karikalan lounged lazily in his chair, eyes twinkling with pride and his usual hint of longing and anger. Kundavai was furious, arms crossed over her chest and back turned to the other two. Arulmozhi looked tired and confused, leading Vanthiyathevan to believe this was not the first time a conversation like this had occurred. Alwarkaddiyan had warned him that the three of them in the same room was nothing short of explosive, but he had not really believed him until now.
Thankfully, he was saved from having to answer by the entrance of Periya Pazhuvettarayar. He rolled his eyes when he saw the siblings in irritated silence.
“We do not have time for your petty fights, children. Aditha, your presence is requested by the sitrarasargal (territorial kings).”
“Why, so that you may all conspire against me to my face?” he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Tell me one thing, is your beautiful wife going to be there?”
To say the other men in the room were shocked would be underestimating the magnitude of their feelings. It surprised them to see just how shameless he was being, openly bitter towards his grandfather. Kundavai, on the other hand, knew that Karikalan just didn’t care enough to bother hiding his attraction any longer.
“No.” Pazhuvettarayar replied through gritted teeth. “I have not seen her since morning.”
“Letting your own wife out of your sight? How irresponsible, Thatha (grandfather). If you do not even know her whereabouts, how can you ever hope to know her heart?”
The face of the King of Pazhavur was turning red now, taken aback by his grandson’s blatant disrespect.
“Last I checked, she was in the east wing, for what reason I do not know.”
“East wing?” Kundavai asked. “But that’s where Vanathi is! We must go there at once!”
Fear flashed across Arulmozhi’s face and Karikalan sighed at the terrified expressions of his siblings.
“Well then, Thatha, looks like I may have the privilege of seeing your wife today after all.”
If Pazhuvettarayar was angry before, he was livid now.
"Aditha!" he roared, "What has gotten into you?!"
"What has gotten into me? You're the one who married a woman generations younger than you! When you first held me in your arms, she would not have even been born yet!"
Arulmozhi was barely listening to his brother and grandfather argue, frozen at the thought of Vanathi and Nandhini in the same room. His poor, sweet Vanathi. His innocent Vanathi who would snap like a twig underneath Nandhini's unforgiving demeanour. His- wait, since when was Vanathi his?
Kundavai must have sensed the reason behind his panic as she fixed him with a glare. "She is not as fragile as you think, Arulmozhi. She is more of a flame, only the sea could swallow her up. Not someone like Nandhini."
"You underestimate my Nandhini." Karikalan shot back, not caring of the use of the possessive article in front of his grandfather, "She is like the gentlest of breezes and fiercest of storms."
"I would never make the mistake of underestimating the Ilaya Raani of Pazhavur." She inclined her head sharply in Pazhuvettarayar's direction. "Nor do I disagree with you, but that is exactly what scares me. Strong winds often serve to fuel fire. Rarely do they extinguish it.”
“Nandhini is not like that.” Pazhuvettarayar protested, “She’d never hurt anyone.”
Karikalan threw his head back and laughed: a pained, cruel thing that made the others around him wince at the sound of it.
“Is that what she told you? Let me assure you, Thatha, she is very capable of twisting someone’s heart.”
“Let’s think about this with level heads, why don’t we?” Vanthiyathevan suggested. No one heard him.
“She’s going to ruin her.” Arulmozhi moaned.
“You ruined her.” Kundavai spat, grabbing the King of Vallam’s hand with her own. “But Vanthiyathevan is right. We can not waste any more time discussing this. We must visit Vanathi.”
Pazhuvettarayar zoned in on their intertwined hands, glancing between the two. Karikalan didn’t seem perturbed, rather proud of himself, as though he had set them up. Arulmozhi was smirking as well, though his eyes were still veiled with worry for Vanathi.
Between Karikalan’s comments about his wife, Arulmozhi’s excessive care for Vanathi, and Kundavai’s apparent relationship with Vallavarayan Vanthiyathevan, Pazhuvettarayar had a feeling there was a lot he was missing.
“Tell me, Vanathi Devi, does Arulmozhi Varman appreciate you?”
“Does he ever show it?” Vanathi winced at her sharp words. Nandhini continued regardless. “He walked with you on his left, yet he will not marry you. He always seeks your presence and sneaks glances at you but continues to choose everything else over the love you so freely give him. You gave up your one birth right for him, and he turned you away.”
Vanathi could hear the way Nandhini was choking back her sobs. A spark of courage ignited in her.
“Are you talking about me or yourself?” she demanded. “You called me your mirror- Tell me, Nandhini Devi, when you look into my eyes and speak… are you trying to convince me or you?”
Nadhini’s hands, proudly clasped together in front of her chest, faltered and fell to her sides. Her shoulders caved in ever so slightly.
“My heart is breaking, yes, but yours is shattered. What's left in your chest is a mere fragment of it. So tell me. Who collected the rest?"
The door creaked open but neither of the two women paid it any attention.
Arulmozhi breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that Vanathi was quite alright. Then immediately panicked again when he saw Nandhini approach her, a maniacal look in her eyes.
"Broken?" she cackled, "My heart was not broken, dear Velaar Kula Vilakku (lamp of the Velaar Clan), it was stolen from me. Much like yours was."
"My heart was not stolen, I gave it away." she paused and frowned, "Even if I will never get it back."
Arulmozhi's heart felt heavy. Vanathi had lost her heart to a man? Who was it? Someone he knew?
"You can never trust the close ones of Karikalan." Nandhini drawled. "They care for none but themselves."
Karikalan clenched his fist, growling under his breath. The gears in Arulmozhi’s head are turning, trying to piece it together. A close one of Anna? Was it Vanthiyathevan? No, Vanathi would never dream of looking at a man that Kundavai loved. Parthibendran then?
Oh Shiva, please don't let it be the Pallava King.
"Well, it is no surprise then why you are selfish."
Kundavai snickered at Vanathi's retort, putting a hand up to her mouth to stifle it.
"You married Periya Pazhuvettarayar, did you not? Does that not make you his grandmother in a way?" Vanathi taunted, "At least I'm not the Paati (grandmother) of my love."
Karikalan groaned, equal parts impressed with Vanathi, and annoyed that she brought it up.
"I'm sorry, who are you to him again?" she shot back. A look of regret passed across her features when Vanathi's face contorted into one of despair.
"Maybe we should intervene." Arulmozhi murmured, hating to see Vanathi be treated as such.
"I agree. Poor Nandhini." Karikalan agreed.
Arulmozhi raised an eyebrow at him. Nandhini was not part of the equation in his mind. Vanthiyathevan gripped both their shoulders and leaned forward.
"Can we talk about which of your lovers deserves more sympathy at a later time?" he said, ignoring Pazhuvettarayar's insistent denial at the implication that Nandhini was Karikalan's and not his.
Kundavai had entered the room before either of them had a chance to reply. Arulmozhi and Karikalan exchanged looks again, the same thought running through their minds.
Kundavai and Nandhini in the same room could burn down the Chozha empire.
No one wanted to think about what would happen if righteous and stubborn Vanathi were added to the mix.
First chapter, how was it? Featuring an oblivious AMV and shameless AK (because we all saw him staring at Nandhini despite her husband being RIGHT THERE at Kadambur).
This story is an AU, as in what would happen if the siblings were in Kadambur at the same time as well.
@thatacademic @thelekhikawrites @rang-lo @hollogramhallucination tag any others as well?
