A few months passed through the Junagarh palace like a spring breeze. Due to the love of Arohi and Aditya, the entire kingdom was now filled with peace and happiness. However, for the last few days, Arohi's health had not been quite right. She felt dizzy upon waking up in the morning, and the smell of certain foods made her nauseous. Today, the royal physician examined Arohi and stepped out with a wide smile. Aditya was busy with urgent work in the royal court at that time. Arohi wanted to give him the news herself. She went and stood on the balcony of Aditya's room. As Aditya entered, he saw Arohi standing by the window, gazing intently at the sky outside.
Aditya gently placed his hand on Arohi's shoulder and said, "What happened, Arohi? You look very different today."
Arohi slowly placed Aditya's hand over her abdomen. Her eyes were filled with tears of joy. She whispered, "Prince, God has sent us the greatest gift of our love. A new life is about to arrive in our world."
Aditya froze for a few moments. Then, suddenly, a celestial smile broke across his face. He picked Arohi up in his arms and began to spin around. "Arohi! I am going to be a father? Junagarh is going to get its future heir? This is the greatest victory of my life!" Seeing the joy and pride on Aditya's face, all of Arohi's physical discomfort seemed to vanish in an instant. Ever since hearing the news of Arohi becoming a mother from the physician, Aditya had been ecstatic. He kept rushing to Arohi, kissing her forehead. Sweets were being distributed among the subjects, and thousands of lamps were lit in every temple. But no one in the royal household had the slightest inkling that a venomous serpent was raising its hood amidst this joy.
A distance away from Junagarh, nestled against the mountains, was a dark underground dungeon. There, in a room with salt-eroded stone walls, Shilajit and his daughter Sushila were imprisoned. Sitting in a corner of that damp prison floor, when Sushila heard the news of Arohi becoming a mother, her eyes turned red with rage. Scratching the prison wall with her nails, she hissed, "No! I will not let that Arohi's child wear the royal crown of Junagarh as long as I am alive, Father! I will finish her; I will grind her existence into the dust!" Shilajit was smiling calmly yet ferociously. He still had some loyal spies outside the jail who were ready to work for him in exchange for money.
That very night, their life-and-death game began. Outside, there was heavy rain and lightning, as if nature itself was hinting at an ominous event. One of Shilajit's old trusted spies, named Biren, had mixed strong sleeping medicine into the guards' food. Late at night, when everything was silent and only the chirping of crickets could be heard, Biren secretly opened the prison lock and brought Shilajit and Sushila out. Taking advantage of the darkness and hiding within the sheets of rain, they crossed the deep forest of the mountains and reached a deserted area far from the kingdom. There, Biren had a dilapidated mud house. With mud walls, a thatched roof, and a single broken window—Shilajit and Sushila took refuge in that filthy, dark room.
Entering the room, Shilajit shook off his dirty cloak. Sushila was panting, but the fire of revenge was in her heart. Shilajit commanded Biren, "Get us two large black cloaks. We will enter the palace tomorrow night. The royal heir must be finished before they are even born." Biren, trembling, brought the two cloaks. Sushila wrapped herself in the black cloak and looked at her reflection in the mirror—she looked like a literal witch. She gritted her teeth and said, "Tomorrow night will be Arohi's last night. I will take that child's life before they ever see the light of the world."
As evening fell the next day, thick clouds began to gather in the sky again. Arohi was sitting alone in her bedchamber, waiting for Aditya. She did not know that the Messenger of Death was at her doorstep. Shilajit and Sushila, covering themselves from head to toe in those black cloaks, entered the inner quarters of the palace through a secret tunnel. In Sushila's hand was a poisoned knife, a single scratch of which ensured the death of any living being. They began to step silently toward Arohi's room. Thinking of her unborn child, Arohi was touching her belly and praying to God. Suddenly, the window curtain moved unnaturally. Arohi startled, her heart beginning to pound. She did not realize that behind that black cloak, a ferocious beast was advancing to destroy the harvest of her life. Sushila was lying in wait within the darkness of the room's corner, just waiting for the moment—when she would strike her venomous blow. The stillness of Arohi's room on that stormy night was suddenly shattered. As the black-cloaked figure lurking outside the window stepped into the room, Arohi's heart began to pound several times faster. When Arohi started to struggle in a final bid for survival, a sudden jerk pulled the cloth away from the figure's face. Seeing the hideous smile on Shilajit's dust-covered and haggard face, Arohi wanted to scream. Only one question was circling in her mind—how did these monsters get out past the impenetrable walls of the dungeon?
The moment Arohi ran toward the door to call the generals, Sushila pounced on her like a tigress from behind. She muffled Arohi's mouth forcefully and pinned her against the wall. There was a bloodlust in Sushila's eyes. Arohi groaned and whispered in a muffled voice, "Let me go! How did you get out of the dungeon?" Sushila replied with a devilish laugh, "Do monsters need human permission to get out? There are many cracks in the walls of your palace, Arohi, which you never understood. Now let's see how you save this unborn child of yours!"
Sushila held the tip of her poisoned knife against Arohi's abdomen. Arohi cowered and burst into tears. Trembling, she said, "Are you taking advantage of my weakness? Do not harm my child, please let him go!" Shilajit then spoke in a hoarse voice from the side, "If you want the life of that child, you must obey one word of ours. You cannot tell anyone that we came here. Not even your beloved Aditya! Swear upon your child's head that you will not speak of us to anyone."
Arohi had no other way left. Out of love for her child's life, she turned to stone. Wailing, she held Sushila's feet and was finally forced to swear that she would not open her mouth to anyone. But the persistence of the evil Sushila did not end there. She whispered the ultimate condition into Arohi's ear, "Just swearing won't be enough, Princess. You must leave this royal palace tonight forever. If you see tomorrow's sunrise in this palace, then I will finish your child, your Prince, and that old King and Queen before your very eyes. This palace is now within our reach."
Arohi broke into loud sobs. She said, "How can you give two conditions at once? I have accepted one, where will I go leaving the royal palace?" Sushila gripped her hand even tighter and said, "That is your worry. Tell me if you'll go or not, otherwise, a flood of blood will flow right now!" Trembling, Arohi placed her hand on her belly. She felt that going away from Aditya might be equivalent to death, but if her staying meant risking everyone's lives, then she must leave. Thinking of her child, Arohi finally bowed her head.
When the night grew deep and the entire palace was fast asleep, Arohi wrapped a simple cotton shawl around herself and stood on the balcony. Looking toward Aditya's room one last time, her eyes flooded with tears. She did not know where she would go or in which kingdom she would find shelter. But to save her child's life, she stepped out through the back door of the royal palace into the dark night like a destitute wayfarer. The Queen of Junagarh, carrying her destiny and her unborn child, set foot on a path of unknown uncertainty. Behind her lay her love, her home, and her royal life. The outside world felt utterly strange and terrifying to her. The biting cold wind and the chirping of crickets seemed to keep pace with her heartbeat. She wondered, where would she go in this state? She carried a child in her womb, had no resources in her hands, and above her head hung the poisonous threat of the devilish Sushila. Suddenly, she remembered the moment Shilajit was forcing her to swear the oath. Shilajit had told her not to inform Aditya, the Maharaja, or the Queen Mother of Junagarh. But in his excitement, the villain had forgotten to mention Arohi's own mother!
A flicker of hope ignited in Arohi's mind. She thought, "Shilajit never once mentioned my own mother, the Queen Mother of Kanchangarh! So why should I wander these dark paths? I can return to my mother." As soon as this thought occurred, a new strength returned to Arohi's body. In the darkness of the night, crossing forests and trudging through mud, she walked miles with great difficulty and reached the borders of the Kanchangarh kingdom just before the break of dawn.
When the guards of the Kanchangarh palace saw their princess in this devastated state, they could not believe their eyes. Upon receiving the news, the Queen Mother of Kanchangarh rushed out frantically. Seeing her beloved daughter standing at the door, she turned to stone. Arohi's shawl was torn, blood had clotted on the soles of her feet, and her pale face was drooping with exhaustion.
The Queen Mother embraced Arohi and burst into tears. She wailed, "Arohi! My child! What has happened to you? Why are you here alone at this hour, in this condition? Is there some danger in Junagarh? Where is Aditya? Why did he let you come like this?"
Arohi leaned her head against her mother's chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Once inside, she locked the door and revealed everything to her mother—how Shilajit and Sushila had escaped from prison and threatened to kill her and her unborn child, and why she was forced to accept that terrifying oath and leave the palace. The Queen Mother was trembling with rage and fear; she wanted to send a message to Aditya immediately.
But Arohi grabbed her mother's hands tightly and said, "No, Mother! Do not inform Aditya of anything, even by mistake. I have sworn an oath upon my child's life; if Aditya finds out that I am with you, those monsters will finish my child and this entire royal family. Shilajit only forgot to mention your name, and that is why I could come here. Please, do not tell Aditya anything. If he comes here looking for me, you must clearly state that you know nothing. You must tell this small lie for the sake of my child, Mother!"
The Queen Mother looked helplessly into her daughter's tear-filled eyes. Out of love for her daughter and her unborn grandchild's life, she finally agreed. Arohi slowly went and sat in her childhood room, but her heart remained by that window in Junagarh, where Aditya might be screaming like a madman by now, having failed to find her.