"Think about it!" Varunapriya almost yelled, "The old snake suddenly offered up his loyalty on a plate if Little Cactus survives. Isn't it saying it plainly that he will betray again, but betray the grand prince this time? This man has no bottomline! And Rtadhara will be wiped out no matter who the Martanda was? Isn't he the one to facilitate such a thing by helping the grand prince's son ascend to the rival Dhija's throne? With the second queen being as weak and gullible as she is, she might actually get her son to willingly cede Rtadhara's territory and merge with Dhija if he ascends to the throne. Why, she might even want it badly, saying it was all part of her late brother's vision! Does she even care about Rtadhara at all? Does the grand prince? Does Rajguru? None of them care!

The only thing standing in between them and their plans is father-Indra, who might as well not be there. And Little Cactus…whose fate is yet unknown to them. There's a reason why big sister wanted to keep it that way. As long as it is unknown, they will make no moves lest they expose themselves! If Little Cactus is alive, even on his last breath, he will still work till he trumps against them. If he is dead, it's only a matter of time before they find out. So they'll keep quiet as long as his fate is unknown to them. But if you make a mistake and expose his real condition, they won't keep from taking the opportunity and end this once and for all…"

Agnipriya's hot eyes cooled as she listened to her sister's analysis. In contempt, she answered, "So you do know his 'real condition'…and you can still stand here, do nothing. Hmmph!"

Throwing her fire tipped braid around her shoulder, Agnipriya walked away from her intelligent little sister in a huff. She was angry at herself in making an error of judgment, almost exposing Cactus's real condition in front of the Rajguru. When the state teacher re-entered his sage like manner, displaying a demeanour brimming with ancient wisdom, she nearly fell to her knees to beg for forgiveness, to ask him to save her brother! But Varuna was right. Everything she said was right. In her knowledge, both Vajra and Varuna had always been like this. Sharp and to the point. None of the siblings could match their wits. Even big brother Vajradhaara and big sister Sarapriya were only mature because of their years. These two, on the other hand, were prodigies.

But the thing is, while Agnipriya felt nothing but pride for little brother, the genius, she felt only anger, jealousy and contempt for her little sister. Her contempt was proven right when Varuna refused to enter the Lotus Seat to see her brother. Her genius had turned into hubris. She does not understand basic human connection despite being so intelligent. Agni felt sorry for her little brother who is so attached to Varuna that he would confuse her with her little sister back when the doctors were operating on him. He would shriek her name and yell at her, 'Varu, I said enough! I said stop. Varu, don't keep going like this…Varu, I hate you!'

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It's not like she even cared to be there…hmmph!

While the Lotus Seat was the official residing place of the queen replete with priceless antiques and bejewelled décor, it was naturally too small to live in. The entire Tri-Shakti Palace Complex was seen as the queen's home. She could use whichever chamber in the complex however she chose. Back when the first queen was alive, she lived in the Floating Couplet Palace which was one of the eight palaces of Eight Devis in the complex. This palace was built with inspired workmanship, yet was elegant and simple. Hereditarily, in each generation, this palace was chosen by princesses who were recognized for their merits intellectually. After the first queen passed away, everybody agreed that in this generation, the palace would belong to Varunapriya. In Rtadhara, the princesses were allowed their own palaces when they entered the age of eleven, approximately two years before their bodies would turn them into women. This buffer period was given so that they will learn individuality and the art of managing their own households. This buffer period is important because they will not be able to think individually when they get engaged once their bodies have matured.

Varunapriya had long looked forward to her eleventh birthday. She had planned to kick out Vajradandaka, this little squatter then. In Rtadhara, girls of the royal family got their own palaces at eleven, but boys were sent to the royal temple for studies at six. When they finished the compulsory six years with the gurus, they would then be assigned a modest quarter in the main palace and would live independently from then on. Their further achievements would decide whether they would get their own palace unlike the princesses, who were born wealthy! Vajradhaara didn't go to the temple at six because back then, he was his mom's dearest little boy. Vajradandaka didn't go because the harsh martial studies made him cry on the first day, alarming his big sisters. They wouldn't let him go. Still, Vajradhaara did leave on his own accord when he was eight, but Vajradandaka was nearing ten and still showed no signs of leaving. He was a lazy boy who didn't care to manage his own needs and wanted to feed off his older sisters forever. He would never go to the temple for sure, where he would have to do even laundry by himself. So Varunapriya pointed several nice places to him. Like the White Lotus Palace where big brother once lived. With how much father loved him, he could for sure ask for a simple place like that instead of quarter in the main palace where his freedom would be restricted. However, Vajradandaka didn't take the bait, arguing instead that he was the supposed 'infant prince' who was still part of the Tri-Shakti. He said he had every right to be here, going to the extent that the Floating Couplet Palace should belong to him because he was more intelligent than her! Truly, he drove Varunpriya crazy! She wanted to complain to big brother against him so many times, but held back. That in itself would be admitting defeat, she believed. If she was truly smarter than him like she believed, she shouldn't need to go to an adult to complain. So every time Vajradhaara asked her what was bothering her, she would simply snort and say nothing possibly could. She wanted to show big brother she was capable of dealing with her own problems. Especially, the twerp. It would be a stain on her character if she actually goes and complains about him!