A Slave who became Emperor Chapter 12

The three parties returned to the palace . They were still thinking about the encounter with the lions and how the princess handled it . Samyukta felt totally like a freak . She said to herself, 'awesome, you have no friends, your siblings don't speak to you, now you spoke with animals in front of all the suitors, great, now everyone will abandon me and leave, 'she was really frustrated with herself .

But she didn't realize what sort of respect she has gained from it . All the suitors were spell bound . Everyone knew when a choice comes between violence and non violence, the person who chose non violence was much stronger .

The princess instead of rounding up the lions and killing them, has saved the hunting parties from the injuries and also set the lions free . If she would have chosen to act violently then there might be few people who would have lost their lives or greviously injured by the lions .

Acting with compassion and wisdom in face of danger was extremely difficult . The name Samyukta meant composed thinking . Many felt that the princess was aptly named .

The emperor heard about the whole incident . He called over the Princess to his chamber and said, 'my dear, do you know from where you get the ability to speak to animals? ' the princess shook her head, he said, 'our great ancestor Lady Shakuntala could hear the plants, she constantly would talk to them, naturally I think you got your ability from her' the princess said, 'no father, I couldn't hear the lion, only I spoke, and the lion seemed to understand, ' the emperor said, 'that is how it starts, it's a gift of nature, I am sure you can hear the animals, try speaking to them' she was not so sure, she said, 'I hope people don't look at me like a freak, ' the emperor laughed and said, 'great people are always misunderstood, the path to reach the peak is always filled with mockery and ridicule, but the people who try to pull you down have never tried to excel, they only know how to mock others, as they themselves are losers'

The emperor's words were true to the core . Samyukta took his leave and retired to her chamber . The next day was the day of the contest . She woke up early, meditated and went to the chamber of her father . She was nervous, but confident at the same time .

Prince Deepak and Prince Surya arrived soon . They paid their respects to the emperor and even greeted Samyukta . This was surprising to her since they always ignored her . She too smiled warmly and greeted them .

Prince Surya said, 'Dear father, I don't intend to challenge Princess Samyukta . After the incident yesterday, I am sure that your choice of the person to rule Magadha was correct . However, I would like to just participate in the contest to hone my skills'

The emperor smiled happily and said, 'Samyukta was alone since her childhood . I hope you can act as a true brother from now at least . '

He looked at Prince Deepak, the prince said, 'though I don't have any ill feelings towards Samyukta now, I still want to challenge her right to the throne . Hence I would like to participate in the contest'

The emperor nodded and said, 'since all of you are ready, let's head to the Royal grounds and let the contest begin'

Chapter end