Charaka sat up. “Maharani, there’s still one thing you don’t know. You need me alive.”

“Why?” Nandini asked.

“Because my employer also awaits news of my execution.”

“You speak of Maharaj Yusha of Videha, don’t you?”

Charaka faltered again.

Nandini smirked. “Your silence is enough confirmation. We have suspected his involvement. Our spies informed us he plans to attack Amritambu soon. Like you, he believes us incapable of defending our kingdom.”

Charaka added. “Rajmata Devisena spurned his love years ago and married your father, the late Maharaj Nala of Amritambu. For years, Maharaj Yusha thought only of revenge. He has every hope that you will execute me so that he gets an excuse to declare war on Amritambu.”

“On what grounds?” Maya blurted out in disbelief.

“When I accepted his offer, I also agreed to become a subject of Videha. Maharaj Yusha plans to use that fact and declare that Amritambu falsely convicted me of Rajmata Devisena’s assassination.”

Once again, the courtiers voiced their disapprobation.

“Impossible!”

“Maharani, he’s lying!”

“He’s making up stories to escape his death penalty.”

“Please, do not believe him.”

“Must be another one of his vile tricks.”

“I speak the truth,” Charaka hollered. “Are you all ready for war? The Videha army will be at Amritambu gates before the mourning period is over. Maybe even before Rajmata’s funeral ceremony. But I can stop this war. If I return alive to Videha, Maharaj Yusha will have no choice but to abandon his plans.”

“Maharani,” Maya interjected, “the price we pay for this traitor’s freedom will be our undoing. We must do justice today.”

“She’s right, Maharani,” a courtier agreed. “We risk public outrage not only in Amritambu but also in Matsya.”

“We cannot trust him,” another warrior said. “If we must fight a war, then so be it. Why should we believe he will keep his word?”

“We are aware of all that.” Nandini nodded. “He does not repent his actions, nor does he seek clemency for Rajmata’s murder.”

“Maharani, we await your orders,” Maya bowed with joined palms to the young queen. The rest of the courtiers and warriors did the same. 

“Twenty lashes,” Nandini declared at length. “Charaka, we will spare your life only if you survive twenty lashes in our presence. After your sentence is complete, our guards will take you to the cremation grounds so that our people believe that the execution was successful. You may escape from there with the help of the Chandalas, the undertakers in charge of the cremation grounds. Until you are out of this kingdom, expect neither food nor water during your journey. Do you accept our conditions in exchange for sparing your life?”

Charaka’s jawed dropped open in terror. 

Nandini scoffed. He knows what twenty lashes will do to him.

A wave of contentment passed over everyone else. 

The Royal Executioner’s whip, ten times more lethal than a normal one, was made of a special leather derived from the hide of a giant male buffalo. Only spies who turned traitors were awarded such a fatal punishment. Many perished during the ordeal. Even if Charaka survived, the cannibalistic Chandalas might make a meal of him in his unconscious state. By chance they spared him, he might die of thirst and hunger before reaching the borders of Videha. 

Finally, Charaka hung his head in defeat. “I accept,” he mumbled.

The dungeon guards sprang into action, stripping away Charaka’s upper garment. Brandishing her whip, Maya sprinted up the steps of the gallows. She waited for one last nod from the young queen before raising her whip to strike the prisoner. 

The echoes of the lacerating strikes and Charaka’s groans consumed the room. Half-way through, he bent forward and collapsed on his stomach. The lashes continued even after he lost consciousness. 

When it was over, Nandini ordered the prisoner to be carried away and to be given basic medical treatment before being sent to the cremation grounds. 

“Maharani,” Maya whispered, watching the dungeon guards dragging the prisoner away, “forgive my impudence, but are you certain this is the right course?”

Nandini addressed the present company, “We believe that the price our people shall pay upon this traitor’s death is much higher than any other. If his freedom becomes a means to avoid war, then so be it. Right now, Rajmata’s funeral ceremony is our number one priority. In any case, Charaka values a traitor’s wretched life more than an honourable death. That kind of life is ample punishment for him. We also know he will never change. It is in his nature to beguile others. He may think that he escaped the execution today, but only time will tell if he really escaped his fate.”