That evening, Nandini sat upon the Hamsathoolika couch in the Latha Mandapam, composing a letter. She had written only a few lines. As she wrote, her body trembled at times, like a tender creeper shivering in the swirling wind. She let out deep sighs often. Though her attendant stood nearby, fanning her with a peacock-feather fan in that cool hour, beads of sweat gathered like pearls upon her crystal-smooth brow. The letter she wrote was as follows:

“Prince! With much hesitation and fear, I have dared to write this letter. Many kinds of news about the state of the kingdom have reached my ears. You seem to pay no heed to any of it. Though your father, weakened by illness, has sent for you many times, you have not come to Thanjavur. The thought that I might be the cause of this torments me. If I could meet you just once, I could dispel all doubts. Will your noble heart grant me this? If you do not wish to come to Thanjavur, we may meet at the Kadambur Sambuvarayar palace. I now occupy the place of your grandmother. What objection could there be to our meeting and speaking? The brave young man who brings you this letter, the son of Sambuvarayar, is someone you may trust completely and to whom you may send any message. Thus writes, with misfortune as her companion since birth, the hapless Nandini.”

Indeed, after much hesitation and deep thought, Nandini finished writing the above letter. Then, turning to the attendant fanning her, she said, “Go! Bring the young prince of Kadambur here at once!”

The attendant went and brought Kandanmaran, then stepped aside and stood at a distance.

Kandanmaran’s eyes were shy to meet Nandini’s gaze. He stood looking somewhere off into the garden.

“Sir! Please be seated,” said Nandini. The tremor in her voice made Kandanmaran look directly at her face.

Nandini continued, “It is no wonder that the eyes which beheld Kundavai Devi cannot bear to look at me!” She smiled as she spoke.

Those words tore through Kandanmaran’s heart. Her smile made his head spin. Stumbling and faltering, he exclaimed, “A thousand Kundavais would not equal one Nandini Devi!”

“Yet, if the Young Princess so much as lifts her finger, you would ascend to the heavens and bring back Indra’s very throne. But if I plead with you in sorrow, you would not even deign to sit down!”

At once, Kandanmaran seated himself on the dais opposite and declared, “If you command it, I will ascend to Brahmaloka and bring back Brahma’s very head!”

Nandini trembled at her core. Without looking at Kandanmaran, she turned her gaze elsewhere and said, “Even after what Parameshvara did, Brahma still has four heads left. Even if you bring back one more, Brahma will survive!”

“Devi! Ask me for anything else you desire. But do not praise Kundavai Devi in my presence. When I think of how she spoke kindly to that traitor-friend Vandiyathevan, my blood boils!” said Kandanmaran.

“Still, it is true that your imagination was boundless this morning! How fancifully you spoke of the duel between you and your friend!” Nandini’s words brought a slight embarrassment to Kandanmaran.

“I had to say something about how I met him, didn’t I? That he stabbed me in the back is at least the truth!” he replied.

“Sir! Would it not be wise for you to recall everything that happened that night, once again?” asked Nandini.

“Do you too doubt my words?”

“I do not doubt you. Yet, there are some things you seem to have forgotten. One day, Vandiyathevan will surely be captured and brought here. When that time comes, the accusation you level against him must taste of truth, must it not?”

“I have no particular interest in that. In fact, I still wish to forgive him.”

“I commend your magnanimity. Still, it is best that we ascertain the truth between us. Recall once more everything that happened that night. When you came through the moonlit chamber, you met both Pazhuvetarayar and me on the way. Do you remember that?”

“I remember it well. As long as there is life in my body, I can never forget it.”

“Then you must also remember what you said at that time, do you not?”

“I do not recall what I said. When I saw you, I lost all sense of myself.”

“But I remember very well what you said. ‘Sir! I have heard so much about your daughter’s beauty. But none of that could do justice to what I see before me,’—that is what you said!...”

“Oh dear! Did I really say that? No wonder her face turned so red! Even now, she does not seem to like me much when she sees me…”

Nandini laughed and said, “It does not matter if she does not like you; what matters is that you like her, is it not? That is enough!”

“Devi! I speak the truth. What is the use of hiding it from you? I do not like her either,” said Kandanmaran.

“That too does not matter! I like her; that alone is enough. How much penance I must have performed to obtain such a husband?” she said.

Hearing this, Kandanmaran’s heart was thrown into confusion. He sat silent, not knowing what to say.

“Let that be. After you saw us in the moonlit chamber, what did you do?” Nandini asked.

“The guard who brought the lamp led the way. I followed, my mind still filled with thoughts of you. The guard opened a secret door in the wall and moved on. I entered through it. Immediately, someone stabbed me in the back—that is all I remember. Vandiyathevan must have somehow known that I would come there and waited outside for me.”

“No, sir! Your guess is quite wrong. He was not waiting outside.”

“So, you too have joined his side?”

“Why should I join his side? What profit is there for me? Or what profit