Kundavai looked at Azhwarkadiyan, who had entered with a sudden, thunderous presence, and asked, “Thirumalai, how did you sprout up here? Why have you come?”

“Ammani! It’s all because of this astrologer’s deceitful words! This morning I asked him, ‘Will the task I am about to undertake succeed?’ He said, ‘It will.’ But I couldn’t even get a short distance from this place. How can my mission succeed like this? That is why I agreed with what Pazhuvettaraiyar said just now. I came to find out whether this man’s astrology itself is false, or if he has deliberately misled me. When I heard Pazhuvettaraiyar’s voice here, my suspicion about this man only grew stronger. But I never expected to see you here.”

“It is only natural that you did not expect me. Why did you come? What was the task for which you asked the astrologer if you would succeed? There is no secret here, is there?” asked the princess.

“Is it possible that there could be a secret unknown to you? By the Emperor’s command, the Prime Minister sent me last night to Nagapattinam, to bring the prince back with me. On the way, I was also instructed to see Sembiyan Maadevi and deliver a letter to her… When did you leave Thanjavur, Devi?”

“We left a little after dawn. Why do you ask, Thirumalai?”

“I asked to find out whether the Kodumbalur troops have already surrounded the Thanjai fort.”

“What? What?”

“Yes, Devi! Do you not know? Last night, after seeing the Emperor, when the Prime Minister returned to his palace, two pieces of news awaited him. The first was that the prince had set out from Nagapattinam, surrounded by a great crowd…”

“I too learned that this morning. I set out from there precisely to intercept my brother and keep him here. But you said there was another piece of news—what is it?” Azhwarkkadiyan pointed to Vanathi and asked, “Amma! Why have you brought this princess of Kodumbalur here?”

“She came as she always does; I brought her. Why do you ask?”

“I hesitate to speak of the second matter in the presence of this princess.”

“Speak, Thirumalai! Do you not know how close she is to me? Anything I know, she may know as well…”

“Even so, this matter concerns the princess herself. Last night, the Prime Minister received news that the Southern Commander, Boothi Vikrama Kesari, is marching towards Tanjore Fort with a great army. The Commander himself sent a palm-leaf letter to the Prime Minister. In it, he accused the Pazhuvettaraiyars of imprisoning the Emperor in Tanjore Fort and keeping the younger prince hidden away in some secret place. He demanded that the Pazhuvettaraiyars immediately relinquish their authority and the responsibility for Tanjore’s security, and that the prince be brought forth and handed over. Otherwise, by this evening, the siege of Tanjore Fort would begin. Ammani! Are you not aware that the Kodumbalur forces have already drawn near Tanjore from the south and the