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 west? Did you not know?”

“I did not know. The Prime Minister has not spoken a word of this to me.”

“If he had, perhaps you would not have left Tanjore Fort. Most importantly, the Prime Minister may have wished to send the Kodumbalur Princess away at once…”

“Why is that? What harm if she were there?”

“If the younger Pazhuvettaraiyar wished, he might even imprison this princess…”

“Would he dare such a thing? Are you speaking the truth?”

“Yes, Devi! Moreover, if you hear the message sent by the Southern Commander, you will understand for yourself…”

“What? What more?”

“The royal wedding between Prince Arulmozhi Varman and Princess Vanathi Devi of Kodumbalur must be conducted at once. Since Aditya Karikalan has declared that he does not desire the throne, Arulmozhi Chozhar should be crowned as the next heir apparent, the Yuvaraja. Such are his demands. He has also sent word that if these requests are not agreed to, he will reduce the Tanjore fort to rubble within three days. He claims that the people of Chozha Nadu support him…”

Vanathi, who had been listening to all this, burst out in agitation, “Akka! Has my Periyappa suddenly gone mad?”

“Why do you say that, Vanathi?” Kundavai asked. “Your Periyappa has only now openly declared what many have long held in their hearts. Since the Pazhuvettaraiyars have begun their efforts to crown Madurantakan, the Kodumbalur king and the Thirukovalur Malayaman have started to speak out plainly in this manner…”

“Yes, mother! Even the Thirukovalur Malayaman has arrived near Kadambur fort with a great army. From what he said to me, I guessed as much. The Prime Minister has also received this information…”

“But there is news I know now that neither of those two are aware of. I must speak with both of them and prevent a civil war from breaking out. I do not know how I am going to do it…”

“Mother! The situation has reached a critical point now. It seems certain that a great Bharata war is inevitable…”

“You are right to call it a Bharata war, Thirumalai! If war breaks out now, it will be a fratricidal conflict. It will be a war of total destruction, waged among kin and kinsmen. Vanathi! Listen to this! My grandfather’s father, the renowned Parantaka Chakravarti, married a woman from the Pazhuvettaraiyar clan. Their daughter—my younger grandmother—was married to the king of Kodumbalur. My grandfather Arinjaya married a woman from Kodumbalur. My own father married the daughter of the Thirukovalur Malayaman. Thus, these three royal houses are closely bound to ours by ties of marriage. They are interwoven, one within the other. Yet now, they are girding themselves for battle against each other! What fate is this? It seems as if the Chozha kingdom itself will be destroyed by their quarrels!”

“Akka! I have no worries about all that. Let them fight and die however they wish. But why must my name be dragged into this by my great father?