SCENE (10) – GANESH REACHES TO PHULJANI TO BRING ORDER
Setting:
- The palace at night.
- The council chamber bleeds into private corridors.
- Walls do not change—only power does.
- Maps rolled. Petition scrolls untouched.
- The noise of the city still reaches faintly.
- (RAJA GANESH stands alone— exhausted.)
(PHULJANI enters. She does not bow.)
GANESH
I ruled well for others. I failed today.
PHULJANI
You spoke.
GANESH
And no one listened.
PHULJANI
Because they fear uncertainty.
GANESH
I cannot rule with only Hindu trust.
PHULJANI
Nor with Muslim fear.
GANESH
I must be seen choosing balance.
PHULJANI
Seen matters more than sworn.
GANESH
They will never trust me alone.
PHULJANI
Then do not stand alone.
GANESH
I need you—not behind curtains, not in whispers.
PHULJANI
You mean as shield.
GANESH
As signal.
PHULJANI
To whom?
GANESH
To Muslims—that they are not conquered.
To Hindus—that restraint is strength.
PHULJANI
And to you?
GANESH
That I am not lying to myself.
PHULJANI
You want me on the council.
GANESH
In the light.
PHULJANI
They will hate me.
GANESH
They already do.
PHULJANI
And when violence continues?
GANESH
Then they will know who stood there.
I saw you at the Adina Mosque.
PHULJANI
Loyalty is not a word.
You are asking me to carry your contradiction.
GANESH
I am asking you to govern it.
PHULJANI
Council presence will not be enough.
GANESH
I know.
PHULJANI
They will demand permanence.
GANESH
They will demand legitimacy.
PHULJANI
How will you legitimate it?
(Long silence.)
GANESH
I will marry you.
PHULJANI
And Tripura?
GANESH
I will speak to her.
PHULJANI
Carefully.
GANESH
Honestly.
PHULJANI
You will be honest to her.
Not to me.
GANESH
I am always honest with you.
PHULJANI
And that honesty is?
GANESH
I will marry you – not for love.
For a need.
PHULJANI
Then I will stand.
(She holds his gaze.)
PHULJANI
Go.
(GANESH hesitates—just once—then exits.)
(Lights rise on TRIPURA’s chamber.)
(TRIPURA is already seated, reading.)
(GANESH enters.)
(She does not look up.)
GANESH
The city does not trust me.
TRIPURA
It never does.
Why are you here?
GANESH
Muslims fear annihilation.
Hindus expect domination.
TRIPURA
Expectation is easier to manage than fear.
GANESH
Fear burns faster.
TRIPURA
You know how to handle it.
GANESH
I will place Phuljani on the council.
TRIPURA
What stops you from bringing her into the council?
GANESH
They will demand legitimacy.
TRIPURA
You think I will absorb that cost.
GANESH
No. Nothing is easy once the crown is worn.
TRIPURA
Say it plainly. What do you want from me?
GANESH
I will marry her.
(Long silence. Tripura breathes, measured.)
TRIPURA
You dress necessity as sacrifice.
GANESH
I dress survival as honesty.
TRIPURA
Do you expect gratitude?
GANESH
I expect endurance.
TRIPURA
And my place?
GANESH
Unchanged.
TRIPURA
You realize what you ask.
GANESH
I do.
TRIPURA
You fracture queenship.
You will divide attention.
GANESH
I will divide hatred.
TRIPURA
You think this brings peace.
GANESH
It buys time.
TRIPURA
Time for what?
GANESH
For the kingdom to see me as necessary.
TRIPURA
You leave no choice.
Understand this—
If the court fractures, it will fracture around you, not her.
GANESH
I leave you intact.
TRIPURA
I agree.
Not for love.
Not for her.
For the crown.
GANESH
That is all I ask.
TRIPURA
But hear this.
GANESH
I am listening.
TRIPURA
If this costs the throne—
I will not fall silently.
GANESH
Neither will I.
TRIPURA
Bring her into the council.
But do not pretend this is unity.
GANESH
It is strategy.
(GANESH stands between two doors—one leading to Phuljani, one to Tripura.)
(He does not move.)
GANESH
(to himself)
Trust is not given.
It is staged.
(GANESH steps into a private chamber. PHULJANI stands in bridal red—not smiling.
GANESH enters, crowned.)
PHULJANI
So you chose.
GANESH
I did.
PHULJANI
Not love.
GANESH
No.
PHULJANI
Not peace.
GANESH
No.
PHULJANI
Then what?
GANESH
Control.
PHULJANI
And me?
GANESH
Legitimacy—
through provocation.
PHULJANI
Marry me openly.
GANESH
I will.
PHULJANI
And after?
GANESH
After—we endure.
(They stand together. United. Uneasy.)
(SAFA watches from a distance.)
SAFA
The crown chose fire. And the fire obeyed.
BLACKOUT.
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