SCENE (16) – PRIVATE EXPLOSION BETWEEN SULTAN AND PHULJANI
Characters
- THE SULTAN
- PHULJANI, Begum Saheba
Setting
- The Begum’s private chamber, night.
- One lamp. Curtains drawn. The palace feels far away.
- PHULJANI stands near the window, back to the room.
(THE SULTAN enters without announcement.)
SULTAN
You left the council.
PHULJANI
I was no longer required there.
SULTAN
You were required everywhere.
(She turns.)
PHULJANI
Then you should have listened when I was present.
SULTAN
You watched him take my authority.
PHULJANI
No.
I watched you hand it over.
SULTAN
I trusted him.
PHULJANI
You abandoned balance.
Trust without oversight is surrender dressed as confidence.
SULTAN
You did not support me.
PHULJANI
You did not ask.
SULTAN
Because I believed you stood with me.
PHULJANI
You stood me with the throne.
SULTAN
You stood with him.
PHULJANI
I stood with competence.
SULTAN
You loved his efficiency more than my crown.
PHULJANI
I loved survival more than ceremony.
SULTAN
Is that what I am to you now? Ceremony?
PHULJANI
You became distant long before Ganesh came close.
You brought other women into your confidence. Into your bed.
I learned to be practical.
SULTAN
So this is punishment?
PHULJANI
No. This is consequence.
You are not weak.
SULTAN
Then why am I losing everything?
PHULJANI
Because you stopped seeing who was gaining it.
SULTAN
If I remove him—
PHULJANI
—you will shatter what still stands.
SULTAN
And if I do nothing?
PHULJANI
You will wake up already replaced.
SULTAN
Are you my queen?
PHULJANI
I am the woman who stayed when staying required silence.
Do not ask me to bleed for pride.
SULTAN
You have chosen.
PHULJANI
So have you.
(She exits.)
(The lamp flickers.)
(The SULTAN remains—a ruler without a witness.)
(Lights fade.)
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21