DEATH IS ETERNAL #442 by GIC
THE ROSE AND THE FALCON and THE MASQUERADE MURDER AT THE OLYMPIC THEATRE
Contents
THE ROSE AND THE FALCON (genre: chivalric romance)
THE MASQUERADE MURDER AT THE OLYMPIC THEATRE (genre: city mystery)
THE ROSE AND THE FALCON
Genre: chivalric romance
Inspiration: 1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi.
Word count: 517
The battlefield at Tukaroi lay silent beneath the dusky sky, the clash of steel and the cries of the fallen now replaced by the murmurs of the wind. The banners of the Mughal Empire fluttered victorious, their golden emblems gleaming in the setting sun. Emperor Akbar, astride his warhorse, surveyed the field with the solemn grace of a man who had won not merely with force but with strategy. His army had vanquished the forces of Daud Khan Karrani, and the sultan of Bengal had fled, leaving behind his men, his strongholds, and his legacy.
Among the prisoners brought before Akbar was a woman, veiled and defiant, her posture regal despite her captivity. She was introduced as Mehrunissa, the daughter of one of Daud Khan Karrani’s fallen generals. Unlike the other captives, who either pleaded or bowed their heads in submission, she stood tall and met Akbar’s eyes with unwavering pride.
“I expected warriors in chain,” Akbar mused, his voice laced with curiosity, “not falcons.”
“If you expected a trembling dove, you shall be disappointed,” she replied, her voice steady.
Intrigued by her spirit, Akbar ordered that she be treated with honour. Unlike the other prisoners, she was granted quarters within the royal encampment and allowed to walk freely within its gardens and courtyards. She refused to bow, yet she listened to the emperor’s discourse on governance and philosophy. She challenged his views on war and justice, unafraid to question the man who had conquered her father’s land. But beneath their debates, a mutual respect began to form.
One evening, as spring painted the land in hues of gold and green, Akbar found her in the garden, kneeling beside a rosebush, her fingers gently brushing the petals.
“You tend to these flowers as if they were soldiers in your father’s army,” he observed.
She smiled—though sadness lingered in her eyes. “My father fought with steel. I prefer to fight with beauty. A rose endures through storms and sun alike, yet it does not seek to conquer—only to grow.”
He reached out and plucked a single rose, placing it in her hand. “A warrior does now always wield a sword. Sometimes, a rose is mightier than the blade.”
Their conversation deepened into admiration, and admiration bloomed into love. Yet Mehrunissa was bound by honour. “I will not wed a man who took my father’s land,” she told him one night as the stars burned brightly above them. “Not unless he offers something in return.”
Akbar understood. At the dawn of the new moon, he summoned his council and declared that the lands of Bengal would not be plundered but governed with justice. Its people would be treated as subjects, not spoils of war. Mehrunissa watched as he kept his word, and in his mercy, she found the nobility of a true king.
At last, beneath the canopy of the imperial tent, she placed her hand in his. “A falcon,” she whispered, “may choose where it lands.”
And so, with the roses as witnesses, the emperor and the warrior’s daughter united—not in conquest, but in love.
The end
THE MASQUERADE MURDER AT THE OLYMPIC THEATRE
Genre: city mystery
Inspiration: 1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.
Word count: 1,365
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