Princess Rama – Sita and Trijata

“Which of those nos didn’t you understand?” Sita held his ground in the forest grove with an effort, staring down the angry blur of Ravana’s ten heads. “No, I will not take another wife. No, I will not ally with Lanka. No, I will never believe I have been abandoned here. There are people coming for me. And you won’t like what happens when they do.”

The demon king folded his arms, supremely unimpressed. “A fool’s hope. We are across mountains; across an ocean! No mortal can reach Lanka without my permission. You are lost to them.” He leaned in. “Take care you are not lost, wholly. I may be banned from having my way with unwilling women, but you….”

Sita couldn’t help but pale. “That would be a grave disservice to your kinswoman, if you truly wish her to be my wife,” he got out. “Would you dishonor an innocent rakshasi so?”

“Hmph. You’ll lose that stubbornness soon enough, if you want to sleep in a bed again.” Ravana turned grandly on his heel, and strode off to his waiting chariot. “We’ll see how fast the earth and storm will cow that spirit!”

“Stay in a palace, or try to find shelter and sustenance here in a forest,” Sita said under his breath, as the chariot leapt from the ground. “Which is oh, just what I’ve been doing since we were exiled from Ayodhya. Is that supposed to be a hard decision?”

A chuckle drifted down from the trees, followed by a drift of gold-brown and silvery silk as a lithe young woman dropped from branches to the ground-

Not a human woman, Sita thought, feeling the clawed toes touch the earth, and seeing long, furry ears, jeweled with gold and rubies. A rakshasi.

“Father said you had to have nerve, to marry Princess Rama. And if she’s anything like Shatrugna is from his letters – well, Father’s usually right.” She bowed politely. “I am Trijata, daughter of Prince Vibhishana, and hopefully soon to be your guard.”

“My-” Sita stopped, and thought that over again. “Your king wants you to marry me.”

“My father has said I can marry whom I will,” Trijata said forcefully. “And my will is not to marry one who would always be pining for another.” Her ears twitched. “So if I don’t want that, and you don’t want that, and my father doesn’t want that, how can we best convince King Ravana he will get what he wants, until he doesn’t?”

Sita blinked. And smiled, offering her a bow. “I am grateful to meet my new captain of the guard, Princess. How fortunate I am, that King Ravana would so honor me by trusting my guardianship to his own niece.”

Her grin was truly wicked. “You might not feel that fortunate. I tend to experiment a lot. Shatrugna has interesting ideas on focusing sunlight through air with magic.”

No, he wasn’t hearing wrong. She’d mentioned his brother-in-law, for sure. “Interesting?” Sita hazarded. “As in, catch on fire?”

She tried to look innocent, long ears twitching like a young hare’s. “…Sometimes?”

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