Little Girl: Why did the Boy Prince not become king immediately after his father's death?
Grandpa: The Wise Men of the Hand, a secret cabal of powerful nobles, were of the opinion that he was too young to rule. They wanted the Queen Mother installed on the throne instead. But the Orange Knights, the sworn enemies of the Gandhars, said that the subjects would not stand being ruled by a foreigner from the distant land of the Pasta-Lasagna. The Queen Mother, who was very intelligent, then stepped back, an act that was seen as noble and selfsacrificing.
Little Girl: But it is noble, right?
Grandpa: Well the Queen Mother did not stop ruling. She just did not sit on the throne. Why should I bear the responsibility for failure when I can get someone else to take the blame? A satrap, a throne warmer for the Boy Prince, came to rule - -the one they called "The Silent" , who sat there for years quietly whispering to the butterflies, while all around him the lands burned with pillage and violence .
Little Girl: What was the Boy Prince doing all this time?
Grandpa: The Boy Prince was becoming a handsome lad, with eyes as blue as a rainless sky. He learned the art of War from the Raja of the Middle Grounds, a grand wizard of Shadow, who became the Boy Prince's Voice.
Little Girl: Why did the Boy King need a voice? Was he unable to speak?
Grandpa: Of course he could speak. He would speak in whispers to the Ambassador of the Great Eagle, telling them that the greatest enemies to world peace were the Orange Knights. But on matters that needed speaking, he would not open his mouth. The Queen Mother and the Wise Men of the Hand were afraid that if his opinions were heard, people might begin to understand what the Boy Prince truly was. So he spent his years doing what the Big Books calls PR-stunts, meeting a commoner or shaking a hand but doing absolutely nothing of any significance. Yet his fame spread far and wide and people awaited his coming.
Little Girl: How did that happen? How did he get fame based on nothing?
Grandpa: Aaah. The Wise Men of the Hand controlled the Troubadours through a system of honors and incentives. They made sure that every success (and they were not many) was credited to the Boy Prince while every failure (and they were many) became the responsibility of the Silent satrap who merely smiled, shook his head and stayed Silent.
Little Girl: So then what happened?
Grandpa: A time of great trouble and strife came onto the Lands. The greedy nobles sold the rights to the Air itself and looted the Wealth of the Commons. The Mad Monk and the In-and-out Breathing One stopped eating for days together, unless they too were given the right to govern. The Green Ghosts from the Pure Land came in boats and massacred many innocents. And though the Orange Knights had grown weak, often dancing for no rhyme or reason, one among them - the Renegade Ruler of the Western Provinces, hated and feared and loved, grew in power and influence.
Finally when the Queen Mother fell ill, The Wise Men of the Hand now decided that the time was ripe to give the Boy Prince the Great Sword, a mythical weapon that is held by the ruler of the Line of Gandhar . The world was now told that the Boy Prince was now ready to rule, ready to take over the mantle of what was his by birthright.
Little Girl: Then? Did he ascend the throne and vanquish his enemies?
Grandpa: I shall tell you some other day little one. For now I must watch Rakhi Sawant's "Gajab Desh Ki Ajab Kahani" on TV. After all, I too need my fairy-tales, don't I? {Via TOI abridged, Full Version}
Arnab Ray is the bestselling author of 'May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss'. He blogs at greatbong.net.