Seven years of being trapped in a cave sounded ludicrous to her. "What the hell are you blabbering? Is this place operates on mechanism or something that opens only after seven years?" She lashed out in anger.

"It's not run by whatever you call it as. It's the play of fate." The bitterness laced in his words confused her even further.

"What fate?"

"Fate of this cursed land."

"Oh! What story are you cooking? That's ridiculous. Now send me out right away!" She demanded, braver than she had been earlier.

"Even if I wish, I can't!"

"Of course you can! Because nothing you say ever exist. This place is surely a made up place! Take me out from this damn place!"

Just for a second, in a blink of an eye, Kamali saw herself in the tent at the excavation site. The king grabbed her arm and shook her with a force.

"Look around! No one can help you out that includes me."

"But... Two of my friends... They were with me and then they left..."

"Perhaps they are not meant to be here. Anyways, welcome to the cursed land, Chakranadu."

The king responded wearily and marched back towards the throne room. "Bring the lady to the guest chamber and provided her whatever she needs." He order to the ladies in waiting. "We will talk more tomorrow. Have a good rest." The king nodded to her and went out of her sight into the inner part of the hall.

The remaining of the night went blurry, she was escorted to a huge chamber just like of those she had read articles about and seen in movies. Given a luxuries dinner, a pretty saree comfortable enough to sleep in and a lady in waiting in case if she needed something.

Kamali fell asleep hoping whatever that happened would be a mere dream. When she woke up in a jolt, everything remained the same. She was still in the room and in the saree given to her the night before.

On her first day, the king himself came to escort her out of the chamber to the dining hall for breakfast. Later, he took her around the palace that looked nothing like the cave. Everything from the palace to the land surrounding the palace was just like how it should be. Kamali felt she had travelled many centuries behind.

**"I hope I did not travel to the past"** she prayed as the king showed her around the huge palace and land for days.

"You never told your name." She tried to make a friendly conversation to break the rather formal exchange after two long weeks. She had somehow got accustomed to the routine of waking up early and simply do nothing.

"A king never tells his name for he is meant to be called The King," he said casually. "But since you are the first to ask, my name is Chakra Vasudevan." His chest puffed out, proudly.

"So, you are named after your land?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"You don't seem to be happy about it. Do you know why the door only opens every seven years?"

"What's to be happy about a cursed fate? It's getting late. I should get going to the durbar. Will see you later." Chakra Vasudevan hastily left her with his guard to take her back to the Palace.

Five days went by and the king did not visit her as he do. "Is he avoiding to be questioned by me?" She grumbled as she let the lady in waiting do her hair. From the first day in the land of Chakranadu, everyone begun to treat her like a princess. What seemed u comfortable at first, now it became normal routine.

"Not many dare to question the king and since you are, maybe he finds it strange or maybe it's difficult to answer," replied the lady in waiting.

Kamali spent most of hert time in her chamber that day trying to find a hint from what they had conversed before. The only phrase that prominently appeared was 'cursed land, cursed fate'.

"Could an astrologer be of a help?" She thought and made her way to what she knew as the Astrologist Sphere. A place where all astrologers assemble everyday.

After talking to almost all the available astrologers, she went to the oldest of them all. "Come child. I know you would come," he said and gestured her to sit before him.

"You knew? Then why did you wait till I ask everyone, you should have called me instead," she huffed and threw a piece of grape from a tray into her mouth. "Okay, now tell me, please."

"I can only tell you what I'm permitted to tell. Others can only be answered by the king," the old man informed.

The land was once a flourishing kingdom that was rich with rice and peppercorns fields. During the regime of King Chakra Vasudevan's father, most of the benefits were only given to the wealthy and high status people. Although the sells of rice and peppercorns increased day by day, the farmers only earned one tenth of the sales.

Soon, many families of the farmers died of starvation and no proper health care for them. The then king too despite being aware of the situation, cared less.

One day when he rode his chariot around the paddy field, on dying couple stopped the king. They cursed him with their heart and soul, "You too will die like us. Mark my words, your generation will never happen. Do you hear that! Scream of pain, until we, the people are not happy, he will live with it. He will see the land ruin countless times. You know what that means? Suffering!" Both the man and lady cried.

The king who could not take the absurdity of the two dying farmers, whipped his horse and ran over the couple with no mercy. The cries of agony of the couple fell on deaf man's ears. Proving to the mass what kind of king is truly was.

Since that day, Chakranadu had only seen cursed poured through every common man, young and old. Despite King Chakra Vasudevan's best effort, he couldn't achieve peace. Trouble had always find it's way to him. **

Kamali understood that they might be trapped in a time loop perhaps of seven years as the king quoted. But when she looked around her, the people were happy going about their daily life. She had visited many places within Chakranadu border in the last three months and there were no visible devastations.

"How are they trapped in a time loop?"