Quite the opposite, *

Not many years ago, there some where lived a king.
The king had a kingdom as usual. But that kingdom was not owned by his family.
It was a curious kind of kingship that that piece of land followed.
Kings were chosen by some people who were chosen again by the citizens of that piece of land.

Now the present king before being chosen had the purity of heart.
He being a descendant of a very poor family had all those memories of hardship and sufferings.
Memories which were strong.
Memories which made him a noble man.
Those people who had chosen him had thought of putting him into the chair of the king.
A king's chair?
Well, as thrones are usually found in real kingdoms with real kings and queens, here in this particular piece of land chairs were given to the king.
Soon after taking on the chair, the king had all the noble thoughts.
He promised the people the cleanliness.
He promised that there would be no such thing as unnecessary burden upon people.

But due to some lack of foresight and proper perspectives, every day different things happened.
Those courtiers who actually chose the king, were always making some things which could bring in troubles.
The king was not unintelligent.
He kept his courtiers (both men and women, as he had women courtiers too)
informed of his decisions.

But, his courtiers.
They were often too busy either to please the king or to please themselves.
Now this curious pleasure seeking had its side effects.
Often, in the garb of pleasing the king, they were actually causing problems for the king.
For example, only the other day, without even knowing properly a woman courtier brought a teenaged boy before the king and reported:
'Sir, this boy was shouting against you, calling you bad names just outside the gate of Your Majesty's house.
I was passing by and nabbed him.
He could be a great danger to you!'

The king sought opinion from other courtiers.
The other courtiers had not proper knowledge of the incident.
But they thought why would a woman say all these stuff, after all women were the most kind hearted people.
In that land there was actually a great respect for women.
Women were never maligned.

But this woman, actually did not even herself witness the incident.
She was reported of the incident by some people.
But she thought it could be a too good opportunity to be missed to please the king.
So in the court she said that.
After all, who would make an inquiry upon a king's judgement?

So that teenaged boy was sent to the prison.
There he was tortured by the gaoler.The gaoler was just like that women courtier.
He was also interested to please the king.
For by doing so he thought he would get something, some reward.

But the boy had read stories of people who talked of peace.
The boy had read stories of people dying with smiling faces while saving their mothers or fathers or sisters or brothers.
So he didn't budge.
This made the gaoler even more desperate.
He took the boy's non violent non conformist attitude as a great challenge.
He kept on torturing him.

While the gaoler was doing so, the king was reported by one very old courtier of his, that the boy actually was trying to draw the attention of the king to the ills happening in that piece of land.
He was actually yelling so that his words could reach His Majesty's ears.
He never knew that His Majesty was not in his house.
The king , upon hearing this got very much confused.
He summoned that woman courtier,whose name was Belambi,and asked:

'Tell me, Belambi, the truth!'

Belambi: Sir, I have been up this hour wide awake, all through the nights.

The king: I demand, or eh...place an entreaty, what troubles you?

Belambi: Nothing Sir, for Your Highness is well aware how much I work for the land...

The king: That who doesn't know?

All other courtiers were watching the king and that woman courtier.
They actually had great respect for both.
The king was respected because he was the king.
The woman was actually getting double respect, first she was a woman, and secondly she was an important member of the decision making body of the kingdom.

Just when all these were happening, someone informed that the boy who was in the prison was in dire straits.

The king looked at the courtiers.
Belambi was sitting there on her chair.

The king looked at Belambi.
Belambi was not sure what she could say.

The messenger was waiting.
Staring at His Majesty's face.

The king was thinking.
The courtiers too.

Belambi signalled the messenger to come near her.
When he came she asked:
Tell me, is there any bad news?
The messenger whispered:
Don't say madam, the poor little boy is actually on the verge of death.

Hearing this Belambi got very much tensed.
She asked the king:
Your Highness, if you could allow me, could I go and see for myself what was happening at the prison?

The king allowed her to go.
Belambi forbade other courtiers not to come with her, when they thought they could accompany her.

Upon arriving the prison cell where the boy was left dying, Belambi was very much shocked.
She had never been to a dingy room like that ever before.

'What a room!'
Was her first remark.
Then she went near that boy.
The boy looked at her and just asked:
As you are a woman, I would call you Mother, will it be okay?
His voice was feeble.
His body was frail.
His eyes were drooping.

Belambi looked at him and said:

Yes...

Then the boy asked:
Now that I am in prison, tell me, you are sleeping it well?

Belambi got angry.
How dare you??!

She yelled.

This brought that gaoler to the spot.
The gaoler saw that he would never get a better opportunity to prove his loyalty to the king and the courtiers.

He started beating the boy.

Belambi rushed out.
She went straight home.

But that night she didn't sleep.
The next morning when she went to the court, everyone noticed that.

Belambi had got the king's attention too, who, during a break in the sessions of the court, while munching potato chips, asked:
Tell me, is it your physical discomfiture that makes you to walk so unbraced or did you steal out of your house and caught the contagions of the night?

Belambi was greatly affected by the king's query.

She said nothing but her eyes were full of drops of water.

After the sessions she ran to the prison.
The boy was still there.
Belambi asked the gaoler not to torture the boy and to make every arrangement to save him.
The gaoler was amused.
He thought by torturing the boy he would get a reward.
Now it had turned quite the opposite!

So he asked the courtier:
Madam, if you pardon me, what should I do?

Belambi said:
Let me first consult with the king and other courtiers, till then keep him here, and don't beat him.

Then Belambi went to her house, a bit satisfied.

But the next morning when she was going to the court, she heard the news that people of that piece of land had gathered before the court.

They were actually pleading to place a memorandum before the king.

Belambi went to the court.
But before she could even sit, she was informed by a messenger from His Highness that the king had actually entreated her to go home and to stay there till something could be done about the boy.
Hearing this Belambi got a bit sad.
But as she couldn't defy the king's order where kings were actually selected by his courtiers, she went home, sobbing.

(* note on the title: as there can be no piece of land where there is a kingdom and a king who is again selected by courtiers with no hierarchy, it is contrary to any idea of kingship and also to democracy. Hence, the story should be taken as purely figment of imagination. Still if people find any similarity with any incident happening around them with the story, then quite naturally, their power of imagination will be solely responsible.)