Chapter 235: A Gift for Trade
Purana Qila, Prince’s quarters, morning of April 24, 1557.
"Your Highness..."
"Prince..."
"Aditya.. Aditya!"
Aditya was sleeping in bed without a care in the world. He heard faint noises of someone calling him. He was too tired from the late-night date with Meenakshi and wanted a little bit more sleep, but the urgent plea in the voice was unmistakable, which forced him to open his eyes. It was Bheem, who was standing at his side, his face too close.
Aditya sat up in his bed and asked, squinting his eyes slightly, "The hell are you doing here, Bheem? Why are you wasting my sleep so early in the morning?"
Bheem gave a sarcastic smile. "Because it is my duty to remind His Highness that it is not early morning anymore and that he is getting late for today’s schedule."
Aditya yawned and looked at the sunrays streaming through his window. It was a little cloudy and hence hard to know the time. "What rubbish..."
Then his eyes fell on the clock prototype that Mathew had created and gifted him. It was right on the table, and the time read 8:37 a.m.
"Oh shit! We’re late. What time was the Portuguese envoy’s meeting?" he asked, a little tense.
"It was around 8:00 a.m. when our butler informed us of his arrival in training grounds. By then, he had checked twice and has now returned for a suitable excuse. I tried calling you many times, and by Shiva’s blessing, you took a total of half an hour to open your eyes." Bheem felt very proud as he stated the time. In his perspective, he had gone through hellish training under Mathew to understand the time mechanism, but it felt very good to scold his friend with facts.
Though he had no idea that he was still lacking in time calculation, Aditya had little to do with his thoughts and no time to correct him as he hurried to prepare for his morning needs.