Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XII

Mriga felt a slow building of excitement deep within his bones. In the last five years of her school, she had never felt so certain about something like the one she felt about this opportunity.

At a loss for words, he lowered his head as a sign of respect and gratitude.

"Good, it's done, then. I want you to go back to your room and rest for today. Your teammates will be notified that you have failed the training and have been asked to leave the department. I want you to report at the sharp sports field at 4 a.m. You will train hard for two hours before reporting for your regular school routine. Also, you will come and study with me after 8pm, soon after dinner time. At 10 p.m., you'll be back in the dorm and asleep. I must warn you that during this semester, your life will revolve around maintaining a normal appearance and keeping your distance from all your friends and friends. No one should be curious about your existence or activity. Understood?" he spoke in a sharp and unyielding voice.

Mriga finally found her voice and replied with confidence, "I won't let you down, Guruji."

"Do you have any doubts or questions?" he asked her.

Even though he told himself that he would look for all the answers himself, something was bothering him. With hesitation, he nodded his head.

Looking at his encouraging gaze, he said, "I understand that I need to keep my duties and training secret from the other classmates, but why do you have to tell my apprentice from the Admin team that I have been removed from the program? "

What he did not say out loud was the fact that they had not upheld him and this would probably validate whatever they said about him, especially, Abhirath.

Prithvi looked at her carefully and replied, "Even if you all are chosen to be part of this network at the end of your training, we don't want any of you to know about someone else's role or profile unless you're working in the same team. Everything about this world is based on the need to know. The less you know, the safer you are."

Mriga was surprised by the logic behind the decision.

Nodding his head, he conveyed his understanding of the same.

He left the Admin post and returned to the dormitory. His mind was busy absorbing all the instructions and plans he had to make, for the challenges to come.

After Mriga's departure, Prithvi picked up the letter again, which Shaurya had sent to the five trainees.

Abhirath may have received some form of training from his parents in his formative years.

In his duties, he was undoubtedly the best of all. He can be a good team leader in the end as long as he tries to improve his attitude and works to become a team player.

Shaurya has found an agreement between Chiranjeev and Nirbhay who have developed a strategy that fits their goals in completing the task.

The recommendation is to train them for coding and strategy teams. They have the right skills and talent for it.

Vandit seems to be the weakest link but he has a big heart. His perseverance and gentle temperament could be his assets, but he still needed to be tested for his physical strength.

Shaurya writes most about Mrignayani and surprisingly, there are contradictory statements made under each attribute, which is why Prithvi chose this path for him – active field operations.

A little while later, Saraswati walked into the semi-dark room with a wondering face.

"Don't look at me like that. I did not send the girl to fight," said Prithvi wryly, playing a colorful bracelet on his wrist, as was his custom.

"I just want to remind you that he's not Shaurya. I know that you recruited him and gave him the same responsibilities at this age, but his circumstances and maturity level far surpassed his. I don't think he's like that and not ready for all this. He may be crushed under the merciless pressure that you will give him, for the next. His whole lifestyle will change. Shaurya is a loner and has no one close to him but he is the type of person born to befriend anyone he meets. He may not realize now what all he has to sacrifice in the near future, to walk this path." He said with something similar to the accusation in his voice.

During the interaction with the trainees, Saraswati suddenly develops a gentle point of view for the girl. Always present with a friendly smile, she has a talent for making people like her.

With a faint smile on his face, Prithvi got up and started pacing around.

"I agree with you on everything. But what you don't know is that he has something in common with Shaurya, which no one else has," he stops mysteriously.

"When Saraswati did not take the bait to ask her to elaborate on her remarks, she gave him a reproachful look and continued, she had the ability to think beyond the drawn line. As per Shaurya's feedback, he has the talent to become one with the problem and then figure out a solution. This quality of his would make him take on tasks above and beyond his means. He has the potential to grow into a good spy and I intend to make him a spy."

Saraswati gave him an unconvinced look but walked out of the room without a word.

"A very, very good spy, probably, as good as his mother" he mused.

Leaning back in his chair, his mind brought him back to the path of often-traveled memories.

...****************...

Seventeen years ago

By the time Prithvi got the official letter that Charulata had sent, it had been hours. He is trapped in a brothel due to an intruder from another country, suddenly coming there and demanding to see the same girl.

Prithvi is not sure if he should let the man spend his afternoon there with the prostitute to get more information from her in an easy way or directly catch her.

His indecision claimed the life of the girl, who was found dead, soon after.

Apparently, the spy realized that he had made a mistake and talked too much on his previous visit to the girl and returned to solve the problem.

Prithvi goes mad looking for the man after finding the dead girl's body brutally slashed.

After several hours of fruitless searching, she returned exhausted, desperate and embarrassed, returning to the cottage where she and Charulata were staying.

It was then that the folded scroll was handed to him by a sleepy-looking boy who had waited for hours to receive the promised reward from him.

It seems like the bad day is not over yet. Forgetting his fatigue, he ran nonstop until he reached the designated place.

The road seemed empty at curfews like this.

A part of her tried to comfort her heart that maybe she was the house she found was not the right house and she was still looking for a spy or she got tired of waiting for him and went looking for him in a brothel.

But he knew he knew he had screwed up.

She walks into the house quietly but realizes moments later that the same is not necessary. As soon as he opened the door of the house, he could see the dark wet floor sparkling under the pale moonlight in the courtyard.

There was no sound and he was cautious of the wind and ran inside. The scene that greeted him was not a nightmare.

He found a lantern and lit it for better visibility. His gaze was instantly fixed on the four men lying dead on a staircase that was different from the ground to the first floor.

With a sigh of relief, he looked around but was unable to find his senior. He tried to call out to her but her voice might be muted by fear.

Going from room to room, he finally found a kitchen where the sight had knocked him unconscious.

Charulata was sitting facing sideways on the ground with a knife wedged on his back. A thick pool of blood surrounded him. There were bruises and cuts on his face and he was bleeding from various places.

Squatting down, he quickly felt his pulse and found it ticking weakly.

"Didi*, Charulata didi.. Can you hear me?" he asked with terror in his voice.

"He escaped," a hoarse whisper came out of his throat.

He was probably referring to the one person who had done this to him and ran away.

"We'll catch him. Don'worry. I'll lift you up now. I knew it would hurt, but I would try as gently as possible," his voice trembled involuntarily.

Nausea threatened to master it and she felt as if she was about to cry but she held back her emotions. This is not the time to lose courage.

After a few exhausting minutes, uncontrollable tears flowed down Prithvi's cheeks and an inhuman whimper reluctantly came out of Charulata's mouth, but it was finally finished.

Waking up, Prithvi ran into the courtyard and spewed out even the slightest bit of his entrails.

Feeling better, she returned, washing her bloodied hands and face. Then he turned around and lifted the extraordinary woman into his arms.

...----------------...

Now

Prithvi regained consciousness with a shocking revelation.

Even after so many years, that memory was able to turn him into an emotional novice.

He had been staying by his bedside, taking care of his health to the best of his ability until he was able to travel. His father came one day, after a few weeks and took him away. That was the last thing he saw or heard from her.

There were rumors that because the intruder had seen his face and was still somewhere in Chandragarh, it was not safe for him to live there.

With a new identity, she moves on to heal and live a new life.

"Life does have a way of turning back. It seems true that I should be the one to teach that person's daughter, who taught me everything important that I know as a spy and as a human being," she smiled to herself.

...----------------...

Gouruk

"What do you mean you need money?" Ishani and Yash looked at Mriga in surprise.

They were sitting with their breakfast tray in the dining room. Mriga had thought about it and decided that she needed to tell her friends about her daily schedule changes before they knew it themselves.

His training started at 4am this morning and he was already sick in a place he didn't know existed. At the beginning of the session, he prided himself on his agility and fitness. But Mr. Ramanujam had humiliated him within the first fifteen minutes of the session.

Ignoring the protesting muscles, he looked at the two people who meant the most to him. He felt bad for lying to them but he had no other choice.

“I, uh.. that is, my parents are in a financial crisis and I don't want to burden them. Even though the education is free, I don't want to ask them even for the gala. The monthly expenses I spent. So I've decided to take on some odd jobs on and off campus. Since I am a student, and not yet fifteen years old, I have not found a job that can hire me full time or pay me enough. So I'm gonna keep odd hours until the end of this semester. I just wanted to tell you both." He said with his eyes down.

Yash felt agitation running at lightning speed on his body. He could not bear to see her depressed like this.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll ask my mom to help you find you a comfortable job with a good salary. As you know, he is the current head of the zilla in the Southern zone and has enough connections here as well," he said, immediately.

"Tidaaaak, I mean. Please don't do that. I don't want to do this by asking anyone for help. I wanted to support myself and my parents with my own abilities" she tried to persuade him, immediately.

He would foil his plans carefully with a single blow.

"What help? I asked my own mother. What kind of help is that?" he frowned.

"Yash, I appreciate your feelings but it would make me very uncomfortable to owe your mother a favor. How about this? I promise you that if I can't handle my situation, I'll come and look for you. That okay?" he persuaded.

With visible unwillingness, he nodded his head.

"So basically, you mean we won't meet you except during public lectures every day?" ishani said who had been quiet all along.

Mriga gave him a look full of regret and nodded his head.

"But at least, you're not going to work the last day of every week, are you?" Yash asked expectantly.

Mriga stopped before answering. He tried to rack his brain but could not remember whether he should have trained for seven days or not.

Apart from that, his training was only in the morning and evening. He would be able to spend enough time with them during the day.

"I don't think the weekend should be a problem" he said with a shy smile.

"Uh... Yash, can I meet my friend on the weekend?" Ishani asks him, tongue in cheek.

He could feel his face blushing and muttering something about getting the porridge before fleeing from there.

"You're really mean. Why do you have to tease that poor guy? Now you have made him wake up and look for porridge while he already has a bowl full, in his tray," Mriga said denouncing his best friend.

"Yes God! They haven't even dated yet and he's already gotten rid of me and started defending her with all his might. How lonely is my life, for the next time?" Ishani gripped her heart and said those words dramatically.

Mriga rolled his eyes at his friend's play and lightly punched his arm.

"If you're done lamenting, can we finish breakfast and go to class? If you keep this up, you might need to do this in front of the teacher as well," he started pulling it.

The next morning, Mriga arrives an unexpected guest waiting outside her class.

"Uh, Vandit? Are you waiting for me here?" he asked the serious-looking boy, in surprise.

He nodded his head and asked her,

"Is right? Were you asked to leave the Admin department?"

Mriga felt her face heat up but she remained calm.

"Yes, it's me and it's okay. I thought even I had realized at the end of three weeks that I was no match for the tasks you guys do easily. So it's only natural that I'm out of a department that doesn't suit me," she said, trying to keep her face expressionless.

"Umm. I don't know if that's a fair judgment. But I'm glad to see you take it in peace. Don't let it bother you too much. It is better to find someone's niche to bring out the best in you. So which department are you interning in now?" he asked her.

"No, I've actually requested an exemption from the internship program. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the battery needs some money. So I took on some part-time assignments," he said.

If a student chooses to have real work experience, he or she has the option to break free from internships.

All they need to do is show a work letter from the workplace that has chosen to hire them.

This is a strategy created by Mriga, who tackles all the unnecessary questions that can arise in such situations.

......................

*Didi - Sister