Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XIV

Mriga had listened to Ramanujam's instructions carefully and tried to give his best every day, even at a time when his body felt like it was dying.

After returning from another grueling session, she took a long shower and spent some time cleaning the mud from her body.

Even though it was not an education day, they still had to wear color-coded clothes.

She was wearing a pink lotus uniform, combing her hair until it glowed and running towards the Gurukul gate. He has not seen Yash since almost a week now and misses him terribly.

When he looked at the gate from afar, his shining face found him waiting for him, there. But before he could reach her, a beautiful girl walked towards him.

Yash had been waiting for this hour for the past few days. He had planned everything.

Today will be the day he 'confesses'.

When she returns after a semester break, her plan is to seduce Mriga for nearly a semester before applying for her. But a month had passed and he had not even managed to spend a few hours with her for days.

With her daily schedule so congested unexpectedly, she did not want to wait any longer.

Instead, there was no point in waiting because he did not get the chance to spend time with her.

At least he had time to strengthen their relationship or attempt to influence it during the remaining time, depending on his response to his question today.

Under the gentle sunlight, she looked charming enough to attract the attention of the passing students.

Unconcerned to notice the giggling laughter of the girls, he focused on the market survey sheet in his hand. As part of the finance department, he was tasked with examining the pros and cons of the currency mix coexistence policy and the current barter system.

It was not an easy project by any means and he had volunteered to do this comprehensive task for two reasons.

When the internship began and Mriga was placed outside Gurukul for her project, she used it as an opportunity to look for it, as it involved regular visits to stores and money lenders.

Second, the project really fascinated him. Numbers are his forte and he likes to analyze them and their impact.

"Sorry, are you the Yashvardhan of the Southern zilla, perhaps?" a soft and cultured voice carried him out of his mind.

He looked up and was surprised by the beauty standing in front of him. A girl, almost as tall as him, had walked towards him.

"Uh. How do you.. I mean, do I know you?" he asked, a little confused.

Although the girl looked similar to her age, she had a calmness and elegance that far surpassed her age.

Her beautiful and delicate face was framed by soft curls and the school uniform could not hide her already developed curves.

As if sensing the effect on her, the girl gave her a small smile.

"Hi, I'm Vindhya. Forgive me, but my curiosity overcame my obstacles. After being told about the possibility of our association, I wonder what you look like," he said.

A red hue had spread across her face, making her look even more attractive.

Yash pulled the arm of the kurta subconsciously while looking for the right response to his honest statement.

He never imagined that he would have to face this girl in such a manner. In fact, he had not thought of a way to deal with this situation until now.

The focus is on confessing to Mriga about her feelings.

Come to think of it, he should have a plan for this first, considering they studied together. But he did not take into account the possibility of the girl looking for him versus the other way around.

"Hi. I'm sorry. Looks like you caught me off guard. I really don't know how to react now," he spoke honestly.

A shocked expression flashed across Vindhya's face but turned into an embarrassed smile the next minute.

"Eh, am I interrupting?" a somewhat annoyed voice interrupted the scene.

Yash was already confused by the presence of the new girl.

Mriga's arrival adds to the mix and she can't stop the embarrassment of turning her face a bit. He felt guilty without actually doing anything wrong.

Mriga and Vindhya measure each other. While the former was curious and alert, the latter found it unworthy to be seen a second time.

"Don't worry. I just wanted to come and introduce myself. Maybe we can meet next time you're not busy. You could meet me at the Science major during school hours," with that, he nodded slightly and went towards the school grounds.

Mriga looked at Yash who was staring at the ground ferociously as if he had found a treasure there.

"Should we go to the market?" he asked in annoyance, directing his gaze towards her.

He nodded silently and followed her out of the gate.

Before he could say anything, he turned around and said,

"Why don't you finish your job first. As you gather information from various stores, I want to go visit the place I lived a few weeks ago, for an internship."

Yash wants to tell her to stay with him while he completes the survey. But looking at his ferocious expression, he replied, "Of course, go ahead. But I'll be done with my work in a few hours. Should I come look for you at the store?"

Mriga gave him a sharp nod and started walking towards the diagonals from him.

"Damn! Why did that girl have to come and look for me today? Now how do I tell Mriga about my feelings for her and the truth about the girl in the same breath? Argh..it's not fair!" he muttered to himself angrily, enough to make some people turn around and look at him with concern.

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

Mriga does not plan to visit the store, but when she sees Yash and the beautiful girl looking at each other like a newly married couple, she becomes not green but black out of jealousy.

It's fair enough that she and Yash aren't dating, but there's an unspoken understanding between them about liking each other.

How dare he blush in front of the girl!

Wasn't that expression just meant for her?

As soon as she reached the two of them, she realized that the girl was beautiful and looked like an angel. A sudden sense of insecurity gripped him. He did not know who the stranger was and suddenly he did not want to know.

To avoid talking about it and to restore control of her poor little heart, she suggests that she and Yash separate for a while.

Mriga found herself walking on the now familiar road to the store.

From his experience, he knew that there was absolutely no possibility of Shaurya being present in the store at this time. But he did not mind going and greeting the neighboring shopkeeper who had been his friend for those three weeks. He just needed to turn his attention elsewhere to calm down.

Mriga found the unmanned shop as usual. The dust had settled and looked exactly like his first day there.

Out of habit, he went inside and took out the cleaning supplies. It was therapeutic to rub, mop, wipe and he did it almost on autopilot. Giving the place a final check, he went next door to greet the shopkeeper.

To him, it was a never-ending surprise that to date no one had looted the place and stolen anything of value there. What he doesn't know is that all the local thieves are aware that the place belongs to someone evil and will never dare to enter.

He was enjoying a refreshing glass of buttermilk at the store next door, when a sweaty, frightened Yash approached him.

He got up from the burlap chair and walked towards him, hurriedly.

"Is something wrong? What the hell happened to you?" he asked with concern.

Yash grinned broadly at her, "I've completed my task today."

Mriga's eyes widened in surprise.

"Isn't this supposed to take a few hours? You finished it so fast? Are you sure you're not doing a bad job?" he was worried about the consequences of a task done hastily on its value.

These internships are taken very seriously by Gurukul and each assignment is of sufficient weight, requiring full commitment from the student.

"Let's say I give a fantastic result when under pressure" he said cryptically.

"Don't ask me to explain it any further. Aren't you glad to see me back early?" he asked, insecurity appearing in his words.

Mriga blushed to hear his statement.

"I know a good place to eat near here. Should we have lunch early?" he asked with a smile, after a while.

His heart was relieved to see the smile back on his face and he nodded enthusiastically.

Just as Mriga was about to leave, he thought of something and ran back to the newly cleaned shop.

Writing a note, he pasted it on top of the register stored on the table.

Yash gave her a curious look but did not ask her anything. As they walked, he kept pointing at various things and places that might interest him. They arrive at the restaurant where Shaurya often takes her during internships with him.

Lunch is a fun and noisy affair. The food is peppered with various discussions ranging from government policies to sports to current events in their respective zillas. It had been a long time since they had such a lively conversation.

"Yes God! Look at the amount of food we have spent in such a short time," Mriga looked at the pile of dishes in front of them.

Yash's eyes sparkled with mischief as he frowned and said, "You're right. But how else. I always knew you were a greedy eater, despite your small size. My only concern is whether I have enough money to pay for all this. After all, it was my invitation today."

His nostrils instantly burned with anger and he pushed his sleeves backwards, forming an aggressive stance.

"What do you mean by greedy eaters? Are you trying to imply that I'm a glutton? Let me tell you that you eat faster than me, then you always manage to spend a larger portion in a shorter time. And who are you calling little? Just because you got taller and muscular during this holiday, you dared to look at me low. Let's fight once we reach back. I'll show you who I am!!" he challenged.

Yash simply looked at her and absorbed the flushed cheeks, bright eyes, and a rapid heartbeat at the base of her neck.

Smiling softly, he said, "I was defeated by you, first. If you keep looking like this, I'm afraid it'll be my death."

Mriga was surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere. The air around them was heavy and the sounds seemed to have sunk under his roaring heartbeat.

He couldn't take his eyes off her. The way he looked at her, made her creep.

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

"Who was the girl this morning," said Mrignayani, not caring to express her insecurity in front of Yash.

He could not hold back the tension anymore.

Until now, she had seen many girls glancing at her, but she had not acknowledged the attention or reciprocated all along. That was one of the biggest reasons his heart chose him for affection.

Yash was surprised by the sudden change in topic, but before he could formulate a proper answer, a lazy voice interrupted them.

"It seems that after exiting the internship program, you have a lot of free time," the disapproval was evident in the familiar reprimanding voice.

Mriga raised her head in surprise to see Shaurya, who seemed to suddenly appear beside her, as she often did.

Unknown to himself, a wide smile lit up his face. He stood up to greet her with a small bow.

"That's not fair. I've worked so hard since then" he replied in a sad voice after a while.

"Umm. It looks like we haven't been introduced yet. I'm Yash, Mriga's closest friend and classmate," Yash also stood up and introduced himself, cutting off the conversation between them.

He remembered the arrogant man before, except that he looked different today. Instead of looking like b*j*ngan, she has a sharp aura about him.

Mriga looked at him with something close to admiration in her eyes; in fact NO, not admiration, was more like the adoration of a hero.

Yash recalled seeing his eyes gaze a few times whenever he managed to say something very profound during one of their discussions.

He would look at her in great astonishment and it made her feel as if she had won the war.

She is a very smart girl and it is not easy to impress her. Hence the expression on his face was something he deeply appreciated.

But this stranger had just greeted him and it was too rude. Then why is he staring at her as if he knows the secret formula to make Amrit *.

Who exactly is this guy?

"Yes, I remember you. You came to see Mrignayani while he was stationed near here, during the internship," Shaurya said casually.

Yash was disappointed by his brazen attitude. He did not bother to mention his name or his relationship with Mriga.

Moreover, there was a sense of ownership familiarity with which the man treated his girl. He also seems to be unperturbed by Yash's veiled claims to her.

"If the number of dishes is quite a lot, I see you miss this restaurant a lot," Shaurya told Mriga with a hint of laughter in his usually serious eyes.

He made a face and muttered,

"What's wrong with everyone today? Commenting on my food and habits!"

Yash does not enjoy the easy friendship he seems to share with the man. Apart from jealousy, it was also an aura of danger that he could feel emanating from him. There was no way he would let Mriga hang out with someone like him. He may be naive but he's not.

"Uh, I think it's time we go back to Gurukul. I have to hand over the report to the head," he said with a frown.

Mriga looked at him confusedly. Didn't he tell her they were going to watch the show after this? But he did not say those words out loud.

He bids farewell to Shaurya and leaves with Yash following behind him, protectively.

Shaurya is an expert at taking shades and grinning at the boy's proprietary behavior.

Whistling softly, he looked around stealthily before coming out.

He had seen Mriga and his partner almost twenty minutes ago when he entered the place to look for someone. One of the spies from East Zilla had arranged a meeting in this restaurant.

So Shaurya had scanned the whole place before finding him sitting at a table at one end of the room.

Shaurya exchanges information with the man through a deliberate accident spilling water on him while the man uses the opportunity to bend over and push the coded paper in Shaurya's shoes.

Shaurya has apologized to the man and sits at a different table, ordering appetizers for himself.

He wanted the man to go first and put some distance between them if anyone was watching them.

Shaurya always works on the assumption that the unknown enemy is aware of his existence and is watching him at all times. His actions are guided by this theory.

While waiting at the restaurant that he saw Mrignayani chirping as usual.

His initial reaction was to avoid it and leave, but somehow his feet found their way towards it.

Walking back to the store now, he recalled the harsh reprimand he had received for it, from Prithvi.

That girl is just a problem. The poor boy*ng doesn't know what he's for! it was the main thought in his head when he entered the shop.

Eyes widened.

Observing the sparkling clean environment, his eyes caught something fluttering from the wind. He walked up to the table that was stored in the middle of the room, and saw a piece of parchment pinned under the ink container.

"The cleaning supplies need to be refilled!"

Reading the note, Shaurya finally succumbed to the smile that threatened to be on his face ever since he saw it.

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

*Amrit - The Nectar of Eternity