Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XXI

It was a large cheerful place with many lights on and lively music interspersed with lively conversations. Mriga.

This was the first time he had come to watch an evening show. He had seen some of them with his parents and friends in the Northern zilla but they were done on a much smaller scale and not in a place like this.

Although the play had not yet begun, there was a wooden podium covered and a large banner had been hung there, mentioning the details of the show.

Most of the people around them were older but looked jolly and friendly. Devvrat kept his promise and ordered large portions of appetizers once they found a table to sit on.

"Here we go" the waiter came and kicked a big jug over their table.

"But we didn't order any drinks," Devvrat frowned towards the woman serving.

"There's at home today. The sherbet* has been specially ordered by the man sitting there for everyone who walks into our place tonight. She was getting married tomorrow," the woman pointed to the man sitting in the middle of the crowd.

After the woman left, Devvrat took a glass and poured a little drink into it to sniff and taste.

"Oh! Tasty. Try," he exclaimed.

Mriga also desperately wanted to taste it. The pitcher smelled of honey and spices, making it a heavenly combo.

"Is this ... is this alcohol?" Mriga asked to be sure.

Devvrat laughed at Mriga's naivety, "How can honey be alcohol? You must be underage! Alcohol tastes bitter and smells bad. In fact, after the first time, I could never force myself to drink it again. This drink is like nectar."

He gave her a wry look for making fun of her ignorance. Receiving a glass, he tasted it and closed his eyes happily.

"Good, right?"

Devvrat's questions are interrupted by the announcement that the drama is about to begin.

It was a musical romantic comedy that lasted for two hours. In the end, the two of them had destroyed four large jugs.

Holding on to the chair for support, Devvrat struggled to get up. In a hoarse voice, she told Mriga that she was going to go to the restroom. But Mriga doesn't care. The Mead* hit him hard and he felt boisterous.

He stood up and climbed up the rickety table. People crowded around him, most ready to leave the place.

Suddenly he started crying hard. Most people don't notice it. Some of them, who were still conscious, stopped to look at him for a moment before shaking their heads and continuing. This really made him angry.

The next second someone passed by him and he clutched his sleeve loudly.

"What are you trying to do? Let go of me, you drunkard," Vidyut's upset voice had no effect on him.

He was still wailing, now almost above his lungs.

After finishing with his sister's birthday celebration, he, Vidyut enjoys a short walk with Vindhya where he tells her that Yash seems like a good man and she will no longer mind their union.

He had been invited to one of his friend's wedding nights. Usually, she would decline the invitation after a long night but she traveled the next day and would not be able to attend the wedding.

Therefore, he decided to pray for her tonight at the place where he celebrated his last day as a free man.

That was how he found himself face to face with Mriga who was drunk and looked scary.

To his dismay, the grip of the boy was strong on his arm, which he could not get rid of despite repeated attempts.

"Yes God! Can you stop crying? My ears have started to bleed," he scolded Mriga, trying to make himself heard amidst the frenzy he made.

Mriga suddenly stopped and looked at him with unfocused eyes.

"Why are you scolding me? Everyone keeps scolding me. No one loves me. No one prayed for me on my birthday. Not even ONE person. Wh why? Why doesn't anyone do that? I was very sad.." with that, he started sobbing again, but this time gently.

Vidyut looked around them and then muttered in disdain, "How can a guardian let such a small child drink? By the way, where's the guardian?"

All this time, he was sitting crouching on the table holding onto his sleeves.

"Who did you come with? What's yourname?" Vidyut tried to talk to her while pulling her down from the table.

But Mriga has made her zone out. During the two hours of playback, there was a romantic song that continued to play as background music at regular intervals. It might fit him because he started singing it now.

His voice was not good to begin with and the loud cries made him sound worse.

"For a strong boy, your voice is too feminine" Vidyut commented viciously, while still trying to pull him down or at least take his sleeve off his grip.

Mriga stopped singing halfway to look at him with accusatory eyes.

"I'm not a strong BOY," he pouted but the meaning was lost in Vidyut.

He became even more annoyed with his failure to break away from this drunkard. With no other choice, he hooked his free arm to the boy's leg and lifted him into his arms.

As soon as she picked it up, Mriga took off her sleeves and stuck to her neck.

He was shocked by Mriga's weight. Thank goodness she had calmed down and she tried to lower it slowly just to clutch her neck hard.

"No no no no. Take me home. I'm tired now. I don't want to walk anymore" he said in a whining tone.

"Arghhhhhhhh, how can I make the situation worse for myself?" Vidyut looked towards the sky in despair.

He considered asking the people around for help but hesitated the next minute.

As a practitioner of medicine, it is her duty to help others and not run away from the situation, no matter how annoying it may be.

The boy was clearly a minor, most likely no older than his sister. Since his guardian is invisible, he should be the one in charge here.

Sighing, he adjusted the now sleepy boy in his arms to make it more comfortable for the two of them before stepping out.

Thankfully, the carriage was right outside. The wagon puller was surprised to see him carrying a half-conscious boy in his arms, but he was used to Vidyut gathering all kinds of wild animals, humans and animals.

"Take us to the nearest tea shop" Vidyut orders before climbing up and pushing Mriga down beside him.

In the process of trying to take his hand off his shoulder, he accidentally dropped his nearly slanted turban.

Abundant fine hair fell down, framing his face. Instantly, he thought back to the uncomfortable feeling he had experienced when he suppressed him earlier.

It was his curves that sent messages to his body.

Vidyut almost squealed in shock. This is not young LAD!!

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

Returning to the drinking establishment, one of the customers went and complained to the owner of the place about a man sleeping on the bathroom floor and blocking everyone's way.

Trying to calm himself down, Vidyut thanks his stars for bringing the girl instead of leaving her among strangers.

Although still within the boundaries of Central zilla, the highway connecting Chandragarh with the border of neighboring countries is quite close.

There are enough b*j*ngan, male and female, on these streets to make delinquency unruly, making it unsafe for a young girl, especially a drunk one.

Mriga opened his eyes and saw the scene blurfully through one of the open covers of the horse carriage.

His head rested on his shoulder and he still hummed the dreadful song slowly, but somehow Vidyut did not find it as annoying as before.

They reach their destination and Vidyut drags her along with him, while trying to keep a suitable distance between them. He propped it up from his shoulder and pulled it towards the well located a few meters away from the tea shop.

Making him sit on the ground, he drew water from the well and poured it on his head like a waterfall. Mriga flinched due to the shock of the cold water power.

The mudpack from his face was washed and slid into his clothes. Her hair was plastered around her cheeks, making her look like a drenched kitten.

Under the moonlight, his face was clearly visible to Vidyut who was bent over to look at him, intently. He winked tears from her eyes and gave her a smile of thanks.

Without charcoal or mud blocking his appearance, Vidyut finds himself enchanted by the innocent girl's charm.

"He looked like a three-year-old who liked to play in the mud. No other reason to land with so much on himself before coming to the restaurant? And why is he dressed like a man?" He wondered but did not say the question out loud.

He nodded his head but grimaced in pain the next second. His head began to throb severely.

"Come, let's fix it. First, I want you to take this bag. There's a pair of clothes. The size may be too large but at least clean and dry. There's a bathroom behind that tree. Replace and exit. We'll cure your headache, then. Understood?" He asked her in a pampered tone.

Mriga did not reply but took a bag of clothes from him and got up cautiously. Walking towards the tree he pointed at, he stopped and turned around.

"Thank you for the help" he said politely and with it he walked back.

He smirked at the polite version of the girl. It was very different from his rude behavior a while ago.

Whistling softly, he went to the owner of the teahouse and asked for a thick tea without milk and a little lemon in it. He sat on one of the wooden chairs placed there for the customers.

At this hour, no one around him was a good thing in his opinion. He did not want too many eyes peering around the girl.

Her heart was pounding, Mriga slid to the floor and rested her trembling legs inside the bathroom.

How did he land here? Where's she? Who's the guy?

Gathering his wits, he got up with great difficulty and quickly stepped out of the drenched clothes and put on the clothes given by that good soul.

He had no time to think or figure out the previous events.

His current goal was to find a way back to the inn otherwise Shaurya would KILL him.

Thankfully it was still dark and there was a chance he had not returned to that place. Tying her wet hair with a piece of cloth, she quietly peeked outside and walked onto the path across the tea shop.

He had already begun to regain consciousness by the time he got off the horse carriage. The roar from the bucket of water had cleared his mind completely. He had controlled his panic and shock in front of that person because he wanted to leave without making any worries or telling him.

Praying for him to run in the right direction, he did not look back even once.

The cold air helped clear his throbbing head. Eventually, he became wary of his surroundings and started looking for a famous place.

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

"I have a request. Please don't misunderstand me. Can you check if there's a girl in the restroom? He is temanki. She wasn't feeling well when she came in so I just wanted to see if she was okay," Vidyut persuaded the woman who was looking at her with suspicious eyes.

Unfortunately, she was the only woman around at the moment. After waiting for about twenty minutes, he became anxious and stood outside the bathroom, pondering whether he should enter or not.

It was then that this woman found him standing there and looking at him with an evil look.

He came back in a few seconds and shook his head negatively.

"No one's inside. Piles of dirty clothes were stored in the corner. Now stop lurking around here. I need to use the equipment," he said firmly.

Vidyut returned to the tea shop and paid for the cold tea. Taking his things, he walked towards his waiting carriage.

'I hope he's okay, ' he thought agitatedly, before returning to the cottage where he lived with his family.

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

The dawn had dawned when the exhausted and dehydrated Mriga made it back to the inn. After walking on the path that was originally taken for over half an hour, he realized that it was the wrong path.

He went through several wrong paths before finally identifying a landmark from the previous day. Struggling to stay awake, he sent a prayer of gratitude as the dilapidated building came into view.

He staggers in through the creaking door only to fall into Shaurya's waiting arms.

"Where have you been?" His voice was completely different from his usual cold voice, but Mriga's tired mind was too far away to notice it.

The worried lines damaged her forehead as she lifted it up and gently laid it on the uncomfortable cot.

His eyes were closed and his face was deathly pale. Placing his palm on his forehead, he found it burning. Why is her hair wet?

Her clothes…

"Can you hear me? Then, just nod your head a little," he said gently as he crouched down beside her.

"Water, I need water" he said.

Shaurya had returned half an hour ago and spent the entire time looking for her in a panic.

He had run next to the stream of water if he was there. He had shouted his name standing on the porch thinking that he might have wandered off to somewhere nearby.

Now, he'll be out to look for her when she comes in, that too without Devvrat.

Pouring water into the cup from the surah*, he tucked his hand under the back of his head to lift it up a little and help him drink.

Mriga greedily sipped regardless of the water dripping into her mouth. Even though it was already dark while he was on the road, his throat felt dry from alcohol and fear.

His head felt as if the slightest movement would cause it to break into millions of pieces. He tried to open his eyes but felt very heavy.

Thankfully, a cold hand gently pressed down on her eyelids and a whisper asked her to sleep.

Shaurya wet the cloth with water and placed it on his head continuously. There was an acute sense of unease flowing through him at this moment.

It's ALL HIS FAULT!

He should not entrust his safety to an incompetent stranger, and that too in a foreign environment. But the lure of getting spies to defect from other countries is too strong.

By the time he finished grilling the defector and handed it over to the Suraksha Chakra team, it was already almost dawn.

He had traveled back nonstop even for a small break due to the inexplicable restlessness in his heart.

That uneasiness had turned into a mind-numbing worry during the thirty minutes he spent waiting for him when he returned.

Upon learning that she was missing, she refrained from immediately looking for her because she had absolutely no idea where to go!

His head did not appear to be too hot now compared to fifteen minutes ago. Waking up from a crouching position, he let his gaze criticize Mrignayani more than once. Apart from the changing clothes that seemed to belong to a man, he looked unharmed.

Touching the arm of the kurta he was wearing, he frowned at that soft and expensive looking material. This can't be Devvrat's outfit. Also, it doesn't rain at night so why is her hair wet?

Clenching his jaw, he said to himself to get a grip. As long as he returns unscathed, everything is fine. There would be enough time for him to ask her about the details.

Yeah, he needs to calm down so he doesn't accidentally kill her because it worries him.

Mriga's mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton inside. He squinted against the harsh sunlight that pierced his eyes through the window in front of the cot where he lay.

He sat down slowly with a groan and looked around. The place was empty and it was a relief. He knew that when he woke up and fell asleep, he had seen ferocious-looking Shaurya peering at him.

His heart was pounding on the bandage that was waiting for him.

Sitting on a rough cot, he raised his hands above his head and stretched his aching muscles.

"I must have walked far enough to run two marathons" he thought sadly.

The door creaked open and his heart sank. He hurriedly stood up. Shit, he did not imagine a black pout on his face!

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry to worry you, "he preceded his scolding and started talking with his head bowed.

Without answering, he passed by and placed a water-filled surah on a rickety bench that stood in the corner across the room.

Turning around, he asked in a soft voice, "What happened last night after you left with Devvrat? I want every detail. DON'T you dare leave anything behind."

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

*Sherbet - A cooling drink made from fruit juice

*Mead - An alcoholic drink made from fermented honey

*Surahi - A ground pan with narrow openings, used to store drinking water.