Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XXII

Turning around, Shaurya 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."

Mriga swallowed the empty air nervously. His cold attitude was a hundred times worse than his lecture or shout. He looked distant and terrifying.

Her bladder felt like it was going to rupture in a moment, but she did not dare to ask him to let her go to the restroom now.

Strengthening his spine, he began to recount the events of the previous night chronologically with monotony.

Without taking a breath in the middle, he finished his narrative, except for the parts he could not remember or that would definitely get him hung by it.

"So, let me get this straight. You told me that you drank a barrel of alcohol, jumped on a stranger's wagon, allowed him to give you a bath, put on his clothes and then wandered down the street like a crazy woman for a few days, a few hours. Have I concluded it correctly?"

His voice contained mistrust and overflowing anger.

Mriga wanted to argue that she twisted her words to sound so horrible, but she realized that she needed to think about this intelligently.

It is important to live another day, even if one has to agree with the twisted version of the master rather than die defending the true story of events. So he just stood there with his head down.

"I don't believe this. And here I think you have a knack for being a good spy. You don't even know where your own head and tail are.." he continued.

It's getting harder for Mriga to defend against nature's call. He was now standing with his legs crossed. Shit, didn't he scold her enough.

"Uh, Shaurya, I'm sorry to interrupt but can I go and pee now? You can continue your nagging once I get back," the urgency finally made him cautious.

Without waiting for his answer, he ran as fast as his shaky legs carried him.

Shaurya stopped in the middle of the sentence and looked at him in wonder as he came out. Shaking his head at his behavior, he could not stop the now familiar smile pulling the corners of his lips.

Despite the possibility of what went wrong, Shaurya feels greatly relieved when Mriga recounts her adventures from the night before. To be fair, it's not the fault of drinking alcohol.

He had asked her to follow the senior. Devvrat should have known better! But he needed to instill fear in her otherwise he would take it as encouragement and go a few steps forward the next time.

Thank goodness the stranger was a good person who eventually helped him. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened had he fallen into the wrong hands after being heavily drunk.

And that was one of the main reasons why he was so rude to her now.

"This girl is a little!" he muttered and wiped the trace of a smile from his face.

He didn't want her to know that he wasn't as angry at her as he had imagined.

After he returned to the cottage, he did not say anything more to her except to pack whatever small items he had and make the room look exactly like the moment they arrived.

Half an hour later, they started returning to Gurukul.

"Uh, um, I was wondering if you were planning to tell Guruji about what happened last night. I mean, you've been scolding me. err, already explained to me about my mistake. So maybe he or someone else doesn't need to." knew about the incident last night," Mriga spoke in a persuasive manner to Shaurya, hoping he would agree.

"really? So, you want me to lie and cover up your mistakes?" He asked her with raised eyebrows.

"No, no, no! I mean, you don't have to say anything. That's all.." his voice shrank due to his severe expression.

"Very tight, can't even make me a little slack. What a terrible way to start my first day as a fifteen year old!" he thought glumly of himself.

On the other hand, Shaurya muttered to himself, "Even if I consider not telling Guruji about it, he most likely already knows the exact details."

He still remembered the scolding he received from Prithvi when he changed the Mrignayani training module.

He said out loud, "Maybe you haven't noticed it yet. Today is school day and you haven't reported back to the head of the dorm. Do you think the Admin department doesn't know something's wrong?"

Mriga's face paled. It didn't happen to him.

It was as if these past thirty hours were an unreal dream.

"I've never touched a drop of any liquid but water in my life again. That bloody alcohol seemed to have turned my senses into dust. It gave the mother of all the headaches, not to mention the verbal punch I had sustained for the past hour and most likely, would continue once I reached Gurukul," she swore viciously.

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

The same afternoon, Gurukul Library

With a month left for the exam, the atmosphere in Gurukul became serious.

The students have started to prepare detailed reports on their experiences and learning during internships that have become an important part of their daily lives over the past few months.

Alongside this dissertation, they must also study for written and oral exams which are usually held at the end of each semester.

Mriga has been an intelligent student throughout the life of her students, but due to her diverse interests in many fields, she has never been one of the top three in the class.

To his surprise, his parents preferred his report card to display a healthy balance in all areas rather than excel in just one area. As a result, she paid enough attention to her studies but did not get to the point of having a nervous breakdown like the one that happened to Ishani, at this time.

Mriga accompanied her best friend to the library to study. He managed to escape Prithvi's scolding this afternoon as everyone was preoccupied with a few spies who had been captured by the team.

In fact, she had only met Saraswati at the Admin building when she reported back this afternoon.

By the time Shaurya lowered him at the Gurukul gate, his ears started bleeding after a barrage of reprimands from him.

After explaining the series of events from the previous day, she was surprised that all Saraswati did was to remark silently that the mistake was as much as Shaurya's.

He even went ahead to say that the department should thank him for his efforts, so everything negative was canceled.

Mriga could not understand his final statement but dared not ask him. He was just happy to be free of punishment. Moreover, she was given a free night because Prithvi was not in Gurukul.

Little did she know that Saraswati was referring to her efforts in helping them catch spies and that Shaurya had spoken kind words to her the night before when she brought the man to be kept under Ramanujam's care.

So it seems that he will not be scolded or punished further from Guruji.

Thanking the stars, he thought of the next problem. He needs to bring himself back to Yash's good graces and has no first clue as to how to do it.

Sitting in a crowded library, Mriga has trouble focusing on her book. It was because Ishani kept biting her nails and fidgeting beside her.

"Can you stop him? You are not prepared for war. Why are you always nervous? You're an intelligent student, you should be the last one to worry," he tried to calm her down.

"Haa... What do you know about the pressure of maintaining one's position? My ambitious parents who may never be the first in any competition, have a very long wish list of mine. You should see the look on their faces if my grades dip a little in a semester. It felt like someone had died in the house back then," he shuddered to remember.

Mriga patted his back in sympathy. He had seen his friend under pressure during the exam enough to believe his words. Old man!

Sighing he did not argue any further and went back to solving the problem:-

Geometry is his favorite topic of all. He always enjoyed solving math problems but ever since he started his training with Prithvi at night, his logical reasoning has gotten stronger. As a result, he happily prepared for the math exam that night.

After a while, Mriga felt a stabbing sensation at the back of his neck. Turning around, he looked around but found no one there.

An hour passed and Ishani had finished chewing the nails from her hands and started cutting the cuticles now.

Recalling the 4am schedule, Mriga closed her book and told her friend that she would be back.

His friend gave him a nod and went back to work on his frightening-looking equation.

It was quite a walk from the library to the princess dormitory but the road was filled with many students who were back and forth.

The enterprising tea seller has placed himself at the Gurukul location in anticipation of the increase in demand over the years. By the time he reached the dormitory, there was hardly anyone around. At this hour, not many lights were lit in the area either.

Engaged in his thoughts, Mriga did not realize that something was wrong until it was too late. A hand covered her mouth from behind and dragged her beside a tree adjacent to her dormitory.

His first impression was that the person was taller and stronger than him.

He thrashed for a moment and then let his body limp, weighing down on the perpetrator. He placed his own hand on top of the hand in his mouth and twisted the person's fingers with all his might, as well as digging his teeth into the soft flesh of his palm.

"Aww...are you crazy?" He released his grip on his mouth and howled in pain, quietly.

He was shocked to hear the voice and twisted his neck to look at the person.

"What are you doing here? Why are you dragging me? I could've hurt you, idiot," his his hiss returned, his body adrenaline-pumping.

"You really hurt me. I think one of my fingers was smashed to pieces," his grunts beside his ear, pain etched on his face.

Mriga shook her head vigorously and replied, "It's impossible. I didn't hear a broken bone."

Yash walked away and stood in front of him. His face showed an expression of disbelief.

"Do you have to be so literal all the time?" he finally complained.

"Are you not happy that I am well equipped to handle my salvation? Would you rather let the perpetrator arrest me and drag me into a dark corner?" he asked, the joy of victory sounded in his words.

Yash hit his head with his other hand.

He's desperate.

"What am I going to do with you???"

Before he could answer his rhetorical question, he took out something from his pocket and placed it on his palm.

Pulling her close to him, she brought her mouth closer to his ear, and whispered,

"Happy birthday, Mrigaku. It was supposed to be a special day and I'm so upset with you for not spending it with me. Now, you'll have to spend all that's left with me to make up for this one."

She was grateful that there was not enough light for her to see her red face at this moment. Tongue tied, he pulled the rope from the box and opened the lid.

A delicate chain with a heart-shaped red stone pendant winked at him.

"That's lovely. I. I like it. Thank you very much" he said shyly.

It was the first gift he gave her and she could hear her heart pounding inside like a caged bird.

"sorry. I can only afford this with my apprentice salary this time around. I promise to give you a better gift for your sixteenth birthday, maybe something yellow," he said in a hoarse voice, referring to the gold bracelet that could be offered as a means of application.

He felt tears welling up in his eyes. He was truly an amazing man for not holding a grudge or waiting for him to come and apologize to her for his absence or the cancellation of his date.

"It's perfect. I'm not going to trade it for the biggest gem in the whole world" her voice trembled with emotion.

Giving up on the impulse, he stretched his toes and hugged her tightly. Yash became stiff as his soft body pressed down on his body. Gathering him in his arms, he moved closer. With him wrapped in his arms, he turned around so that his back was leaning on the tree trunk now.

He did not want his skin to be stared at by the bark of the tree. Branches surrounded him, making him feel like a cocoon, hidden from everyone's eyes. He could feel her warm breath on his neck.

It was an innocent hug but his body thought of it as a crazy change. He couldn't help himself and bit his collarbone.

Mriga almost jumped in shock but she held it firmly and placed a finger on her lips. He could hear his shallow breathing now or was it his?

"It's moving too fast. I won't be able to hold back like this. And THIS is not the place to lose control.." He punishes himself.

Releasing her finger, she dropped a quick but hard kiss on her lips. He could hear his sharp breathing. His senses protested for not being given the chance to taste the taste and texture of his mouth, but he did not succumb to temptation.

He raised his hand to push her away from him to keep some distance between them but ended up bringing his head down his chin and holding her there.

As if he couldn't help it. He feels bewitched. Carrying her maiden in the shadow of a fragrant tree under the moonlight, was dazzling, intoxicating!

She muttered in her hair, "I've wanted to say these words to you since last semester but only now have I managed to find courage. I don't know if you've known this or not but I lost my heart to you a long time ago. I hope you will accept it and give it space next to you. Mriga, I like you, really."

Still recovering from that hot open-mouthed kiss, Mriga felt as drunk as the night before. He wanted to jump up and shout from above his lungs.

His proximity caused havoc throughout his body.

He gently pushed her to put some distance between them so she wouldn't do something crazy like ask her to kiss him again or maybe bite him to see how it felt.

While he was immersed in his hot thoughts, Yash started pounding as he did not say a word in response to his whispered confession.

Unable to wait any longer, he lifted his chin with his trembling fingers and stared at him sharply, trying to gauge his reaction in the darkness.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" he asked with a doubtful smile after a while.

His lungs had just started functioning again after seeing the embarrassed expression on his face.

"Uh, yes, I. you, I mean us. No, my point is.." he couldn't force himself to say those words out loud.

Yash laughed softly and put his forehead on his forehead.

"Let me interpret that sentence in my head. Does that mean you like me too?" he teases.

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

*Questions can be resolved using the Pythagorean Theorem. On right triangle, Square Baseboard + Quadrate Height \= Quadrate Slanted Side.