Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XXVI

Putting aside his work, Prithvi sat down to look at the process with interest. The kids looked confident. Just then, one of the participating boys started crying.

Taking a closer look, Prithvi realized that his bowstring had broken. He sees Mriga and Abhirath having a quick discussion and then sees Mriga gathering the other children to gather for a while.

Sitting there, he could only guess what was going on. The children nodded their heads and carried the crying boy to their cage. Running to talk to the referee, Mriga and Abhirath had a discussion with him.

Within ten minutes, the game restarts where the children, instead of firing their arrows at the same time across different target boards, wait in line. One child at a time goes and shoots an arrow and gives a bow to the next person.

Since this way would take longer to complete, they also brought in ten-year-olds and made them compete in the same way, a little further, to compensate for the time.

Prithvi smiled and made a mental note about adding quick thinking and negotiation quality to Mriga's note sheet.

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

Get off the ground

The archery was finally over and Mriga turned to look towards Abhirath with a big smile.

"We succeeded. You brilliant. I won't be able to convince the referee if you don't calm me down and support me. He is known to be very obedient to the rules," he said with gratitude evident in his words.

Abhirath patted his shoulder and said,

"That's all about you. It's not a big deal anyway."

He gave her another smile and said, "Alright. See you for a second. Did you participate in any board games today?"

He nodded and replied, "I am playing a cruel game of Chausar that will be held tomorrow. Today, I'll sign up for the quiz. How's yours?"

His eyes were wrinkled due to his flaunting style of speech, but this time he sounded like a normal man who was bragging instead of being arrogant **.

“I will take part in a chess tournament as well as a quiz,” he replied.

Abhirath's eyes sparkled and he spoke what flashed through his mind without thinking, "Uh, do you want to join the quiz?"

Mriga thought for a moment before saying, "Sure, I like it. But I already have two teammates. There's room for you but if you have other people you want to follow, please go ahead and make a team with them."

Abhirath frowned, wondering about the other players on his team. He could guess who the other two were, but the night before, he had sworn not to be in the shadows anymore.

He told her that he would join as a fourth member.

Yash is part of the running team and like Abhirath and Mriga, he is in charge of the junior ward.

Running is the last category of games before the first day of Junior Sports ends. He walked over to where Mriga was packing his bow and arrow.

"I heard there was a problem during the archery competition," he asked with raised eyebrows.

He shook his head proudly and said, "With me, can there be a problem? Whatever it is, I'm finishing it."

Yash smirked at his arrogant gaze and teased him, "Aren't you feeling too confident lately? Maybe your boyfriend is too pampering and spoiling you."

He looked at her with crossed eyes and stuck out his tongue. In retaliation, he pulled his braid.

"Can you stop this behavior? Have you forgotten that this is school hours and there are impressionable young people around you? What will they learn from their mentors?" Ishani's scornful voice made them instantly split up.

"He did…"

"He is the only ..."

The two tried to give justification for their actions but Ishani raised her hand and said,

"Do you two seem to convince me? Just control the antics of this friendly pigeon in front of others. If there is nothing else, have mercy on my virgin heart that has not found anyone who resembles her mate."

Mriga rolled her eyes at her friend's play while the embarrassed Yash rushed out from there.

"Are you done with your job?" Mriga asked him.

Ishani is part of the scoring team and is very persistent in taking decisions in closely contested matches.

He carries a measuring stick where he compares the last scuff marks from the contestants' shoes to judge the winner among them.

"Yes, they all seem to be amazed at me. Some of them want me to teach them how to look for footprints made on the ground and measure them" he told Mriga in a cheerful tone.

An announcement was made that all teams and their mentors should gather in the middle of the field.

Mriga hands her bag to Ishani and goes looking for her team. When he got there, Abhirath was already standing with the children.

"What is all this about?" he asked her.

He shrugged in return and turned to listen to the gym teacher.

"There will be a friendly match making the human pyramid. All who compete in a particular sport against each other, will now work with each other as a team. So the whole archery group will be one team, so will the trajectory. The team will be assisted by seniors who have acted as their mentors during the meeting" the sports teacher stepped off the podium after the announcement.

"Yes God! Does that mean we should participate as well?" Mriga asked Abhirath.

Abhirath frowned in concentration and nodded in confusion.

"But I don't know how to help this one," he lowered his voice and told her as the children of the archery team started to gather around her and Abhirath formed a semicircle.

He patted her on the arm and told her to follow his instructions. Surveying the group, he began identifying children who would stand at the bottom of the line and who would rise to the top.

Counting the number of children, he formed a rough idea of how tall the pyramids could be.

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

In the corner of the Track team

Unbeknownst to Mriga, Vindhya once mentored an athletic team with Yash. Although his skills were horseback riding and sword fighting, none of them were included in sports matches for juniors.

But Vindhya wanted to show her superior athletic skills and therefore offered to 'help' in the Running team.

During training and meetings, she remained attached to her group of children and never forced herself even on Yash.

After the first few polite interactions, he looked relaxed as he looked at his casual attitude towards his presence.

Patience is a virtue and he knows it very well. For the past two weeks, she has not interacted or engaged in any conversation with Yash beyond the minimum.

But now an unexpected turn of events has given her the chance to assume the role of the perfect girl in distress. The human pyramid is now his favorite game!

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

Archery team

He shook his head and said, "Don't think too much about it. I want you to stand in the second row to level the numbers. More importantly, I am strong enough to withstand your weight. All you need to do is focus on keeping your shoulders relaxed and in one position to keep the one above you steady. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

He compressed his lips hard to stop himself from protesting further. The shout from the podium signified that the time had begun for them to start the formation. The best pyramids will be judged based on their height and time of detention.

For example, if two pyramids have the same height, which stands longer, it will automatically win. If the pyramid has different heights, the same weight will be attached to the height and time to calculate the final score.

It had been five seconds since Mriga was standing on Abhirath's shoulder and a little girl was standing on his shoulder. He could feel sweat droplets slipping from his back in that seemingly long time. But fortunately he felt they were quite stable and might be able to last longer.

He suddenly heard a loud shout from a far corner but did not even dare to roll his eyeballs to look in that direction. Eight seconds had passed and he could hear the children above silent and concentrate on their breathing as Abhirath had taught them all.

"He is an amazing teacher," an unexpected thought suddenly appeared in his mind.

Now he regretted having refused his help on the first day when he tried to give hints on the form of his archer. Maybe he'll ask her when they're done meeting.

"Aaaaccchhhhhhooooo.." One of the children above sneezed.

And they all fell down. Mriga screamed in horror as she watched the entire row collapse on it. There was nothing he could do but wait for them to bring him down together.

With his eyes closed and a loud shout, he also fell down and was immediately hit by someone's burden.

Reinforcing himself from the pain, he curled up into a ball but realized after a while that he was not injured even though the children fell.

Raising his head to the side, he saw that he was trapped under Abhirath who had protected his body with his own body and held the weight of the children falling on his back.

There was an acute pain etched on his face that prompted him to act. He rolled over from under her and tried to help her get up.

He shook his head, grimaced in pain and pointed towards the crying children. Reluctantly, he left her sitting on the ground and went to calm down and organize the frightened-looking children.

He delegated the task of bringing injured children to medical facilities, to unharmed children along with some older children who had come to help. After they left, she rushed back to Abhirath and helped him wake up.

Tuck his arm under his shoulder. He tried to help her walk but staggered because of her weight.

"Let me help you," Vandit ran towards them.

He gave her a smile of thanks while Abhirath just snorted in pain. Mriga felt very guilty. He knew that he was deeply wounded because he did not move from his position and took the burden off the children who fell on his behalf.

Reaching the overflowing medical dispensary, he went to seek help. Vandit had Abhirath sit on the veranda outside the medical room and pat Abhirath on the shoulder enthusiastically.

Seeing his friend grimacing in pain, he said, "Sorry, I'm so sorry. I forgot your wounds for a moment. It's because I got carried away by your heroic act of saving your girl. I'm in the right place to watch what you do for her. I didn't know that you were a knight in armor!"

Despite the excruciating pain in his back, Abhirath smiled at the words of his friend. As long as she lived, she would never be able to forget the moment when she hugged Mriga so close.

In that case, he felt no pain. All he could feel was his warmth, his smell, and his racing pulse on his ribs where his arms rested. Right at that moment, Mriga ran out with Vaidya*.

The old man checked Abhirath in the foyer itself as there were no beds available in it.

He took out a terrifying-looking potion from his pouch hanging on his waist after a while.

"You're a strong boy. I have no time to destroy this and give it to you with honey. Just put it in your mouth and chew for ten seconds and then sip with water. You're gonna be a little sick. Over the next few days but otherwise no damage lasted long. Avoid physical exercise for an entire week," with which he handed the potion to Mriga and re-entered.

Vandit went to look for water to drink while Mriga carefully handed the medicine to him.

"Just close your eyes and count to twenty in your head while chewing this. Concentrate on the count and not the taste in your mouth. It'll be over before you know it" he said, trying to cheer her up.

Abhirath took the potion from him but held his hand as he stuffed the foul-smelling object into his mouth. Tightening his grip on his fingers, he swallowed the bitter object with his eyes closed.

Vandit, who had returned with the mug in his hand, stopped his steps on the tableau in front of him and then slowly retreated. Obviously his friend doesn't need water!

"Guruji, maybe we shouldn't be doing this task. So many children were injured," the sports teacher spoke to Prithvi who was observing the scene with a poker face.

"After every competition, we need to make the participants leave the competitive anxiety and unite. What better way to do it than to take care of each other?" he answered with his usual attitude.

"I'm going back to the Admin building. Please send someone to let me know when the chess competition is starting" he ordered the man.

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

An hour later

Mriga was standing at the entrance of the hall where the event for the seniors would begin. Yash has disappeared after the human pyramid game and he hasn't seen him since. Abhirath felt better and had joined to register for the quiz but now they were short of one more person.

"Mriga, they asked all the participants to gather near the podium. Any sign of Yash?" Ishani runs out, to tell him the same.

Mriga bit her lips and shook her head negatively.

"It's okay. He must have had a reason to be late. Maybe he helped treat the injuries of his team-mates. We have to go in and register now, otherwise we will not be allowed to participate," Ishani comforted him.

Mriga wants to go look for him but that means leaving his team-mates unfair to them. While upholding her shoulders, she returns to the hall with Ishani where they meet Vandit.

"Hey, I heard you were looking for someone to join your quiz team" he told Mriga.

He would say no to her but then answer, "Yes, right. Do you have anyone interested in this last minute?"

Vandit smirked at him and pointed towards himself. Mriga looked at him with fear. He liked it but had no idea how good he was with his knowledge of Chandragarh's geography, history and current affairs.

Ishani nudged him and asked, "Is he an expert in history? That's one of the areas that Yash is powering."

Before Mriga could tell him to shut up, Vandit greeted him, "Don't worry. I'm a walking encyclopedia of knowledge for the last hundred years about our beloved kingdom."

While looking at her doubtfully, Ishani lowered her voice further and told Mriga that they should go with her even though she did not know as much as she claimed. Something better than nothing!

Upset with Yash for not showing up, Mriga looks once again at the entrance of the hall before asking Vandit to join them. Everyone went to register their names in the competition. They barely made it to the counter to enter their names before closing.

"I will go and prepare for my chess competition which will take place in the next fifteen minutes. I'll meet you at this place after that" Mriga told the two of them along with Abhirath.

"Okay, we'll come and support you from the audience. Chausarku competition tomorrow," Abhirath said with a smile.

The three of them prayed their luck for the competition and went to take a seat in the front row of the room where the competition was supposed to take place.

Abhirath has always been happy to see Mriga participate in outdoor sports, but never in a game where he has to rely on his mental abilities more than any other attribute. He was really looking forward to seeing the same thing.

Mriga entered the room where all the participating players were asked to gather before the match.

"Alright, listen. Today, we are going to play a variation of the traditional chess game. Listen to the rules carefully. You can seek clarification at this time. No questions will be entertained once the game starts," the referee starts talking once every participant has gathered around him.

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

*Vaidya - Practitioners of medicine who follow Ayurveda