Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XXXII

Ishani doesn't want to lie to Mriga but also doesn't want any misunderstandings just before they leave for a long vacation.

"Huh? Oh, you're talking about Vandit. No, we're not fighting. Why should I fight with him? Waita minute! What is it trying to imply?" Ishani glared at her friend.

He belatedly understood the intent behind Mriga's casual statement.

Mriga raised her hand in surrender and replied, "I didn't mean anything. That's an innocent question. It's just that you frowned when I saw you. A little familiar with Vandit, I think his attitude was too calm for him to think about after doing anything to deserve that frown. And knowing you for the last few years, I'm fully aware that you can be a little, umm. That's all."

Mriga retreated as she said these words, but she added speed when she saw her friend chasing after her with a frown on her face.

"You dare to say evil things about your best friend!!! So, between him and me, he's the one with a better personality? I didn't expect you would betray me so quickly and move to another stronghold," Ishani gasped for breath and said so after she caught up with Mriga.

Arriving at the bed in the dormitory, the girls plopped down on Ishani's bed. The girls continued their conversation in a slow tone as most of the people around them were sleeping.

"So, how's the walk? Did the cold weather pierce through the warm aura of the person walking next to you?" Mriga asked her friend, mischievously.

Ishani rolled her eyes looking at her friend's changed face.

"Aren't you asking the opposite? The question should be whether the person is warm enough to conquer the cold around us" Ishani explained with exaggerated patience.

Seeing her friend pondering her words, Ishani smiled. Not long ago, Mriga was a shy person and often accepted Ishani's taunts.

Thinking of that, Ishani recalled the incident a while ago. He was not the type to hold things inside for long periods, especially from his best friend and his next words confirmed that.

"Umm, Mriga, that's not to overreact but just now when Vandit and I came back from the streets, I saw Yash entering Gurukul. He's, uh. he's not alone. The arrogant girl from the quiz contest was also with him. They were dressed as if they were coming from a celebration or something. I don't want to face him in front of Vandit. But don't worry. We'll question him tomorrow morning, "he said all this in a hasty whisper.

Mriga tensed up after hearing the words from her friend's mouth. Ever since the girl spoke to demean him in the Admin department, she felt uneasy.

This was why he was looking for Yash tonight, to ask and clarify the matter. There must be something wrong. He could feel it in his bones.

Knowing that she will not be able to sleep after this, she gets out of bed and tells Ishani that she wants to run away.

"At this hour? Wait, I'll come with you" Ishani told him.

Shaking his head, he said that he was just agitated and needed some time alone.

"By the way, you won't be able to follow in my footsteps," Mriga said those words with a forced smile.

Ishani can see his friend's wounds but doesn't want to show them. So, he stuck his tongue out at Mriga's words and let her go.

Although the capital city area is surrounded by all the plains and does not receive snow, the weather tends to be quite cold during the winter. This is the reason why the school has been closed for a long time.

It was late autumn and the air felt sharp, making Mriga shiver a little. Cupping her hands in front of her lips, she rubbed them before doing some stretching.

As a senior student, it was not forbidden for him to leave the dorm after late at night, but he had to inform the head of the dormitory about the same goal and reason.

After filling out the necessary forms, he headed to the desolate and almost pitch-black land used by the Admin team, exclusively.

He knew the path around here well and after a few minutes, his eyes could see the contours of the place with the help of the dim moonlight.

Starting off slowly, he ran until his heartbeat got used to his speed and then he increased his speed, running barefoot on the smooth ground. By the time he stopped to catch his breath again, three-quarters of an hour had passed.

Finally, his mind was empty enough not to think of Yash and the girl, at least until the next morning. He was considering whether to retreat or push himself a little more when he heard the sound of footsteps.

Someone's here at this hour!

Thankfully, he was leaning against the bark and hidden from anyone who was here. Wondering whether to give curiosity and peek or wait for things to unfold at their speed, he didn't even realize when his training started automatically.

He looked around and found a broken tree branch. It does not count as a weapon but can be used as a distraction tool to gain instantaneous profit.

Even though he was inside the Gurukul premise and nothing untoward could happen here, there was nothing untoward, he remained shrinking deeper within the shadows of the tree and tried to catch his breath while waiting for footsteps to approach.

He tried to distinguish the man's steps with the sound of his steps but failed. Suddenly, a huge shadow swung right beside him, making him shout without a sound.

He stared at the unblinking eyes in a terrifying horror. His arm had raised by itself and he lowered it to poke a branch in the person's eyes.

"Ouch. Wh who? Why…?" with those obscure words, the shadow fell to the ground with a loud voice.

Mriga looked at the fallen figure in amazement. It must be a man. Could it be that the blow from the tree branch made someone faint?

"Wait, doesn't that sound familiar?" He bowed carefully and nudged the prone body.

But there was no reaction. Carrying his finger next to his nostrils, he felt a breath. Relieved that he was still alive, he moved closer to look at that person's face and gasped!!!

"S... Shaurya ??? Good Lord! Oh no!" In an acute panic, he realized that the person he had slashed down with the seemingly deadly branch was none other than his mentor.

Wait, why is he here at this hour? Didn't he say goodbye to her that night himself? And why did he faint?

Telling himself to think rationally, he grabbed his shoulder and shook it forcefully but there was no reaction from the tip. He knew that he could not possibly be in this state because of his attack.

Running her hands all over her body, she tried to find out if there was anything wrong with her. He had helped his father as a child several times while caring for birds and small animals in this way. But he could not find any fractures or injuries on him.

Thinking hard, he tucked his arm under his neck and tried to make him sit up but he swayed on his arm making him almost fall as well.

There was no way he could drag her to the pharmacy but he felt he could carry her at least until the Admin building which was located several meters away.

Shaurya's body was limp and heavy. Mriga snorted as she half-carrying, half-dragging him on her back for that short distance.

Arriving at the entrance, he was disappointed to see it closed. Somewhere behind his head, he always thought that someone would always be there.

He is not wrong in his thinking but the one who comes and replaces Saraswati every night is none other than Shaurya. This is the place where he sleeps every night when he's not out for a mission.

In addition to the official entrance through Gurukul, there is another entrance to the Admin department which comes from the back end of the land where Mriga is currently running.

While the journey from the main entrance of Gurukul to the market takes about half an hour, this end of Gurukul is only fifteen minutes away, due to the change in direction.

Although he was not as proficient as Chiranjeev and Nirbhay in key picking skills, he hoped to succeed here as this was one that he had trained many times during training.

After a few minutes, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had managed to open the door without having to break into it and had even managed to drag Shaurya in without getting him hurt further.

Although he had yet to find any obvious wounds on his body, his body felt cold to the touch and his lips appeared colorless under the light of the lamp.

Biting her lips doubtfully, she tried to raise her head with a stack of books before running out the door to get help.

On the way to the pharmacy, he did not meet anyone who could help. He banged on the door of the pharmacy where the man lived.

The old man came out and squinted at him with sleepy eyes while he tried to explain the situation as best he could, coherently. He went inside to pick up his bag and asked him to lead the way.

Urging resident Vaidya to hurry, he takes her to Shaurya and runs out again, this time, towards the boys dormitory.

He knew that he needed help but he also remembered that he had to be careful. Running up the dormitory stairs, he walked into the room charging and knocked.

"I'm sorry to bother you at this hour, but I've received bad news from home and I have to talk to my fiance immediately" she lied.

The teacher frowned and looked at him for a moment. Perhaps the tension on his face convinced him of the sincerity of his request. He called the infantry soldier and asked him to pick up the student he requested.

"Ap... what? She?" rubbing his eyes, Abhirath sat on the bed confused.

"Yes. He's downstairs waiting for you. Come quickly," the soldier left before he could tell him that something had gone wrong.

Confused, he remained obedient and soon descended and was surprised to see Mriga in such an unruly predicament.

"Are you okay? What's up?" he held his own hand and asked urgently.

She shook her head and told him, "I just received bad news from home. Can you come out with me for a second?"

Abhirath did not wait to see his teacher. He lowered his head towards her and led Mriga out of the door.

Stopping at the stairs, he looked up and down and asked, "What's up?"

He dragged her by the hand and said, "I'll tell you everything on the way. Come with me now. No time to waste."

Abhirath's heart was pounding at the sight of his current state. It was as if he was fighting. If his girlfriend had tried…

"That's Shaurya. I left him there with Vaidya. I don't know who else to turn to. He doesn't look good. I don't know how to reach one of the Gurujis," he gasped for air as he recounted the incident.

Abhirath does not slow down his pace but part of him relaxes indefinitely knowing that there is nothing wrong with Mriga.

"Don't worry. You did the right thing," he assured her when they reached the Admin building in no time.

Mriga was surprised to see no sign of Shaurya in the reception area. He left her with the old doctor here. Vaidya was sitting with a confused expression on her face.

"Oh! You two again" he exclaimed, seeing Abhirath enter with Mriga.

He may be thinking about the time Mriga brought Abhirath to him after a sports match. Mriga lowered her head to apologize and said, "I am very sorry to have left you alone here with the patient, but I have gone to call for reinforcements. I'm really sorry. How's Sh... How's that guy doing now?"

The man clenched his tobacco-stained teeth and replied with slight disdain, "If you stay, I suspect you will be a hindrance rather than a favor. I can't stand people who faint at the first sight of vomit or blood. "

Mriga's body was goosebumps over the unjust and unwarranted accusations, but Abhirath's touch on his lower arm made him hold back his words. The man had long been a Gurukul medical practitioner.

"We're very grateful for your help at this hour. How is our senior now? Uh, where is she?" Abhirath asked politely.

Looking from one to the other, Vaidya suddenly grinned and said, "Seeing you two seem to know him, it's safe to assume that you're the latest part of the network. Where did you find him, isn't that what matters, is it? now it? Well, he won't die any time soon even though he may experience pain and high fever until the residual effects of the poison remain in his body. I've drained the infected blood as much as I can without letting him into danger. He's in his room. Had I done the treatment here, that annoying girl would have made my life like hell for soiling the floor. Even though the way he looked after her at the moment was not the cleanest. I can't imagine that she's my daughter! Not cut from the same cloth, him and me."

Abhirath and Mriga were dizzy with the many revelations thrown into their faces now by the man, just like that.

"His room? Shaurya has a room here?"

"Poisons? He's been poisoned?"

"Wait, so that means Saraswati is Vaidya's daughter?"

"Vaidya is part of Suraksha's chakra?"

The two of them stared at each other while these questions swirled in their heads.

"Why are you still standing here? There's a bloody mess in Shaurya's room right now. Do I have to spell it out to you to clean it up? In the meantime, I'm gonna wake my daughter up. He knows how to contact Prithvi," he explained the instructions.

"That's it, we don't know where exactly the senior room is," Abhirath said shyly.

"Oh! Not yet given a tour of the facility? No need to feel so bad. You guys might still be in the first year of the internship. Follow me," he replied and rose with a grunt.

Mriga's head staggered under the influence of information flowing towards him. But he remained silent, following Abhirath's example. Taking the torch lit in their hands, they entered the room where Prithvi usually interacted with them.

Vaidya walks to the back end of the room which usually remains dark even in the morning. The area had several shelves containing overflowing dusty books and several cobwebs as well.

Approaching the torch to the ground, the man pressed the lever and the ground gaped open. Mriga and Abhirath jumped back in surprise and then smiled weakly at each other.

Peering down, they saw a small gap and platform underneath. Stepping carefully behind the old man, they landed on the dusty floor and suddenly the man disappeared.

"Well! Where's she?" Mriga's voice echoed in the dark room.

"Are you sure that you have been chosen to be trained as spies? Your ability has failed to impress me to this day. Perhaps Prithvi is not as sharp as he used to be," Vaidya's voice drifted from somewhere below.

Peering down with concentration, they found a narrow staircase on one side of the platform, heading downwards. Abhirath and Mriga descended quickly and reached the large hall.

The place was bright enough to cause Mriga's view to point upward in confusion. Why doesn't the light shine on the dark area above?