Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XLIII

Northern Zilla

"Okay, then I'm leaving. See you," said Mriga and hurried away.

Shaurya frowned at his sudden reply. Did he say something that upset him?

Instead of going home, he found his legs turning towards the hill where the police station was located.

Bela is told that her daughter is here to visit and she wakes up to see her standing outside the station.

"Have you come rolling up the hill?" he asked, observing the muddy appearance of his daughter.

It took Mriga a second to realize what his mother was talking about. He had completely forgotten about his fall on the muddy ground and the effect!

Shaking his head, he said, "It's nothing. I slipped on the ground before coming here. Are you too busy right now?"

Bela pointed out that they were sitting on a wooden bench that was kept on the right side of the building.

"Sit in the sun for a moment. Your clothes are not only dirty but also wet. You'll catch a cold this way. Let Mama wrap some of the stuff I'm handling. Wait for mama here," she gently rebuked.

Mriga intends to talk to her mother since she returned from Gurukul, but there is no right time for the same. With that in mind, she waited until her mother returned to where she had left her.

"So, what do you want to tell me that can't wait until tonight," his mother began without further ado.

Mriga grinned at his words and pouted.

"It's hard to stay in our house these days. Shaurya barely sleeps and is in and around the house at unusual hours. The rest, his father and grunts filled the place. Where is the time for peaceful conversation?" he replied, tongue-in-cheek.

Bela reminded him, "If you don't want to slip in front of your father or anyone else, you should call him Veer and not Shaurya for now."

Then he sighed, "You're right. Your father has turned into a grumpy boy. That reminded me. Mama has received a letter from your school. The Admin Department wants you to concentrate on your areas of improvement and they will send me a detailed letter about the same. So, let's make a plan. We'll ask Veer to join in as well. That'll keep him productively engaged."

Mriga nodded her head enthusiastically, recalling her words a while ago.

"It was from my side. Now it's your turn" he looked at Mriga.

Mriga took a deep breath before beginning to recount everything that had happened between him and Yash over the past few weeks.

After he finished, he peered into his mother's face to gauge her reaction but nothing could be found. Bela looked up at the sky with a calm expression and seemed to be thinking of something.

Unbeknownst to Mriga, Bela's hands were clenched tightly, hidden beneath the surface of the table. He took the time to control his emotions before he said anything.

"Mom thinks you're doing the right thing by cutting ties with him. As for the past, mama believes that mistakes make us stronger. So learn from it and move on. You know this will take time but you can use the anxiety you feel and channel it into something positive. If nothing else, consider it a test of your ability to box things up. That is one of the most needed qualities in a good spy" he said, in a neutral tone.

Mriga did not know what kind of reaction she expected from her mother, but seeing her calm down, her own anxiety lessened a little. To be honest, she was happy that Shaurya accompanied her home. His presence and the consequences of the same thing have held back his heart turmoil over these past few days.

But after listening to her mother, she realized that it was not far from the end of the world for her because her emotions had made her feel and she definitely had other things to look forward to.

"Oh, Ma. I forgot to tell my mom. I've been asked to intern at East Zilla during the break. I have to leave in a few weeks. Did someone from the Admin department contact mama for permission? ?" she asked.

Bela was still thinking of an ingenious way to complicate the Southern zilla boy's life. Although he had given his daughter 'gyan* to go ahead and focus on other things, he himself could not forgive or leave her free from punishment at all.

"Ma, did you hear what I said?"

Mriga squinted her eyes against the sunlight and tried to figure out her mother's facial expression.

Why is his mother out of the zone?

"Mmmm. Yeah, somebody did. Mama will help you prepare" Bela said after a moment of silence.

"Okay, I thought mom was busy with something. See you at home, tonight," said Mriga and got up from the bench.

Bela also got up and said, "Mama wants you to go to the barn room after helping your father with the afternoon duties. Get all the sports equipment out of there and smear it properly. Also, prepare both chess devices, metal and wood. Mama's gonna bring the other stuff when I get home."

In confusion, Mriga asked, "Are we preparing for a competition? And why two chess sets?"

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

Northern Zilla

"Uh .. I thought you wanted mama to help you prepare for the Eastern zilla assignment. Also, mama wants to test your senior. Since you have praised her as high as the sky, mama wants to see with my own eyes, how good is she. If nothing else, it will help us escape from your father's grouse," Bela winked at her daughter.

"Maa, what a naughty mama," said Mriga, laughing and saying goodbye to her mother.

Bela went back inside the station and asked the assistant to arrange some items for her.

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

That afternoon

Mriga and his father went to a nearby market to buy some supplies. Despite his offer to accompany them, Raghu completely refused to take Shaurya with him.

As a result, Bela found him polishing bows and arrows as well as other items Mriga had brought from the store and stored in the yard. He looked at her and went to collect the heavy bags she was carrying.

After she asked, she told him about the whereabouts of the father-daughter.

"Give me a few minutes to freshen up. Until then, take things out of the bag and start stacking them next to the wall. We'll set it up later," he ordered and went to the community bathing area.

Shaurya was surprised to see a thick stack of papers and various boxes he brought out and set as directed.

There seems to be a lot of reading material there. Is it for Mrignayani or him or for himself?

"I wanted to talk to you about a few things and now seems like a good time. Let me show you some of the hidden treasures of the Northern zilla," he said and began to walk forward.

Shaurya's heart started pounding uncomfortably. Will he be told that his services are no longer needed by the state. Living here for the past few days, he at least realized that Belavati was not just an ordinary police station.

There is more to him than meets the eye and the first prize is that he has been assigned to him.

Also, according to the rules of the Admin department, the only applications received are children whose parents were at least one of the Cakra Suraksha team or personally selected by the department, as in his case.

In Mriga's case, he was willing to risk his life that Raghu was not even aware of the existence of something like this, forget about being a part of it. She had an expression on her face, just like her daughter.

Now, Bela is a different case altogether. If he puts his money on something, he'll probably say that he's the one handling the agent's exit. Maybe that's why they sent him here.

With such gloomy thoughts, he followed her without saying anything towards one of the steep hills shrouded in darkness under the falling twilight.

By the time they reached the peak, both of them were sweating despite the temperature dropping.

"I'm sure you have your own theories about me and about the conversations that we're here to have. I want you to forget the first one and concentrate hard on the last one because your future life depends on it" he began without further ado.

Shaurya remained silent, waiting for him to continue the conversation.

Shaurya's first reaction was acute relief. He hasn't been called in to be shown the exit yet, at least not yet.

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

South Zilla

"Where is Yash?" Ujjwala asked the maid as soon as she entered the house.

"He was with his father in the entertainment room," replied politely again.

Handing over his bag and shawl to the waiter, he headed to the room. A letter from Vindhya's parents had been waiting for her at her office desk when she returned.

He had communicated with them from his workplace instead of receiving and sending correspondence from home. At this point, she would rather intervene a little from her husband. Therefore, the less he knew the better.

"Oh! You're back," Harshvardhan stood upright from the table where he bowed playing chausar with his son.

His less enthusiastic response was not noted by Ujjwala as he headed straight for his son.

"Yash, mama needs to talk to you, right away. Can you follow me to my room?" he instructed rather than asking.

"Umm, I think we need to talk first" her husband said slowly.

Ujjwala did not pay much attention to his attitude and ignored his words carelessly.

"We can wait. I'm having a hard time right now" he replied, not even looking at it.

Yash sees a calm storm appear on his father's face and tries to speak but his father defeats him.

"I didn't ask your permission," he stood up straight and said in a raised voice.

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

South Zilla

For the first time since entering the room, Ujjwala looked at her husband's face and saw a frown ruining his face.

Noticing his unusually severe expression, he sat down in one of the chairs and said with an ****** long, long,

"Sure, please."

Harshvardhan had absorbed the nuances of his expression change in the past few minutes. He was well aware that his wife did not uphold him, but ever since he joined the royal committee, he began to look at her with true scorn.

Despite his shortcomings, he always loved his wife and it was partly a result of his excessive indulgence that his wife became arrogant to this extent.

Taking a deep breath, Yash waited for his father's reaction. He could feel the atmosphere filling. This was the first time he had seen his father go into confrontational mode.

"I'm sure you owe me an explanation of the whole episode with Vasudev and his daughter" he began.

Ujjwala felt his mouth open in surprise. Of all things, he did not expect that he would want to talk about this with her.

He turned to look at his son who turned his gaze away in guilt.

"Nothing to explain. I think Sayakua has been telling you about it for a long time. Since you didn't show much enthusiasm back then, I decided not to bother you with the details. I assume that you have been updated by us about the current status of the situation, so there is no need for me to repeat, right, "he said arrogantly.

In fact, he was a little worried about her reaction but he did not dare to express his thoughts in front of any of them.

"Following your thoughts, will I bother to tell you about my son's engagement before you make it happen?" he asked in a cynical tone.

Ujjwala was shocked to see her husband's face. It was not like his usual behavior to actively seek confrontation. He needed to change his tactics before this turned into something more serious.

He sighed and said, "It seems that you are against this association. I'm not sure which family in this country doesn't want to see their eligible son marry a future queen except me. Tell me what's bad in what I imagine for our son? He's a smart kid and I wish him all the best."

"Who decides what's best for me, huh? I'm sure you're aware that in accordance with the marriage laws, no one but the groom and the bride are legally allowed to make this decision," Yash couldn't hold it any longer.

Ujjwala frowned hearing his tone and words. The father and son behaved in ways that were foreign to their true nature.

He raised his hand in surrender and said in an annoyed tone, "I think you're an adult. Citing the law to talk to your mother ..."

He continued in the same soft but disappointed voice,

"Maybe I was in a hurry to meet you with Vindhya, out of excitement. That's why Vindhya should spend quality time with you here over the coming weeks. The two of us can decide whether it fits together or not."

Yash shook his head negatively before he even finished speaking.

"I don't need him to come here for me to know that he's not the right person for me" he replied in a stern tone.

Ujjwala raised a helpless look towards Harshvardhan and said in a sad tone, saying,

"I had promised her parents that Yash would help her prepare for the upcoming competition. How can I deny my words?"

Harshvardhan replied coldly, "You should have thought of that when you decided to make a plan without consulting him or me."

He looked at them both. They must be feeling very proud of themselves at the moment, but Ujjwala allowed himself a small smile. He hasn't even warmed up. He was a tactician and the two men in front of him were no match for him.

"I understand and admit my mistakes. But are you going to make me lose face in front of an outsider because of this? Just let the girl come here and spend a few days. If the two of you still don't think that she is the right girl for this household, I promise I will send her back alone and never raise this matter again," her eyes began to tear up.

Yash heaved a sigh of relief when he heard his mother say that. Everything was going better than he expected. He glanced at his father who nodded silently. Yash approached his mother and squatted down in front of her.

"Okay ma, we'll listen to you. I will help Vindhya to the best of my ability. But then mom had to call off the engagement" she said.

Ujjwala shook his head in agreement and some tears flowed from his cheeks due to the action. Yash's heart ached upon seeing the sight and wiped his face gently.

"The chef has prepared your favorite dish. Dad and I are waiting for you to come back. Should we go and have dinner now?" he asked with a smile.

Ujjwala hid the triumphant smile and instead gave him a trembling smile.

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

Northern Zilla

"YES!" These were the first words Shaurya spoke as soon as Bela returned with the plant in her palm.

The answer did not surprise him. He had expected that this would be his reaction, but he still wanted to give him time to sort out his thoughts. He did not return his words and instead handed over the herbs to him.

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

*Gyan - sermons or knowledge, especially spiritual.