Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

LIV

Northern Border, Chandragarh

Thankfully, Shaurya doesn't have to be dizzy thinking of a way out. Due to the information received from his teacher, he knew a way that could test his determination to the fullest but did not require him to perform superhuman tasks.

Unbeknownst to Sapsindhu and most of Chandragarh, a handful of Suraksha Chakra spies have been using hidden routes for years.

Although the mountains were located at a height, there was a hot spring at the base of one of the hills. The existence of a surprising hot spring and the curiosity behind its science has led to the discovery of a large crack at the base of the hot spring where the water bubbles along with a mysterious foul smelling gas.

There was a wide enough gap caused by heat for the intrepid explorers to sneak under it which led to another surprising discovery. Due to this phenomenon, small cave-like structures have formed under the mountain.

The cave was small and filled with water but only had enough space for a person to take his face out of the water and breathe before diving back in.

After swimming in the foul-smelling hot water for a few minutes, one reached the end of an open cave under a very cold freezing river but on the side of Saptsindhu. Due to the existence of this river, the cave openings remained obscured for many years.

The cave is shaped like a mother's womb where Chandragarh's side is elevated and wide where the person slips in and out of a much smaller hole. But if someone tries and enters through the side

Saptsindhu, it seems to be an almost impossible task, as in the case of natural birth where the baby's head appears much larger than the hole***** mother.

Due to the constant presence of gas and heat, the cave was very slippery and smooth. Soon after these springs were discovered and reported, Suraksha Chakra team had taken over and spread rumors of extremely high temperatures at the base of the springs, causing severe burns to a person. It is also said that the gas is poisonous and has caused the death of people who swim.

It is rumored to be deadly if accidentally a spoonful goes into someone's mouth. All this was done to keep the place a secret and they seemed to have succeeded in doing so.

Even soldiers were not allowed to venture inside it due to its dangerous consequences. There were only minimal patrols conducted around the area for the same reason.

When Bela gave him the coordinates of this cave, she told him to start practicing holding his breath for as long as possible. Although this mysterious gas is not deadly, it causes stinging pain in the eyes, and nostrils as well as excessive exposure cause severe diarrhea as well.

Shaurya did not look forward to the experience and deliberately made his stomach light, enduring with dried fruits for the past half day.

As dusk fell that day, he came down from the tree and stared at his homeland for the last time before walking towards the direction of his intended destination.

Although the mountains were vast, Bela had given him enough information to reach the right area. After that, it is not a big task to find the hot springs.

There is only one of its kind here.

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

An hour later

"I can't breathe" Shaurya thought to himself.

Knowing that he would be exposed to a strong pungent smell and inhale it, were two very different concepts and he was undergoing torment now. It was pitch dark and he had entered the water a few minutes ago. Forget swimming to the bottom, he could not smell it even while keeping his face away from the water.

Struggling to remain calm, he took a deep breath but there was suddenly a commotion nearby.

"Hey, who's there?" someone was staring at him from the edge of the spring.

The filth! He's running out of time. Without wasting a single nanosecond, Shaurya dived inward and began to move towards the bottom of the spring. Due to retreating hastily, the pungent smell had been replaced by the fear of being discovered.

Thankfully the water level was not too deep and he immediately touched the base. Holding her precious breath, Shaurya started fumbling around the mountain wall where the opening should have been.

It may be a minute but it starts to feel longer. Shaurya managed to hold his breath on the North Zilla river for three minutes consistently over the past week. But right now, it felt like he would not even last for half of that time.

His fingers slipped onto a smooth surface. Perhaps due to the temperature of the water or due to gas, the floor and walls around the springs become slippery, almost soft to the touch.

"I can't afford failure at this level, I can't!" he kept repeating the spell and suddenly his palm caught the tip.

Pulling himself to that corner urgently, he moved his fingers across the hole. It didn't seem big enough to take him in but he was completely out of time. Eyes closed against the stinging water, he lowered his head and dived inside.

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

Underwater

The S-shaped narrow space brought Shaurya in and he felt his body forming around the contours of the cave. There was enough room for his limbs to enter. He wasted no time swimming to the surface.

Carrying his face out, he opened his mouth to swallow a short breath. It smells like rotten eggs here, and it smells so strong, enough to make someone vomit but he doesn't care. He continued to breathe air until he felt his oxygen-deprived mind begin to function again.

It was pitch dark inside the cave and he had no intention of staying any longer. Taking another deep breath, he dived back into the water and started looking for an exit that would take him to the other side.

He had been told to prepare to stay inside the cave for a few minutes, but it didn't take him more than a few seconds to slide out of the smooth, scaly cave.

Before he could stop his momentum, it threw him into even bigger waters.

Brm!

From very hot water to very cold. His body was shocked but his mind was overjoyed. He's succeeding. He turned around to feel the opening with his hand but could not place it.

The exit mouth is covered with tap-shaped stone that keeps the entrance well hidden. He shook his head at the wonders of nature before swimming to the surface.

Shaurya raised his head carefully just as high as his eyes to check if it was safe to swim to the river bank. He has arrived in Sapsindhu!

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

"Something news?" Prithvi and his network of parallel spies gathered at the same place where he interrogated the businessman a few weeks ago.

There were leaders of pickers and cloth sweepers, bosses of all drinking establishments, and pimps who went in and out of most of the major brothels in the capital Chandragarh.

"We've checked as much as we can, but no one recognizes or remembers them being here in the last few months" they said.

They were referring to two sketches that Prithvi had copied, from his memory and shared with his network.

"So, you mean to say that none of these people are drinking, or visiting the girls or walking the streets, he said, basically you mean to say that they never came to the capital, right?" prithvi said, his eyebrows fused together in displeasure.

He did not mean to doubt the efficiency of his people, but it was hard to believe that there was a conspiracy against Chandragarh and these key players had never been to the capital until now. Of course, it is possible that they chose to stay away or not be recognized based on the sketches.

But he's getting frustrated. He needs to know what the enemy's plan is. Otherwise, how else would he have embarked on a counter mission? Something tells him that the clock is ticking.

After entrepreneurs, there are a few more cases where people are arrested as enemy agents and act on their orders. But these people also knew little except their direct command which meant nothing, like the poor people of East Zilla.

It was clear to him that they were used blatantly but the greater purpose was unclear.

As if, everyone was being prepared for something, but WHAT?

He rubbed his long hair in frustration and dispersed the meeting.

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

Vayuprastas

"Excellent, really charming. You're hired," the king praised the young performer, while the musician bowed deeply in front of him.

King Shaligram is a connoisseur of all the good things in life, whether it be music, art, love, food, or ****. He invests heavily in finding new talent from across the country and hires them to perform in different places, keeping in mind the tastes of visitors.

His country's economy depends heavily on tourism and he takes his role as a host very seriously.

Just then, a beautiful maid came over and whispered something in her ear, making her smile even wider.

"Bring them with all the attention reserved for the head of state. Place them in KamalMahal*. I'll be there any minute" he ordered.

The waiter bowed and left.

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

Half an hour later

King Shaligram steps into the beautiful suite casually, but is stopped when he sees his guest full of dust, and dressed in rags.

The couple had apparently not even bathed in recent days, seeing the smell in the room and the condition of their limbs. She expected the king's daughter Sapsindhu not to be at her best, but this was a little beyond her imagination.

Before he could form the right words to call her, Kritika spoke up. Even though his mouth was not washed, the sound that came out carried the right arrogance and culture.

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

Vayuprastas

“Greetings to King Vayuprastha! Thank you for agreeing to meet me without prior notice. As you can see, I haven't managed to make myself worthy of performing before coming here and I hope you can ignore this offense given what I'm about to offer," he started with confidence, looking straight into his eyes.

The king looked from her to her husband, who was standing still in the corner. A handsome man for sure, he was sturdy like most Sapsindhu men. But that's all.

According to rumors, he was a lowly male escort who had caught the princess' attention and became the root cause of the princess's dispute with her family.

For someone to cause such trouble, there should be some outstanding qualities about him. Too bad!

Waving his hand, King Shaligram put aside his apology and hinted that they should all sit down. He was too business-minded to let a hasty impression or rumor affect his judgment.

"I listened, Princess Kritika," she said with a smile.

He nodded and gestured to Abhimanyu who had not sat down until now. He went forward and placed the large, dirty cloth bag on the middle table before moving backwards.

"Oh, I almost forgot to make an introduction. This is Abhimanyu, my bodyguard" he said.

King Shaligram's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he looked at her questioningly. Kritika looked tired and let out a small sigh before speaking.

"Before I tell you anything about the past, let's discuss our present and our future" he began.

"I'm here to seek asylum from you and would like to apply for a permanent residence permit in Vayuprastha for myself and the guards. I'd also like to get permission to set up my own entertainment business, whose profits I'll share with you in percentages to be negotiated by us at a later stage. If you agree to my terms, then as my token of gratitude, I will offer you this jewelry worth almost 1/5 of your country's total net worth, "his words and tone were the real thing.

King Shaligram, known for keeping a straight face in all circumstances, felt his mouth open after a series of explosive revelations.

However, before he could formulate a response, he continued as if he was discussing the menu for the next meal to be served.

"Of course, you are welcome to tell these stones but in front of me," he leaned back in his chair, indicating the end of his side of the conversation.

While he waited for the king's response, Kritika's thoughts recalled the madness of the past two years.

Despite her appearance as a brainless ninny, Kritika is always stubborn and knows how to get things done.

As she gets older, she realizes that in order to get what she wants, she must behave like the perfect daughter and the useless daughter her father wants. But she knew that she did not want a comfortable marriage with anyone.

To avoid a near-determined fate, she devises a crazy plan to pretend to be in love with her male escort in order to avoid scrutiny on the bigger issue. He slowly smuggled his jewelry to different people during the first few months.

The entire past year was spent collecting those gems from those places and now that his fortune had returned to his hands, he had arrived at his destination.

Of course, Abhimanyu was a loyal guard and he intended to compensate him greatly, perhaps even giving him a share of the profits in the new business if the King agreed to it.

"So, what's your decision, King Shaligram?" ask her with a racing heart.

Shaligram smiled, showed his wine-stained teeth and said,

"Welcome to your home country. I look forward to a fruitful association."

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

Saptindhu

Shaurya had set his time to enter enemy territory at night so that the black clothes he was wearing could help him remain undetected.

Stepping out of the water, carefully, she untied the cloth from her waist and wrapped it around her face, leaving her eyes open. Almost choking on his wet and smelly mask, he crouched low and walked to the ground, taking refuge behind the thick trunk of an evergreen tree located there.

A cold wind blew, making him shiver on his soaked clothes. But he was unable to stop or run away. The person he was going to contact was still miles away. Until then, he was completely alone.

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

Himprayag

"Can you stop pacing around? Not only did it carve curves on the floor but it also made me dizzy," Gayatri lamented to Ahilya.

Ever since the last one returned from visiting his father, he was nervous. She knew that proving her superiority over her brother was no easy task. Mithilesh was able to bend to the lowest level as long as it supported his goal.

Officers announced the arrival of the queen at the time.

Gayatri and Ahilya turned to look at each other in wonder. Nayantara devi never had time for her daughter under ordinary circumstances. Therefore, his visit was not something to look forward to.

The girls immediately switched places. Gayatri went and stood up straight while Ahilya sat down in haste, just in time.

Although the relationship between two people of the same sex is not a problem, the queen wants her daughter to make a favorable association that means an increase in wealth or status, that was impossible for a poor military general, Gayatri.

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

*Sitar – Plucked stringed instrument, originated from the Indian subcontinent

*Raag Bageshree - Bageshri is a classic Hindustani body. It is a popular late-night raga, meant to depict the emotions of a woman waiting to be reunited with her lover.

*KamalMahal – A palace with a lotus design or facing a lotus pond.