Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

LV

Himprayag

“Mama, this is a surprise,” Ahilya said lazily, without bothering to stand up and greet her mother.

No one knew the true age of Nayantara devi and it was hard to guess seeing her smooth skin and plump figure. It is said that her beauty still inspires poets to write poems.

Had her father, the chieftain, tried harder, she could have married a larger royal prince but came from a small tribe, she was very happy to have the future king of Himprayag as her son-in-law.

The wrinkle stained the woman's face as she looked at her mischievous daughter lying on a wide chair without any elegance.

"Leave us alone" he told Gayatri. Ahilya was about to protest but with Gayatri's calm attitude, she remained silent.

After she left, Nayantara turned to look at her daughter with disdain.

"Is it your plan to usurp the throne from the concubine's son?" he almost growled.

Ahilya laughed joylessly as she got up from the chair and came face to face with her mother.

"I should have known! So, are you here to give me a tip on how to conquer the kingdom? Maybe by sleeping with the enemy?" he asked cynically.

"Huh, if I thought it was possible to seduce the boy into submission, I would have done it a long time ago. After all, now was not the time to exchange thorns for each other. I went to the king and asked him to tell me a sure way for you to win this contest," he said with a sniff.

"What?? Who asked you to do that? How dare you beg on my behalf?" Ahilya was very angry and embarrassed by her mother's actions.

In his eyes, his mother was the most shameless person alive. Regardless of what she said about seducing Mithilesh, how could she lose face in front of her father like this?

Nayantara turned her beautiful gray eyes towards her daughter and said, "Therein lies your biggest problem. Unfounded and unnecessary ego problems. What's problem? You should know that I only think of your best interests. If I understood the boy correctly, he would have asked your father about it, and without a doubt."

Ahilya sat back with a thud. He was completely fed up with the behavior of those around him. Why can't everyone play fair?

Gayatri often reprimands him for living in a dream-filled world.

"So, the only condition for you to win this is - do something profitable for your country, something big. Now if it was me, I would go and get an influential marriage under my chest with one of the useless blonde-haired princes from one of the small kingdoms, to our north. They don't have too much money, but they have land and resources that we can use to strengthen our country. Target located across the Hima river. I know a little about them and can help. That would be perfect" Nayantara explained his strategy.

Ahilya refused to be hurt by her mother's words.

"Mama, I thank you for doing everything you have until now for me. But I think I can do it myself. I'd suggest you go back to your mom's room. It's time for kesar* and milk bath, isn't it?" he said in a neutral voice.

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

East Zilla, Chandragarh

The training for the five of them intensified and Ramanujam showed no mercy to anyone. After rigorous classes during the day, including physical exercises and lectures, they were subjected to out of the box exercises at night. Tonight, is no exception and they have special visitors joining them tonight.

A black vulture perched on a nearby tree branch and stared at them with his beaded eyes.

"Somewhere in this forest, there's a dead animal. One of you has to find it before your friends find it. Vultures are here to guide you, only if you know how to follow or track them. Understood?" without actually waiting for them to answer, he gritted his teeth, making the vulture suddenly fly away.

The five of them rushed over to make a crazy run behind the rapidly disappearing birds.

"Damn! How can I find a black bird in the middle of the night? Maybe Guruji thinks we have bat-like night vision in our eyes" Vandit grumbled softly.

Mriga, who several times saw her mother holding her eagle, tried to concentrate and identify the sounds of the vultures hissing and grunting.

If he's not mistaken, he's flying at a low altitude. For sure it had been trained by Guruji and in that case, all he needed to do was recognize and follow his voice.

He almost hit Chiranjeev who was standing in the middle of his path with his eyes closed. He seems to have the same idea as his.

The filth! He must hurry. This was the one time where he had a fair chance to win the contest. Abhirath was born and raised in the capital and he hopes that he may not have as much experience with birds as the zilla-bred children.

Seeing Nirbhay and Vandit flapping like headless chickens, the real contender is Chiranjeev.

The good thing about staying close to Shaurya is that he becomes adept at climbing trees at lightning speed. He found a tall one and rode it, nimble like a monkey.

Yep!

He's correct.

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

East Zilla

It must be a trained bird. The vulture sat alight on one of the branches of several trees in front, as if waiting to be followed. Mriga became excited and started to come down but then a thought came to her mind.

Should he be brave?

Smiling, he looked back and said to himself that life is boring with no adventure in it. Mriga stood cautiously on top of the tree whose shoots swayed gently in the wind.

He gripped her with both hands tightly and checked her strength before leaving a secure branch and hanging on the rough, sturdy treetops. Swinging his body to gain momentum, he went to a nearby tree and oops!

Trying again, he finally managed to grab a thick tree branch and swung himself.

Sensing that movement, the vulture twisted its neck. It felt as if it was staring right at him at that moment. He winked at the bird, as if asking him to continue while he followed.

The vulture hissed and flew, only to land a few trees away. Mriga was surprised how easy it was to follow his movements as long as he remained on the tree.

Ensuring that he did not lose his footing and his neck was broken, he followed the bird as it carried him to a deeper and denser part of the forest. If one were to ask him about the direction he was taking at the moment, he would get lost as his entire energy was focused only on the bird and its movements.

He can smell it. That stench was very strong now. Mriga came down from the tree and started following his nose.

There! A dead deer was lying under one of the trees. From the looks of it, it was quite old. The vulture was now flying very low and circling around the beast, making a sound of a savage. Mriga looked at him and lowered her head gently before whispering,

"Thank you for helping me."

Just then, Chiranjeev reached the place in a hasty step. He looked surprised and disappointed to see Mriga was already there.

"Great work!" He said before turning around.

Mriga ran after him and asked, "How did you get here?"

He smiled and replied, "I'll share if you do too."

He grinned and nodded his head.

"The naivety has a certain way of communication and although I didn't know it well, I followed the voice he made but it was still too late" he said humbly.

Mriga looked at him, impressed. One more thing to learn.

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

Saptindhu

Indeed, it was a duty to avoid some guards near the mountain, but night protection had helped. He walked on, relying on the map he had memorized in Bela's house. He came from the North where there was almost no security thanks to the steep mountains.

Instead of going to the nearby town there, he instead walked towards the port receiving traffic from the West zilla of Chandragarh to Sapsindhu. He made sure that he wandered around the area long enough before finally reaching a place that had been identified as a meeting point.

Her clothes had long since dried up, leaving only the smell around them. Thankfully, due to his sweat and dusty roads, his smell was no different to the various other travelers who were there. He sat down and ordered a large serving of rice and vegetables along with a bottle of ale.

"I saw that you didn't lose your appetite after losing your job" a voice mocked him as he finished a glass of ale down his throat.

Turning around and waking up, Shaurya bowed to the one who spoke. Ratansingh, a few years senior and his spy colleague, has been stationed at Sapsindhu for the past few years. Even though he had not been at home all this time, the spy network was powerful enough to spread information.

"How are you, senior? Saptsindhu air seems like it suits you," Shaurya said with a grin as they sat down.

"It is still arrogant after being caught by the enemy. Shameless!" Ratansingh said lazily.

"So, how did you get here and more importantly, why are you here?" She asked.

"I came with one of the ships from West Zilla. And I'm here to SHOP" Shaurya said casually.

Water gushed out from Ratansingh's mouth and he looked at the man in front of him in shock. Lowering his voice, he looked around if his actions had attracted attention.

"Are you crazy? Why do you think like that? Aren't you .. haven't you always been loyal to the country?" he whispered.

Shaurya shrugged and replied, "I used to and I gave everything. But what did the state do in return? Throw me out at the first possible opportunity? Am I the first or the last agent whose cover is revealed? So, what if my identity is found? You're going to throw me away like a useless fruit skin now that I'm not needed? How comfortable! I'm not even twenty yet. I have no skills other than how to be a spy. Do I stand in line every month and take an unemployed person's allowance from the queen?"

Ratansingh's eyes become speculative when he hears Shaurya coming out.

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

Saptindhu

"What if I tell you to be a double agent? I mean.." Shaurya's negative head shake cut off Ratansingh's proposal before he could even finish it.

"I'm really done with Chandragarh. There's a girl I like. But her father married her to a rich, chatty boy. It was the day I swore to myself that I would become richer and stronger than the man and leave in front of him, one day. I thought that being on the fast track in Suraksha Chakra would help me get there. But it seems like it's not possible anymore. They have offered me an early position in the army in one of the obscure places. How dare they think that I will go to the outskirts of God with very little and start from scratch? Is my value only this big?" his eyes breathed out flames on the last sentence.

"So, what's your plan?" Ratansingh asked calmly.

Shaurya smiled bitterly and replied, "I think Sapsindhu's spy network will be very interested in getting the information I have regarding Cakra Suraksha's recruitment team. Other than me, and the other three people, no one else has this knowledge. How much do you think such insight is worth?"

Ratansingh was silent for a while before she said, "I wonder why you told me about your plans so openly. Didn't you consider the possibility that I would kill you and feed you fish even to think about the betrayal against you?" Chandragarh?"

Shaurya leaned back in his chair and replied with a small smile on his thin lips, "Did you also consider me a fool? If I didn't know your tendencies and preferences, why would I approach you?"

Ratansingh looked at him in fear.

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

Midnight, North Zilla

"Is it safe to come here? Could it be that this was not communicated through the usual means?" Bela asked calmly.

They stood under a tree at the base of the hill where they first met. There was concern in Bela's voice. At this point of the mission, they should not be seen together.

"I just want to go. Failure constantly undermines trust. I need a distraction but you're right and I'm sorry" Prithvi said grimly.

He did not bother to hide his emotions or failures in front of his seniors. After working under him and observing him, he knew that he would be the last person to judge him for his mistake.

"You sound tired" he said, neither acknowledging nor responding to his words.

"He has arrived safely, as per my report," said Prithvi.

"I'll wait to hear from him in person rather than trusting a third-person account. Also, more than its range, passing this stage is very important. It would all depend on whether he managed to convince them or not" he said in a deliberately emotionless voice.

Although he was pounding because of the smallest detail of his mission, he did not want to show it in front of Prithvi who seemed to be in the grip of another, larger demon.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

He will say no when he stops. After a pause, he began to tell slowly about the details of everything that had happened at ground level and his inability to see the real picture in the situation.

Until now, he had only spoken about the plan specifically and the details about it with Bela as it had to do with what he needed from his help.

But now it seemed like he was looking for his guidance to understand the jumble he caught.

Bela listened to him without interrupting. His eyes were closed and he was leaning against the thick tree trunk. Even after Prithvi stopped talking, he remained in that position.

Then suddenly, he said, "Let's go."

Surprised by his words, he wondered what he meant but he never gave him a chance and started walking at a quick pace.

Not fond of making a sound, Prithvi follows him from a distance and soon realizes that they are heading to the 'training hill'.

Why would he want to go there now?

Although the place was dark, Bela knew the entrance quite well. Prithvi's night vision rivals that of a cat and he follows her inside easily, without the help of lights or lanterns. As soon as he reached the second level hill, Bela finally turned on a pair of lights and led him to the center of the room.

Prithvi had never visited this floor before and was fascinated by the arrangement of the small room. There was a sand pit in the middle where Bela drew some formations. He picked up a wooden stick and smeared the design. Then he drew a rough map of Chandragarh in it.

"Let's think from the enemy's point of view. What would you do if you were them?" he offered the wooden stick to her.

Prithvi smirked at him. He was used to pouring detailed maps and strategizing, but his mentor still preferred to see bigger and more obscure images. Maybe that's where he went wrong - in the details.

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

Himprayag

"So, what have you decided, Rudradev?" Mithilesh had received a visit from the young priest this morning.

The younger man bowed respectfully and said, "I'm yours to command."

Mithilesh hid her joy under a polite smile and said, "It's great. Let's get started. I want to know all about the new financial scheme you're designing for my father. I want to be a part of it."

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

*Size – Turmeric