Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

LXX

Vayuprastas

"I have good reason to believe that Himprayag has a mole planted among your trusted group of ministers. The deal that Prince Himprayag brought to you was already heavily skewed in his favor and you never had a chance to avoid it," he said nonchalantly, as if discussing the weather.

The king looked at him with narrowed eyes, waiting for him to explain. It was a sufficient accusation that he, an outsider, was charging at his palace!

He saw skepticism on his face but also curiosity.

"I'm afraid I'm not efficient enough to know the traitor's name, but all I know is that an ambush has been made for you and you just walked right up to it. Unfortunately, the details are also unknown to me. But I'm sure that my king was clever enough to uncover the rest himself. I'd encourage you to investigate the same, thoroughly. My only humble request is that if you find my information to be correct, please give me the opportunity to present the proposal in front of you, "his posture is very respectful as he utters the last words.

King Shaligram cleared his throat and asked him, "So you mean if the conspiracy really exists, then all you want in return is for me to hear your proposition. Right?"

Kritika looked straight into his eyes and gave him a mischievous smile.

"Perhaps, we could add dinner to that meeting. I will cook for you personally that day," he said shyly.

He was confused by his behavior. Nonetheless, he disagreed and told her to wait for her official letter.

As Kritika left, she stopped her with her next words, "But if your words are proven wrong, you should be put on trial for falsely accusing the subject of the palace."

Although he was nervous to hear her words, he turned to face her and lowered his head in recognition of her orders.

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

Gurukull, Chandragarh

"Are you down because of a fever?" Ishani asks Mriga for the umpteenth time since morning.

Mriga had just finished taking a shower and was dressed in a hurry. If this continued, he would have no time left for breakfast before his session with Chiranjeev.

The reason for his delay and Ishani's unrelenting question was because of the boy. He had wasted his precious sleep time by going back and forth.

A horse seemed to have entered his head and kept galloping inside, all late at night, throwing wild thoughts from one end of his mind to the other.

At one point, he was so upset that he wanted to smash his skull unconscious.

Damn that Abhirath and his Confession!

"What's? Did you say anything?" Ishani asks him with concern.

Ever since she woke up, Mriga's cheeks were burning brightly, as if she had crushed the rose petals and placed them there. Moreover, he continued to mutter something to himself every few minutes. It seemed that the pressure of the QIT competition had finally hit him.

Ishani is worried that if this continues, she will fall ill.

Thinking about it quickly, he told Mriga, "You get ready and meet me outside the dining room. Suddenly I remembered that I had to drop something on the gate. I'll be right back, so wait for me in the foyer outside the dining room. Don't you dare go inside. I won't be able to find you in time, then," she ran into the corridor with a final warning.

Mriga was actually relieved that she had escaped the watchful gaze of her friend. He got ready and went to the dormitory to pick up a large bag containing his lesson materials and his equipment that he would need during the day to train with his team. He swung his bow on the other shoulder and walked out.

"Full concentration on the task ahead... Mriga, calm down," with that mental note to himself, he went down the stairs.

But it seems like fate isn't ready to be nice to her yet. Yash was relaxing on the stairs as he went down.

His steps wavered for a moment but then he walked past. Without a word, Yash followed him as well.

Turning to look at him, he finally asked, "What do you want?"

"Good morning, my name is Yashvardhan. I'm a finance student and my skills are sword fighting and numbers. I have been assigned to be part of your QIT preparation team," he said, he held out a piece of parchment in front of him.

Mriga looked at her childish face and grinned and took it from her hand with a growing sense of unease within her. The scroll has been signed by Prithvi and it is indeed mentioned that Yash will give his lessons in the field of financial management and administration.

"Thank you, but I don't need your help. I never asked for it and to my knowledge, a participant has the right to choose his team. Sorry to waste your time. Excuse me now," with that he's moving past it.

"Your team made a request to the coordinator and it was he who chose me personally for the task," Yash stopped him with his hand on his wrist and said it with a small smile.

Mriga was at a loss for words. He didn't see this coming.

"I need to check this out with my team first. They'll never.." he started slowly.

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

Gurukull, Chandragarh

"Sure, let's go and confirm it now. I believe that your first session started in twenty minutes, right? I have been tasked to observe the current schedule before allocating the slots to myself. We should have breakfast before that. Your efficiency will be greatly affected if you do not eat now," Yash grinned as he said the last part, knowing his fondness for food.

Mriga gritted her teeth and said to him, "See you at the training ground in twenty minutes."

After that, he went towards the Admin department. He needs to find out what happened and suddenly stops halfway, remembering Ishani's words.

Running fast to the boys dorm, he hurriedly wrote a message for Vandit and then left again for the Admin department.

Vandit has always been there for breakfast lately with Ishani and her. Therefore, he had left a message, hoping he could tell her about Mriga not coming for breakfast.

Goddamn bum! A few minutes ago he was afraid to meet Abhirath and now this. Is one person not enough to play havoc with his head now? Why did the others enter the robbery? How could he concentrate on preparing his competition at this level?

Ouch!!!

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

Himprayag

Things seem to happen quickly. Two days ago, Bela received an official letter from Prithvi informing him that Rani Samyukta had rejected Prince Mithilesh's proposal regarding some financial schemes.

Although he did so because it was not in Chandragarh's national interest, Prithvi wanted Bela to take the plaudits and display them as Chandragarh's positive intentions towards Ahilya and her leadership.

This morning, he sent another message to Bela, which despite being translated, remained vague.

"Expect help from unexpected places. Accept it but beware!"

He did not know what he meant or rather who. But his hypothesis is that he seems to be in a hurry to awaken different powers to unite.

Under those circumstances, he wanted Shaurya to shorten the time he asked of him, but refrained from doing so. To do something right, the person doing it must be ready and confident. The scars on his body were evidence of hasty decisions and actions.

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

That afternoon

"Have the last three days worked?" Bela asks Shaurya when he meets her at a designated point.

He smiled and told her that he was confident about his upcoming meeting. As they walked towards the military barracks, a messenger intercepted them and handed the note to Bela before excusing himself.

After being here for several weeks, Bela had comprehended two political factions and their important players. Had the message been from someone on Ahilya's side, that person would not have had to hide himself in this way. Also, most of the ministers in the royal palace were members of the Prince Mithilesh stronghold.

Someone from the group who sent this message meant that he was well aware of Bela's identity. Worse, he also knew about Shaurya, as he had mentioned the cottage on the record. Caesarean milk is the preferred drink in Chandragarh and its reference should not be missed either.

Bela did not let her inner turmoil be seen on her face as she led Shaurya towards the meeting place with the princess.

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

East Zilla, Chandragarh

It was the second day since the head of the zilla, Dushyant aka Sharada had taken control of the Suraksha Chakra building. Prithvi's first directive for Ramanujam was to find out if this move happened because their identity was leaked or not.

As of now, whatever Ramanujam hears, it doesn't seem to be the case. Sharada seems to like this building because it is close to the beach.

Other than the zilla chief, there were only a few people who visited the building and it was difficult to capture their entire conversation as they moved around frequently.

But the thing that stands out is the fact that this person employs a lot of workers. There's been a lot of footsteps going on on the ground floor since last night. Although he was asked to stay and listen to the conversation, Ramanujam felt that something was wrong with the photo. What did Sharada do?

He intended to go out after dark tonight to keep an eye out for the people coming in and out. If necessary, he would follow the head of the zilla to find out the truth. Ramanujam was not the type to be easily frightened, but there was a sense of urgency in Sharada's instructions over the past two days.

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

South Zilla, Chandragarh

Another week! Saraswati is fretting about her date target getting closer. Prithvi has always handled his case, unlike before. Even if he did not know the purpose of his mission, he was confident about the seriousness of it, seeing the state of his mentor being less than calm over this.

Amidst all this, he had received an unexpected message from Eastern Zilla. With his usual scathing attitude, Ramanujam scolds him for not taking care of himself and warns him against the ill effects of aging.

Unlike usual, her message was long and she became very angry as she opened half of her message, so she was tempted to throw it in the trash before even finishing her translation.

But he couldn't do it, even if he wanted to, lest he send something important in that note other than words meant to upset him.

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

South Zilla

Known to only a handful of people, Ramanujam has been working on developing a new language for some time now.

Contrary to what people might think, creating symbols, rules, and grammar is not an easy task. Although she had only managed to complete the alphabet until now, she had shared it with Saraswati, using her as a guinea pig for the project.

He often mixed those symbols with coded messages when he sent them to him, increasing his task many times over. And then, if the message is an evil one, then all that futile effort, makes that person want to strangle the sender just like it happened to Saraswati this time.

"You better be careful! When I hold your neck, I will make you beg for mercy in three different languages, you as*," he muttered dangerously, smashing the note in his hand.

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

Gurukull, Chandragarh

Mriga is confused as Yash follows her casually as she goes to look for Prithvi in the Admin building.

Yash smiled indulging at his antics.

It is true that his team has submitted a request for financial experts because it is an arena unknown to Mriga.

To prepare for group discussions that might cover topics from that field, Chiranjeev and Abhirath felt they needed them. Since they did not know him personally, a request had been sent to the Dean's office, seeking help.

As fate would have it, Harshvardhan had seen it while sitting in the office of the Dean who was his senior since the student.

Harshvardhan had recognized Mrignayani's name when the list of requests was at the top of the heap, immediately seizing the opportunity for his son. He had told the dean to specifically recommend his son's name to Prithvi because his son was looking for guidance opportunities to enrich his experience.

The value of Yashvardhan is good enough to warrant such a recommendation and even if not, the dean is well aware of the background of Harshavrdhan and his wife and cannot say no. That was how Yash found himself walking side by side with his girl, who was frowning so hard that she was worried her eyebrows would fall out due to the excessive pressure on them.

After arguing with herself endlessly, she began gently, "I just want to help. There is no hidden agenda. I swear!"

After her words, Mriga stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her.

"I don't want you to help me. I don't want to deal with you anymore" he said with a slight tremor in his voice.

Before he could say anything, he raised his hand and continued, "Do you not understand? I can't distract. This show is very important to me and I don't want anyone to ruin my concentration."

Yash could not help himself and carried him raising his own hand.

In a partly pleading, partly pleading tone, he said, "I believe. I want to see you at the top and I think you're gonna need my skills. I want to do my best to help you. Can you trust me one last time? I promise I won't let you down."

Before Mriga could let go of her hand, she left him and slid to the ground in front of him, kneeling apologetically. He looked at her, his mouth open. Yash gave up his pride, his stature and showed off himself in front of him, regardless of the people wandering around.

As he raised his eyes towards her, the trembling vulnerability there stopped him from saying what he meant.

"awake. What the hell is wrong with you? Enough with the bullshit. Promise me that you will keep your affairs professional. Not risking my claim, not fighting with teammates, no.." she pulled it when she said all this.

Yash shed tears in his eyes as he smiled at her.

Before he finished saying the ground rules, he shook his head, "I know what to do. I won't make trouble, I promise. Now, can we go and eat? Really not good for you to start an empty day.”.

Mriga put a finger on her lips and gestured for her to shut up. He changed direction towards the dining room. The thought in his head right now - God save me!

Vindhya, one of the many people who paused to see a man kneeling in front of a girl, smashed the note in her hand. It was a proposal that he would submit to the Dean's office, officially asking Yash to be part of his team.

"I will win this competition, no matter what," he swore to himself as tears of contempt drenched his cheeks.

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

Himprayag

"After this meeting, we have to go somewhere else. Just follow my lead in front of the princess, okay?" Bela told Shaurya.

He nodded his head.

He looked at her with curiosity. He really looked more confident tonight than he was three days ago. He's looking forward to his performance tonight.

Gayatri was looking around as they reached the crude warehouse located at the end of the military training ground.

To get here, one had to traverse many army camps filled with Ahilya loyalists. No spy from the Mithilesh camp can enter here without being discovered.

Bela bowed politely and then pointed towards Shaurya.

"My son, whom I have told you about," said Bela.