Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

LXXI

Himprayag

As per the narrative constructed by Prithvi, Shaurya will play Bela's son instead of being a fellow agent, hiding his identity and details.

Shaurya tilted his head to pay his respects, but Gayatri was busy observing him. She stepped forward and gave him a pat, checking if there were any hidden weapons before seeing Bela touch apologizing, "He's a stranger!"

Bela waved her apology and replied, "Please do as necessary."

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

Gurukull, Chandragarh

"What's he doing here?" Vandit frowned and muttered to Ishani as he saw Mriga walking towards the dining room with Yash.

Last night, Vandit had just returned after meeting Ishani and found a bewildered Abhirath sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall in a public wash area. The poor man looked like he had been struck by lightning.

It took Vandit a while to get her back to reality and from her broken sentences, with awkward words, to say, she thought that the big man had successfully completed the impossible task of conveying his feelings to Mriga after three years of falling in love with her.

Vandit has spent the next half hour as a love teacher for the man, using his meagre and recent experience.

To his great astonishment, Abhirath had listened to him attentively, almost as if he was making a mental note about the same thing.

He was just about to tell Ishani about it when he saw Mriga with a 'loser'.

Pushing back the wooden bench, he stood up as Mriga walked towards them.

"Oh! You guys are still here. I thought I was late" he said in a daze.

Ishani tries to figure out the situation. He is not sure why Yash is here and Mriga seems to be fine with that.

But even more surprising was the fact that Vandit was standing in a militant pose looking at the man, who seemed to be ignoring everything and was busy pulling up a chair for Mriga to sit on.

"I'll help myself" Mriga stopped Yash.

"How dare you show your face here? Mriga, I can't believe you're hanging out with this guy, especially after what happened last night," Vandit almost yelled.

All three pairs of eyes swung towards Vandit. Surprise, caution, and resignation are seen in different sets.

"Vandit, don't you think you need to reduce your aggression a little? What's wrong with you?" Ishani whispered, pulling up her sleeve.

"I just want to eat quietly before I go for my training. If you have a problem, I'll go and sit somewhere else" Mriga told anyone in particular.

"Don't be silly. I think it was the effect of staying in my company for too long that this guy became too dramatizing. Be sitting. Yash, you too," Ishani takes on the role of peacemaker because everyone doesn't seem to bother with it.

He pulled Vandit's hand and made him sit up as well. He sat down but continued to stare at Yash, shooting a dagger through his eyes.

"Cold puris* tastes really bad. Let's eat while it's still hot" she tried to distract him from the man.

What's wrong with Vandit? He was never this confrontational. Even if Yash was here, if Mriga had no problems, she would not have them either.

"You forgot to put candy in the breakfast tray," Vandit said suddenly.

Mriga stopped while chewing while Ishani was confused again. Vandits don't really like sweet foods, and it's he who fills his own tray. Why is he saying this?

"Candy is definitely needed when we celebrate something. And today needs a big celebration. My friend expressed love for the girl of his dreams after loving her unconditionally from a distance. All this time he had only hugged her in his arms in his heart and not even glanced at others. Is.." in the middle of his speech, Mriga pushed his chair.

"Ishani, I'm sorry for this. I'll meet you at the hostel at night. Vandit, I have an additional session with Chiranjeev today and will not be doing any training with you. Have a nice day" with that, he took his tramp and left.

Yash looked back at him and got up as well.

But before he could make a move, Vandit spoke up, "You messed up your chance. It's someone else's turn. So, retreat. And consider yourself lucky because I'm the one who's saying this right now."

Yash slightly tilted his head and said, "Thank you for the attention. It's recorded!"

As he also walked away from there, Ishani who had seen the process in annoyance, scowled at Vandit.

"Good job! I didn't know that you were such an arbitrary person. You are nobody to say anything to Mriga or act on anyone's behalf. Who gave you the right to behave like that?" he's breathing fire now.

"But, Abhi.." he started off with a wounded tone.

"Yes, I think your best friend revealed it last night. I think everyone sitting within 500 meters of this table knows it now," he began cynically.

"Tell me something. Is she Abhirath's girlfriend? More importantly, are you Abhirath? Stop acting so presumptuous," with that, she also woke up.

She knows that Vandit's heart is in the right place, but she has known Mriga all her feminine life. They have grown from giggling children to young women, together. He understands it better than anyone else.

If Mriga decides to let Yash stay beside her, she must have a reason.

As for Abhirath, he had not expected Mriga to have seen him in a light like this before last night. Ishani will wait for him to come back and confide. Ishani has full confidence in her judgment.

More importantly, he would support her in whatever Mriga decided.

That's what friends do!

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

Gurukull, Chandragarh

Mriga knows that she is late for her session with Chiranjeev, but she still returns to the dormitory to be alone and gather her chaotic thoughts. Before boarding her room, she was given a letter by the dormitory clerk.

Looking at his father's handwriting, he tore it apart quickly, without waiting for it to reach his room. His father was not the kind of person who liked to write letters to him.

But inside the envelope, the scroll contained another, more familiar handwriting.

...~~~...

My dear daughter

Have you ever told me that you are blessed to have you in your life? The day you were born, you held my finger, even with your eyes closed. And to this day, you continue to show your unwavering confidence to your mother.

Mama, as an imperfect human being, tries hard every day to stay worthy of that belief. Mama knows that you are not sure about your suitability or ability as a candidate to compete in the upcoming tournament. But as your mother and your first teacher, you believe that you are no less deserving than any other girl out there to be a participant, and if possible, the winner.

Believe in yourself and if you feel that it is not enough, believe in your faith. Mama can easily visualize you as a girl who can be the 'Queen In Training'. Remember, the winner of this competition is not someone who will be the perfect Queen, but someone who shows promise to be the perfect Queen.

Mama knows that you have that potential and more. Wrap your love, strength, and confidence in this letter and send it to you. Use it when you find doubt creeping in.

^^^Always Mama prasimu~^^^

Mriga - Your mother left this note to send to you a week before your competition. I may not be as fluent as your mother, but I agree with what she wrote. You have our love and support. Do your best!

^^^Yahmu~^^^

...~~~...

Mriga leaned against the wall outside the room and closed her eyes, trying to stem the tears that threatened to come out. He did not know if this was some kind of magic or intervention from heaven so he received such words from his parents at the time when he most needed to hear them.

He sniffed and wiped his eyes, before folding the note carefully and pressing it against his chest.

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

Himprayag

Shaurya watched his surroundings while the commander went ahead and muttered something in the woman's ear, making the woman turn around and walk towards them.

It was this eight-year training that kept Shaurya from jumping back from where he stood.

So, her morning naked stopover has been done with the princess of the cursed country.

Good Shaurya!

If the princess rejected them either because of her previous mischievous nature or maybe because she didn't like what she saw that morning, how would she explain it to her mentor?

At this moment, he understood the absolute meaning of matiraga.

Busy by keeping his mind off his face, he lowered his head and failed to notice the mirroring fret splashing on Ahilya's face as well. The next few moments felt long for Gayatri and Bela, who were staring at the white-faced princess and the shy young man.

"Ahem, Princess Ahilya, this is Bela's son, whom she told us about," Gayatri brought her lover out of a stupor with her words.

Without raising his eyes, Shaurya lowered his head respectfully, "Greetings, Princess. I'm honored to be here tonight."

He very much hoped that he would take this as his way of apologizing for the sassness shown by him on that day. He should have let her look at him while he was dressed. Like that, he had seen whatever was there to see. Why did he have to say those words to her?

"Umm, yeah. Bela tells me that you are a fairly intelligent person, good at identifying people and their traits. As your mother, she would obviously think of your world. But in your own opinion, are you worthy of praise?" Ahilya asked sharply.

She had recovered from her previous embarrassment when she realized that she had not intended to call him out. Shaurya grimaced at his haughty words that seemed to have a deeper meaning, as expected with regards to the events in the morning.

He had spent three grueling days in gathering information about the princess that would help him obtain clues into his soul.

He intended to fascinate her with his insight into her character, but now, he did not dare to say a word about her. It would definitely backfire on him.

He could feel the gaze asking Bela to him. But he also did not make eye contact with her. There may still be a way to redeem himself. He turned towards his general, who seemed to also feel the undercurrent in the room.

With a soothing smile, he began to talk to her, "Please don't be offended by anything I say next. I'm just trying to keep my mom's trust in my ability alive."

With that, he approached the mercurial woman and said, "The youngest general in the country, you are from a long line of illustrious military personnel who have devoted their lives to Himprayag. You have managed to surpass all of them with your strength with achievements in the shortest span of time."

Ahilya was not the most patient soul from the beginning.

Plus, the embarrassment from this morning, she snapped at him, "I don't think there's anyone in Himprayag who doesn't know it."

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

Himprayag

Gayatri was not worried about what the man would say about her. There was nothing Ahilya knew about him. But he became very curious to know how the man could be under Ahilya's skin. Do they know each other from before?

No, it's not possible.

Before he could ponder on it any further, the man began to speak again, "The princess is right, of course. But what most people do not know is that General Gayatri did not want to join the army. His initial goal was to become a painter and explore the world, capturing all of his beauty on top of his canvas. I don't know what made it turn so dramatically but I'm sure it was a pretty big sacrifice. I believe he's never touched the paint since then."

Even before he finished speaking, Ahilya shook her head at him in a mocking manner.

"Are you under so much pressure to perform that you need to create a story to prove your worth?" he had a wicked joy in his voice.

Shaurya looked at him calmly and then turned his gaze towards Gayatri who had a surprised expression on her face.

"General, do you want to clarify whether I'm weaving a fairy tale or telling the truth? It seems like your Princess doesn't trust me," she asked, almost apologizing.

Bela frowned at her choice of words. It could clearly be interpreted as brash behavior from the end. He never knew he was this stupid. What got into him?

Ahilya's smile was a little off. What he said was impossible. He had known Gayatri for a long time. He would know something so important about the most precious person in his life. But in recent seconds, Gayatri has not denied the claims as it should.

"How do you know?" Gayatri's whispering words broke the silence of the room.

Although it was no big deal if he did not want to be part of the family legacy or have other ambitions, Gayatri knew exactly how Ahilya reacted at this time.

The fact that he does not know it while others know it, will not be acceptable to Ahilya. But it was a long time ago that even he had forgotten about it.

Worse, due to her love for Ahilya she has changed the course of her future to ensure that she can be by her side.

And that was one of the main reasons why he never talked about it with Ahilya or anyone else. But then how does this guy know? Who exactly is he?

Shaurya gave her a small smile that was neither arrogant nor friendly.

"No problem, right? And also, the fact that you stand here, capable and competent in the army, makes the past irrelevant. I'm sorry for bringing it up here, but the princess seems to challenge my mother's beliefs and as she's a filial child, I can't keep quiet" she said and bowed in a heartfelt apology.

"Defender, it seems I underestimated your son. Take him to the training ground tomorrow. I want to see if she has any other important attributes," Ahilya stepped out after saying a short word, with Gayatri following behind her anxiously.

"Interesting," Shaurya muttered, staring at their backs who were retreating while thinking.

Bela beckoned him to come out as well. They remained silent until they had yet to reach outside the palace.

Standing on a deserted path, Bela brought her coat closer as a cold and cruel wind blew past her.

"What's got into you? I've never seen you flex your malleability like you did today. Don't you know what's at stake? What does it mean to humiliate the princess' closest comrade? Do you think it'll benefit you there's help with one of them?" he yelled at her.

Shaurya began by apologizing, "I'm sorry for my behavior, but once I reach that barn, I know that I need to change the strategy we've made before."

Looking at Bela's questioning gaze, she recounted the events from that morning in monotony.

"When I came in, I, I tried to be humble but the princess's sharp words made me realize that she was going to use the opportunity to try and cover up her own embarrassment from the episode and make me humble myself. It won't help us in any way. Therefore, I took a calculated risk and attacked him from a corner where he would not see him coming. The idea was to make him lose his balance and gain an edge, "he explained in a humble tone.

Bela was deep in thought for a while before suddenly asking, "What do you think these two women have in common?"

Shaurya had been expecting a loud reprimand and was thrown off due to the change in his path.

Before he could answer, he remembered something and hurriedly said, "It can wait. Lefs go. We should be somewhere else now."

Following him, Shaurya frowned at his behavior. Why is Guruji everywhere today?

Suddenly, he stopped and said, "We're going to meet someone now. I want you to remember your training and want you to be ready for any eventuality. Remember to put your country first, got it?"

Shaurya nodded his head slowly. In spy terms, he had just ordered her to kill or prepare to be killed. Where the hell did they go?

Apart from the question on his head, as soon as Bela turned his back towards him and started walking forward, he lifted his kurta and took out both sheathed blades from both sides of his ribs, he raised his kurta, which has been placed in the buffer.

He inserted one through a loop placed on the inside side of the long arm of the kurta. He tucked the other next to his right ankle, which was hidden by the long boots he was wearing.

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

*Puri - This is a fatty fried bread made from unleavened whole wheat flour