Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Mithilesh composed himself and turned to look at the enigmatic woman with whom he seemed to have a complicated relation!     

Even though she was much older than him, he had never been so attracted to someone as he was to her. During the past month of his stay, he had thought at various points that he would take her back to Himprayag with him as his share of spoils from the war! Unfortunately, that was not a possibility now.     

"It seems that I find myself getting uncomfortable if I don't see you. Hence, I troubled you to come here at this hour. My apologies," His slick words made Indrani wary.     

She didn't know what was the game being played by this man at the moment. Ever since she had come back from her home after being informed about her brother's life being in danger in Saptsindhu and her parents being captured in their home here, she had lived a life of fear.     

The thought of jeopardising her queen's life had crossed her mind and stayed there for a couple of hours. But then, she had reminded herself about her oath to devote herself to the country and Rani Samyukta. From that moment on, she did the toughest thing which a daughter and sister could. She knew that by exposing the enemy's intention, she was putting her family's life on stake but it really hadn't been a choice.     

However, that didn't stop her from feeling like a failure. She didn't know the fate of her family. She had been unable to protect them. And the man in front of her, was the reminder of that failure. She couldn't begin to measure her hatred for this person and if it were left to her, she would probably not hesitate to kill him.     

"What do you want?" She asked him with a stone-face.     

"My beauty, it's like this. I have figured out your defection and the ruse which you pulled to fool us about the queen being dead. Now, irrespective of what happens to the rest of us, there is no way that your family would be able to escape. How does that make you feel? Is being a faithful soldier of Chandragarh enough to compensate for being unfilial?" His sharp questions pierced through the darkest part of her heart, making her almost breathless for a moment.     

"You are a bastard and I hope you die with no one to even give you a sip of water," she cursed him out loud with her eyes blazing red.     

"Tsk tsk, I didn't know that you were prone to melodrama. Never mind, as much as I wish to discover more of these interesting facets of yours, I am afraid, I have run out of time. Here is a straight deal for you – help me get access to the Chandragarh vault, and I will make sure that your parents get to live," he said in a no nonsense tone.     

Indrani looked at him warily. By now, it was clear that he had become aware of the Chandragarh counter-plan. But how? More importantly, if he hadn't gone and confided into Prince Mahendra, it meant that he intended to defect from his alliance and escape.     

"I am not going to let it happen! He can't run away unscathed," she thought fiercely.     

With a neutral face, she said, "What is the guarantee that you would do as you promise?"     

"The men monitoring your family belong to me, not the Saptsindhu prince. Once I have what I need, I don't need to cause any unnecessary blood shed. It is a simple waste of time and resource for me. Are you willing to make this deal? If yes, then no foul play like what you did during our previous agreement," he warned her in a threatening undertone.     

Indrani kept her face impassive and after a few moments, nodded her head in agreement.     

"I can take you till there but getting you out is not my problem. If you get caught, you have to figure out your own game plan," she said with a shrug.     

Mithilesh stared at her and replied with a strange expression on his face, "You are really ruthless. Except for the old queen, is there anyone who is capable of moving your heart?"     

Indrani snorted and didn't bother responding to him.     

Early Morning, Saptsindhu     

By the time the sun painted the entire palace golden, Shaurya and Abhirath had already bid adieu to the princess and were on their way back. Even though Shaurya had sent a couple of hidden messages to Prithvi by now, due to the control being exerted by Prince Mahendra in the capital, he wasn't sure if the same would reach Guruji or not. It was now a race against time because the prince would get to know about it anytime soon through his sources as well.     

Late Night, Royal Palace, Chandragarh     

Prince Mahendra was really tired by the time he reached the royal chambers. Even though it had been a jubilant day, there were few loose ends which still needed to be tied up. The queen's body was still missing and it was making him uneasy. Also the crucial members of their spy team hadn't been caught yet.     

The prince pinched his space between his eyebrows, trying to chase the fatigue away. By the time he reached the door, one of his men opened it and came out to whisper something in his ear. Listening to his words, the prince frowned and walked in.     

Mriga stood in a corner with her pale face, nervousness etched clearly on it. Every few moments, her eyes kept darting to a corner in the room. The prince went up to her and before she could bow down, he held her from the chin and tipped her face up.     

"Who are you? What is going on?" his stern words caused her to lose her balance and she almost fell on the ground.     

Shaking her head, she didn't say anything but her body was trembling.