Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

On the surface, everything looked to be placid but underneath, a lot of action was taking place in different corners of the palace. It was going to be a long night.     

Sharada's limbs were twitching under the influence of the drug but her mind was at peace after being relieved from the severe pain. At the back of her head, she had realised that something was wrong but the effect of the drug seemed extremely potent and she couldn't seem to fight the haze around her. Her men stood guard in a corner, speaking softly amongst themselves.     

After some time had passed, a timid knock came at the door.     

"My good brothers, the prince has sent some gorgeous dancers, both boys and girls, for the brave fighters who helped him clinch the victory. In case, any of you is interested in enjoying the show, please head towards the entertainment area. There is lavish food and the smoothest alcohol flowing in there tonight. As per Prince Mahendra's order, you deserve this celebration," a mature yet extremely good looking man stood there humbly and said so.     

From his eyes, it could be seen how enamoured and impressed he was, of the soldiers in front of him.     

Sharada's men flushed with pride subconsciously and puffed out their chests but the next moment, they looked at one another in indecision. There were five of them in the room and had been personally groomed by Sharada over a period of time. Before going to bed, Sharada had specifically instructed them to guard the room.     

Seeing the hesitation on their faces, the man said, "Don't worry. No one would dare to do something wrong with so many of the brave and fierce soldiers roaming around. Also, I will be happy to stay back to look after the minister with one of you, while the others go and enjoy. I have been newly appointed as one of the palace in-charge by Prince Mahendra as a reward for my services during the past months of passing on accurate information to his people."     

The man showed his shiny metal seal which hung on the side of his kurta.     

Seeing that the men still looked at one another, he continued speaking, "I personally feel that you must attend the festivities. Even though you work under the zilla chief, but this is a direct order from the future king of Chandragarh."     

That was it. The men nodded enthusiastically and after a few minutes, the youngest out of the lot looked sullen while the other four walked out of the room with a spring in their step.     

Even before the door shut properly, the disappointed guy found himself falling down.     

Huh? Was he dizzy? Even before the thought finished in his head, he was dead.     

Picking him up, Prithvi placed him in the smaller changing room located at the back before coming to stand in front of Sharada.     

Even though he knew that coming out in the open had been a big risk, he was willing to ignore his sensible thoughts for once. He owed it to Ramanujam! Taking a pouch out of his robe's pocket, he placed it under Sharada's nose. There was no point fighting an opponent who was comatose.     

Prithvi had allowed himself fifteen minutes to spend with this person. He was going to make sure that this quarter of an hour would cause more pain to the eastern zilla chief than the total amount of pain experienced by the person in her life!     

Another room, Royal Palace     

"Greetings to Prince Mithilesh! There is a rider from Himprayag who is seeking an appointment with you," one of the Saptsindhu soldiers came and informed him.     

Despite their win over Chandragarh, both the princes had kept the trusted group of men around them as security. Who knew how many secret agents of Chandragarh were lurking around inspite of the palace being under Prince Mahendra now.     

Prince Mithilesh had had a long day and he was fatigued. But a message from Himprayag could not be ignored. He gestured for the man to be brought in.     

Taking the sealed letter from him, Prince Mithilesh gestured for the man to wait outside while he opened and read the message.     

After a few minutes, Mithilesh smiled and put the letter aside. The assassination had been successful but was being kept under cover as per the instructions of Rudradev.     

"Ha… did the minister think that he was too smart and I won't get to know of his tricks? Now that he has lost the candidate which he backed, I bet he is panicking like a headless chicken. I wish I was there to personally witness the signs of defeat on his face," he murmured.     

Calling in the guy, he instructed, "Tell my father that I will be starting the journey back after the crown ceremony. In the meanwhile, he can continue to let Rudradev run the show."     

Gurukul     

After Vidyut left, Vindhya was extremely troubled. She went looking for Yash but couldn't find him in the dorm. Defeated, she didn't know whom to turn to, in this situation. The army had been subdued and so were the royal guards. Even if she wanted to tell someone about her brother's defection, who would care? But marrying the traitor prince… no way in hell!     

Himprayag     

By the time Rudradev received the message of victory, dawn was about to break. He went running to Princess Ahilya's chambers to meet Gayatri who had been keeping vigil in there through the night.     

Gayatri stood straight when Rudradev came in.     

At her raised eyebrows, he gave a full blown smile and told her, "Supreme military commander Gayatri, as per the powers vested in me by Queen Ahilya, I command you to weed out and punish the military generals who plotted against the queen. Make sure that the culprit from last night is caught. The king has been put under house arrest, along with his close confidants. The queen is under my watch. I will be busy in the royal court today. Once you are finished dealing with the army, come to the court. Let's clean up the ministry as well before the queen returns. It would be our gift for her."