Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

It had been more than a week since Shaurya's injury. The courtesan had gone back to the brothel to resume her normal life while he hung around the natives here in the valley, soaking in the different atmosphere and learning a lot of things. He even picked up their way of dressing and behaving. They had already become a mental addition to his collection of disguises.     

He was being able to move his foot properly, now. The combination of herbs which the tribal medical practitioner had used on his deep wound was simply amazing. Not only was it healing well, the swelling was nearly gone and so was the pain. When he had first sent out the message about the delay at his end, he had worried about being out of action for much longer. But at the current rate, he should be able to make his move in the next few days.     

There was an idea forming in his head but he wasn't sure about the wisdom of it coming out in words. He recalled Bela's teachings where she had told him that in the field, he will be the one taking the decisions which would and could affect the future at a large scale. Hence, he needed to take calculated risks. Playing cautious didn't win the game but then, nor did foolhardiness.     

"Should I explore it?" he thought and thought again.     

Vayuprastha     

Mithilesh leaned back on the fur lined sofa with a frown when he heard the counter proposal of the Raja Shaligram. Was this a joke? How dare a small, inconsequential country like Vayuprastha dare to put out conditions and that too such preposterous ones? Stake in the iron ore mines? Haa! The guy must be joking.     

But he was too smart to let his real expressions show on his face.     

Keeping the pleasant smile intact, he addressed the king in a mild tone, "I am afraid that if I take this offer back to my father, he would probably attack Vayuprastha the next day for eyeing our core resources."     

Raja Shaligram paled at the young prince's words. Was that a veiled threat?     

Even though geographically, there wasn't a great difference between the two countries, but when it came to warfare, it was like pitting a lotus flower against a wall. Maybe, he had been a bit hasty in his thinking!     

Giving the prince a smile, Raja Shaligram said, "Haha, you misunderstood me. All I implied was that we should get a better buying price for all that iron ore in return for letting you set up a lucrative business here. After all, I also have a country to run and people to answer to. How will I be able to convince my council about the goodness of your proposal, otherwise?"     

Mithilesh hid a smirk behind a cold smile. Raja Shaligram was a wuss. It didn't take much to threaten him. He took his time in answering back while he could sense the king's nervousness in the air.     

"Ah! I am sure that we would be happy to show our goodwill by offering you a 5% discount for the next one year on your procurements. So, make sure that you buy a lot more during this year," his words were accompanied by a mocking underlying tone.     

"My minister will provide you with the final proposal. Should we put our stamps on it tomorrow morning, then?" the question was rhetoric and he didn't wait for the king's response.     

Getting up from the table, he bowed slightly, "I will probably go and explore some of the attractions which your esteemed country offers."     

Raja Shaligram was still clutching his gold glass of wine, tightly when Prince Mithilesh sauntered out of the palace. The king was a shrewd businessman and absolutely hated it when he had to sign on a bad deal. And that's what this was.     

"I wish someone would teach this arrogant prince a lesson," he grumbled before gulping down the smooth wine down his throat.     

Gurukul, Chandragarh     

Mriga had just come to the dorm after meeting with everyone at the Admin department when the hostel warden sent a message to her, asking her to come down.     

With a frown, she retraced her steps and went down to the office.     

"Your maternal uncle is here to see you. Pack an overnight bag and report to the front gate of the Gurukul," said the warden.     

"Huh?"     

It took Mriga a second to grasp the situation. Was Shaurya back in the capital? Quickly going up to the dorm, she pulled out her already packed sling bag and went down. She had picked up this habit during the stint at the Eastern zilla. They were taught that an agent needed to be ready at the shortest possible notice. As a result, the first thing which Mriga had done after coming back to the Gurukul had been this and she was really glad about it at the moment.     

Bowing to the hostel warden, she went towards the gate with quick steps. Was he here to help her with the training for the Queen's competition? No, no, why would he do that? He was a part of the Suraksha Chakra department, not her private team. But why would he want to meet her right now? If he was going to ask her to come along for an assignment, she will say no.     

"I cannot afford any distractions from the competition right now," she was rehearsing the words in her head on her way out.     

Mriga couldn't see anyone outside the gate and walked a bit ahead towards the spot where Shaurya usually waited for her.     

"Next time, try and reduce the time taken to reach the starting point," a voice pierced the darkness of the cold night.     

Mriga turned in the direction of the voice in surprise.