Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Narrowing her eyes, Gayatri got up and started pacing the room. She didn't like being tricked, no matter the person's intentions.     

"So, you participated in the competition to gain an audience with the princess?" her question was rhetoric.     

Gayatri pondered over the it for a minute before summoning the guards inside.     

"Make sure that this person doesn't leave the room till I am not back," she didn't bother to look at Bela and walked out of the room.     

Sometime later     

Bela stood in an erect position while Ahilya leaned back into the cushioned seat and looked at her in leisure, from top to bottom.     

"So, whom do you represent?" Ahilya finally asked.     

Bela smiled a little at the young woman's blunt approach She liked her already!     

She took out a rolled cloth from her long sleeved kurta and approached the table where Gayatri stood next to Ahilya's chair. She had a wary expression on her face and Bela approved of her cautious approach.     

"May I come closer and show something to you," Bela sought her permission when she was a few meters away.     

At the princess's nod, she sat down on her haunches and spread the cloth on the table. Both Ahilya and Gayatri's eyes widened into saucers.     

"Would you like me to describe this in detail?" Bela asked Ahilya in all seriousness.     

Eastern zilla     

"Tonight, is the last night of your training here. We will continue this in Gurukul next week," Ramanujam addressed the five of them.     

Ever since Mriga's foot had healed, Ramanujam had started to train them in a new form of exercise. Their goal was to move from point A to point B across the forest in the fastest way possible, using the most efficient movements to overcome the obstacles. During this time, they were taught how to run, vault, roll, climb and jump with great accuracy and control. This would help their muscles, bones, core strength and stamina to withstand tough, unpredictable terrains.     

Mriga managed to do better than most during this time because she had done a similar program with her mother and Shaurya before coming to this place.     

Still, by the end of every session, all of them felt as if they had been squeezed like water from a wet cloth.     

Nirbhay who was as badly affected by this as Vandit, panted and asked in dismay, "Guruji, are you planning to set up a forest for us in the Gurukul as well?"     

Ramanujam shook his head and bared his teeth in what was his version of a smile.     

"Why do you think that these movements are restricted to trees and water bodies? You will be jumping off the roofs of various structures, climb the terrace of the boys' dorm, run to the foodhall and various departments. Imagine, how much time will you save by taking this route versus the usual path of walking to these places," he said with a straight face.     

Vandit groaned loudly as the image of him hanging precariously from the edge of a roof floated in his mind. Abhirath put his arm around the shorter guy's shoulder in warning, lest he allowed his emotions to flow freely and say something silly, which might attract penalty for all of them.     

"Do you all go back to the Gurukul from here?" Ramanujam ignored Vandit's outburst, thankfully.     

Chiranjeev spoke up and said, "No, we will be going straight to our respective houses as per the instructions."     

Capital, Chandragarh     

Prithvi and Rani Samyulta stood in their usual meeting haunt. The room was nearly dark, as always and seemed to be waiting eagerly for Prithvi's next set of words, just like the queen.     

"We have encountered a small, unexpected delay in our plans but otherwise, everything else seems to be on track. It turned out that we managed to be in the right place at the right time and that has helped make things easier for us," he said cryptically.     

The queen relaxed visibly at this. During the past couple of months, things hadn't been going their way and this was the first time since they had kicked off their plan that Prithvi's voice held hope.     

"The Gurukul opens next week onwards and you will be quite busy with the preparations for the upcoming contest. I won't hold you back any longer, tonight. Inform me as soon as you have a new update for me, though," with that, she dismissed him.     

Prithvi bowed his head and left from there with a spring in his step after really long. But the minute he exited from the back lane of the brothel, he stooped and leaned heavily against the cane in his hand. He needed to stay in character!     

Northern Zilla     

"What??? Why didn't anyone tell me sooner? This is amazing!" Mriga stood in the kitchen with a surprised expression on her face.     

Her father had just informed her about her mother's absence from the house and its reason.     

"You mean to say that out of all the horse riders in the Northern zilla, Maa was the one chosen to represent us in that contest? Wow! Now I understand why she was making me and Sh... uh, Veer go through so much training. She wanted to train herself and took him and me along purely for torture. But why did you both keep it a secret?" she asked in excitement.     

Raghu looked at his daughter's smiling face and was reminded acutely of his wife in that moment.     

"Ah, that is... she wanted to surprise you by winning it. Apparently, she has been awarded with a large sum of money and an opportunity to work as a coach to their trainees, should she choose to do so," Raghu told her the version which Bela had asked him to.     

*Parkour - the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing.