Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

The tribal women probably had some other way of communication which was beyond Shaurya's comprehension and there was no time to figure out or learn it at this juncture. Eventually, it was the quick-witted courtesan who came up with the idea of drawing the question instead of asking it. She drew the valley and the two women on their way to it with bags in their hands. She offered the sheet to them to complete it, hoping that they would understand.     

And the women didn't disappoint!     

Picking the piece of charcoal, one of the women responded by smiling at her and drawing the entrance to the valley. After that, Shaurya had asked the courtesan to feign a severe illness and excuse herself from her duties that day. He helped arrange her secret passage with those women that same evening to the valley to wait for him.     

Everything went perfectly and Shaurya had begun to believe that the toughest bit was over. Afyer all, how bad could a midnight near suicide attempt could get? It had looked so easy on paper. But now as he was about to collapse, Shaurya swayed dangerously. He still had a long way down. Was the mission going to fail because of him?     

Suddenly, he felt a warm pair of arms coming to support him. He squinted his eyes to see who was it but it was still dark and the haze in front of his eyes continued to grow. No longer being able to hold on, he fainted.     

Three days later     

Shaurya's fever had finally subsided and it was a near miracle that he was alive. When the tribal woman had drawn the map for him, she hadn't managed to convey that the place where they resided was not the bottom of the valley but the small caves peppered all across that hill. As one descended further down the steep cliff, the incline of the wall started angling instead of remaining straight. And there were many shallow enclaves down that hill. It was like a building with many floors in it. There were knotted ropes hanging for people to go back and forth. Also, the exit to the civilization was through one of these caves and not the bottom of the valley as he had originally thought.     

A group of men had gone looking for him when he didn't come down at the pre-decided time. The courtesan had familiarised herself with the surroundings and the people in the past couple of days and had been enjoying their unrestrained hospitality. She was the one who had rallied the men to go and look for Shaurya on the hill that night.     

Shaurya grimaced as he tried to put his injured foot down. He was alive but unfortunately, was far from being ready for any sort of action. With deep regret, he sent the message out with his eagle.     

Capital, ChandragarhPrithvi frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew the challenges which a mission could pose and not everything could be accounted for. But when the enemy and his plans were unknown, every moment was critical.     

"What are you sighing so heavily for? It seems as if the whole country's worries rest on your shoulders," his partner's arms came around Prithvi's neck.     

After a bout of passionate love making, Prithvi had stepped outside the house for a bit. When he came back inside, he had a scowl on his face.     

"Haven't your words become a trifle too caustic these days? Was the tour that exhausting?" Prithvi countered in not so polite a tone.     

"Touché! Don't get me wrong. I was only expressing my concern. Ever since I am back, I have hardly seen you. You look pale and have lost so much weight as well. It makes me want to gather you in my arms and comfort you," he replied coyly.     

Prithvi turned his neck to look at him and said, "Well, then let's see how well can you comfort me."     

Himprayag     

"You were really impressive there, yesterday. Too bad that the judges weren't as impressed with your... eh, what did you call your bow?" One of the participants had walked upto Bela before the horse-riding competition.     

Bela gave the guy a quick look. His words and demeanour didn't match each other. He seemed really young, even the mustaches hadn't started forming on his upper lip properly yet. For someone this age, his condescending attitude didn't sit right with her.     

But then the next instant, she said to herself, "I am not his mother. How do I care?"     

With a polite smile, she said just one word, "Crossbow."     

"Right, right... crossbow. Umm, do you mind if I had a quick look at it?" he asked after a beat.     

Bela's eyebrow rose and she gave him her best 'don't mess with mom' look. As always, it was met with success and he scampered off with a mumbled bye.     

Allowing herself a grin, she suddenly found herself to be terribly homesick. Mriga's laughing face swam before her eyes and they turned moist.     

"Hello, are you Belavati, a participant from Chandragarh?" a liveried attendant of Himprayag came to stand in front of her.     

At her nod, she handed over a parchment to Bela, bowed and left.     

"Please join me for an early lunch post your event, today. Regards, Gayatri," the stamp of an army general was beneath the name and Bela recognized her to be the person who had spoken at the inauguration of the games.     

She noticed that the attendant hadn't bothered waiting for her reply. It was understood that Bela would be attending the luncheon. With a whimsical smile on her lips, she went to the stable to meet her horse.     

The horse seemed to recognize her, especially after she had spent few hours early that morning to walk it once again!!