Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Bela took out a few lumps of gud* from her pocket and offered them to the horse. The competing arena had been divided into ten lanes with hurdles in the first half of the path and flat plain for the remaining bit enabling the riders to show their skills on the horse. The contestants had been divided into three groups and scores would be tallied in the end dependent upon everyone's performances.     

Bela was fairly confident about the latter part of the competition since her equestrian skills had been established and proven long ago in the Northern zilla. Also, she had been practicing and polishing her acts since her younger days till now.     

The tricky bit was the obstacle course because a lot depended upon the horse and not just the rider. Since she had known the beast for not even a full day, she was in no position to be aware of its disposition in the field. As per her observations till now, it seemed fairly compliant and quick to respond but it was a different game once they were on the track with other riders and animals right beside them.     

Soon it was time for them to take their positions. Bela recognized two of the riders in her group to be the ones who had gone in early on and hence, were riding horses, far superior to hers.     

Bela bent down to whisper in her horse's ear, "C'mmon buddy. It is time for you to shine. I am told that the best horse in the contest gets a bag full of goodies. Won't you like an endless supply of carrots and gud instead of just hay and grams for the entire year?"     

By doing this, she was trying to calm her own nerves and hoped that the horse would feel the same positive vibrations as well.     

Half hour later     

Bela slid off the horse and slumped right next to it. The contest had begun with the others taking a clear lead over her in crossing the obstacles. Her horse had neighed and raised its hind legs when faced with the first obstacle, itself.     

Internally fretting, Bela had spent precious seconds trying to soothe it nerves before it finally complied and jumped over the first fence. Thankfully, the track length was long enough for Bela to make a comeback and reach the latter half of the track only third in position. She was panting heavily and so was the animal. She knew that she needed to get her breath back in control and fast. Closing her eyes for a second, she drowned out the surrounding noises and neighs and practiced Pranayam*.     

Before reaching the end of the track, the horse and the woman had nearly become one. As she laid horizontally across the horse's back in perfect balance, she couldn't stop a grin spreading on her face. Her partner had more than made up for the resistance and reticence shown during the obstacle course by being the perfect carrier when she stood on it or hung from its neck. It was as if it had aligned its heartbeat to hers and responded to her merest touch.     

There were still more rounds to go before the winner could be announced. But Bela wasn't interested in checking out the competition. She knew that she had given her best. Now the rest depended upon her competitors. There was nothing more that she could do. She took the horse to the nearby drinking place. While the horse slurped thirstily, she also picked up a mug of water to wet her parched throat.     

Eastern Zilla, Chandragarh     

Mriga was bored. Her group had gone out for another assignment yet again but she was stuck inside the institute due to the diktat issued by Amrapali guruji.     

"Hey Mriga, would you like to help me run an errand?" Lata's lilting voice reached her ears.     

Raising her head from the table, she stood up and bowed respectfully.     

"Of course, I will be more than happy to," she replied politely.     

Anything was better than sitting in the library with a bunch of books. She could see her father's disapproving look in her head at that thought. Lata smiled and handed over a wrapped bundle to her.     

"This needs to go to Vidyut. You know where his clinic is, right? Can you help me deliver it?" she asked.     

Mriga perked up at the opportunity to step out of the institute. This was getting better by the second. She answered with an affirmative and took the pack, moving it in her hands curiously.     

"These are some herbs he had asked for. I don't know if you are aware that he runs a medical service out of his own pocket for advanced treatments of the orphans, over and above what is provided by the administration. So, we like to help him out in whatever way we can," she said with a smile.     

Mriga nodded and told her that she knew about his endeavors and it was great that the institute was helping out as well. She told her solemnly that she would deliver the packet safely and be back soon.     

It was late afternoon, so the sun wasn't as bright or harsh anymore, making the walk a pleasant one for Mriga who had been cooped up inside the building for far too long during the day. Upon reaching the dilapidated barn, Mriga didn't wait to be invited in, like the previous time but went straight in, only to freeze in her steps.     

"STOP! RUN NOW!" Vidyut's voice held urgency and rightly so.     

He was sitting on the ground with his knees folded. There were four people surrounding him and were holding small knives in their hands. At the sound of the door opening, all five of them had turned and were now staring at Mriga.     

*Gud - Jaggery     

*Pranayam - Yoga breathing exercise