Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

"At the other end of this hall are the washrooms. Everyone who works in the Eastern zilla spy team, lives here, including me. Since everyone is at work, the place is quiet right now. You can take any bed which doesn't have a bag kept above it," Lata waved her hand.     

Each bed had a space on top, making it look like a bunk bed. That space was used to keep their belongings.     

"I will come back in half hour to take you to the canteen. Once you have eaten, we will go to meet Amrapali, the head of this team," Lata bid them farewell and walked out of the door.     

"Stop looking around as if you have never seen a room with beds in it. We have only half hour to unpack and clean up. I don't want to give them a tardy impression on the very first day. Remember, we represent the Gurukul!" Abhirath spurred them on.     

The four of them ran around like headless chickens from one end to the other trying to decide their sleeping places. He waited till all of them had chosen their spaces and gone to the bathing area. Coming to where Mriga had put her bag, he looked for the spot from where she would be visible at all times and placed his bag there. He didn't want to be right next to her but keep her within his sight!     

Western Zilla     

"When will brother Vidyut be back? I had received a letter from him at the same time as you and at that time, I assumed that he was here as well," Vindhya asked her father.     

Vasudev sighed in discontentment and replied, "When is your brother ever here? He doesn't care about the family reputation or our business. All he wants to do is waste time in doing charity for ungrateful, poor people. What is the point of his great medical skills if he can't make money out of it? He had written to your mother telling her about this 'Doctors without Borders' group which has invited him to be an executive member. Apparently, your brother was thrilled because he is the youngest person to make it to that position. But I want to know - what's so great about an empty post with no salary, hmph! Your mother must have told him about that rascal Harshvardhan's letter at that time."     

Though Vindhya was really disappointed to not see her brother, she was extremely proud of his accomplishments. It may not mean enough to their father, but for her, he was and would always be her champion. She didn't say anything to Vasudev anymore and walked off to the training arena which had been built at home, especially for her practice.     

To be honest, the facilities at her house were way better than those at Yash's house. Had it not been for her foolish infatuation, she would have never compromised her precious time before the competition.     

"I wish that I had never met him!" she sighed.     

It had been a few days since she was back home and though a part of her knew better than to expect a communication from him, she still hovered near her father's study every morning when the post was delivered.     

Eastern Zilla     

Amrapali was a strict looking woman, more like a female version of Shaurya. She gave them enough instructions and admonishments within the first few minutes to last them the entire month. Thankfully, their day to day interaction and training was to be held under Lata's guidance who seemed like an easy-going person.     

Also, much to their relief, they had discovered that the dilapidated looks were only to keep the curious outsiders away and the dirty, dingy appearance was restricted only to the entrance and the lanes. At the end of each alley, there were different halls, including various types of training arenas, foodhall, lecture halls and meeting rooms. If the training was to be held outside the premise, the way to that was also at the end of one of these lanes, which led to a different exit door from where they had entered.     

By the end of first two days, the five of them had settled in and were trying to cope with the timetable set for them. The people around them were friendly but kept to themselves. There was not much conversation apart from the general topics.     

On the third morning, Abhirath woke up with a note tied to the end of his toe. More than the curiosity about the contents of the note, he was embarrassed that he had slept through the entire process when it had taken place.     

"Be ready with your teammates for an excursion tonight at 12. See you at the exit door."     

Needless to say, the note was unsigned. Abhirath brought the four of them into a small huddle at the breakfast table and showed it around.     

"None of you are to talk about this to anyone. Since we don't know who is behind this, keep your guard up, now and at night. Understood?" his words were quiet but serious.     

"So, you mean to say that we are going for this thing?" Chiranjeev asked in a grave voice.     

Abhirath was also wondering about the wisdom of stepping out of the confines of safety into the unknown just on the basis of an obscure note. It could be from someone looking to make trouble or it could even be a test for them, which they may fail if they step out.     

But he gave a small nod and replied, "I think we need to check it out since we have been specifically targeted."