Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

0The four of them nodded like puppets on a string. But Mriga's mind had gone into overdrive yet again. Too many things out of the ordinary. Who would be interested in mere trainees who were just on the first leg of their program? She was really tempted to confide into Abhirath with her questions but restrained herself. It wasn't that she didn't trust him but she wasn't sure what exactly was happening all around for her to share with him.     0

12AM     

"Doesn't the exit door have a lock on it? I am sure that I saw it that morning. How are we going to open it?" Nirbhay whispered.     

Vandit put his finger on his lips to gesture him to quieten down. They were passing through the labyrinth of corridors before finally reaching the lane which would take them to the exit door. Abhirath possessed an excellent sense of direction and that is what the group had relied upon to find their way.     

They stood and stared at the door which was slightly ajar. Abhirath turned to go back and peer into the corridor if someone was there. But it remained empty. He stood hesitatingly, wondering about the next step. It was as if Mriga heard his thoughts.     

"Stop procrastinating. We won't know anything till we venture into it," saying so, she went past him, pushed the door open and walked out first.     

Abhirath's extended hand caught only the air trailing her. This GIRL!     

Since one of them had taken the bull by its horns, there was no choice left in the matter. One by one they all slipped out.     

Abhirath made sure that he closed the door before following others. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw Mriga bending down to touch someone's feet. It was someone they knew! So, not a stranger and no one from the Eastern zilla. But before he could reach them, they started walking quickly but stealthily towards a path which wasn't lit at all. On a no moon night, their night vision was tested to its maximum capacity and most of them stumbled on the uneven ground before reaching what looked like a thick cluster of trees.     

Abhirath had been the last one to leave the building and the curiosity of who was leading them had eaten him up in the past fifteen minutes. Since they were walking in a single file, he couldn't break rank and walk ahead. But he trusted Mriga's judgement to not walk blindly behind someone whom she didn't trust implicitly.     

Finally, the person raised his hand, making them halt and circle around him.     

"It will be tougher to walk ahead and we can't afford to light the lantern yet. So, place your hands on the shoulders of the person ahead of you," he said.     

Everyone grinned at the familiar face in front of them, even though the surprise of his presence hadn't dissipated fully yet.     

"What are you doing here, Guruji?" Vandit couldn't help but ask.     

Even in complete darkness, everyone could sense the man's frown, including Vandit who zipped his mouth, sheepishly.     

"We'll talk when we reach our destination," Ramanujam murmured as Mriga placed her hands on his shoulders and Chiranjeev on hers.     

Twenty minutes later     

The dense trees had given way to a large clearing area where the six of them stood right now. At Ramanujam's instructions, they had lit small diyas and placed them on the ground. Surprisingly, there was no grass here and the ground seemed to have been evened out as well.     

"I know that all of you have a million questions but I won't waste any time in answering those. All you need to know is that every night at this time, you will assemble here for training with me. You have to report to this place max by 12:30am and leave by 3:30am, every night till you are told otherwise. If on any night, you find the door of the institute locked, you must return to your dorm that instant and not go there again till you receive a communication from my side. Needless to say, you are not to breathe a word about this to another living soul. Any questions?" Ramanujam spoke in his usual mild manner.     

The five of them were still in daze when he started lining them up. He told them about the simulation exercise which they would undergo that night. Apart from Abhirath going solo, the others were put in pairs and all three parties needed to find their way to the forest's entrance from where they had started the journey inwards and come back to this spot within the stipulated time. The first to make it back would be the winner. They weren't allowed to take any diyas with them. Mriga and Nirbhay looked at each other in dismay. How the hell were they supposed to find their way back and forth in darkness?     

"I was busy trying to focus on Chiranjeev who was ahead of me. Where was the time to pay attention to the surroundings?" Nirbhay grumbled as they started their task.     

Mriga shushed him and closed her eyes for a few moments. Ever since she had done that mission with Shaurya during the annual fair, she had started noticing landmarks every time she visited somewhere new.     

She had managed to survive the training on that horrid hill designed by her mother also due to the same. In fact, doing the simulation there had helped enhance that skill without her even realising it. Even though she hadn't actively looked for clues tonight, she was hoping that she may have picked up something in the process, subconsciously.     

Nirbhay wanted to tease her initially for going into a trance but he sensed her acute concentration and waited patiently.