Chapter 19 part II

Old wounds run deep

Unknown...

There was snow falling from a pale blue sky. Flakes of transparent, pointy flowers of purest white December from the heaven. From a memory, blurred with time he recalled how they made Kavita's eyes shimmer. There was a soft glow of inner joy, as she watched them melt in her palm...his heart would surely skip a beat then.

 Then her hazel eyes smudged into molten gold orbs. With her thick lashes dusted in finely powdered snow, it was Swara watching him; a soft smile tugging her lips. Sanskar took a breath, the frosty air burning his lungs and exhaled slowly, watching the smoke rise from his nostrils.

Finally he looked around. They were in the middle of some frozen lake.  The thick surface of ice obstructing the view of the depth below and glittering rosy in the sunlight, it made a tapping sound as he stepped.  

She was wearing hues of warm peach and golden brown. Her clock trimmed with fur, thick and snuggly. There were snowflakes resting on her hair, like flowers interwoven into the complex braids she had turned them into.

" Where are we?" She asked as he approached. Unconsciously he took her hand in his, it was toasty warm. Sanskar looked up and smiled at her.

"I don't know," he admitted shrugging a little.  

"You brought us here, didn't you?" She pointed out, her eyes widening. " You said you had something to tell me..."

Her voice tailed off as Sanskar wondered what he would have planned to tell her, in a landscape sprinkled with fresh winter.

Then her voice called from a far distant memory.

"There will be someone else who deserves to hear you say those words...someone who can say them back..."

"I wanted to tell you..." he stopped, fishing for the best choice of words.  

"hmm. ..?" She urged him.

"I wanted to tell you, about me."

It might have been the setting sun that glazed the snow till then, for it disappeared as soon as he spoke those words.  In shadows of the twilight the snowy hills looked different, somehow familiar.

" Sanskar?" Her voice was cautious as she spoke.

 "What happened here?"

Somewhere in the newly falling night, a wolf howled. Sanskar flinched.

" I almost died here..."

*

Borders of Vajrateerta, present time.

Sometimes she wished the time would leave some sign of its flow. The continuity, the eternity was exhausting her. And then sometimes she prayed for the moments to hold still, or turn around to the past where things were much much more beautifully uncomplicated.

 The chestnut brown stallion stopped in mid run, as Annapurna pulled back its reins. With an unsatisfied neigh at the chilly morning air, it puffed its front hooves and stilled, smelling the dew drenched air and wondering why she stopped in the middle of nowhere.

She had been there before. It had been so many years ago. Again, it was the time. Standing stubbornly still so that the painful incidents if the past was replayed by her psyche. Annapurna had shed the last of her tears decades before,  now her eyes simply stung, she furiously blinked, and that was it.  There were no more tears to dump her lashes, no need to cry over shadows. She took that decision so long ago, when her love was brutally snatched from her.

Thinking back, Annapurna could not recall of a time when she was not in love with Nithya the Crown prince of Vajras. He had been the center of her gravity from a very distant childhood. Ever since she had known,  he was her betrothed and his ring had graced her finger. She was born a daughter to one of the twelve ministers, a noble lady of the highest ranking. Annapurna was taught that her destiny was to be a queen, and such had been her upbringing; fit for a princess. She was not sure if it was like a reaction of an addict to his addiction, but waking up from the dream she had grown up with was lethal.  

She recalled that day, when she had relentlessly wept at the altar of Agni, praying to the unseen gods to come forth and correct the horrible path her fate had taken.

The day had dimmed out to a indigo twilight and a ghostly moonlight filtered through the carved canopy above. It was silent as a grave, the temple empty of everyone but the sobbing bride of Vajra. Annapurna refused to leave,  knowing soon maids will come to fetch her back to the Asanibhavan, where she was to wait for the wedding tomorrow.

From the lower halls of the temple, a figure in priestess robes emerged and joined her in kneeling at the giant statue of the elven god Agni.

She paid no attention to the new company and a moment passed in silence before the priestess turned to her.

"What are you praying for my lady; the future to brighten or the past to return?"

"What I pray for, I cannot have. What I'm given I do not wish for. So I pray for nothing, no future, no past, I simply pray the present remain as long as possible. Unchanged..."

"Do you remember him?" The priestess asked, her voice hushed as if she was speaking of some perilous secret. "What was his name?"

Annapurna had her eyes closed. There was a calm upon her face, as if she was deep in prayer.

" He was named after eternity, eternal glory, eternal bravery, eternal love..." a sob slayed her voice and the silence prevailed. "Nithya, was his name."

" Then my lady; do you truly believe someone who's name itself means eternal could perish so easily?"

Annapurna opened her eyes, they reflected the softest of moonlight and the reflection of the giant stone god before them. But in her features was a different illumination, a sort of enlightenment. A glow of soft red reflected off her face for for a fragment of a second. And the enlightenment did not make her look peacefully serene at all, instead for a glimpse she looked as dark as the skies outside the temple.

That look graced her features in the present, as she stayed, mounted on her brown stallion waiting for her brother who was riding from the guardian tower closest to them to join her.

There was a soft clip clop of dump earth under hooves and Aryaman's silhouette appeared from the edge of her view. His gray stallion galloping fast as he caught her sight.

"The charm wore off," Aryaman informed her, nonchalantly. " The ministers are unaware and the Skia is oblivious."

"They are simply a flock without a sheepdog in the absence of Agni," shrugged Annapurna.

" I take it you're not worried about them?" Aryaman raised an eyebrow.

" No," Annapurna admitted. " The charm did its job. We had managed to keep him away from the herz for long enough for the poison to spread."

 Absent mindedly she held out her palm and a strikingly thin, miniature snowflake landed on her finger tips.

" Finally it's happening."

" Are you certain sister?"

Annapurna did not reply as she turned her mount. " Come, may the herz convince you."

*

The Marutha caves, Present time.

Swara was under the impression that she had the most agonizing dreams in the entire world.  But now she knew how wrong she was. Sitting there watching a feverish Sanskar battle the monsters in his sleep was far too excruciating.

Kalindi; once Swara had trusted her enough to allow,  had taken off the bullet. But as they knew previously,  it was nae of leas and thus deadly for elven folk. It was a wonder he remained upright so long, the leader of the Bhavas had stated. In her pale face, she had seen ghosts of fear. Kalindi was a woman of remarkable talent, and she owed her life to Aruna; she would not let him die under her watch. No. Swara blew out a breath,  she needed to keep that thought away from her unrealistic mind. Sanskar will wake up soon.

 Agni did say, his body was trained to some poisons. Surely he will battle this one out. He only needed time. That was it.

She tried to keep her eyes clenched shut,  muttering the same thing again and again. But no; in silence his rattling breath would sound louder and more ominous and her eyes would shot open at once; staring aimlessly in the dim light until they found him.  His face was pale, cheeks shadowed in a day's stubble, eyes rimmed with dark circles and eyeballs moving furiously as he dreamed on.

Involuntarily she would sit by his side, a palm gently wiping away the sweat matted with his hair.

" Mohan would be furious," Swara thought as she brushed those hairs off his forehead.  " He would want me to leave while I can."

Sanskar muttered something in his dreams bringing her attention to his lips. They had darkened.  It must be the effect of the poison. He looked tortured.

" Does it pain? Are you suffering?" She muttered to herself, the questions he was unable to answer. "I was taught you wanted me dead; but you took a bullet meant for me."

She stood up as unintentionally as she had sat earlier. Watching him struggling was painful, leaving him was harder yet.  

"Which one of you is real? The one I grew up hearing about, or the one I met earlier, or the one I dreamed about all those years?

She sat down once more.

" Tell me about yourself," She said slowly placing her hand on his cheek cold with sweat then, and letting go of the hold she had on her power.

  Swara peered into his thoughts, and the night hours ticked away.

*

Unknown...

The snow was no longer prestine. There were darker stains of crimson as blood pooled on the uneven ground. He found himself bound at wrists and ankles once more, laying face down on the burning snow. The mountains were unforgiving, the winds harsh and whipping but there was laughter ringing louder than the wind.

At thirteen Sanskar did not know much. Certainly not the little fact that a fraction of his own people despised him. He had no idea that his father's men who were supposed to make him safe passage to one of the portals were in cahoots with Pratula. The few remaining loyal were soon overpowered by the Anjani assassins. He did not even want to recall the details.

"It was true then," said a broody voice. The man to whom the voice belonged to wore large war boots, with spiking metals on their fronts. The snow crushed under his wheight as his each foot sank in the whiteness while approaching him.

"What they say back in the capital...The prince of Vajras," he aimed a kick at his chest rolling him on his back. "Is as soft as," another kick to his side. "a cotton ball."

There was a round of laughter at that. Sanskar watched the man, his brownish beefy face doubling in laughter. His yellowish teeth bared at him. He did not blink although the pain burned in his eyes. He could already taste the rusty taste of blood in his eye tongue.  Yet Yet he did not wince. The show of pain would only entertain them more.

" What are you staring at, huh boy?" The man crouched near his face and inquired. He said nothing, as he watched these unpleasant eyes boring into his.

What did Mohan say? He tried to recall.

" Sometimes nothing entertains a tormentor more than reaction.  To know they got us. It always gets you time, what they waste in trying to decipher you, is what you should use in picking their weaknesses."

"The man,  the leader, he is giant. Too large that he probably wields a heavy sword, or perhaps a club. But he can't be fast. No. Not with this mammoth body.

The rest is sheep, heading after the sheep dog. The leader is the one keeping them in check. Paid assassins most likely. Once the giant is not in command they won't pose a threat either..."

"He has eyes like a serpent," the beefy Anjani concluded before his knuckles met with Sanskar's check bone, leaving a hot stinging there.

"Take him, and put him in the caves."

"But..." one of the lackeys called out in an uncertain tone. " We weren't supposed to kill him."

"So we won't," snickered the man. "The wolves will."

And they laughed again, in those repulsive empty cackles.

*

The forest of the herz, present time.

In the part of the forest they stood, the spring was still intact. Although the power the prince of Vajras had on the land was fading, the pulse of the herz maintained life on these woods. Leaving their horses yo rest, Aryaman and Annapurna walked the footpath leading to the herz.  They stood a considerable distance away from the golden hued tree and Annapurna turned to her brother with a hauntingly serene smile.

" Convinced brother?"

The leaves of the herz were morphing. They were changing from their ever green to autumn hues of crimson and yellows. As they watched the first dead leaf floated to the ground.

"A cycle of herz ends with with a royal line."

 Annapurna commented to the general silence as if remarking upon the weather.

*

Unknown. ..

The wolves howled deep within the dark cave. He could see their shadows loom closer as they approached, picking the scent of his blood. A fear colder than the snow gripped him for a minute...If these animals got him, no one would ever learn of his fate.

Sanskar collected himself faster, as the first pair pair of luminous eyes glared from the darkness. Instead of giving to the dread that sought to paralyse him, he summoned the cold intellect Mohan was sharpening.

These were his lands.  He was the master of them. He was the master of the animals it created. These wolves weren't his enemies, but friends answering his call.

He held the gaze of the beast communicating his intention. The wolf leaped over him, its teeth sinking to the ropes that bound his arms. Another emerged from the shadows, pulling and chewing at his ankle bounds.

He could have slipped away once he was free. The wolves would have protected him. In the years that passed on he wished he had, for countless times.

But he did not.  Not when he knew his tormentors were just outside, laughing, drinking as they imagined the beasts fasting on him.

The Vajra rage mixed with the Naga cold calculation was not a healthy combination. He wanted revenge. He wanted to see them suffer, see the same pain reflected on their beefy faces.

The men knew not what was coming for them. The pack of wolves leaping at once from the cave mouth had been too much. They aimed the throat, pawed the faces, ripped the skin with their claws.  

And And he watched. A dull yet pleasant burning in his chest as the men begged to be spared.

*

Unknown. ..

"Do you see now? I'm as evil as they tell you. I can kill without a second thought. There's no stopping to my rage. I am a horrible person. A man without a heart. They were right in telling you to stay away."

He said it in one go. Without returning her gaze and waited for her to turn away.

She did not.

"Then why aren't you letting me go?" She asked slowly indicating her hand he still had clasped in his own. Sanskar let her go at once. But she did not move as she waited his reply.

" It feels warm when you're here. I haven't felt so in a long time. Not since Ma passed away."

His cheeks tinted a little at how childish his voice sounded.

"Why are you still here?"

"Because I understand.  You wanted to live. And living is no crime."

"You're just repeating my subconscious," he shrugged at her. "The real you would probably say I'm a beast."

"But you're no more. You've learned to control."

"doesn't change what I did."

"Do you regret it?"

"Yes," he said slowly. " This isn't how I want you to to see me. But I am what I am. This me is is as much real as the other me. I don't really deserve you do I? Could you ever forgive me...Shona?"

*

The Marutha caves, present times.

She did not know what she was doing. All that mattered at the moment was ending his pain. That prolonged agony he was going through, scalded her cell by cell.  Swara could feel the burning chill of the snow, taste the rusty blood in her mouth and feel each blow breaking her skin, jolting her bones. The knowledge came from memories,  faint conversations stored in her mind and the books she had read ages ago in the dimly lit dust hall hall of annals in Kaaladwara.

The herz...the herz could heal him.

Imeadiatly Mohan's voice filled her ears.

" You should never come forth the herz, it desires power. ...It will never let you go..."

She paused for a moment.

No; her mind argued back. This was not what she has spent years in hiding for.

But; interjected her heart. What was the point of hiding if someone dies saving her?

Whatever Mohan said. She would not be indebted to the prince of Vajras.

Yes. That was one of Mohan's seven vows right? So she wasn't doing anything anything wrong after all.

As her power reached out to the herz, her fingers wrapped around his wrist. She could feel his pulse, faint and uneven and the magic running in  their veins throbbed to a different rhythm before fusing onto one and matching that of the herz.

In its clearing the tree begun to sprout new leaves. Dark pink at first and fragile as they unfolded but slowly turning into pale green and then shimmering in gold.

A pulse of energy so strong vibrated through the ground, forcing the brother sister duo to step backwards.  

" How can this be?" Annapurna demanded as she watched the first few of silver buds bloom in the tips of the branches.  For the first time in the centuries of their life time the herz was in bloom.

The spring was coming.

*