Chapter twenty - part two

The rightful place

The blade was sharp, with a precise edge that could have cut through the moonlight bouncing off its length. That light illuminated the face of the man who had the blade pointed to his throat. It was Megha, or a deeply bruised version of him. His long hair, disheveled and sweaty hung over his eyes. Beneath them, one of his brows were bleeding from a swift cut, while his lip was split up and a dark purple patch was rising in his cheek. 

"Why don't you simply kill me and finish it?" He asked the attacker, his voice slightly out of breath, but steady enough to convey his resolve. "Just like you killed all these people?"

"Perhaps my intention is different..." Letting his voice tail off Sanskar turned to look at the surrounding, the tip of his sword still steadily in place against the unarmed Megha. Around them, at least dozen people lay dead, bleeding into the ground. Their blood gathering in to tiny pools, shimmered in the starlight. "Or, I wouldn't have wasted all this time talking." 

*

Someone was gently shaking her awake, and Swara breathing heavily from the horrors she had witnessed a moment ago in her subconscious, stared unseeingly at the blur of colors that made up the view in front of her.

"Jiji?" A juvenile voice called again accompanied with a gentle nudge on her elbow. 

As the sleep had worn off the view of the forest clearing around her had solidified. Swara was sitting on some hastily spread out mat, underneath a shady tree. Leaning against it, she had dozed off as the day's exhaustion finally caught up with her.

The Bhavas posed as a group of merchants, crossing the narrow lands between Asanikshastra and Akashanagara towards the lesser crowded, tribal villages in the Jaya mountain range, with wagons loaded with spices and grains; the most sought after goods in the hills. Unlike in the deserts where wagons would travel by the night and rest during the daytime, through the tall grasslands and misty moors they traveled by the day. During the night the descending fog was too thick to see through and too cold to be exposed to, that the Bhavas preferred to stay snuggled closer to their bonfires and huddled in the camp.   

The evening fog was rolling in and they had stopped for the day. Over the tops of the conifers that made her landscape, Swara had seen the Jaya peaks rising above them. They were almost at the base of the mountains by then. Megha who had been travelling by her side that day, had pointed out the familiar silhouette of the Shamashikara mountain, far in the horizon. A wave of nostalgia hit her at the sight that hinted how closer she was to the place she had grown up in, and watching her expression, the sheen of tears pooling her eyes, Megha had suggested perhaps she should catch some sleep, while the Bhvas set the camp. He had commented on, how she grumbled like a zombie around the place and earned a small laughter.

Now the darkness completely blanketed them. Above the clearing, where a cheerful fire was now cackling merrily, stars were hanging low and she had just witnessed the danger about to cross paths with her new found friend. With a sigh she buried her face in her hands. It always came back to him. The man she was foolish enough to trust. The man she was repeatedly warned to stay away from and the man destiny had toppled over her path; the yuvraaj of Vajras; Sanskar. She had been passing through several levels of grief after learning of his betrayal.

 Firstly she had found the whole thing extremely unbelievable. During the cruise journey, she had came to know this person; and that person had staked his life to save hers over and over again. Thinking back to the time they spent together, their conversations or even the meaningful silences, she could not find a trace of dishonesty in his voice, words or the way he looked at her. How was she to believe that he had been a hell of an actor?

But then again, a small voice was born in the back of her mind. Was not exactly this Mohan had been warning her about over and over again? Had not he said, with that wistfully dark look in his eyes, that if the Yuvraaj indeed wanted her, there was not really a chance of escaping him? Had not he explained that he was anything but a monster and that charm itself was deadly? Was not that exactly what had been happening with her, was not she irrevocably falling for his charms?

During moments like those she wished, with a knot of longing tightening itself around her heart, that she was back home with Mohan. Or that he was here with her. She needed that reassuring solid presence in her life, some anchor to hold on to when storm after storm was unleashed into her world. And the idea only depressed her that the only method she had of communicating with him was now tucked away in the pocket of that despicable prince. She would go out of her way to avoid him, for watching that smug look in his terribly elegant emerald eyes, was something she was finding hard to digest. 

But he would not leave her alone. As an extremely annoying shadow, the man had a tendency of popping up wherever she went. Watching her conversing with others, like a hawk, his eyes narrowed, expression calculative. She hated to know that, even in those peaceful moments he was planning something...again. And she hated not having a clue what it was, more. In the initial days she had wondered what his motive was. Was he trying to keep her from escaping? But had not the man proved that he could literally make her dance to his tunes? A cold dared coiled itself around her spine as she recalled those moments, when he had bound her with that awful charm of his lands. There was no reason why he would not be able to do that again. Was he trying to keep reminding her, that she was his prisoner now? Yes; that was probably it. Swara thought darkly. 

But now, she knew better. The man was sinister than she had anticipated before.

The girl who was nudging her awake earlier was still there, watching in confusion as many emotions crossed her features. Finally, she seemed to realize of her presence and turned to her.

"Megha is telling us a story," the girl informed her. "Let's go jiji!"

The children of the Bhava group had befriended her as soon as they set eyes on each other. They had been a good distraction as well as a fine shield till now. Swara found herself enjoying their company more and more as the days passed by. Now, her mind elsewhere in darker thoughts she let the wisp of a girl drag her to the warmest circle supplied by the bonfire. The other children were already huddled around the tribal youth who looked as excited as them, if not more. She noticed he had set up a screen of sorts, where he was currently projecting shadowy figures using his fingers. The children looked amused at his talent at that, and cheered as he made shadows of animals and made their respective sounds from the back of his throat.

"Story! Story! Tell us the story!" The kids chorused. 

"Hmm...now did I promise that exactly?" He asked them wickedly and the young Bhavas launched into a massive mission of persuading him into narrating a story. It took a considerable while of complaining, giggling, teasing and finally threatening for Megha to give up with a loud sigh, his hands in the air.

"Fine, fine. You win!" He said to the boys, trying to wrestle with him, and rolled his eyes at the girls cheering. When his eyes found hers, he flashed a smile that Swara could not reciprocate at the moment.

"Okay...so this story," Megha started, his loud voice silencing the children at once. "Is about a boy...umm no, let's make it a young man." He projected an appropriate shadow with his hands and then continued. 

"So, he had never seen his father and lived in the mountains with his mother. He was curious of cause, as to where his father was and the mother would always tell him a story. Of one or the other battle his father had part taken in, how he was still out there fighting so commoners like him and her were safe from the evils out there."

"Was he a soldier?" A boy questioned. 

"You could say that. After all that's what the boy thought until he grew older. You know as he grew up, the world around him too had changed. He realized that was not the case. The world had always been this complicated. But he being a child did not understand it before. That was when he heard of the emulations."

"The Akashanagara ones?"

"Yes. Where men were put to battle like cattle for the entertainment of the nobles. And during those years, his mother too passed away, in one too cold winter."

"Megha," whined a girl. "This is a sad story, I hate those!"

"No Raani, It's not a sad story. The story is yet to begin." Megha told her. "Well the emulations did not mean a lot to the young man. He did not live in Akashanagara, nor was he a criminal that would be punished to part take in them. He spent his time with his tribal people, like we do, traveling from place to place, hunting in the summers, lazy in the winters. Until one day. A man who called himself the brother of his father came to see him. And the man brought with him a story. The real story of his father, unlike the ones his mother told him."

"I don't believe this man," said one of the girls. "You never know if he is lying or not."

"Yes. Why come now, after all the years?" Another girl agreed.

"Well the young man asked him the same thing. And you know what the man said?" He peered at his listeners, stopping there for good effect. 

"Do tell," said one of the boys with an annoyed glance at the girls who disturbed the story earlier.

"He said he had wanted to come, for so long now. But he was hiding half of those times and trying to survive the emulations the other half."

"Why?"

"You see, according to him, he and his brother were both forced to part take in the emulations. They were accused of a crime they did not commit. When the soldiers came, they had somehow helped their wives escape and they themselves were caught and put to battle."

"Did the boy believe this?"

"He had to. The man was convincing enough. And there was more. After a few years the two brothers had staged an escape plan. They had enough of putting their lives in danger each season for no reason. The younger brother, the one telling the story had succeeded, but the older the young man's father did not."

"So he was still in the emulations?"

"So the man said. And he proceeded to inform him how his brother was about to enter a deadly combat this time, and how there was no chance of him surviving it. And he asked, if the boy wanted to save his father. The boy did of cause. The man was eagar to help him. He himself could not go back, as he was a traitor now. But he knew of a noble who was recruiting people to be his champions in the emulations. The boy could enter the game and offer to take his father's place in the battle."

"Oh no! All this sounds fishy!" Raani said again. "Did the boy agree and enter the emulations?"

"He did. Not only that, he offered to take the place of the one already drawn to part take in that deadly fight. And then the truth confronted him."

"I told you," the first girl who had suspected the man said in a victorious voice. "The man was lying!"

"He indeed was. The champion to take part in the deadly combat had been a young man, who could not possibly be our young man's father. With only one night left to the task, all the facts were unearthed by the youth. That young man, the one supposed to battle, was the son of the noble that had forwarded his name for the emulations. The whole thing had been his plan from the start, the man, the offer to help, all that a trap to find someone to replace his son."

"What happened then?"

"Oh the boy escaped. After all, while trying to convince him with his story the man who called himself his uncle had told the boy a great story about how he had escaped from the Padmapeeta palace. The boy used his own mind and, formed his own plan."

Megha then proceeded to tell them the heroic tale of the young man's escape from the emulations. But Swara's attention was already elsewhere. Her eyes, wondering around the clearing had suddenly caught a sight of Sanskar. He was with Kalindi. In fact he was arguing with her. From where she sat, she could not catch the words they exchanged, but she could clearly see, in the light from the bonfire, how pale Kalindi looked. Her eyes had a haunted look in them, as if she was being cornered in the argument, her lips pulled into a tight line, that demonstrated how unwilling she was of the content of the conversation. Sanskar on the other hand, looked positively threatening. His eyes were venomous green, flickering in the fire light, his features rigid and mouth working furiously forming words. In the shadows behind him Agni, stood, as always silent and cold, but his brows too were frowned and his expression was not a happy one.

Swara had had enough. She stood up and strode towards them, her lips pursed and eyes burning. By the time she reached them, the conversation was drawing to a close. 

"Give it to me, that's an order." Sanskar was saying, as he stood up, his hands in his pockets.

"How could you..." Kalindi stopped abruptly, her gaze spotting Swara and Sanskar turned slowly to face her.

"We need to talk," Swara told him. Her tone was as unfriendly as possible.

 "I'm in the middle of something," Sanskar told her dismissively.

"Sanskar," she took that unfamiliar name, slightly surprised to find how natural it tasted in her tongue. He looked at her, rather startled. "We - need - to - talk," she said emphasizing each word.

He exchanged a look with Agni and gave him a slight nod, before extending his arm to her. 

"Fine, let's go." He said shortly.

She looked at the offered hand and then at him, her eyes narrowing and folded her arms safely across her chest, before turning and walking briskly away from the gathering. After a second, he followed her, his hands back in his pockets.

"What exactly are you planning to do with these people?" She rounded on him, as soon as they reached a rather shady corner under the tree she had dozed off earlier. He raised an eyebrow. 

"How is that any of your business?" His tone was cold, as he shot back.

"Really? Are we playing twenty questions now?" She asked him sarcastically.

"No we're not Swara. I was discussing something important with Kalindi when you dragged me here. Now tell me, what exactly you want to play?" His voice started off cold and ended with a hint of curiosity as he watched her with interest. "After all, you've been avoiding me for so many days. What changed all of a sudden?"

"I just realized how ungrateful a man you are."

"Oh," he said uninterestedly. "Trying to measure all my vices are we now?"

"What has he ever done to you huh? Apart from keeping his distance? Whatever is your reason to attack him?"

"Enlighten me," he offered mockingly. "Who is this person you're talking about."

"You know very well, who I am talking about. Megha! Why are you planning to kill him?"

"And why would that bother you?" He questioned back. "Whatever my plans for him are, how is that one of your concerns? Don't tell me..." he snorted at that point. "Do you care for him, Swara?"

 "And what is it to you if I do Sanskar?" She asked bitterly, before holding that string of thought. "Wait, is that all this is really about? Did I hurt your ego by ignoring you in his presence?" She could almost laugh at the silly situation. "Seriously Sanskar, would you kill someone for a petty jealousy?"

In her seething anger, she had lost the track of her surroundings. That trance broke rather brutally, when his fingers curled around her upper arm, waking her up to find out how close they were actually standing. His olive green orbs bored into her golden ones. There was something commanding in that gaze, a power that was lurking behind the flawless features. 

"What did you think?" He asked slowly. "When he promised you that he would, in any way he could, take you back to Mohan. Did you really think I wouldn't know? Or did you really think you could pull it off?"

She was too stunned to form a coherent response. Megha had indeed offered her an escape, when she was sulking in one of her moody days. He had convinced her, that he knew ways of escaping through the tiniest of loop holes, and would, certainly find a way for her to go safely home. 

"Do you think Mohan could break the charm, hmm? Or that the walls of Shamashikara citadel would keep my power from seeking you out? Do you truly, still believe, there is a way out from this?"

"Leave me, Sanskar!"

She tried to jerk off his hold on her arm, only to have him pull her even closer. He bowed his head, his nose almost nudging hers, those strange eyes still holding her captive and when he spoke again she could feel his breath on her face.

"It's Yuvraaj sa for you." His tone was merely more than a whisper. "And he is not going to help you run away. He himself is about to be caught, his own escapade is coming to an untimely end."

"What do you..."

"You're the eye." He said pointedly. "You should know. You should see, for yourself."

"I hate you!" She muttered heatedly.

"Good." He smirked. "Glad to hear that." He released his hold at once. Stepping lightly away from her, his hands back in his pockets and that wicked grin twisting his lips, he went away, to join Agni once more.

*

He had said she just had to say those words, and he would do everything in his power to deliver her safely to Mohan, take her home. Swara had smiled wistfully at that, then. Although logically she should have agreed immediately something had stopped her from doing so. A feeling she could not fathom had tugged at her heart strings and she had shaken her head, before telling him that she would "think" about it.

Now riding into the night with Megha, she tried not to think about that. She had rushed to him after her conversation with Sanskar and as soon as she confirmed his attention was once again completely focused on the conversation he had with Kalindi. 

"I need you to take me to Mohan. I need to leave now!" She had told him. 

Megha watched her for a moment stunned. He did not expect her to come to him after all. He had known she had misgivings about the offer. In the meantime she wondered briefly how could she even begin to explain her decision if he demanded her to. The vision, her conclusion that the only way she could keep him away from danger, and the others from dying was taking him far away from the manipulations and schemes of the lord of Vajras, all that was far too complicated to be covered in the time they had in hand.

"Now!" She urged again. And that fearful look in her eyes, the slight stammer in her tone was all it had taken for him to be convinced.

The wind rushed past, gripping hair from the bun she had pulled them into, burning in her eyes and that familiar feeling of dared was still coiling around her soul. Everything would turn out alright. Kaldwaara borders were just a two days ride away and Megha said, the route he took was untraceable. Although she did not believe Sanskar would not be able to track them, she was resolved to think they had a safe lead from the distance they put between him and their location. 

As the eastern skies rimmed with pale silver, the rushing sound of river Indra reached their ears. The crossing Bhavas had promised to take them to, was nearby. Swara was almost dozing off, the tension finally taking the form of exhaustion and the dream returned.

She watched as Sanskar's blade cut the men, dressed in the tribal clothes. Strangely now, she realized that they were not from the group she had been traveling with. Those men were strangers. She watched as they attacked him back, watched as one of them managed to gash open his arm. And she was pushed to wakefulness as they stopped with a sudden jerk.

"Why, are we stopping?" She asked Megha, trying to orient herself. He was staring ahead, towards the shores of Indra. There a horseman was waiting for them. He looked familiar, his dark eyes shimmering in the first light.

Swara took a gulp of the frosty morning air, the mist lifting to a thin veil now did nothing to stop her from recognizing the figure.

"Mohan," her voice was a cry in her throat, but merely a throttled whisper in the air. Without waiting for Megha to help her in dismounting, she jumped to the ground and ran towards him. Mohan himself had dismounted, and took her in his arms with a sigh. 

The warmth of his embrace was contrasting against the chill of the dawn, and she drew in a soothing breath filled with his familiar sent before the coil around her heart tightened further. Distantly she felt Mohan's hand patting her hair, but her eyes were seeing a different vision.

"They've Lakshya..." His tone was bitter. "I don't know how it happened, but he is going to part take in the emulations."

"How did you know Yuvraj sa?" Kalindi asked him.

"I.." He stopped for a moment. "When Swara healed me, we shared our minds for a moment, she saw my hallucinations and I saw her vision. A vision of the Anjani princess handing Lakshya Aithne..." Agni and Kalindi gasped at that and he nodded at them. "The blade would ruin him, if we don't stop them first."

"Yuvraj sa, you can't..." Agni began to protest.

"I can't lose him again Agni. He is my brother."

"Then what about the lady?" Kalindi questioned after a moment.

"She has to leave, like I said before. Kaldwaara is safe for her at the moment. Mohan is there."

"But she won't agree." Agni said with a slight smile, "we already saw how against the idea she was."

"Leave that to me." He told them, with a wistful smile. "I can convince her."

 The vision faded away and she shivered. The truth was finally catching up. That dream...it was a dream, not a vision. A dream that wicked oneiro had planted in her mind, to make her believe he was the danger she had to escape, to make her believe she had to save others from him. And Megha...she rounded on him, leaving Mohan's embrace abruptly.

"That story, you told the kids, it wasn't fiction was it?" she asked her tone shaky. "It was you, who escaped the emulations... They are coming to get you, aren't they?"

Megha bowed his head, his eyes lowered.

"Yes."

"And Mohan," her tone was bitter. "How did you know I was coming?"

No one replied that question. She marched to Megha and pulled out the cold chain with the ruby from his pocket. It dangled from her wrist, as she glared at both of them.

"He gave you this, did he not?" She asked Megha again. "You and him, you two were in cahoots with each other!" She accused him. "And what did he offer in return? Take you place in the emulations?"

"That is none of your concern Swara." Mohan spoke finally, his tone firm. "The lord of Vajras has a brain of his own, and it was his brother he was concerned about."

"And he is going to walk into the kingdom of a man who wants him dead for a decade now!" Her voice was rising. 

"We need to leave." Mohan was persistent. "He has his guardian to take care of him."

"Does he?" She raised an eyebrow. "I know, you're here Agni. There's no point in hiding anymore." Her tone was mocking and her voice loud, from the misty shades of the trees that edged the forest, Agni's shadow appeared. Mohan sighed and Megha's eyes narrowed.

"Was he following us?" he demanded angrily. "So the prince did not trust me after all."

"The prince is a fool," Swara rubbed her temples. 

"Let's go," was all Mohan had to say. 

She did not move. Even without his charms holding her, Swara realized she could not take another step towards Mohan's outstretched hand. She gulped some of the cold air once more, startled at her own emotions. She had wanted to go home so very desperately. But she was not moving. The chance of freedom, even if temporary was within her grasp, but she was not reaching out for it. And the oddest thing was, there was no longer an enchantment to place the blame upon.

"Swara, are you coming or not?" Mohan's tone was a resigned one. He knew her decision before she voiced it. The man was a master when it came to reading people.

"It's too late Mohan, you know that." She said slowly. "I can't leave him now."

*