Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Gayatri was not worried about what the guy was going to say about her. There was nothing that Ahilya didn't know about her. But she was getting really curious to know how had the guy managed to get under Ahilya's skin already. Did they know each other from before? No, that was impossible.     

Before she could ponder over it any further, the guy had started talking again, "The princess is right, of course. But what most people do not know is that General Gayatri didn't want to join the army. Her original aim had been to become a painter and roam the world, capturing all its beauty on her canvas. I don't know what made her change so dramatically but I believe that it was quite a sacrifice. I believe she hasn't touched paints since then."     

Even before he finished speaking, Ahilya was shaking her head at him in a mocking way.     

"Are you under so much pressure to perform that you needed to resort to fabrication of stories to prove your worth?" she had a malicious glee in her voice.     

Shaurya looked at her calmly and then turned his gaze towards Gayatri who had a stunned expression on her face.     

"General, would you like to clarify whether I am weaving a tale or speaking the truth? It seems that your Princess doesn't believe me," he asked her, almost apologetically.     

Bela frowned at the choice of his words. It could be clearly interpreted as impertinent behaviour from his end. She had never known him to be this reckless. What had gotten into him?     

Ahilya's smile slipped a little. What he was saying wasn't possible. She had known Gayatri for so long. She would have known something so important about the most precious person in her life. But in the past few seconds, Gayatri hadn't denied the claim as she should have.     

"How did you know?" Gayatri's whispered words broke the stillness of the room.     

Even though it wasn't a big deal about her not wanting to be part of the family legacy or having another ambition, Gayatri knew exactly how Ahilya would react to it at this moment. The fact that she didn't know about it while someone else did, was going to be unacceptable to Ahilya. But it had been such a long time ago that even she had forgotten about it. To make matters worse, it was due to her love for Ahilya that she had changed her future course to ensure that she could be next to her. And that was one of the main reasons that she had never discussed it with Ahilya or anyone else.     

But then how did this guy find out about it? Who exactly was he?     

Shaurya gave her a small smile which wasn't gloating or unkind.     

"It doesn't matter, right? And also, the fact that you stand here, accomplished and competent in the army, makes the past irrelevant. I apologise for bringing it up here but the princess seemed to challenge my mother's faith and as her devoted son, I couldn't stay shut," he said and bent down in sincere apology.     

"Bela, it seems that I underestimated your son. Bring him tomorrow to the training ground. I want to see if he has any other noteworthy attributes," Ahilya strode out after speaking the terse words, with Gayatri trailing behind her in an anxious manner.     

"Interesting," Shaurya murmured, looking at their retreating backs thoughtfully.     

Bela gestured to him to walk out as well. They maintained silence till they hadn't reached outside the royal court. Standing on the deserted path, Bela brought her coat closer as the cold, cruel wind whizzed past her.     

"What has gotten into you? I have never seen you flex your insolence as you did today. Do you not know what is on stake? What is the meaning of embarrassing the closest comrade of the princess? Do you think that it will gain you any favors with either of them?" she shouted at him.     

Shaurya started apologetically, "I am sorry for my conduct but the minute I reached that barn, I knew that I would need to change the strategy which we had drawn earlier."     

At Bela's questioning look, he recounted the incident from that morning in a monotone.     

"When I walked in, I tried to act humble but the princess's sharp words made me realise that she was going to use that opportunity to try and cover her own embarrassment from the episode and make me grovel. That wouldn't have helped us in any way. Hence, I took a calculated risk and attacked her from the corner where she wouldn't have seen it coming. The idea was to throw her off the balance and gain the upper hand," he explained in a humble tone.     

Bela was lost in her thought for some time before suddenly asking, "What do you think is the equation between these two women?"     

Shaurya had been expecting a biting reprimand and was thrown off by her change of track.     

Before he could answer, she remembered something and said hurriedly, "That can wait. Let's go. We need to be elsewhere right now."     

Following her, Shaurya frowned at her behavior. Why was Guruji all over the place today?     

Suddenly, she stopped and said, "We are going to meet someone right now. I need you to remember your training and want you to be ready for any eventuality. Remember to put your country first, understood?"     

Shaurya nodded his head slowly. In terms of the spy parlance, she had just ordered him to kill or brace for getting killed. Where were they going?     

Irrespective of the questions in his head, once Bela turned her back towards him and started walking ahead, he lifted up his kurta and pulled out both the sheathed knives from either side of his ribs, where these had been placed in a bolster. He put one through the loop which was placed on the inner side of the long sleeve of the kurta. He slipped the other one next to his right ankle, which was hidden by the long boots which he was wearing.