Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Northern zilla was surrounded by high mountains, making it tough for foreign invaders to come in. To top it, Chandragarh's mountain border forces were well equipped in guerrilla warfare and were one of the best in the known world. As a result, the zilla was relatively safer than Western and Southern zilla for someone to hide in.     

Thinking this, Prithvi told her to go ahead and make the preparations for Shaurya's departure. Saraswati allowed herself a triumphant smile once she came out of the room and moved towards the reception.     

"Aren't I the best?" she preened, only to be tapped on the shoulder.     

"Apart from building conspiracy theories, now you have started talking to yourself as well? Why don't you ask your father to do your thorough medical check-up?" Ramanujam said, with a dead pan expression.     

Saraswati wanted to lash out and show off her matchmaking skills but she refrained. If he got to know that she had a nefarious purpose in sending Shaurya to Northern zilla, he would surely report it to Prithvi and then who knows what would happen.     

Putting on a hurt expression, she said, "Maybe you are right. I will ask baba to do so."     

He was taken aback at her sudden acquiesce and didn't know how to respond. He scratched his head in confusion and then quietly walked away after seeing her meek expression.     

Humming to herself, she prepared a note to be sent to Mriga alongwith the other couriers of the day. The daily errand boys would be arriving soon to take them. In the meanwhile, Prithvi had come out of the room and exited the building with a nod to her.     

After sometime     

"Shaurya, Guruji has decided to send you to the Northern zilla for now. The boats carrying the students are leaving this evening from the Gurukul because of the semester break. If you are upto it, you can travel with them. Since Mriga would be there, she would be able to take care of you on the way. But if you don't think that your body can cope with it right now, then I will arrange for you to go in one of the trading boats later," Saraswati told him with a poker face.     

Shaurya had been sitting with a gloomy face all this while after Prithvi's announcement of his departure. Suddenly, his eyes came alive and his heart started to thrum.     

"Uh… no I think I should be able to manage the trip. I will start preparing for it," he said and attempted to get up.     

She hid her smile at his blatant enthusiasm and said, "You don't need to fret. I will send someone to help you with the preparation."     

Afternoon, Boys' Dorm     

Abhirath's and Yash's sleeping halls were at the opposite ends of the first floor of the hostel and they rarely ran into each other. But this afternoon, Abhirath stood waiting outside Yash's living quarters, where Chiranjeev and Nirbhay also lived. He had sent Vandit to fetch the girls and wanted to leave early from the campus to go grab the table with these two guys. The eatery was popular amongst the students, not because it boasted of great food but because it was the only eatery outside the campus at such a short distance. Due to the same reason, it filled up fast and the waiting line was long.     

Not long after, he saw the two boys coming from the end of the hall towards him. He shook his head at their tardiness and turned around to start walking towards the exit.     

BUMP     

Yash had just returned from the Accounts department and found himself crashing into someone sturdy at the hall's entrance.     

Rubbing his shoulder, he raised his eyes to see Abhirath's fierce look.     

"Watch where you are going," Yash murmured and made a move to walk past him.     

But Abhirath was in no mood to let go of him so easily. How dare he upset Mriga!     

"It wasn't my fault. You are the one who ran into me blindly. You better apologise," he said coldly.     

Yash frowned at the guy's hostile behaviour.     

"Why should I apologise? I didn't do it deliberately. You were not careful about your surroundings," Yash replied belligerently.     

By now, Chiranjeev and Nirbhay had reached them.     

"My back was towards the door's exit. I was turning. How could I have seen? But you were walking in. You should have been careful. Or did you deliberately crash into me?" Abhirath raised his voice.     

Chiranjeev and Nirbhay looked at each other in surprise. What was wrong with the big guy today? Why was he deliberately making an issue out of nothing?     

Nirbhay walked upto Abhirath and said in a low voice, "Why are you calling attention to yourself? You know who he is. He will take this opportunity and bad mouth you to her. Why do you want to spoil your impression?"     

He completely ignored his friend's advice and raised an eyebrow at Yash.     

"Didn't you hear me? Apologise or you will have to bear the consequences," he threatened.     

Yash got an inkling that the guy's outburst was not just linked to this issue but something else.     

His first thought was, "Mriga wouldn't ever tell him about our fight. But that other guy, Ishani's boyfriend may have said something."     

Standing tall, he said, "I have no interest in engaging into a useless conversation with you. Kindly move aside."     

Abhirath didn't hold back any longer and threw a hard punch across his jaw, making Yash fall on the ground.     

"Are you crazy? What the hell is wrong with you? How dare you hit me?" saying so, Yash got up and threw a jab towards Abhirath's face, only to be blocked.