Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Mriga had listened to Ramanujam's instructions carefully and tried to give her best every single day, even during those times when her body felt as if it were dying.     

After coming back from another gruelling session, she went for a long shower and spent some time washing the mud off her body. Even though it was a non-educational day, they still had to wear their colour coded dress. She wore her lotus pink uniform, combed her hair till they shone and ran towards the Gurukul gate. She hadn't seen Yash since almost a week now and missed him terribly.     

As she saw the gate from afar, her face lit up finding him waiting for her, there. But before she could reach him, a beautiful girl walked up to him.     

Yash had been waiting for this hour for the past many days. He had it all planned. Today was going to be the day that he 'confessed.' When he had returned post the semester holidays, his plan had been to woo Mriga for nearly the entire semester before proposing to her. But a month had already gone past and he didn't even manage to spend few hours with her in so many days.     

With her daily schedule becoming so packed unexpectedly, he didn't want to wait any longer. Rather, there was no point in waiting since he wasn't getting a chance to spend time with her, anyways. At least he would have time to strengthen their relation or work on influencing it during the remaining time, depending upon her response to his question today.     

Under the mild sunlight, he looked charming enough to catch the eyes of the female students passing by.     

Not bothering to notice the whispered giggles of those girls, he focussed on the market survey sheet in his hand. As part of the finance department, he had been assigned the task of checking the pros and cons of the current policy of coexistence of the mix of currency and barter system.     

It wasn't an easy project by any means and he had volunteered to take on this comprehensive task for two reasons. When the internship had started and Mriga was stationed outside the Gurukul for her project, he had used it as an opportunity to seek her, since it involved regular visits to the shops and money lenders. Secondly, the project genuinely fascinated him. Numbers were his forte and he loved analysing them and their impact.     

"Excuse me, are you Yashvardhan belonging to the Southern zilla, per chance?" a soft, cultured voice brought him out of his thoughts.     

He looked up and was taken aback by the beauty standing in front of him. A girl, nearly as tall as him, had walked up to him.     

"Uh… yes. How did you… I mean, do I know you?" he asked, slightly flustered.     

Though the girl seemed to be similar to his age, she had a poise and grace far beyond her years. Fair, smooth face was framed by soft curls and the school uniform couldn't hide the curves which she had blossomed into, already.     

As if sensing her effect on him, the girl gave him a tiny smile.     

"Hi, I am Vindhya. Forgive me but my curiosity won over my inhibitions. After being informed about our possible association, I wanted to know what you looked like," she said.     

A blush had spread across her face, making her look even more attractive.     

Yash tugged at the sleeve of his kurta subconsciously while searching for an appropriate response to her frank statement.     

Never had he imagined that he would have to face this girl in such a manner. In fact, he had not thought of a way to tackle this situation up till now. His focus had been to confess to Mriga about his feelings. In hindsight, he should have had a plan for this first, considering they studied together. But he hadn't taken into account the possibility of the girl seeking him out versus the opposite.     

"Hi… I am sorry. You seem to have caught me off guard. I sincerely do not know how to react right now," he spoke in all honesty.     

A surprised expression flitted on Vindhya's face but it turned into a shy smile the next minute.     

"Uh, am I interrupting?" a mildly annoyed voice interrupted the scene.     

Yash was already flustered by the presence of the new girl. Mriga's arrival added to the mix and he couldn't stop embarrassment turning his face beetroot. He was feeling guilty without actually having done something wrong.     

Mriga and Vindhya sized each other up. While the former was curious and wary, the latter found her not worthy of even a second look.     

"No worries. I just wanted to come and introduce myself. Maybe we can catch up another time when you are not busy. You can find me in the Science department during the school hours," with that, she gave him a slight nod and went in the direction of the school ground.     

Mriga looked at Yash who was staring at the ground fiercely as if he had found some hidden treasure there.     

"Shall we go to the market?" she asked him testily, bringing his gaze towards her.     

He nodded mutely and followed her out of the gate.     

Before he could say anything, she turned and said, "why don't you finish your assignment first. While you are gathering information from various shops, I want to go visit the place where I stayed a couple of weeks ago, for the internship."     

Yash wanted to tell her to stay with him while he finished the survey. But looking at her fierce expression, he replied, "sure, please go ahead. But I will be done with my work in a couple of hours. Should I come find you at that store post that?"     

Mriga gave him a sharp nod and started walking in the direction diagonal from his.     

"Damn! Why did that girl have to come and seek me out today? Now how do I tell Mriga about my feelings for her and the truth about that girl in the same breath? Argh… unfair!" he mumbled to himself furiously, enough to make a few people turn around and look at him in concern.