Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

"Concentrate on your food. You shouldn't be worried about inane things like these. Instead ponder over how to improve your performance," Shaurya said brusquely.     

Mriga stopped eating and looked at him morosely, "that is a discriminating statement. The criteria for judging that task was so unfair."     

He left his food and leaned back in his chair.     

In a deceptively soft voice, he asked, "is that so? Please elucidate."     

Her throat was suddenly dry. She hadn't expected him to ask her to explain. Till date, she hadn't expressed her dissatisfaction about the evaluation of tasks to anyone, not even Ishani. She cursed her runaway tongue for saying it loud in front of a near stranger, that too a teacher.     

The assignments and tasks were prepared by the teachers and departments after putting in a lot of research and thoughts behind them. So, if anyone was to point out a mistake, it was taken really seriously.     

"I am waiting to hear your argument," Shaurya reminded her.     

"Please don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. It is just that you gave us pamphlets which were promoting opening of a new clothes store for women. Hence, I tried looking for people who would be the relevant target for such information. I didn't want to hand over the sheets to busy looking men who wouldn't bother to keep the parchment till they reached home in the evening and meet their families. I avoided giving these to kids who probably would make figures out of the paper and play with it. Due to this sifting process in my head, I got delayed," she gulped down a glass of water after speaking the words.     

With lowered eyes, she waited for his response. After a beat of silence, she looked up to see his attention snared elsewhere. Following his gaze, she saw a gorgeous young woman entering the eatery.     

"Here's the money to pay for the lunch. Finish and go back to the store. I will see you there," with that, he was gone.     

"So much for wanting to hear my story," Mriga thought savagely.     

That evening, she had finished putting everything in order by the time the boys returned back from their tasks. She had also explored the nearby shops and made friends with the owners. There had been no sign of Shaurya since the lunch.     

"It seems that you are good at cleaning and mopping. Maybe you should apply to the housekeeping department," Abhirath remarked snidely in front of everyone.     

She ignored him and went to sit next to Vandit, "how was your day? Did you have to travel far?"     

Before he could reply, Shaurya entered the store and addressed them, "since the four of you came back within stipulated time, you all have completed the task for the day. Let me show you your lodging place where you can go and unwind. You need to report back sharp at 6am tomorrow."     

Mriga looked askance, hoping he would ask her to go along as well.     

"Wait for me here," with that abrupt statement, he left.     

"Does this mean I am being thrown out of the internship?" she thought miserably.     

She tried to steel herself for whatever was coming next.     

"No matter what, I am not going to cry. I can always go and apply to the finance department as Yash had suggested. I am good at numbers. I would be welcomed with open arms there," she tried to keep her spirits high.     

"Where are you lost?" Shaurya had come back without her realizing so and was looking at her with mild irritation.     

She stood up hastily.     

"I have an important task to carry out tonight. I need an extra pair of eyes for that. Are you willing to come along?" he asked brusquely.     

It took her a minute to realise that he wasn't asking to pack her bags and leave the place. She nodded her head vigorously in agreement.     

"Follow me," he went inside the room behind the store.     

"These clothes may be slightly bigger in size but I want you to change into them quickly," he instructed.     

Standing in the tiny bathroom, she rolled up the long sleeves of the kurta. Despite pulling the drawstrings of the pajama, it threatened to fall off any minute. She came out holding it around the waist. Shaurya looked at her and gave her a belt to tie around. He had managed to change into a similar garb as the morning, except thankfully, it wasn't smelly. Finally, her attire seemed to hold itself in place.     

"Stand straight and don't make a noise," with that, he took a piece of charcoal and started colouring her face, fingers, nails and feet.     

Next, he tied her hair in a tight bun and gave her a dirty looking rag to wrap around her head. He rubbed his hands in a pot filled with mud and smudged those dusty hands on his clothes and hers.     

"After we leave the confines of the store, I want you to strictly follow my instructions. You will not speak a word to anyone we meet…remember, not a single syllable. Secondly, you will use your eyes and ears to observe all the activity which takes place around you. You shall follow my lead, sit when I sit, walk when I walk. Got it?" he asked sharply.     

Excitement had turned her mute. She was bursting with questions but dared not ask him lest he changed his mind about taking her along with.     

Nodding her head vigorously, she gave him yet another dazzling smile.     

"Let's go," he said abruptly.