Mallika confronts Kaustabh

The moonlight was just like the glow of a thousand pearls, bathing them in the cool rays as they sat on a large stone, in the silence of the night.

He looked at her. In the soft glow, she seemed even more radiant, her lustre outshining that of the moon. But he knew the turmoil she was bearing quietly inside.

He picked up her hand and pressed her palm gently, "Why are you sad?"

"I am not sad," she sighed. Even that mere sigh seemed to drip with sweetness. "Swami, I am anxious. I am worried for you."

"And why is that?"

She looked into his eyes, "No one knows better than you."

He sighed as well, turning away to look at the moon once again. "My dear, one cannot just enjoy admiration and respect. These things have to be earned and retained. The more people put their trust in you, the more they depend on you for their good. I am the one who created all this, so I am the one who is responsible for its maintenance. I cannot shirk my responsibilities."

"But what about yourself?" She asked, agitated. "Have you ever thought about yourself? You don't need to answer me. I understand it well enough." She looked away.

"Are you angry because I don't take care of myself?"

"Yes, but I know it's useless being so. When the Gods and Demons come to ask for your help tomorrow, and beg you to save them from that lethal poison, I know you will go, consume it, and carry out your responsibilities."

"If you had been in my place, wouldn't you do the same?"

"I...." Her eyes flickered for a while, and she fell silent. He was right, she too would have made the same decisions, so how could she blame him? Yet, her anger surged up again.

"But do you think they deserve your sacrifice?" she fumed. "You know better than anyone else why all these ostentatious preparations are being made! Both sides covet the Amrita, the Elixir of immortality so that they can secure their positions in the three realms and destroy their anti-parties. It's all a game of power! And the winning side is the one that will have everything to keep. But you are not involved in their power-play. You have never been. So, why are you doing this to yourself? I know, as your wife, I should support your decision, and so do I. But my duties as a wife are compelling me to worry as well. What if you end up harming yourself? No," she shook her head violently. "Whatever you do, remember, under no circumstance are you allowed to harm yourself."

He smiled, "So, is the Goddess worried that I might get hurt?"

There was a long silence. "I dare you to get hurt! Listen to me, Swami. If anything is audacious enough to create trouble for you tomorrow, I will raze everything to dust. If anybody, whoever that is, dares to upset you, I will ensure they bear my wrath."

"Come on," he gently stroked her head. "Why are you getting so worked up? As long as I have you by my side, there's nothing that can hurt or upset me. Calm down, okay?"

She frowned for a while. Wrapping her arms round his, she placed her head on his shoulder. "I know nothing can harm you. Swami, you are the best."

He smiled. Her childlike behaviour was honey to his soul. In front of others, she was as responsible and dignified as she could be. Sometimes, she even surprised him with her maturity. But when she knew it was just him, she didn't mind acting like a pampered child, adamant and spoilt. He didn't mind pampering her though, instead he thoroughly enjoyed watching her being whimsical one moment and understanding the next. He smiled, putting his arm round her. "Don't worry, I know how everything will unfold. I promise you, I will live up to your compliment of being the best."

The warmth of her body, the scent of her hair and that weight of her head on his shoulder-- suddenly everything started to seem so distant. The moonlit night scene started wobbling and everything began merging into everything else, as if the liquid paint in a tub of water had suddenly been stirred.

Arjun sat up with a start, and an excruciating pain ran through his body, as if he had been stabbed at once with a thousand knives. He coughed up a mouthful of blood. 'How could this be?' He frowned. How could he fall asleep?

He stood up, those memories that had somehow transformed into dreamlike images continued to linger in his mind. The pain reduced as well. If it had been a thousand knives earlier, it seemed to be about a hundred now. But this level of pain was usual with him. It was dusk time.

As he walked out, he spotted a group of about twenty men laughing jovially some distance away. They were the Janas, his family.

"My Lord!" a sudden shout made him turn behind. A man came running up to him, looking slightly anxious. He was Kirti, one of the Janas who had perhaps been with him for the longest time. "My Lord, bad news! Vidala and Utpala are headed for Sailam. They should reach by tomorrow morning. What do you think they are up to?"

Arjun frowned. This was the last thing he wanted to discuss at the moment. The dream had been too peaceful for him, and since he woke up, he was having difficulty trying to suppress the urge of visiting Mallika. Now the topic was here again. He sighed.

"What are they up to? That's not my concern. After all, they can't be up to any good. So whatever it is, we need to be careful."

"As for the killers, it was the Gupta Sena of Vaimadri, led by General Durg," Kirti added.

"Durg again?" Arjun frowned. "Seems he won't stop till he gets killed."

"My Lord, what about Kaustabh?" Kirti continued. "Since you turned up during the last assassination, it shouldn't be difficult for them to guess that someone had alerted you. I am afraid they might suspect that there is a Jana among the soldiers. And Kaustabh was the one who got the cure. So, it isn't hard to guess it is him. Should we call him back?"

Arjun looked up, at the setting sun. "I will keep him safe."

Five words. And all of Kirti's worries were put to rest. He nodded.

But Kaustabh had indeed caught someone's suspicions. As the practise sessions for the day were about to draw to an end, he heard Mallika's voice, "Brother Aparajit, could you spare a moment for me?"

Since the encounter that day, he had taken great care to avoid the princess, specially after Lord Arjun's warning. But this time, he was in a catch.

"Sure, what is it, princess?"

Mallika walked up to him, wiping the streaming sweat off her chin. "I wanted to thank you for that day."

"Umm, it's my duty."

"But, I wonder how you managed to get the medicine...." Mallika froze mid-sentence.

Her eyes landed on the pendant he was wearing round his neck. This was her first time to notice this on him, but nevertheless she was left speechless. It was the same fire signature she had seen that day, on the old letter on her uncle's table.

In fact, after recovering from the toxin, Brihangad seemed to have forgotten about the letter deal. He had never mentioned it again to her, and she deemed it safe to keep quiet as well. Sure enough she wanted to investigate it, but the last few days had been spent in traveling, and she hadn't got the chance to ask anybody about it.

"This... is something wrong, princess?"

For the umpteenth time, Kaustabh silently praised his Lord's insightfulness. If it hadn't been for the Fire amulet, which was what this signature was called, he would have been in a pickle at the moment.

"Why do you wear such a strange pendant?" Mallika asked.

"Oh this, it was ... handed down by my family." Kaustabh smiled. Of course it was handed down by his family. This was Lord Arjun's signature, after all.

"Family?" Mallika raised her brows. "Aparajit, I have never heard you speak of your family. Do they stay in Sailam?"

"Well kind of, but not exactly."

It was essential to stay elusive in his answers. He could not let out much information now.

Mallika had a strange expression on her face. "How did you get the medicine?"

There, she got back again!

"I...knew the herbs that can cure it."

"When did you notice the people were drugged?"

Kaustabh's face hardened. "Right after Indrasen fell unconscious."

"Then, why didn't you try reporting to Uncle?"

"That's a waste of time."

"Is it? Did you recognise the poison immediately?"

"I did."

"I see, I didn't expect you to be so familiar with poisons. Anyways, did you spot something weird that night, like somebody who might try to benefit when the people were drugged?"

"Princess, I wasn't around. I had left to get the herbs."

Mallika smiled. He was a hard nut to crack. "Don't mind me," she smiled. "The investigations are going on. Uncle must already have interrogated you. I just wanted to satiate my curiosity."

"It's okay," Kaustabh could already feel his plams sweat. He was glad the princess was ready to give up. But the moment he was about to turn away, Mallika's voice sounded again.

"I wonder who the head of your family is. Could I ... see him?"

Kaustabh froze. "My family's head? Why princess? Why do you need to see him?"

"I wanted to find out... Never mind." She threw her head back, smiling as she turned to walk away. "Thanks for bearing with me."

Kaustabh sighed in relief. That was close.

He picked up his sword and brushing his hair with his hands, began walking away towards the soldiers' barracks. How could Lord Arjun like such a girl? This princess.... was too troublesome.

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Author's Notes:-

Here--

'Swami' refers to husband.

'Gupta Sena' translates as Secret Army.