A Friendship At the End of Times (part 3)

Kush felt betrayed. He looked at his mother, who had a puffy face and a dissatisfied expression. She didn't look at him, but pointed her face in such a way that told him she was peeved with his father. He also saw a little coin pouch made of expensive velvet in her hand, which was probably why she wasn't throwing a loud tantrum after all.

In the end, he truly was sold. But it was a meeting gift from his teacher to his parents, so he had no right to complain. This was how Kush came to leave with the otherworldly woman whose name was Ashangi. Her name meant 'divine wish' or hope of the divine. Kush always thought his teacher was able to serve as muse even for the gods. But he just didn't know why she chose her to be his student, to the extent that she let her entire life revolve around him, his needs and his ambitions.

Now he knew it was related to that childish prank. That pride and arrogance he displayed back then. But really…how arbitrary was his teacher to select a student from just that? Of course, he would never doubt the wisdom of his teacher, but the embarrassment caused by the memory remained fresh in his mind. Now he realised this justified embarrassment that made him laugh at himself sometimes was his first major hurdle in the path entrusted to him by his teacher. Those stupefied expressions of the villagers, throwing pitying looks towards his mother telling he was dead for sure, the looks of contempt and rage in those powerful men looking at him like a mere ant, disdaining to even trample it underfoot after what just happened…If Kush had any pride left after being routinely abused at home and among the village kids, it was crushed then. It was to the extent that the originally lively boy had become quite taciturn and dispirited for the first six months he was with his teacher.

The pride of the Kshatriya…what is that?

Chandra Kush looked at the sleeping form of the little prince who looked pale, his breathing shallow. He was still holding on to a black dagger as he slept. Chandra Kush saw the boy using it for self defence more than a few times. He snorted. 'Such lousy fighting skills. What is there to be proud about?'

Kush knew however that a great king may sometimes also be a great warrior, but a great warrior will not always be a great king. Right now, the little prince was defenseless on the grass, wearing nothing but rough cotton, nary an ornament on his body displaying his high status. The multitude of wounds on his body were even somewhat grisly making it hard to look at them directly. However, even out here in the open where he had nothing, he looked quiet and dignified. An unknown power was packed in between his eyebrows, making you want to obey him the minute he opened his eyes. This was actually one of the reasons Kush served him so far…Yes, served. Although Kush loved gold, it was not to the extent that he would put his life on line for it. Many times while roaming these forests in order to facilitate the little prince's requests, he ran into those pursuers from the capital. Several of them didn't know what the little prince looked like, and wanted to kill any little boy they came across of the prince's age (especially considering, the greedy little boy was trying out the boy's silk clothes once, his jewelry at other times…). Even considering the dangers, Kush couldn't say no the prince. He had that commanding quality that no one could say no to. Indeed, what makes the lion the king of whatever jungle he lives in? Is it not his pride? Who can not become subservient to the natural majesty he exudes? Who wouldn't want to impress him, to get his favor?

And Vajradandaka was the same age as Kush! Kush shook his head, deciding not to be

enamored by the other boy anymore. Like teacher said, the two of them share the same destiny. Whatever that means, the prerequisite must be that he's not any lesser than him. He must seriously let go of the past where he was just a poor farmer's son, at the brink of being sold to slavery. If he wants any chance of winning against this boy, he must obliterate this serious hurdle to his self-esteem. Otherwise, even he does conquer thanks to his teacher's guidance, inside, he will always be a charlatan, undeserving of his achievements.

In the end, Kush didn't tell the boy anything about this life even though they traded for it using the prince's last precious item, his very royal seal. Instead, he talked to him about his training. He told the little prince about teacher Ashangi's style of imparting a subject matter to him. All the practical lessons he learnt and so on. He surprised the prince with his knowledge about different cultures and societies. He even felt complacent that he could impress the little royal heir with his varied experience. He was shocked to discover that the prince didn't know what slavery was. Even though prisoners of war were made to slave in order to earn their freedom in Rtadhra, war itself didn't happen often and slavery wasn't an integral part of society here. It was also unheard of in the western drylands. The little prince became even more uneasy when told about how prevalent it was in the central plateau, where the greatest empire in all the lands was. The empire's vassals and even the neighboring highlands where Kush was from also enslaved people. He fell into deep thought though when Kush shared his observation that it was a recent phenomenon. Slavery did not exist as an industry in the past, but it was somehow on the rise in the recent one hundred years.