Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

"You and I are each other's reflections. Unfortunately, time for separation draws close. Do you remember that coast of Southern zilla where we me for the first time? I will wait for you at dawn at the same place, tomorrow. Always yours."*     

It was an unsigned message but Bela didn't take even a second to realise who was it from. But what had happened for him to reach out to her so urgently? She sat there, deep in thought before summoning the assistant back in the room.     

"Inform the messenger that no scroll has to be sent back. Also, I will be stepping out for an hour this afternoon," she told him.     

As Bela had predicted, Raghu was roaming around the house in a surly mood. The sounds of the pots and pans could be heard from outside the courtyard as well. Mriga met her mother that evening in a harrowed state.     

"I have never seen dad in such a bad mood. He has been snapping at everyone since the time you left. He didn't even spare me. I can't remember the last time he scolded me," she narrated in tearful confusion.     

Bela hid her grin. It wasn't good to confuse her daughter by giving her the wrong reaction.     

"Don't worry. I will have a word with your father. It seems that my expectation of mature behavior from him had been an unrealistic wish," she muttered the last bit to herself.     

Mriga didn't know whether to laugh or worry at her mother's words. She knew that the polite sounding woman could be really scary without even raising her voice.     

Dinner was a quiet affair that night at their household. Apparently, Raghu had received an earful about treatment of guests and such from his wife and was subdued all through the meal. Shaurya absorbed everything which was occurring around him. This was his first time interacting with a family in such close quarters and it was a bitter sweet experience for him.     

Bela had been observing the young guy ever since he came. She didn't know much about him except from what Mriga had told her and that was all superficial stuff. Her daughter seemed to be in awe of the guy's spy skills but didn't know anything about his background. There was something forlorn about him which reminded Bela of her younger self. Or maybe it was the fact that he had also been cast aside after failing an assignment. Irrespective, she found herself drawn towards him.     

"I will not be back in time for dinner tonight. So, you need to take over my household duties for the evening, ok?" Bela instructed Mriga before leaving home the next morning.     

Her daughter nodded but neither father nor daughter asked any questions about the reason for her late stay out. There existed an unspoken rule in this house where everyone was free to pursue their lives in the way they liked as long as the dignity and sanctity of the relations wasn't affected. It didn't mean that they didn't care about each other. Simply put, they were secure about their affection and support for one another and didn't seek any validation.     

Bela kept her emotions tightly under wraps through the day but as she walked towards the peak of the hill at the end of the day, her excitement levels were sky high. She had spent last many years restraining and hiding a huge part of her real personality. But that had been the price which she paid for botching up the mission.     

Even though she didn't know the purpose of tonight's rendezvous, every nerve in her body had come alive and was tingling.     

She had bought a few hot samosas* and packed them to bring along. If her memory didn't serve her wrong, he used to really like them.     

"I see that you have arrived early, as always. But I beat you to it. I have scoped out the place. There is no one around right now," a voice said from behind a tree.     

"And I see that you have gained some height and also a little extra weight. I am wondering if bringing this food here was a good decision or not," Bela replied in the same vein.     

Prithvi came out of the shadows and bent down to touch her feet.     

"It's been a long time since I heard that scolding voice, Charulata didi. I am sure that all the officers at the police station are scared shit of you," he said, laughter hidden in his words.     

Bela raised an eyebrow at him which made him stare at her. It was like looking at himself. It seemed that he had subconsciously picked a lot of things apart from just skills, in that short summer, many years ago.     

Handing over the samosas to him, Bela found a spot which wasn't easily visible even if someone climbed up the hill and came there.     

There was so much that Prithvi wanted to say to her, ask her but he knew that this was not the right time. He had risked exposure and come to her for a specific reason tonight.     

"I am here with a request," he started, without wasting anytime.     

Bela looked at him with an unwavering gaze and he took it at as permission to continue. It was as if he was back to being the naïve eighteen-year-old trainee under her. There was something about her aura which made people want to straighten their spines as they spoke to her.     

*Interpretation – Reflection implies that the message is to be read in reverse. Hence the note meant that it was time for them to meet up at Northern zilla's hilltop where they had met for the last time many years ago. The time of the rendezvous was set at dusk of the following day.     

*Samosa - Deep fried savoury snack made of flour, containing potato stuffing inside.