Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

"As was the norm, the brothel head sent a platter of paan* which she knows that I am partial towards. That was the only time that the dancer touched something which I ate. Even though my eyes were on her, I don't know how she manage to slip the poison in it because I am ninety percent sure now that it was the paan that contained the poison. Before meeting her, I only had my suspicions about her. There was nothing concrete till then. But before my body became paralyzed and I was carried out of the window by her cronies, I saw the look on her face. I know she is the one who is involved in this." Shaurya said with deep conviction.     

"If you were poisoned and paralyzed, how did you manage to walk till the Gurukul?" Ramanujam asked in surprise.     

He gave a weak smile and answered, "The two men who carried me, threw me in the thick shrubs behind the unused alley in the market. They were probably hoping to delay the discovery of my body and pass the cause of my death as natural rather than a murder. But they made a mistake. They left me lying sideways and untied. I managed to turn my head and latch my mouth onto one of the plant's stem. My head was beginning to get hazy but I gave it my all to make sure that the wooden stick went all the way back into my throat, making me retch again and again. I knew that I didn't have the luxury of time to send out a message and wait to be rescued. So this was the only option."     

Ramanujam smiled at the ingenuity of his disciple and motioned for him to continue.     

"After I had nothing left inside to vomit, I started regaining a bit of control over my motor skills. But I was feeling really drowsy. To avoid falling asleep, I started biting my inner cheek and my tongue. After sometime, I could feel the movement return to my body and I managed to walk back to the Gurukul. I don't remember what happened after I reached the campus though," he frowned, trying to recall more.     

Ramanujam patted his shoulder and said, "You did well. It was Mriga who found you on the sports ground at that time. She brought you back and informed us. Both she and Abhirath are now aware of your sleeping quarters and have been taking turns in keeping a vigil over you."     

Speaking for this amount of time had already exhausted Sharuya. He closed his eyes as he took in Ramanujam's words. Amongst the frenzied thoughts in his head, a tiny part wondered – what had Mrignayani been doing at the sports ground so late in the night?     

A flurry of footsteps could be heard in the hall and soon, a sleepy looking Saraswati was followed by Mriga as they burst into the room.     

Shaurya raised his eyebrow at Mriga and spoke in a low voice, "Is this what I have taught you? As a spy, the first rule is discretion. You made so much ruckus just now that I could hear your footsteps all the way from the campus."     

Ramanujam allowed himself a small smile. His junior was just like him, same thoughts.     

Mriga was so relieved to see Shaurya's usual acerbic self back that she grinned at him, forgiving him for his exaggerated mean words.     

"Looks like you are on the road to recovery," Saraswati said, bringing Shaurya's unblinking gaze back from Mriga's face.     

"I have informed Guruji. He should be here soon. Mriga, why don't you go to the food hall and instruct the main chef there to prepare breakfast for the Admin department. He will know what to do. After that, you and Abhirath can resume your usual school duties," Saraswati told Mriga and sent her away.     

Ramanujam looked at her in approval and said, "Sometimes you manage to prove your value to this team."     

She frowned at him for his uncomplimentary words but before she could retort back, Prithvi arrived there.     

"Huh? Did you start to walk for this place the minute you saw the eagle?" Saraswati bowed down and asked him in surprise.     

In his usual style, he didn't bother replying and instead focused his attention upon one of his favourite mentees. Prithvi had big plans for this guy in the long term.     

Ramanujam recounted everything what Shaurya had told him a little while ago and Prithvi listened to it in absolute concentration. He stood next to the door's entrance and steepled his fingers in front of him, lost in thought.     

None of the others spoke in the room during this while. They knew this was Prithvi's process of assimilating the information and reaching conclusions. He had the amazing ability to see patterns even in seemingly unrelated information.     

"It looks like she knew about you and had probably been expecting you," he declared after the silence.     

Shaurya looked at him in consternation and shook his head vehemently.     

"That is not possible, Guruji. No one apart from the brothel owner knows my identity. I have been working with her for so many years. She would never betray me," he said with conviction.     

"We tend to believe that our façade is fool-proof but that's not always the case. There is always someone who can pierce the fog which we have created around us, As of now, the best thing is that we didn't lose you to the enemy," Ramanujam said softly.     

*Paan – Beetle leaf with toppings inside, eaten as a digestive