"The forest was thicker when we entered and then gradually thinned as we came closer to this place. I could feel the air become much cooler as we approached the destination," Mriga said quietly.
Nirbhay peered at her in surprise but didn't question her observations. His skills as a code-breaker relied a lot on observing patters as well.
"But if we were coming inside a forest, shouldn't it be reverse? I mean lesser trees on the outside and more foliage as one comes to the centre of it," he mused.
"You are right but that is if we assume this to be a natural forest. If Guruji is here, far away from the Gurukul and conducting simulation exercises, is it too far-fetched to think that this is a modified cluster of trees rather than a natural one?" she asked in turn.
Nirbhay looked excited at her question and said, "If that is the case, then think of us being in a maze and finding our way out and back to the centre."
They grinned at each other in darkness and shut their eyes to feel the temperature and smells around them.
Two hours later
Mriga and Nirbhay nearly shrieked in joy when they saw Ramanujam standing in front of them. They had made it! Before they could celebrate though, Abhirath who had been just standing out of the illuminated circle of diyas, stepped in.
"Oh! You reached here before us," both their faces fell in unison.
"Did any of you actually think that you would make it before me? I am just surprised that you made it back sometime before dawn," his softly mocking words floated towards them.
Mriga rolled her eyes at his blatant arrogance display. She thought of giving him a cutting reply but then self-preservation kicked in and she decided that it was better to ignore him.
"Guruji, this is not an actual forest, right? Someone has designed it to look like one, no?" she asked him, wanting to confirm her theory.
Ramanujam looked pleased with her deduction and gave a short nod.
"I believe that it was Prithvi guruji's idea many years ago, when he was still just a spy. He had recommended making these training spots in every zilla, offering a comprehensive module to test and enhance people's skills. But each training centre is camouflaged differently," he told them.
"Isn't the idea behind mom's training hill something similar? Coincidence? Or…" Mriga was lost in her thought when Chiranjeev and Vandit made their entry.
Vandit was sweating profusely and slumped on the ground, regardless of Ramanujam's presence.
"I think this is enough for tonight. At least, you all will be able to find your way in here, henceforth. The first week of training shall be the lightest. Treat this time period as getting accustomed to fewer hours of sleep. Your reaction time to activities also may get affected during this time. Be aware of it and consciously try to improve upon the same. Understood?" he looked at each of them.
All of them nodded and bent down to show their respect before leaving the place to go back to the Suraksha chakra building.
Northern Zilla
"I think we will stop here for the day," Bela put down the thick scroll which she had been discussing with Shaurya.
He got up and bowed to her respectfully. He gathered the papers and started rolling up the extensive charts from the floor. After tidying up, he was about to step out when he was halted by her next set of words.
"If you use heat as the method to open a wax-sealed letter, make sure that the imprinted mark on the seal is not disturbed else you will be caught. Understood?" her tone was casual and she wasn't looking at him.
But Shaurya couldn't stop embarrassment blooming on his tanned cheeks. She was referring to Yash's letter, unmistakably. He had thought that his efforts were near perfect in opening and resealing it but it turned out that in his haste, he wasn't as careful.
"I will remember the lesson, Guruji. My apologies!" with that he went away.
Bela stared at his retreating back with complicated emotions. As his mentor, she couldn't afford any sort of distraction on his part but she was loath to bring up the topic. Even if she did tell him to stop thinking about Mriga at this moment, it wasn't as if he would be able to turn off the tap of his emotions.
She had recognized the letter to be from the boy whom Mriga had feelings for. Even though she wanted to destroy the boy, she didn't bother opening the letter. She would entrust her daughter to take care of the matter herself. Bela kept it safely along with the one which arrived this morning. There were other more important things on her plate right now. Puppy love could wait!
She sighed and pulled out Prithvi's letter to re-read it. He had sent her the details of Shaurya's new identity and the cover story. As a police officer, she had the ability to draw a new set of identification papers for him. There was only a week left before he was going to travel and they still had so much to do.
Far away, Himprayag
Loud clanging of metal on metal could be heard early in the morning.
"Ugh! Does she think that by practicing for innumerable hours, she would become any smarter," Mithilesh grumbled to himself.
Looking through the arched stone window, he could see that the sun was barely awake, forget the birds and humans. But there went his step-sister, making enough noise to show-off her warrior skills.