Eastern Zilla
Mriga straightened her spine and told him, "Can you be any more condescending than this? Do you wake up every morning and decide in what new ways are you going to torture people? I have taken permission from Guruji and yes, I am going alone. You may have forgotten that I am also here to train to become a spy, and a capable one at that. That day at the beach was an unfortunate event, something which can happen to anyone. So, don't go around showing off your superiority. Everyone is fallible. I just came to say bye."
With that, she snorted and walked away without a backward glance.
"Serves you right!" Vandit muttered under his breath.
At Abhirath's chilling gaze, he hastily amended his words and asked, "want another serving of rice?"
Mriga rechecked the paper on which she had the directions to the place written down. It seemed to be the right one but this land had a small hut and a lot of animals around, with not a person in sight.
Standing there in uncertainty, she contemplated turning around. There was nothing resembling a clinic here.
"Hey, why aren't you coming in?" a voice shouted from inside the hut.
Mriga was startled but then walked towards it cautiously.
"H… hello. We meet again," her voice showed the surprise that she was feeling.
The inside of the hut hardly resembled a room, forget a clinic. It barely had any furniture or equipment.
Even at her height, it was tough to stand straight inside. Was the Vaidya so poor that he couldn't afford better facilities? Why hadn't he applied for aid from the administration? The upkeep and expenses regarding clinics came under the purview of the Queendom. One could take a loan from the government and payback at ease. She knew all this because her grandfather had been a famous Vaidya in the Northern zilla.
"Haha, please don't judge my skills as a Vaidya by the condition of this place. I run this facility for children who live in the nearby orphanage. The fancy clinic is in the heart of the Eastern zilla which has many medical practitioners apart from me on its payroll. Since it is only me in this place with the kids, I decided to spend the funds on the kids' treatment rather than making the place look nice," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Mriga was ashamed of having made assumptions based on appearances and chided herself silently.
She gave him an apologetic look and replied, "That is very noble of you. I am sorry if my expressions conveyed otherwise."
He waved his hand in the air and said, "No apologies needed, please. Anyways, should we have a look at your foot now?"
She nodded her head and discreetly looked around for a place where she could sit down. Vidyut grinned at her and got up from the wooden stool on which he had been sitting.
Bending low against the low roof, he said, "Why don't you sit here?"
"So, you and Lata Guruji? How do you both know each other?" Mriga asked while he prodded her ankle.
Vidyut smiled and replied, "I was her senior at Gurukul. At that time, she wanted to become a doctor. But a couple of years of apprenticing in the medicine field, she realised that she didn't have the aptitude. So she went back to the Gurukul to study business administration this time. And now, as you know, she is a part of that organisation. Seems to be doing well for herself, no?"
Mriga shook her head in agreement and then lapsed into silence. After ten minutes, she left from the place. Vidyut had proclaimed her to be fit enough to walk and also asked her to join him for a meal on the coming weekend in lieu of his medical fees. Mriga had found it difficult to refuse when confronted with his charming behaviour, so had agreed to it.
Vidyut stared at her departing figure till she wasn't out of his sight completely. With a sigh, he went back to grinding the herbs, which he had been doing before she came in.
Saptsindhu
"What is the news?" Raja* Amrendra was seated on his golden, ostentatious throne, every inch of which was covered with emeralds on it.
The king was really fond of these precious gems and had them imbedded in his thrones, both in the royal court and in his personal chamber.
"All is going as per plan, your highness. We are on schedule," the head of his spy team stood with his hands folded politely in his chamber.
They were alone except for the king's trusted minister.
Saptsindhu was a land of men who judged each other by their physiques. How broad their shoulders were, how tall were they and how well formed their muscles were, these factors determined whether a man was man enough or not. In contrast, the women were supposed to possess the traits of being subservient, good in house-management and skilled in bed.
Men were clearly on the top of the social chain as was the norm of a typical patriarchal society. Homosexuality was a severely punishable offence in the country unlike its neighbours, Chandragarh or Himprayag or even Vayuprastha, where people were free to pursue their sexual orientation.
But that didn't mean that it wasn't prevalent in Saptsindhu. But if caught, the genital organs of the accused were removed, irrespective of the gender. However, the hypocrisy was that it was widely prevalent in the country's brothels which no authorities scrutinised or put an end to. After all, brothels were one of the biggest tax contributors to their economy!
*Raja - King