Southern Zilla
For the next four years, till Saraswati didn't start schooling, she and Harshvardhan spent all their free time together, whenever that he was back home. But once she joined the Gurukul , they became nearly inseparable.
Post school hours, they would always get together whether to study or eat. They travelled together from and to home, as well. The adolescent Saraswati was smitten with the charming Harshvardhan. But two things happened simultaneously around her thirteenth birthday for her to let that crush remain simply that.
First, on the way back from the holidays, he confided into her, shyly about the classmate whom he liked. She was vying earnestly to be the contender for the Queen's competition and he was worried if she would accept him if she became the queen. And second, her father enrolled her in the mysterious Admin department who had been his actual paymasters for years.
Hiding her newly broken heart behind a smile, Saraswati and her father moved base from Southern zilla to the capital. Post that, she went out of her way to avoid Harshvardhan at the Gurukul. It hadn't been a difficult thing to do since he was busy falling in love!
Harshvardhan's next set of words brought Saraswati out of her reverie.
"I am very upset with you. It was bad enough that you didn't keep in touch during all these years. But you have been here for some time and now is the first time that you sought me. Tell me, how should I punish you for it?" he asked.
She turned serious and said, "I am here on some work and it kept me busy during all this while. I know it was wrong of me and I am sorry."
Harshvardhan was surprised at the change in her demeanour.
"Is everything alright? Why do you look so serious suddenly?" he asked.
Taking a deep breath, Saraswati suppressed her doubts and looked straight into his eyes.
"Senior, I need your help. I can't tell you the reason or the details. But I need twenty masons whom you absolutely trust. I know that your wife is overseeing the development of new areas in the zilla and has a lot more resources at her command. But I don't want you to ask her. I need you to reach out to people whom you would trust blindly. Can you do this for me without asking any questions?" her eyes were earnest and hands were clenched tightly by her side.
Harshvardhan reached out for her fingers and uncurled them.
"Such a small thing and look at you fretting over it. It will be done. Just tell me where do you want me to send them. But before that, I only want to know one thing. Are you in some sort of a trouble? I can help you. Your senior is not a kid but an influencial man. Trust me. You just have to say the word," he was trying to warm her cold hand subconsciously. He was probably not even aware of it. Saraswati smiled and moved her hand away in a smooth movement.
"No, there is nothing wrong. I promise! I also know that you are extremely capable and you have my back. Why do you think did I come to you right now, despite us not being in touch for so many years?" she said in a relaxed manner.
"And whose fault is that? You became so busy that you refused to find time for me even when I came down to the capital," he chided gently.
Saraswati gulped down the nostalgia which was threatening to surface and said, "I apologise. I was so caught up in my own new circumstances that I couldn't afford to give time to the old ones. So, tell me what is new at your end?"
Saptsindhu
"How did it go?" Raja Amrendra asked his son.
Mahendra was his father's clone in all ways possible. He gave a quick smile and said confidently, "I promised him the moon and the sun. It's all set. You just make preparations to throw a big celebration. I will handle the rest."
Amrendra frowned at his son's cocky attitude.
"Over confidence is a king's biggest folly. Second is underestimating the opponent. Are you sure that he was not suspicious?" he asked his son again.
It had been a conscious decision on his part to let his son handle the preparation for such a big event instead of managing it himself. If his son succeeded in this task, he would hand over the reins to him immediately.
"Don't worry, father. I will not let you down. I am not being over confident. I made sure that I discuss the whole thing with him in details, even arguing over small things, making him believe that he is in partial control of the situation. I have learnt these things from you. Please continue to guide me," Mahendra sat down on his knees in front of his father and said so.
It was the truth. Raja Amnrendra had been his hero ever since childhood. He held no affection towards his mother or his sisters. For him, no one existed or was important except for his father and the throne.
Mahendra had been making earnest efforts throughout his childhood to make sure that he didn't disappoint his father. When Kritika managed to run away, he had done everything possible to bring her back but failed. She had apparently had more brains than she ever showcased or the person helping her was a cunning mastermind. That was the last time that he underestimated an opponent. Never again!
Nonetheless, he intended to go after her once this plan came to fruition. He would make sure that she and her bastard lover pay for the humiliation which his father went through.
Princess Avantika was already paying for her sister's sins. She had been under palace arrest ever since her sister's disappearance.