Prince Shantanu was standing before the table on which the letter was kept wide open. He was still not touching that letter as he kept staring at the letter for a while trying to make ins and outs of that letter.
Sigh…
Finally with a sigh he stopped staring it and guessing all the possible origin of that letter and started reading that it. When he started reading it he had a plain look on his face with just a tinge of expectation on it, maybe that expectation was with regarding to that unknown letter or maybe an expectation of gaining a new ally.
But soon the expression on his face started changing the more he was reading the letter. The changes were showing if anyone had seen his face cause they expression on his face kept on changing. At starting he had narrowed his eyes with still plain look on the face but soon his eyes went wide open and in the end eyes came back to normal but his lips curved in a smile.
That smile he was giving was a sign of victory of something. But for the sake of removing his doubts or any important details he may had left he read that letter twice. After confirming that he got the letter right, he calmed himself and once again stared at that letter's bottom where a seal was put, he tried all the ways to confirm the originality and the authenticity of that seal. After satisfied with his examination he took that letter in his hand and put that into a golden box placed in his sleeping chamber. The golden box seems exquisite and magnificent as well as in size of a hand.
After putting that letter there was a silence in the camp as he kept on staring somewhere seemingly maybe lost in his thoughts. After few moments the lips that were curved in a smile resumed their previous gentle straight line as his face regain it's serenity. He closed his eyes for few moments then took a deep breath as he called everyone inside.
Everyone who were previously told to go outside of the camp, came inside at once after hearing the prince's call including the two soldiers Navaj and Vasant from the outer circle of the camping area. The prince asked the two soldiers for their names before ordering them to return to their post. When the two soldiers were leaving, one could easily see their happy expression on their faces as if they had achieved something big.
Inside the camp the curiosity about that letter was at its peak. From the lowest level officer there present in the camp to the commanders of the regiments, everyone was curious about that letter and content inside it. But no one was asking about it or trying directly or even indirectly to voice their curiosity. They were just wishing if the prince could divulge them about that letter. But upon seeing the prince they can take a hint that he was in no mood of telling them about that.
Soon the discussion about the upcoming battle started once again like before and continued for the rest of the day.
"Vice Commander Medhavat."
The Prince looked toward the vice commander as he called him.
"Your Highness!!"
The vice commander Medhavat replied.
"I'm leaving the army in your hands for the first day of the battle. If you can safely and with the minimal casualty overpower the Prayag Kingdom's army on the first day then from there, you'll be the one leading the joint army of all the regiments on my place in this battle."
"Understood, your Highness."
The vice commander of the Ratharohi Regiment nodded his head showing his acceptance of the prince's decision. Although he was just a vice commander and even youngest than all of the commanders present there, no one complained or even any commander think of suggesting an alternate suggestion.
First the vice commander Medhavat was not only talented and had worked as commander of the prince's boy band and as well as showed results back then but he was also closest person to the prince among anyone present there. More importantly in the battle strategy and planning they had made he was the one who planned most so naturally he was the one who understood it most.
"Vice commander, my troops will be in your care in the battlefield. Please take care of them they are like my brothers and friends."
All of the commanders there started wishing as well as showing their care they have for their troops.
Vice commander understood this all and the hidden meaning of their wishes and worries. These commanders just don't want their troops to be lessened much than others, afterall if he failed on the first day then from the second day one of them will be commanding the troops and if someone commanding had their own troops in lowest number then that will cause problems in commanding the others troops.
"Many thanks to all the commanders. I'll be hoping that we can give a good and satisfactory result to his Highness."
But with a smile on his face he still thanked all the commanders present there.
"Is there anything else, any one of you think we have missed and need to discuss?"
The Prince looked towards everyone present there as if wanted to see if someone had noticed something they had missed. They were planning there for a battle after this planning it will be executed on a battlefield giving them no chance of improvement or do-overs without loss of lives. So they had to think every thing and every possible loophole in their strategy.
Everyone started racing their brains as to recollect their duties given during the battle and see if there was anything they didn't understand or any loophole they could find.
The prince waited for a while for their response but nobody replied.
"…Then let us begin the preparations to move out...
We will be attacking in two days. So let's prepare ourselves and do not grow lax."
After that he stopped for few moments so to let the people present there digest what he had just said.
"What?!"
"In two days?!"
"Your Highness this sudden...?!"
All of the people present inside was shocked on listening to what the prince had just said. 'In two days', they were expecting battle soon but not this soon. When the messenger told them that the commanders of the main Kashyapa Clan were coming along with the elites of the clan to support the prince, they all become little sad on thinking that they would not get chance to show their skills in this battle but they also thought that since they were coming so the prince was going to wait for them before starting the battle.
But according to what he just said they will be fighting in two days and in no possible way the people coming from the clan would reach there in two days, they will need at least three to four days to reach there and that was with their maximum speed.
"Yes in two days we will be starting the battle with the Prayag Kingdom."
Prince Shantanu confirmed what he had just said to disperse any confusion the commanders and other people present.
"I want you all who had fought with me in every battle till now to show your skills once again. I don't want the spotlight that belongs to you and only you to be snatched by your superiors.
Then, expect vice commander Medhavat you all are dismissed. Vice Commander you'll stay for a little while more. I need to discuss some contingency plans."
"I understand, your Majesty."
After few moments the camp one again fall into silence as two man stood before a table covered under a table size map of the Prayag Kingdom and the areas surrounding it as well as few other documents regarding the surveillance and army of the Prayag kingdom. Both of the men were looking downwards toward that map without saying anything and disturbing the dominated silence in the room.
Then, just when it seemed like that the oppressive atmosphere would last forever. The relatively older man among the two man present said,
"Apologizes your Highness but may I ask something?"
The room once again become vibrant as the silence was broken.
"Hehe, before that let me show you something."
Prince Shantanu walked towards his sleeping chamber and brought a golden box from inside the chamber and put it on the table before the vice commander.
Vice Commander Medhavat had seen that golden box many times before. It was a treasured box that was locked with some kind of strange technique so that only Prince Shantanu can open it. That golden box was nothing less than a treasure box for anyone not only cause of the strange technique on it or cause it was made of gold but also cause of the contents it was hiding inside. The box didn't contain gold coins or magical or mythical weapons inside it but it contains some documents which were privy only to the Prince and Forefather in the clan, no one else know or allowed to know about the things kept inside that box.
The Prince opened the box and took out something from inside, vice commander instantly recognized that thing, it was the letter that the black robed man had delivered for the Prince.
Vice commander Medhavat looked at the face of the prince as he was shocked with the carefree manner by which he was taking out the letter. They had previously thought that letter was for poisoning the prince but looking at the prince, the previous thought didn't seem reasonable. The prince had a smile on his face as he gave the letter to vice commander.
Vice commander looked confused for a moment as he tried to figure out what exactly the prince meant by that but he immediately reacted by replacing that shock. Suppressing his shock that he had got seeing the prince, he opened the letter and read it.
Once, twice, thrice. He read it three times and still couldn't believe what he was reading. To verify the authenticity of that letter he looked carefully at the red stamp below side on the letter. But everything was alright.
He suddenly thought something and immediately understood the reason why his prince was smiling all the time, as he himself couldn't control his smile.
The letter was the evidence of the successful completion of their plan. They had thought that they would have to wait till forefather arrive and then they were planning a way to make forefather come along with them in the battlefield.
For that they were putting their of all efforts to delay the battle as much as they can previously. They wanted to start the battle after forefather came but now he understood why prince said they would be attacking in two days. Now they had to attack before forefather come cause if he would come before they could even attack then there were chances that there plane will be ruined.
With that, vice commander's expression on his face turned quite happy.
"Your Highness with this we can end this battle more quickly then we had expected. Who would have thought that an extra push was all that needed for this!"