Dushyant had long ago recognised the girl as Princess Anara from the life-like portrait of hers which hung in his private quarters back at the military barracks.
"If a girl has to look at and evaluate different choices for the upcoming swayamvar in a couple of months, why would she run towards the desolate hills, that too in such harsh weather?" Dushyant muttered to himself after he had read through the reports regarding the royal palace.
There were many things which were hidden and couldn't be found out by his people in the palace but as long as they could catch the blowing wind, Dushyant could at least sniff any change or abnormality.
The shadow guard hesitated before offering an opinion. "Master, maybe she doesn't want to marry and is escaping her fate!"
Dushyant looked at the young man in front of him and made a mental note to himself about exposing these guys to the opposite gender a little in order to help them gain a clue about the female mind!
"Run away two months in advance?" His acerbic tone mocked the lad.
"Moreover, why would the empress's camp send guards to follow her instead of bringing her back home? Not just that, they also released the news about her daughter visiting her maternal family this morning. Interesting… what is the young princess planning to do?"
Try as he might, he couldn't figure out the reason behind her actions.
It seemed that there was no choice left!
With a sigh, he said, "I will be following the path that the princess takes. Send a message to the teams ahead to be ready and alert."
The guard standing next to Dushyant studied his master's profile carefully.
More than six feet tall, with a lanky frame and unkempt hair, he was wearing ordinary clothes. But the cold aristocracy leaked out of his sharp facial features. Black orbs which only showed indifference or glacial anger were framed by a strong pair of eyebrows, one of which had a slash mid-way, giving him a roguish air. Slanting cheeks with a thin nose and sneering lips, which had an almost cruel bent to them, added to the demeanor of his master.
A strong repelling force radiated out of him, keeping most people at bay.
The first time that he saw his master interrogate and subsequently kill a bunch of infiltrators, he realised that the man was a conundrum.
He was like a cheetah wrapped in the cloak of thin indifference, pretending to be cold but actually bubbling molten lava underneath.
Simply put, Master could not be offended!
Same evening, many kilometers away, Marketplace in Dima
Sitting in the private room of Mandodari which was located behind the music hall, Mrigtrishna, Katyayani was busy catching up with the pending work.
"As per these accounts, we seem to have done a fair amount of trade during these nine months. Now that the rest of the businesses will slow down for the next quarter, I will let Chatvari help you in managing the beauty retreats along with Dvi. The winters seem to be coming in fast and strong this time and people will surely want to visit these places more frequently," said Katyayani, stretching her arms above her head.
She had been poring over these thick ledgers for the past few hours now!
Apart from the music hall, Katyayani had also inherited some wealth from her mother, which had been left under the caretaking of Mandodari till she grew older.
During all these years, that money had been invested by Mandodari in a careful manner in some properties or as safe loans on interest or as stakes in reliable businesses. Of course, no one knew that the hidden investor was Mandodari on behalf of Katyayani. The old woman had covered her tracks well.
On one of her 'training trips' with Trini in a hostile north-western country, Katyayani had discovered the concept of a bath house which seemed to offer more than just public bathing as a facility.
She was fourteen that year and her task included stealing some artefacts from that kingdom. Katyayani had come back not just with improved fighting skills, but also a new money making idea.
She had been so fascinated by the bath houses there that she came back and implemented the idea in Dima two years ago.
The establishment was positioned as a beauty retreat and was a replica of the bathhouse model of that foreign country. It was specifically aimed towards the people who could afford to spend money on beautifying themselves, as long as they had the money, irrespective of their social class.
A typical beauty retreat was a public place spread across half an acre of land and was open to both men and women. It consisted of changing rooms for both genders, a cold room where one was surrounded by thick ice slabs, and a hot room. Heat was produced by furnaces which provided hot water and steam, while smoke and hot air was channeled through conduits under the floor.
Clients undressed themselves, wrapped only in a muslin robe and gradually progressed from a quick wash to the cold room and then to the hot rooms, inducing perspiration.
With the help of the retreat's staff, a luxurious deep cleansing was given to the customers with the use of soaps, loofahs after the cold and hot treatment. In the end, the clients could either opt for a dress-up in case they were attending a social event that day or simply finish off with a wash in the jasmine infused pools.
The first beauty retreat needed all the money that Katyayani had earned during her sojourns. She insisted on not taking out the capital needed from any of the other ventures because she wasn't completely sure of the response.
But, within six months, under Mandodari's smart administration, the place had not only given profits, but provided the capital for another such place to be built.
At this moment, there were three such places in and around Dima. The day to day administration was handled by an ex-brothel madam, who had been poached by Dvi, under a secret agreement.
Mandodari waved her hands and replied. "I don't need Chatvari to come in. Dvi is enough to help me. Chatvari has her hands full. She has already delivered the new fragrance to me yesterday which we will introduce in the beauty retreats henceforth. The herb business ledger will need her input. Let her stay at the Bali Mansion. Anyways, it is important that she is with you while you are in the enemy camp."
Katyayani smiled at the exaggerated words used by her old nanny to describe her paternal house.