Mandodari harrumphed when she saw Katyayani's smile.
"Don't think that I am joking. Each and everyone of them is a viper hiding behind a pleasant facade. Why else did your mother ask me to hide you and guard you like this in your own house?" Mandodari was dissatisfied by the lack of seriousness on her little missy's face.
There were things which she still couldn't bring herself to tell Katyayani about her so-called relatives. But that didn't mean she would let her lower her guard against the Bali clan ever.
Katyayani shook her head and said, "I am always careful, Dai Maa. Don't worry so much. Ah, before I forget… this is what my grandfather gave me this morning as my dowry. I have seen the list. There are some agricultural lands, a few orchards and some properties. But all of these are outside Dima city. When I leave for Mandh mountain, I will try and visit a few of them."
Mandodari took the land deeds from Katyayani's hands and peered at them carefully. "Leave these with me for the time being. I will get them appraised and give you a proposal of what can be done with them in the future."
Katyayani nodded and said, "Dai Maa, this time when I met that person in Adra, he told me a few things. I am not sure…"
As her voice trailed off awkwardly, Mandodari understood her discomfort. Everyone present in the room except for Katyayani was a native of Adra and their loyalty would always remain with their motherland even though they hadn't gone back to the kingdom in the past decade.
The royal family of Adra belonged to the Suryavanshi* clan, completely opposite of the royal family of Mandhaar.
Ages ago, there were enough provinces which worshipped either the Sun or the Moon. Slowly as the kingdoms consolidated their powers, these provinces merged into the bigger and more powerful nations and started following the practices of the dominant kingdom.
Currently, except for Adra, there weren't any other Suryavanshi royal clans remaining on this continent. Almost everywhere else, the Chandravanshi* clan had made its mark.
"Irrespective of whether it is in Mandhaar or Adra, you must take everyone's words with a pinch of salt. I have only heard about him ever since he took over as the Minister of Rites in Adra. His family's loyalties have always been with Queen Mother instead of the king. But I don't know much about his personal beliefs and aspirations. Hence, if you choose to ally with him, think of there being a 50% chance of you getting backstabbed," Mandodari responded matter-of-factly.
Katyayani nodded slowly. Her understanding of the situation was the same as her nanny's.
"I heard that you had quite an adventure on that trip though," asked Mandodari in a deceptive tone.
Before Katyayani could respond, Trini entered the conversation and described the occurrence in a crisp manner. But there was a hint of pride in her voice.
Flashback begins
Two Months ago
Deep inside the Baneri valley, located border between Adra and Mandhaar
"Did you see my jump this time, Teacher? I think I managed to surpass my previous record!" Katyayani's excited voice was chirping in the ear of Trini.
They had finally shed off their identities as 'Six' and 'Three' respectively.
Right after crossing the border, the 'groom's procession' had hastily discarded the carriage and thrown it down the valley. Both Trini and Katyayani had given up their horses to the others.
Gangadhar was made to wear the bridal cloak, covering his comatose state and was carried by Elder One on his horse. Elder Two and Elder Five rode away faster, breaking up the group formation, in case there were people looking for them on either side of the border.
It was left to Katyayani and Trini to create a diversion, causing a delay of at least fifteen minutes, in the eventuality, should someone chase them.
Surprisingly, a search party came much sooner than the two of them had expected. In fact, Trini barely got a chance to put the hallucinogen capsule in Katyayani's mouth before she dived down the valley.
"Yes, you did it really smoothly this time round, especially under the eyes of the enemy. I am proud of you," Trini replied affectionately.
The two of them had prepared the contraptions in this place before meeting the three people at the inn the previous night. It was due to this reason that they had been delayed in reaching the meeting point by a couple of hours.
Both Trini and Katyayani had leather belts around their waists with a brown colored sturdy but thin rope looped into their belts. Climbing down a few feet into the valley with the help of the trees and the protruding rocks, Trini managed to quickly tie the other end of the rope to an iron hook which they had hammered into one of the jutting rocks on the previous night before going to Adra.
[Author's note: Think of it like bungee jumping!]
Due to the presence of mist, her actions and the muddy rope tied to Katyayani's waist escaped the notice of the riders who came on the muddy road within a few minutes after these people crossed the border post.
"I am just upset that I could stun only one of those people. They were definitely chasing us since they came in such a hurry. One of them was a general though he looked too young to be one. I had expected that the three of them would dismount and come close enough for them to be afflicted by the hallucigen pill," Katyayani pouted in dissatisfaction.
Trini looked at the brightening sky and shook her head. "It shows that they were being extremely cautious. How many times have I told you not to be overconfident while executing a task!"
Katyayani grimaced and replied. "You are right, Teacher. It was my fault in believing Dvi's words."
At Trini's confused gaze, she continued with a straight face. "As per Dvi, any and every guy would lose his soul when he sees me. After hearing it a million times over the years, I guess I started taking it seriously!"
Trini burst into laughter. This girl had a twisted sense of humour!
Katyayani had caught hold of a sturdy tree after the jump and used it to balance herself and unhook the rope from her waist. Now, the both of them were trekking down to reach the bottom of the deep basin.
The others were headed straight for the kingdom of Bharani which lay in the south of the continent. Trini's and Katyayani's roles were only limited till here and they were going back to the Mandh mountain.
End of flashback
Mandodari's face twisted into a grimace as she looked at the teacher-pupil duo.
*Suryavanshi - People who worship the Sun or believe themselves to be the descendants of the Sun God
*Chandravanshi - People who worship the Moon or believe themselves to be the descendants of the Moon God