Army camp, Nildiri Hills
"Wait for a moment. I will go in and report your matter," said the soldier who had been assigned by Dushyant to escort Princess Anara and the maid to be sent to the main office.
Laasya immediately put on her most ingratiating smile and pulled at his sleeve coquettishly. "Actually, we don't need to meet anyone here. There is no need to trouble the seniors who are working so hard for the kingdom. We are just here to do some study of the nearby terrain. If you could guide us as to how to navigate our way to reach the nearest peak, we would be grateful. Moreover, we have already gained the approval from the general who brought us here."
Laasya knew that her mistress didn't want to come in contact with too many people and wanted to observe the situation secretly.
The young soldier frowned in confusion. The young girl's close proximity and soft words were making him slightly dizzy. He shook his head as if to clear his mind.
But before he could successfully disengage himself from the girl's grasp, the gorgeous lady behind them spoke up. "I am really grateful to the general who just brought us here. He… I owe my life to him and he didn't even let me express my gratitude."
Looking at the distressed expression on the noble woman's face, the soldier rushed to comfort her. "Miss… umm, don't fret over it. Our general is always like this with everyone - cold faced but warm hearted. You don't need to take it personally."
Laasya immediately piped in. "That general… is he the son of General Chandraveer?"
The baby-faced soldier nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes."
Princess Anara suddenly felt euphoric and gave out a charming smile. "Then, brave brother, we won't hold you back from your duties or trouble you any longer…"
"What is all this commotion about?" A stern voice interrupted their conversation.
Standing in the broad foyer, Princess Anara looked at the man who had come out from the curtained room behind.
A tall, stocky young man with broad shoulders and wavy hair stood at the threshold of the room with a frown. He had a wheatish complexion but there was a sense of heroism etched on his features. He was dressed in the military uniform and was carrying a scroll in his right hand.
He possessed a gentlemanly charm which could move the hearts of many maidens but being around the royal princes and noble sons, Princess Anara was not as impressed and dismissed him at first glance.
"Salute, General Agastya! Reporting, these two people have been sent by General Dushyant to you," saying so, the soldier walked forward and handed over the document with the empress's seal to him.
While Agastya looked at the paper seriously, Princess Anara felt herself go pale.
What did he say?
Suddenly, she recalled that the intended groom for her had two younger brothers, one of whom was at the royal palace. Since the two brothers were supposed to be twins, she had assumed them to be identical.
After having caught a glimpse of the other brother in the palace, she had assumed that…
So the one saving her…
No!
After going through the royal stamped document, Agastya was confused. Just like Dushyant, he could see that the reason for the visit mentioned in the letter was extremely flimsy, to the point of being a farce.
But, if he could see it, so could Dushyant. Despite that, he sent this person to him. Why?
Looking at the dainty woman in front of him, he didn't know what was going on. Had it not been for the authentic seal of the kingdom's empress, he would have thought that his eyes were playing a trick on him.
Still, he did not let go of his wariness and instead, became even more vigilant. In a polite voice, he said, "I am afraid that this is a highly sensitive area and civilians can't be allowed to roam around freely or for too long. Since you have already entered the cantonment, if you wish to visit the terrain, you can do so under the supervision of two of my men. Moreover, you have to finish your task in the next few hours, post which someone will send you down to the nearby village. I am afraid civilians aren't allowed to stay overnight in the army camp."
Princess Anara hardly registered his words as she was still busy trying to wrap her head around the identity of her intended groom. But Laasya was canny enough to react to the situation.
She gave a deep bow to the man in the front and said, "Many thanks to the general for your generosity. We will follow your command."
With that, she tugged not too lightly on her mistress's sleeve, trying to bring her out of her stupor.
The expression on Agastya's face eased a little and he nodded with a smile. "Have them sit in the food hall. Someone will come there to take them to the nearby hills. Hope your task reaches its fruition."
Pulling her mistress's arm, Laasya kept bowing profusely as she followed the same soldier out of the office.
"I wish to freshen-up," Princess Anara told the soldier who looked a bit embarrassed but then took them to an enclosure slightly away from the main office.
"Excuse the err… lack of facilities here. We don't have too many females around," he said bashfully.
Laasya reassured him that they didn't mind it and thanked him for his help.
By the time they reached the food canteen, Princess Anara had regained her composure. Since the lunch hour had gotten over sometime back, there weren't many people milling around.
"Would the two of you like something to eat? Maybe some tea?" asked the soldier politely.
He had seen the royal seal on the document which the woman had carried along and knew that the person's identity wasn't simple.
Princess Anara stood surveying the place and said, "Would you be kind enough to take me to the chef? I suffer from some food allergies and need to give specific instructions regarding my meal."
The soldier cursed his luck for being saddled with such a delicate 'duty' this afternoon. But he smiled and asked her to follow him.