Today was the day that Varian had meet up with the Royal Family of Rangarh and collected the monthly taxes for the Company.

Slipping on his signature British Army red coat he strode out of his quarters allotted by the Army for the Head of the 7th Queen's own hussars. Soldiers were longing out at the mess having their breakfast but stood up in respect at seeing their Captain enter the chamber.

Varian nodded at them and continued his way to the counter for his morning tea. Sebastian, his trusted assistant seargent , a blond man of twenty five with a rather athletic build due to his time in the army and light blue eyes that glinted with usual mischief, approached Varian with his own cup of tea and saluted, " Good Morning, Sir".

" Morning", Varian drawled whilst sipping his Darjeeling tea.

" Sire, I've been posted at Rangarh for at least a year by now and you should know a few things about the esteemed Vermas of this Princely state".

" Do continue".

" Well, there's the King , Aditya Verma whose fifty five winters and there's his wife, Queen Shantidevi and their two children, a girl and a boy. Both grown up although Prince Neelsingh Verma I is the eldest , and his age is twenty three winters while the Princess, Aditi Verma has just turned seventeen winters today. The Prince is the sole heir of the King and right now he's quite healthy, though you can't warrant anything these days due to the disease that's consuming people, but Rangarh seems stable and our Doctrine doesn't seem to work," Sebastian explained briefly and looked up at Varian with eyes brimming for a sign of approval.

Varian soaked these information like a sponge and contemplated for awhile before saying, " We can capture Rangarh by hook or by crook. We have to do something about the Prince. The citizens here have put their entire faith on the Prince so, we must foil the Prince's succession to the throne, but that'll wait, the terrain and geographical condition of this kingdom puts a huge question mark on our mission, Sebastian. Don't be fooled by it's small territory, Rangarh is carefully planned and I have figured this all out from yesterday's arrival."

" Yes Sire. You're absolutely right, the fort is well- defended and has heavy guns which could fire over the town and nearby countryside. The fort itself sits atop a rocky mountain surrounded by prickly paths. How the Vermas get themselves out of the palace is indeed a puzzle only known to them. Believe me", Sebastian chimed in.

" So tell me about the Princess. We can use her against her brother's unsurping," Varian eyes sparkled with a newfound interest.

Sebastian smiled coyly. " Sure Sire. You see, they say that the Princess is a beauty pursued by many although no one has ever seen the Princess since the Princesses of this kingdom aren't allowed to be viewed in the public eye before they attain seventeen, she's said to look much like the Queen and believe me , I've seen the Queen and the King is really fortunate to have a very beautiful woman ruling by his side. Gossips from the palace states that she looks ethereal."

" uh - huh. Anything useful other than her physical appearance"? Stated Varian ,clearly bored but was internally curious to see the Princess of Rangarh.

The sergeant scratched his neck nervously and said, " Like I said Sire, nothing much is known about the Princess other than the occasional prate from the servants in the Palace."

" Right. Tell the battalion that we will be moving shortly in a matter of five minutes". Varian commanded to which Sebastian nodded and alerted the other soldiers.

Varian had a sense of pride when he saw his Regiment form into position for the Fort. He felt fortunate to be leading an army rather herds. The Crown and Company is cruel and ambitious and he knows this well. He wouldn't dare defy the Crown or the Company as it will be a treason committed against the King and the country.

" Smith, the kingdom must be annexed by any means and I mean any! Kill the King and the heir if you must, but if the royal family disobeys the law and denies to surrender Rangarh....then slaughter the city. Reign destruction upon their Kingdom. Leave no men or women," the Governer's words echoed in his subconscious from the time he was first handed the official letter for leading the 7th Queen's own hussars.

Destruction. Slaughter.

These words lifted a sadistic sensation in his mind. He was prejudiced towards the natives of Hindustan and he definitely didn't deny it.

Half of the regiment soldiers stayed back at the Cantonment while the senior soldiers went along with their Captain and Sergeant.

The town indeed lived up to it's name, Rangarh ,meaning colourful . Although most of the citizens were tanned due to their time in the sun and that definitely wasn't colourful to him. The fort was beautiful as well as heavily protected.

Civilians and villagers stopped their tinkering and bent their knees and bowed their heads at the presence of the British.

A self satisfied smirk crossed across Varian's foreign features at the sight of fear the inhabitants of this land had for his countrymen.

The path to the Rangarh fort was extremely tiring and steep. The battalion had to watch out for rocky cliffs but luckily, one of the royal guard pointed out an easier direction for them to pass through so that the battalion didn't have to worry about their uncomfortable journey.

Varian saw that the interior of the fort was extremely luxurious and majestic. Intricate carvings and fresh paintings covered the walls and archways. The palace aroma was of sandalwood and lavender oils. It was enticing and relaxing. Oil lamps were placed to lighten up the dark corners which gave the fort a heavenly golden brown hue.

But the thing that infuriated Varian the most was the so-called popularised Princess. Just like the words that floated in the winds of Rangarh, Princess Aditi was indeed an attractive woman. Her long lush black hair highlighted her olive skin and her eyes captured Varian's attention as they were a rare colour of light green that the Princess obviously inherited from her mother.

The Queen looked equally as stunning as her daughter with the same long dark hair and the light green eye colour, rare among most brown Asians. The King was decked with rich silk colours and expensive jewelleries that hung upon his neck, his son, the Crown Prince took after his father in looks but had his mothers sharp jaw in contrast to his sister's soft ones.

What irked Varian about Aditi's eyes were the hostility that they held for his stature. Her boldness and power challenged his own which he hated the most but also surprised him for he never expected an Indian royal to rebel against the Company for the fear of their fate.

A tingling sensation took over him when he came close to Aditi to threaten her, it was something he never understood and it bothered him.

Humiliation was the last thing he expected at the Court, that too by the hands of the newly introduced Princess. His pride took control of his conscience.

" She's new to the court. The Princess shall learn who's really ruling the kingdom," Varian growled, his grip on his liquor glass tightened.

Sebastian sucked his breath and said, " Sure sire. I suppose the King and Queen shall teach her about the ways the country's going."

" THEY BETTER"!

"You mustn't get worked up so much ,sire. That wench of a lass is hardly a pinprick in the matters of the palace. The next we know, she'll be married off to some Prince."

The 25th battalion returned back to the Company's Cantonment where Varian was having a fit about his first day at work in India. Aditi's words and actions replayed in his mind like a broken cassette. Variant's pride was hurt.

As he downed his entire glass of Ale, Sebastian his trusted aid, snatched the remaining bottle before Varian could reach it.

" SEBASTIAN, what the BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING"? Varian yelled and tried to grab the bottle from the sergeant.

" Sire no. You've had too much to drink. Besides, we have very minimal stock of our Ale. Can't do anything without Ale," Sebastian tried to defend himself at that, Varian calmed down.

" Sire it's best if you would take a hike in the woods, to clear out your mind in the fresh breeze the forest provides".

Varian contemplated his words for awhile before saying, " Hmmm, fine. But I don't crave any company. I lack to be alone for sometime".

Sebastian nodded and walked towards the cellar to store his precious bottle of Ale while Varian got into a much comfortable clothes of cotton shirt and a blue vest with black pants, and saddled his horse, a black stallion with the company's crest on it, his sword was secured beside his vest.

Wind whipped his hair as his horse ran freely in the wilderness, after nearing to a clearing in the woods he abruptly stopped his steed and was welcomed with a sight he would never have expected.

In the corner of the clearing a sleek brown stallion stood silently with it's rider on top of it ,resting her head on the animal's neck while the gentle forest breeze fanned her dark hair. The rider was none other than Princess Aditi, the girl who was the sole cause of Varian's sour mood.

His jaw tightened, but relaxed when a sinister thought occurred in his head.

" This is going to be good", he smirked wickedly as he thought and advanced his horse slowly towards the young Indian while pulling out his sword from his sheath.