Though the thoughts about the fire signature were suspicious enough to keep Mallika occupied through the morning, she had a hard time dealing with the greetings from the people in the palace, her fellows in the army and of course her family.
"Goodness!" It was Indrasen, grinning broadly. "I can't believe you survived to be twenty! Remember, you were such a skinny brat when we met!"
"Ah of course, I remember," Mallika grinned back. "Back then, Indrasen, you were so fat you could roll away like a ball if kicked! I had so much trouble suppressing the temptation to see that happen!"
Sure enough Indrasen badly wanted to protest against this blatant defamation, but the uproarious laughter that followed the princess' comment forced him to shut up and scowl. Even then, he seemed to be down on luck.
"Who called my sister a brat?"
Indrasen couldn't help gulping as he realised that the crown prince had been there as well. What a bad day! Who didn't know how overly protective Crown Prince Ashwin was towards his sister? Although this didn't make much difference because Mallika generally ended up being the one protecting her sibling, it still was troublesome enough at times like this.
"Err.. Prince Ashwin," Indrasen said, admiring the beauty of the ground, "I was obviously kidding."
"It's better if you don't joke like that," Ashwin frowned. "You might taint her image as a lady."
Image as a lady?!
Indrasen had terrible trouble suppressing the urge to ask the crown prince if there was any image left of his sister as a lady! But he knew he had to keep out of harm's way.
Yet, his face gave him away, thankfully to the object of his amicable ridicule and not the others. Mallika raised her brows in response to his sly glances and walked off with a grin, waving her hand carelessly as she spoke-- "Come on Ashwin! It's not like I am a delicate lady known for her womanly virtues either. Don't waste your precious time quibbling with a loafer."
Before Indrasen had the chance to retort back, a carriage rolled into the palace premise.
The charioteer walked up to them and bowed in greetings.
"Princess, it is time for you to leave for the puja on the Shiva temple up the hills."
Mallika smiled, "That's right, thank you for reminding me. Umm...isn't Ma coming today?"
Indeed, it had never been that Queen Svetmala didn't accompany her to the temple on this day. Yet, today, she was nowhere to be seen.
But that couldn't be blamed on the Queen anyways, for she was almost in tears, begging her husband to let her go.
"Why are you not letting me go? Do you want Mallika to go alone? But why?" Svetmala asked, as Bajrabaahu sat on the couch, not ready to withdraw his order of prohibiting the queen from accompanying Mallika to the temple. After all, he just wanted the girl dead, and harming his family was not on his agenda.
"I told you, she can take her maids if she wants to, but you are not going."
"Mallika and maids? Do you not even know this that she doesn't have any personal maids? If I don't go with her, she will be going all alone!"
"Then let her go alone!" Bajrabaahu growled, clearly irritated at his Queen's persistence. "It is not like she cannot go to the temple alone! She can very well do a trip round the whole kingdom alone! Why are you bothered about that graceless tomboy of yours!"
Svetmala clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes shining with distrust. How could he still be the same, even after watching the little baby grow into a beautiful daughter over all these years? Did he even have any feeling for anybody at all?
Back on the grounds, Mallika had already grown tired of waiting.
"It's fine if Ma cannot come," she clicked her tongue impatiently. "Ashwin, you do me a favour. Tell Ma I took the horse, okay?"
"What?!" Ashwin frowned. "You are going to ride the horse up the hills and not take the carriage?"
"The carriage isn't for me, brother," Mallika shrugged. "It's for mother and the maids. But since I am going alone, I don't really need it. It slows me down so much, you know."
"Then take a few guards with yourself," Ashwin said. Within a few minutes, a group of about five guards had already mounted
their horses to escort the princess to the temple.
And in good time, Mallika set out for the hills.
"That's the last time she gets to ride, you see," Utpala smiled as he watched the princess leave from his position on a terrace of the palace.
Vidala smirked," It's too early to make comments. We have played our cards, but somebody hasn't yet. Lets see what Lord Arjun does this time."
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It so happened that it was a Monday. So, the Shiva temple was unusually crowded. After a good lot of waiting, Mallika finally had gotten her Puja done, and had walked into one of the inner chambers of the temple to seek the blessings of the head priest. As a princess, she could have asked for special treatment, but she hated using her identity to enforce discrimination, specially when it came to being devotees of God. And speaking of Lord Shiva, He would certainly be the last one to bother about his devotees' status or background! And this was one of those innumerable things that made Mallika adore Him.
"May you have a long and peaceful and prosperous life, my child!" The head priest touched Mallika's head in blessing as the girl touched his feet. "May Lord Shiva's blessings and protection always be with you!"
"Thank you, Panditji," Mallika bowed. This place was so different from all the rest that she often visited. The surroundings themselves gave her such an inexplicable sense of calm that she yearned to spend more time sitting in these premises. Mallika smiled, as she watched from an open window, the long queues of devotees-- men, women, children, elderly -- all wait with earnest devotion to catch a glimpse of their Ishta Deva. Unknowingly, a radiant smile formed on her lips.
"Everybody! Stay Inside!"
A loud voice suddenly boomed across the temple. This was followed by a scream and a bewildering uproar. Mallika's eyes flickered, the smile vanishing and her body growing tense, as she watched all the entrances of the temple being sealed off instantly. The people inside grew restless, but before they could run helter-skelter, somebody shouted, "There is nothing to fear, brethren! Lord Arjun is here!" He will take care of us!"
Mallika gasped. Lord Arjun? Was she hearing things? But the commotion all around was too much to be a figment of her imagination. What was going on? Why was....Lord Arjun here? A sense of excitement grabbed her wits. With panic running through her veins and her heartbeat losing all tempo, she turned to the priest beside her, only to behold a man a strange surprise in his eyes and a calm smile on his lips.
"Pandit ji?" She asked. "What is going on? This...Lord Arjun? Who...who is he?"
Barely had she finished her sentence when the door to their room burst open. A hurried yet composed voice sounded, "Panditji, don't let anybody out till I let you know what to do, okay?"
This voice! Mallika froze. With her back to the intruder, she couldn't see his face, but how could she mistake this voice? It unmistakably belonged to the one who had saved her from that desperate situation back then in the Poorvi forests. That veiled man! That stranger who had stolen her peace for so long!! That man whose mere thought was enough to unsettle her for the moment with emotions that had previously been unknown to her!
All Mallika could see then, was the reverence pronounced on the face of the priest in front of her. "Yes, Lord Arjun," she heard him say.
Lord Arjun?! He...was Lord Arjun?!
"Thanks a lot, Panditji," His voice came again. But then, there was a slight, somewhat awkward pause.
"Are you not going to look at me?"
Mallika's body shook. It seemed as though someone had set her on fire. Her palpitations grew so wild that she feared her heart would burst open! What on earth was this strange feeling? Why was she acting so weird?
Mallika turned to face him, and the moment her eyes locked with his, she felt her world churn all around.
Those eyes! Those dark deep orbs-- why were they so familiar! His handsome countenance, his overwhelming presence, that deep clam voice of his-- everything seemed to complement those dark eyes so well that for a moment Mallika wondered if all this was just a vivid dream.
But the next moment, she realised it wasn't.
"We don't have much time," he said as he walked right up to her, and took her hand in his. "Come with me, there are killers outside."
He rushed Mallika out, and the princess provided no resistance at all. How could she? At the moment, her head was reeling with a hundred visions, all flashing one after another, as if they were one!
"I really love you!" Mallika heard her own voice. "I, Sati, have loved you all these years. Please accept my love and bless me, my Lord!"
Her eyes had gone bleary, her body was limp. She had the vague idea that currently, she wasn't speaking at all, rather the man infront of her, whose touch had sent her into all these visions, was hurriedly ushering her down the steps from the back door of the temple. She could only feel her hand in his and a warmth spreading through her body.
"Sati, it's best if you don't go." That same deep voice echoed in her ears. Mallika lifted a hand to touch her temples.
"You worry in vain, Swami," It was her voice again. "I promise you, I will be alright. And I will be back in good time."
"Mallika, your horse is dead," she heard his voice near her. "You...you are...let it be! We have to share a horse. You can ride now, right?"
He seemed to understand that she wasn't in the right state of mind. She was seeing and hearing things that were all a big puzzle to her. What was all this? Why did it seem more like old memories than hallucinations?
"Swami, look! I am Sati born again!" She heard herself say. "Swami, won't you accept me back?"
"Mallika hold tight," It was Arjun's voice right beside her ear. "I know what's going on with you. Don't worry, it's just your old memories resurfacing because you came in contact with me consciously. These are things you need to know, now that you have to know me."
She felt her body become light, and a gentle yet strong grip formed round her waist. The next moment she realised she was being lifted in the air and carefully being placed on a horse.
"Finally," it was her voice once again! "Finally I am back home!"
Mallika clutched Arjun's hand as he mounted the horse as well, sheltering her in his arms.
"Lo..Lord Arjun!" She panted. "What is happening?"
She felt a hand on her forehead. A sudden surge of energy rushed through her body, and instantly, the scene in front of her eyes cleared up. The voices stopped immediately.
She frowned, confused.
"Better now?"
Mallika shrieked lowly as she finally worked out what had happened in this blur. Lord Arjun had taken her out of the temple through a secret passageway and she was atop his horse at the moment, right between his arms.
"Lord Arjun, what is going on?" She turned her head only to find herself gazing into the most awe-inspiring eyes she could ever have imagined.
"Certain people are here to kill you," he replied. "They have a few hostages. We need to lure. them away from this place before we fight them, else we might end up endangering the people here. Lets go, okay?"
Mallika nodded subconsciously. "But," she protested almost as soon as the body had been formed. "But... I do t know you! How can I tru...trust you?"
"Silly girl," Arjun smiled-- the smile that sent Mallika wishing she could melt into water at the moment and flow away from her unruly self. "Didn't you hear enough right now to ascertain that we are not strangers? We have a long past."
"Past?"
"Aye, I can't explain now. Lets go quickly."
And off galloped the horse!
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Author's Notes:--
Pandit ji-- addressing a priest.
Ishta Deva-- a deity with whom a devotee feels the closest affinity
Sati-- a human manifestation of Godess Shakti (the Divine Feminine) who was born to Daksha Prajapati. She grew up to marry Lord Shiva against her father's wishes. Both of them loved each other dearly. Later, unable to bear the insults levied by her father on her husband, Sati immolated herself, rousing the destructive wrath of Lord Shiva. She was reborn later as Goddess Parvati, who in turn, reunited with Lord Shiva.