The situation in the palace was very tense.
Before leaving the previous night, Lord Arjun has asked Kaustabh to sneak out of the army as well. Since Mallika had come over to him, there was no need for Kaustabh to linger around either. It was best for him to leave.
But things didn't work out as planned. Before Kaustabh could have left, Indrasen, who had been ordered by Mallika to investigate him and who had of late been overwhelmed by the recent happenings in the palace, happened to be crossing his tent.
Indrasen was drunk at the time, trying to drown his sorrows in the drink. He wasn't born with a silver spoon. Rather, it could be said that he was born in the darkest pits of despair that could exist. His parents lived in the neighbouring kingdom of Shankhet. But that was the time of the Second Deadly Plague. No one knew why, but a second outbreak of a terrible epidemic had occured in Shankhet. Every water source in the area-- be it ground water or surface water-- had been contaminated with a lethal poison-- one that could claim a person's life in a few days.
What was even worse was that the poison could not be countered with any of the old antidotes. Thousands of people lost their lives in the Plague. Even the crown prince of Shankhet, a youthful man of 20, Prince Avinash, lost his life to the poison. Before Indrasen was born, his mother happened to get the deadly disease. Everybody was certain that she would die along with the unborn baby. But that misfortune did not befall their family of three.
In the darkest hour of misery and hopelessness, a mysterious person delivered the king of Shankhet with a certain medicine that seemed able to counter the poison. King Saptadhwaj immediately got the medicine distributed to his people, and fortunately, he and his mother were saved.
But his father could not make it. They were poor to begin with. In order to take care of his sick and pregnant wife, his father had overworked himself to such an extent that he could not fight against the effects of the poison when it showed up in him. Indrasen was born posthumously.
Plunged deep in poverty, his mother left Shankhet and moved to the more prosperous and peaceful Sailam. She worked herself day in and day out to make ends meet. Ever since he was five, and had learnt how to behave himself, he too had been working alongside her, to earn means for the family. He had seen all forms of cruelty-- from rich masters overworking the child labours for profit, to shop owners depriving him of his hard earned grains. He had spent cold wintry nights out on the streets in rags, and sweltering summer afternoons breaking stones to earn a morsel of food.
That was the hell he had been living in. Worse, the poison already had affected the functioning of his body before he was born, which caused him to have a bloated body. Everybody thought he was a fat kid. If not for the condition of his rags and his dirt laced face, he would certainly have been mistaken for an obese rich kid. Nevertheless, he was relentlessly bullied around by the other children who loved having fun at his expense.
It was one such day that he could take it no more. Enraged at the blatant maltreatment, he fought back rigorously-- throwing the bullies off himself and entering into a gruesome bloody fight.
But he was alone. And his opponents came in large groups. Soon, he was pinned down to the ground by one large boy, who grabbed his hair and began thrashing him mercilessly.
Suddenly, a pebble hit the assaulter's wrist, sending him yelping in pain.
"Who the hell was that?!" The big guy roared angrily, massaging his now red and swollen wrist.
"Why? It hurts?"
It was a girl's voice. Indrasen looked up. Infront of him, some paces away, stood a skinny little girl. Her complexion was bronze and dark long hair rolled down till her little waist. If not for the hair and her large round eyes, she could have been mistaken for a boy-- for she was evidently dressed as one. Swinging a catapult in her right hand, she confidently placed the other on her waist.
"Are you not ashamed of yourself, big brother?" she asked. "So many of you bullying a poor guy! You should dig some pits and bury yourselves if you have any face. How shameful of you to hurt the weak!"
"And who are you to lecture us?" One of the boys spoke up.
"Somebody who isn't as shameless as you," she replied, glaring at him. Indrasen knew this wasn't going to end well for the little girl. He wanted to get up and help her escape the situation, but the pain in his back prevented him from doing so.
"Bah!" The big guy spoke up, grimacing at her. "Lets show her what shameless people can do!"
"But boss, we don't hit women," one of the boys complained.
"Huh? She isn't a woman, she is a stupid arrogant punk who does not know her place. People who don't realise where they belong always end up in other's mess. Lets put her in her place. Come on!!"
The boys ganged up on her. Indrasen covered his eyes in fear of what would unfold next. That little girl was a tad too bold. She would surely not make it against these boys.
But hardly had these thoughts crossed his mind when a cry of anguish went up from one of the boys. Indrasen barely had the time to look up, when the air was filled with the howls of the bullies. Soon enough, the big boss of the gang staggered back, his left arm bleeding profusely.
"You really lack sense," the girl chuckled effortlessly. "Barging into your enemy even before you know who you are up against. Tsk, a bunch of fools!"
"Clear up!" He shouted. "That girl is crazy!! She has a dagger! Clear up!!"
In a matter of a few moments, the boys had dispersed, each clutching their arms as blood stained their clothes red.
Indrasen stared with evident fear at the little girl in front of him. She held an open dagger, red with blood, in one hand as she non-chalantly wiped traces of blood off her face and arms with the other. When she was done, she wiped the dagger clean with a piece of cloth from near her waist and carefully pocketed it back.
"Brother, did you break your back?" She asked walking over to him, and stretching out a hand. "Come, get up."
"Why don't you fight for yourself?" She asked, helping him dust his clothes.
Indrasen panted, "My mother has taught me that good boys don't fight with others."
"Huh? Even you are being bullied and humiliated everyday, you should not fight back? What for? For being a good boy? I would rather not be a good boy than put up with all this drama."
"You are strong," Indrasen replied. "You must have a family that can take care of you. But I need to work to earn my bread. That big guy you just injured is the son of my master. I am sure to get flogged today. And maybe I will be dismissed from work..."
"You work, right?" the girl suddenly asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"So that's why you are selling even your backbone to your master! Bah!! If you don't protest against injustice today, you won't be able to do it tomorrow. You will be crushed and trampled by the stronger ones all your life. That is a very miserable way to live. And if a man is blind to the faults of his son to such an extent that he lets him get away with bullying other innocent people, then it is better to leave the company of such kind of men than grovel in front of them."
"But I have to earn my food!" Indrasen retorted. Rich people! How could this rich little girl understand his condition?
"Very well," she said. "You want to earn your food, right? How about coming with me? I will introduce you to my uncle. He will train you for joining the royal army. Only that you have to be hard working, disciplined and consistent."
"Royal army?" Indrasen's mouth fell open. "Your uncle ...trains soldiers for the royal army?"
"Yeah, what's so surprising about that? Soldiers don't drop from the sky. They have to be trained by someone, right?"
Indrasen nodded wordlessly. "But why do you choose me?"
The girl smiled. For the first time, Indrasen noticed how beautiful she was. Behind that facade of a hard natured girl, she was as sweet as honey, as pretty as a fresh blossomed bud-- tender and delicate. "Because I see a promise in you. You didn't walk on the wrong path even after these guys kept bullying you to do so and comply to their ways. You didn't run away either. You are a responsible person also. At such a young age, you are ready to bear anything for the sake of your responsibilities. And you know how to compromise and adjust. All these qualities are necessary in a soldier. You can become a good one if honed properly."
Indrasen was speechless.
"Just who on earth are you?" he asked.
The girl grinned mischievously this time. "Don't bother returning to your old master for a flogging. Just come to the royal palace by evening today. I will be there with my uncle. Tell your family that the First Princess Mallika chose you to train for the army."
She turned around and began walking away. Indrasen stared as the dainty, seemingly frail figure of the girl began growing more and more distant by the moment.
The First Princess Mallika! That was how he had met her. Ever since that first meeting, he had found a new version of himself. Silently, he had vowed to protect her, no matter what happened in their lives.
But here he was today, drinking away when the same fiery First Princess was nowhere to be found. Here he was, sitting helplessly, while General Brihangad accompanied him in their old training tent, as soldiers filed in and out every moment, with just the same phrase--
"No progress!"
The situation was so grim. Yet from the looks of it, General Brihangad didn't seem bothered. To say he was worried would perhaps be an exaggeration. There had never been such a relaxed expression on his face before.
"General, are you too grieved to feel it?" Shubham, who was also a senior warrior, quietly asked. Evidently, he too had been intrigued by Brihangad's actions.
"Huh? No, it isn't like that. I know Mallika. She is such a capable girl. Wherever she might be, I know she will keep herself safe."
He smiled, inwardly adding, 'With Lord Arjun around, who dares to hurt her?!'
But Indrasen was ignorant of this fact. He walked out of the tent, feeling terrible deep down his heart, and started strolling aimlessly, wondering whether he too would be dispatched along with the search troops soon. That would be so good. At least he would be able to look for her himself instead of sitting in a tent and drinking all the time!
With the resolution of asking General Brihangad for this permission, he was about to turn back, when his eyes fell on a certain person inside a certain tent.
Apparently, it was Aparajit. But... what was he doing?!
The cold faced guy was having a smile on his lips-- as if lost in thorough thoughts. Then he suddenly stood up, and lifting his hand to his face, he pulled away-- a layer of skin?!
Indrasen froze.