"Hey! Those women. They are hurt," said the swordsman.
They looked at Dhani and Vani and then, looked at each other. Both walked towards them and stood behind Dhani.
"Maiden, you two must have been frightened. We are sorry for what happened here," the axemaster was saying when his gaze fell on Vani. "Oh! She is hit. Let me take a look at her."
"Is she unconscious?" The swordsman asked him in a mild voice wiping office blood from his sword with a dried leaf.
"She is alright. I already checked. She is just unconscious," Dhani replied to them, still looking down at Vani.
Dhani stood up and walked ahead, looking here and there. Her eyes were attracted to a plant. She walked to it and plucked some leaves from it and came back to sit beside Vani. She made a fine paste of it with the help of stones and rubbed the paste on Vani's wound and removed the arrow carefully. They looked at her curiously.
She let out a deep sigh and said; "The wound is superficial but the arrow had some poison in it."
"Are you hurt?" looking at the remaining paste. "I can make more."
"Do you have the knowledge of herbs and medicine?" The swordsman asked.
"I can make medicine for you if you are hurt," she replied.
"We are not hurt. By the way, this man here is also a practitioner of Ayurveda and the best physician in all of Avabhoomi. No wound or disease remains unhealed once he works on it. If you don't mind, let him check to make sure this maiden is alright," the swordsman said.
"No need. She picked the right herb," the axemaster said. He looked at the swordsman and murmured slowly; "Did you forget we are in disguise?"
"Oh! Yah. Sorry about that," the swordsman murmured back.
"Where is your home lady? Let me carry this maiden there safely," the axemaster said.
"Is she your sister?" The swordsman asked.
"Why do you always ask unnecessary questions?" The axemaster murmured to the swordsman.
"Because I want to know," he shrugged and replied.
Till that time they had not seen Dhani's face as she was sitting facing down and looking for the herb ahead of them. She stood up and turned towards them. Her brows were tense for she was worried for Vani.
"Yes, please, carry my sister to the ashram," she said.
Intoxicated by her, both gazed at her and took a deep breath beneath their masks. Their eyes were wide open. Dhani also glanced at them. But her eyes got locked with the Axemaster's. Deep, charming eyes that felt compassionate, adorned in golden hues.
A complete silence, a halt, took place among the three. She was feeling that same attraction towards the Axemaster. But, it was much deeper, more clear and more emotional than before, as if they shared a deep connection from deep within their hearts.
"Where are they?" someone shouted from a distance. "They killed all the soldiers? I have an army of losers. Find them!! They must still be in the forest."
The three snapped out of their halting moments. "Hide" the Axemaster said. The other one picked up Vani and put her on his left shoulder. They hid behind trees.
"Stay still, don't move" the Axemaster said to Dhani. They were standing close to each other. Dhani could listen to his heart racing fast. An urge came from inside her to look at his face again. She peeked at his face. He looked at her at the same time. When the eyes met, bashfully both turned their heads away together.
"I am sure he is the one that the Lord has bestowed me with as a blessing. He is my destined husband. This deep connection is the evidence of it," she thought.
"What is happening with me? This feeling…." The axemaster said in his mind.
"Hey, they are going the other way. We need to get out of here now," the swordsman spoke to him.
"Right."
"Maiden, where did you say you wanted us to carry her?" The swordsman asked.
"To the ashram," Dhani replied.
They looked at each other. "Keechak is here," the swordsman said.
"Hurry."
"Keechak?" Dhani spoke as she remembered Vani was talking about some Keechak last night.
"That man who came looking for us just now, he is Keechak," the swordsman said to her.
"Why are you telling her all these details?" The axemaster murmured to him again.
"She doesn't look harmful," he murmured back.
"Ediot," exclaimed the axemaster.
●●●
They sneaked out of the jungle and into the ashram. It was bright in the morning, soldiers or guards were present at the entry points and near the Chief's and Commander's room. But some gaps were discernible in their positioning that was enough for the two men to sneak into Dhani's room. Somehow, she got impressed by their hiding skills. It was impressive considering the brightness of the day and the number of soldiers.
They placed Vani on the bed and stood near the door expecting her to say something to them, in the response of which Dhani said;
"Thank you. I appreciate your help. Thank you for saving our lives."
She took a good look at them. "They look exactly the same. Same height, same hair, same body structure, everything is the same."
Dhani felt that spousal connection with both of them, but deeper towards the Axemaster. She took a closer look at their eyes and both willingly complied with her wish.
The Axemaster's eyes looked compassionate and lured her deeper in her thoughts of the man she wished to get as her husband. When she looked into the eyes of the Swordsman, she was awestruck by those deep eyes. She held her breath and her eyes widened. She had never seen such beautiful eyes before. It instantly reminds her of her wish that she expressed to the Lord. "Eyes that are deep as a sea, eyes that sparkle like stars."
When the swordsman saw her expression, he knew that she had fallen in love with his eyes. He grinned under his mask.
"She is intoxicated by my eyes. Should I remove my mask and let her see my charms?"
They were lost in each other's gaze, when Vani screamed.
"Aahhhh… it's hurting."