So far!
Meera was deeply shocked upon seeing Kaveri in Naraka (hell), as Kaveri had always been so capable. Witnessing the love Meera held for Kaveri, the others embraced her warmly and showered her with affection.
Next!
After embracing her and showering affection, they all stepped back.
"Alright, Amara! Come. We are going to introduce you to someone important."
Vanathi said, holding Amara's hand and leading her away.
"Where are we going?"
asked Amara eagerly.
"You'll find out soon,"
replied Shanthi.
Amara didn't ask anything further.After a while, they arrived at the place where warriors were undergoing training.
The massive battleground was filled with people training intensely, leaving Amara stunned.
"Oh my god! Who are these people, fighting like this? It looks just like in the movies..."
Amara exclaimed in awe, looking at the warriors practicing. Her friends grew worried about how people would react if someone heard Amara's broken Tamil.
"Amara! Please don't open your mouth here. If someone hears you speaking, it'll cause chaos. And if that happens... we'll have to figure out what to do with you,"
warned Shanthi.
"Fine. I won't speak,"
Amara said, turning away. Watching this, Chitrani nudged her with her shoulder and pointed at the warriors.
"Amara! You'll have to train just like them."
She said with a smile.
"What?! Like them... Oh no!"
Amara began lamenting.
"Amara..."
her friends all sighed, hands on their hips, as they reprimanded her. Realizing what she had done, Amara quickly covered her mouth with her hands and said,
"Sorry..."
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Meanwhile, at a distance, a beautiful young woman from the royal family was training some other women in swordsmanship.
"Hmm. That's right. Strike harder,"
she instructed, guiding them.Hearing the noise, the five friends stopped scolding Amara and turned toward the direction of the young woman.
"Look! Our sister is over there,"
Kannagi said with a smile.
"Sister? Does that mean she's an elder sister?"
Amara asked softly into Rooba's ear, knowing she shouldn't speak loudly.
"Yes. But why are you whispering?"
Rooba asked with a smile.
"Didn't you all tell me not to speak loudly? That's why I'm whispering,"
Amara said, still a bit louder than necessary."Shh..."
all five friends gestured for her to quiet down at once.Amara, realizing she was still too loud, sighed in relief when she saw no one else had noticed.
"Phew... good thing no one else heard,"
she said, but her friends glared at her.
"Oops, sorry,"
she said sheepishly, scratching her head and grinning.
"Amara! You..."
Shanthini began to scold her, but seeing Amara's innocent face made her burst out laughing, and soon all her friends joined in.
"Why are you like this?"
Chitrani asked, pretending to be annoyed.
"Please forgive me,"
Amara said with a pitiful face. Rooba, trying to redirect everyone's attention, said,
"Alright, that's enough. Let's go meet our sister before she leaves."
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When they reached the woman practicing swordplay, they all greeted her loudly,
"Greetings, sister!"
Amara, unsure of what to do, just nodded her head. Hearing the noise, the young woman with the sword turned, her hair sweeping across her face in slow motion.
She had fish-like beautiful eyes, rose-red lips, and wore a dark red saree. She exuded a magnetic charm that captivated anyone who looked at her.
Her divine smile was the cherry on top of her beauty.Seeing her, Amara's eyes widened.
"Wow! How beautiful!"
she muttered.
The young woman smiled back warmly and said,
"Ah, welcome, my dear sisters. What made you want to see me only now?"
"It's not like that, sister. We always think of you,"
Shanthini replied with a smile.
"Really? I always think of you too. Come here,"
the woman said, opening her arms to embrace them. All five of them rushed into her arms, leaving Amara standing awkwardly to the side.
As the woman approached, Amara's expression turned into shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Her mouth involuntarily whispered,
"Jennifer ma'am..."
Her eyes widened further. But for some reason, in that moment, her mind didn't dwell on this strange resemblance. Instead, she was overcome with emotions from seeing the love shared among these sisters, making her think of her own sister.
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At Meera's house!
"Hey, rat! Come quickly. How long are you going to make me wait?"
Meera, dressed in new clothes for Diwali, shouted impatiently.
She was waiting to take a variety of photos with her phone, but her sister was delaying by changing outfits.
"Ahh, hold on. Just two more minutes,"
her sister said as she finally joined Meera, dressed beautifully. They then took several pictures together.
(This is the memory Meera was recalling now.)
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Amara thought back to the times she played with her sister, fought over pulling hair, and all the other moments they shared. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she struggled to hold them back and wiped her tears before looking at her friends again.
Seeing Amara's face, the woman approached her and asked,
"Who are you?"
with a furrowed brow.
Pulled out of her thoughts, Amara quickly bowed her head and said,
"Greetings, princess. My name is A... Amara,"
she stammered humbly. Her five friends were surprised to see her behave this way.
"Welcome, Amara. I feel like I've met you before. Have we met?"
the woman asked with a smile.
"I feel the same way, princess. But I don't think we've met before,"
Amara replied, managing to smile despite her confusion.
"Alright then. Why does your face look sad?"
the woman asked, prompting everyone to notice Amara's distressed expression.
"It's nothing, princess,"
Amara said, wiping away her tears. But as she turned away, her friends noticed her sadness.
Vanathi gently touched her shoulder and asked with concern,
"Amara! Are you okay?"
That was all it took for Amara to hug her tightly and whisper in her ear,
"Hey! I can't speak Tamil as well as you all. Please help me get out of here. Take me away from this place,"
she pleaded softly.
"Oh, so that's why you were acting like this? For a moment, I was really scared. Amara, you're too much..."
Vanathi said with a mock scolding tone. She then released Amara, turned to the princess, and said,
"Sister! We haven't introduced her to you yet, right? She's our dearest friend, Amara."
"What?! How do you have a dear friend I don't know about?"
the princess asked with a raised eyebrow, causing the friends to scramble for an explanation.
Thinking quickly, Shanthini said,
"Ah, she's a distant friend. We've only been corresponding by letters until today, when we finally got the chance to meet in person."
"Is that so? Wonderful!"
the princess smiled warmly.
Rooba quickly changed the subject, asking,
"So, how are your students progressing in their training, princess?"
"You saw for yourself, Rooba, how they fight, didn't you?"
the princess smiled.
"A great warrior, noble in character, generous, and someone who treats everyone equally—that's who you are, our dear sister, Princess Nithranchali. Who could be a better teacher than you for them?"
Chitrani added proudly.
"And with such a teacher, I'm sure your students must be excellent in both courage and skill,"
Rooba said with pride.Listening to all this praise for the princess, Amara couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy.
But the princess, laughing loudly, said,
"You've all learned how to flatter well!"
Amara, astonished by all this admiration, quietly asked Shanthi,
"Did they go through all that trouble just to say her name?"
Shanthini, annoyed, whispered back,
"Amara...!"
"What did I say now to make you scold me?"
Amara asked, her face showing innocent confusion as she turned away.
Shanthini, with a faint smile, turned to Nithranchali and said,
"Sister! There's someone else who needs your help with sword training. Would you help?"
"Of course. Who do I need to train, Shanthini?"
Nithranchali asked with a small smile.
"Her,"
Shanthini said, pulling Amara forward by the hand and presenting her to Nithranchali.
"What?! Me? What have you gotten me into now?"
Amara asked in shock, her eyes wide in disbelief.
Kannagi, watching her, whispered,
"Hmm... Kaveri..."
Only Amara could hear, and she thought to herself,
"For that Kaveri, I have to do all this? Fine... I'll learn."
"Alright, when shall we begin the training, Amara?"
Nithranchali asked kindly.
"Today,"
Amara responded firmly.
This time, it was her friends who were in shock.
But Nithranchali, without any visible reaction, smiled slightly and said,
"Very well. Come, Amara."
Vanathi, now slightly anxious, asked,
"Sister! Since she said she would start today, are you really taking her for training today itself?"
Nithra replied calmly,
"Vanathi! I don't want to waste her precious time or days. She has only a month, right? And no matter what, it's best to finish things today. Waiting for tomorrow is pointless."
With that strong but calm explanation, Nithra glanced meaningfully at Amara, and all six of them were left puzzled.
"What? One month? Do I only have a month left? But why? What are they talking about?"
Amara, confused, raised her eyebrows and looked at Nithra, trying to understand her words.
But Nithranchali, ignoring Amara's puzzled expression, said to her friends,
"There's no time to waste, sisters! Take Amara, dress her in training gear, and bring her back quickly."
Pulled out of their thoughts, the five friends, half-heartedly, led Amara away.
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On the way!
"Amara! Did you understand the meaning of what our sister said?" Shanthi asked.
"Hmm... She said I only have a month left, right? But why? Could it be... that your sister knows why I came here and where I came from?" Amara asked in shock and confusion, looking at them.
"That's unlikely, Amara," Chitrani replied.
"And even if she knew, why would she say you have only a month left? What could be the reason?" Shanthi asked, still confused.
"Have you forgotten, Shanthi? God already told us, remember? If Amara doesn't rescue her friend Suneri—who is Kaveri—and the others within a month, Amara will also be trapped here," Vanathi reminded them.
Hearing this, Amara was shocked and said, "What?! Jennifer ma'am never told me any of this!"
"Amara! Don't worry. I believe we'll be able to rescue them soon," Roopa reassured her.
"Hmm, okay... I believe you. Now hurry up! I need to get ready for training," Amara said, urging them to move faster. Her friends then quickly helped her change into the training gear.
Soon, they brought Amara out, dressed in training attire. But poor Amara found the outfit very heavy.
"How do you even wear this stuff? What's it called? Ahh, armor, right?" Amara asked, biting her lip in frustration.
"What's wrong with the outfit?" Shanthini asked.
"Wrong? Do you even know how heavy this is?" Amara asked, her voice full of irritation.
"Is that so? But Amara, it's your first day, so this protection is necessary," Kannagi said with a laugh.
"And after that... I'll have to fight without it, right?" Amara asked, placing her hand on her chest, fear evident in her voice.
"Yes, exactly. Because you can't even bear the weight of this armor," Roopa teased, trying to hold back her laughter.
"Ugh, why are you all teasing me? Fine, let's go. Ugh, this dress... it's unbearable," Amara grumbled, unaware of the many challenges still awaiting her.
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((Why did Nithra say that? Why did Amara call her Jennifer ma'am? What challenges will Amara face? We'll explore all this in the next chapters.))