"So you want Anushna to give you the tour of the city", Asked the King in a confused manner.
"yes", Kauri answered in a second.
"But why i mean if you want I can send one of my top officials with you. He has a great amount of knowledge about the city, he would be much more helpful to you", said the king.
"I know about the kingdom as much as over even more than those ministers of yours. Are you saying I don't have knowledge about my own kingdom?" added the princess getting in between the conversation.
"No that was not what I meant"
"And also think wouldn't it be better if people saw one of the nobles showing the city to the heroes. Won't it build credibility and support by our denizens for them? It will also make them believe in the strength of these heroes".
"But what about your safety? I just had you lost forever to that dragon, I can't take something like that again", said the king in a caring voice. Anyone could see in his eyes how much he cared for his daughter.
"That was what I was saying. Who would be a better person to accompany me than the hero who would take down a dragon? And it will show that the royals feel that the company of one of these heroes would be quite enough for the princess's protection. Wasn't that why you asked of it, Kauri!!", said the princess looking at the helpless hero stuck in a spat between a father and a daughter.
"Yes", he answered in one word.
"But I wasn't the one who killed the dragon, it was Idris", he thought to himself. He was stuck in quite a predicament, when the princess asked for his help he didn't think much of it and was ready." for anything asked just say yes", that was what she instructed him, and he did as he was told. Other than that all the debating would be taken care of by her.
And what could the King do, when in front of him stood a man strong that he would go one-on-one with a dragon and his daughter whom he loved so dearly? The points she had placed were valid and could help his kingdom in the long run.
"Very well then, you may go", he said reluctantly," but remember hero, if anything happens to my daughter. I will get you the worst death possible".
"Yes", he answered not scared a bit by the comment.
And so their journey started, the princess changed her get-up, wearing clothes that were much less flashy and looked more like the ones common folks wear. Kauri was dressed as usual in his signature colours, black bulky trousers much larger than his size but gave him a better range of motion, a white turtle neck even in a fantastical world it looked outlandish and a simple denim jacket the only saving grace in his wardrobe.
The capital city of Gandhar was quite a pleasing place, situated in the mountains, it was quite cold, and people wore very bulky clothes but still, they were much more colourful and stylish than the ones Kauri had grown up watching. Similarly, the buildings, were coloured, and beautiful paintings of gods, the mountains and even animals could be seen on them. It was as if Gandhar was the colour capital of the world.
"Beautiful isn't it?", asked Anushna.
"Yes", answered kauri still looking at the beautiful architecture.
"You don't have an answer in just yes now, it was only till we got permission from my father"
"Yeah but why did you lie to him, making up all that story about me wanting a tour of the city and it being beneficial in any way?', he asked her.
"You know, it has been ages since I have been to the market, or the great tree of Gaia and so much more. So I got you as my personal bodyguard. My father is too overprotective and this may be the only chance I get to experience this, you know after the incident with the dragon."
He confirmed it." being a noble is quite hard too", he thought to himself.
But to ruin the mood from between them came Dolen," Yes that is the way, the best and cheapest sweet!! My mouth is watering just by remembering the taste."
He was the one who got Kauri's party to Gandhar, he was quite knowledgeable about the roads, and he could have been the best person to know in any place in the world. Still, he was quite a chatterbox and was a very unusual man.
"Don't worry he is a good guy, I think. Just a bit crazy sometimes", Kauri slowly whispered in Anushna's ear. " he is always crying about how he is from another world and was transferred to this world when he was hit by a metal-made bullock cart. He is always talking about a place called Javan, where he is from and other weird stuff".
"IT'S JAPAN NOT JAVAN. AND I AM NOT SAYING ANY LIES, you just don't know the truth.", shouted Dolen as he was able to hear what every Kauri said.
"What every you say man", said Kauri giving a thumbs up to show his support.
"YOU STILL DON'T BELIEVE ME", shouted Dolen holding his head.
Anushna started chuckling from this, "You two are quite a comedic duo, you both needn't worry. I will give you a personal tour of my city. Everything would be my treat."
And so they started walking, but before that, Dolen took Kauri to the side and whispered to him," That's quite a steal man, such a beauty, how were you able to pull that off? Not only that but she is so kind and I feel wealthy. Gosh!! I am jealous."
Kauri was as clueless as ever about what Dolen meant by that. Even if Dolen had written a whole research paper on what he meant, Kauri still wouldn't have understood.
"Yeah of course, after all she is the princess of this whole kingdom, we are here to accompany her. That's why I called you."
That moment a great lightning fell on his head, the girl he was being casual with and was behaving like anybody else was actually the princess. That made him go in an aftershock," so when she said 'my city', she really meant it!! Talk about a shocking revelation", he said to himself.
"Come on guys, we have a long way to go", said the princess in a cheerful tone.
"Ye….yes ma…a'am!", dolen said in a very fearful tone.
The trip was going without a hitch. It was crazy how much a little bit of make-up and wardrobe change can do, nobody even slightly recognised the princess. For them, she was just a simple girl looking around the city. First, they went on to try some food, then some shopping for the princess. Both the guys didn't know much about any of it, so they just travelled as her shadows.
It was fun for the princess, later they went to a perfume shop, it was run by an old lady.
"It smells so nice", remarked Dolen.
"Yeah doesn't it?", answered the princess.
"How may I help you, wait a second. I think I recognise you from somewhere! Have we met before", asked the old lady.
Kauri got alerted by this, maybe their cover was out.
"Yes, you might have forgotten. I came two years ago too. I really want some more of those amazing perfumes you sell", said Anushna.
"Ahh..yes maybe that's why your face looked familiar. So which one do you want", said the granny.
Then, Anushna chose the ones she liked and at last, they were on their way towards the great tree of Gaia. the tree was a sacred tree for the people of Gandhar, every year on the new year a festival was held near the tree. However, due to safety reasons, Anushna was not allowed to attend it.
"How much more taller would have been the tree by now?", said Anushna.
"In four to five years not at all", Kauri added his straightforward remark.
He was not able to understand why she was so excited to look at just a tree until he saw it himself. They were a mile away from the trunk but they were below the tree. For a long time what he thought was a mountain was actually this tree. It was a thousand times larger than the largest tree he had seen before.
"A small village could fit under this tree", remarked Kauri.
"during the New Year festival, the whole town celebrates under here", added Anushna.
They were admiring the beauty of this landscape, and the sweet voice of cuckoo reverberated across but between that sound, they heard a thrashing sound. Wack…wack like someone hitting something, going that way they found a group of bandits. They were thrashing the trunk of the tree trying to cut it.
"Hey stop that. What do you think you are doing", shouted the princess.
A bearded man looked at them with disdain in his eyes." we are cutting this tree can't you see. Now scram kids", he said.
"But why don't you know this tree is sacred? You should stop, cut any other one from the forest", suggested the princess.
He started laughing and answered," You don't know this tree is a higher tree and its wood is a thousand times stronger than any other ordinary one. We are sent here by Gibor, the leader of the bandits and future king of the seas. Under his command, we will fashion a ship from this formidable wood, a vessel that will strike fear into the hearts of all who lay eyes upon it. With this ship, we will dominate the Sindhu River, crushing any resistance in our path, and then we will set sail into the boundless expanse of the ocean, where we will reign supreme. Now, if you kids don't want to die then shut up."
Kauri came in front of the other two to protect them.
"Oh..ho so you are their hero or something", said the Bandit sarcastically.
"Yes, he is. The hero is sent here to fight the demon king. And I am the princess Anushna of Gandhar stop right now. Or you might have to take on the wrath of a dragon slayer!!", announced the princess proudly.
But that didn't scare the bandit, he started laughing menacingly," Is that so, this nitwit is the one who will save us from those demons. I can't believe we are still alive with these kind protecting us."
"Something always bad happens when you put a single foot out of the palace", said Kauri to the Anushna.
"Hey, I didn't do anything. They are killing the sacred tree and you must save it. There is nothing about me."
"And for a second, I didn't recognize you, princess. Maybe it's the hairstyle. Capturing you would be an extra gift for Gibor. There are a few of our men that we would need out of the prison", said the man.
"There are only ten of them, it should be easy for you huh Kauri?", asked Dolen.
Till now kauri was silent, both Anushna and Dolen were hiding behind him and then he spoke.
"I…I don't have my sword!!".
"WHA..WHAT what do you mean I don't have my sword", shouted Dolen.
"I thought it wouldn't be needed in a simple tour, so I left it", answered Kauri.
Hearing that made Dolen faint on the spot, Anushna was holding him.
"So is there nothing you can do?", asked the princess.
"Don't worry princess, I promised your father, I am going to protect you", answered Kauri but in his mind he thought," This is not going to be easy." Standing there, ready to face the challenge ahead, were 10 large, muscular men, each weighing about a hundred kilos. Opposing them was a tiny boy who looked as if he could be blown away by a small gust of wind. The odds were stacked against him.