Gautam: Keep your eyes and your mind on the target and do not let them wander away anywhere else.

Nanda: Yes.

Gautam held Nanda’s shoulder softly to steady her, but his insides were shivering. He could feel Aditya’s eyes on him.

Aditya: Gautam, that’s enough. I will teach the rest. You may go now.

Aditya got up from the place and walked towards Nanda. Gautam slowly walked away.

Nanda: I asked you to teach me archery and you said that Gautam will do it better and now, you want to teach me yourself. I prefer to learn from Gautam. Gautam, please stay.

Gautam: Yes, your highness.

Aditya: I asked you to leave Gautam and you are ought to leave.

Nanda: I am the princess of this country and he will stay.

Aditya tried his best to smile.

Aditya: He is not teaching you right, Nanda.

Nanda: The master archer is not teaching me, right? Very well. I shall take this matter up to my father.

Aditya: What do you want me to do Nanda?

Nanda: Say that you are jealous.

Aditya: I am not jealous.

Nanda: In that case, I am learning from Gautam.

Aditya: Fine then. I am jealous, obsessed and possessive. Are you happy now?

Nanda cupped her mouth and controlled her laugh.

Aditya: Are these words funny to you?

Nanda: When you say them to me, they are heavenly.

Nanda laughed. Aditya smiled to himself.

Aditya: You always get what you want. Don’t you?

Nanda: Perks of being loved. Now teach me, commander.

Nanda held the bow in position and Aditya touched her softly. Both melted in the moment and the sky turned darker behind them.

******

Naren: Look after yourself Nanda. Shinyun is a safe nation. No one is allowed to spill blood there, but I fear that the Hadharan’s will try to hurt you. I am skeptical about sending you there, but you are our future queen and you should meet the dignitaries of other countries as well. Stay with Aditya all the time. Don’t wander off with your maids.

Nanda: I will be careful father. Don’t worry. Take care of our country and our people. I will be back soon.

Naren: Aditya, she is all I have, and I am trusting you with her.

Aditya: I will die but I won’t let her get hurt. Ever.

Naren sent off the horse cart with Nanda and her maids. Aditya and the rest of the soldiers stayed closer to the cart riding their horses. Nanda watched Aditya through the cloth window. He had a serious face and she smiled softly.

*********

The moon hid behind the clouds, the night was cold. There were no other noises than the rustling of the leaves and the horses’ neighs. Nanda was almost asleep when she heard a howling sound. She woke up from the trance that very moment. Shinyun was only a day’s journey away and they were camped in the woods. Nanda understood that wolves were approaching them, a pack by the sound of it. Nanda woke her maids Mrinal and Sandhya up and covered their mouths. She could hear soldiers and horses making sounds. She clearly heard Aditya’s voice commanding the soldiers to be ready to defend if the pack attacked them. Nanda stayed inside the tent, scared and trembling.

Nanda heard wolves howling and jumping and steel clashing against flesh. She also heard the neighs of the horses and she closed her eyes tight. She opened them when she heard Mrinal screaming. One of the wolves had entered the tent followed by another. Nanda and her maids stood up and ran out of the tent through the cloth wall. The wolves followed them. Nanda found the soldiers fighting the pack. There were about eight more wolves and the rest of the pack were killed. A few soldiers and horses were injured. Nanda ran away from the place and got separated from her maids and the wolves followed Nanda.

Aditya was fighting the wolves when he heard Nanda’s scream and he saw her being chased. He signaled his horse to follow her and he rode to her direction. Gautam had killed two more wolves by his arrows and one of them was the alpha and the rest of the pack ran away from the place. Aditya was scared to his spine when he saw that the two wolves were still after Nanda. He rode towards her as fast as he could.

Nanda thought that her heart would stop beating if she continued running. She couldn’t move a bit longer. Fear and tiredness had gripped her, and she was trembling all over. She turned around and saw the wolves almost over her and suddenly she fell down. Nanda thought that it was over but then a dark figure came in front of her and faced the wolves. It was a woman. She started saying some words which felt like spells and the wolves sat down on the ground. Nanda saw sparks flying in the air and then the wolves running away from the place. She was both shocked and relieved. She slowly tried to get up. The woman in black turned towards Nanda and helped her up.

Nanda: Thank you so much for saving my life.

The woman didn’t say anything. By then Aditya had reached the place.

Mihara: It was your good fortune dear Princess that I was here to help you today. But I won’t be around all the time. Learn to protect yourself for no one else will be there for you.

Nanda was intimidated by the woman. She couldn’t say a word. The woman walked away looking at Aditya.

Mihara: You will always be late, Commander.

Aditya watched the woman walking away. He was relieved to see that Nanda was alive and he got down from the horse and took her hand in his hand. Aditya was crying.

Aditya: I thought that I had lost you.

Nanda: But you didn’t.

Nanda started crying as well. They embraced each other, and the leaves danced in the breezy night around them.

******

Aaryaan: So why did you want me to come to Shinyun instead of going to war in the first place?

Nihil: That is because building good relations with other nations is as important as winning wars and we have already won the wars that we were fighting.

Aaryaan: So, let’s plan for another one. This place is getting on my nerves. Everyone is happy, everyone is peaceful. No one wants to even wield their weapons. And what is that rule about not taking your weapon out in public? I can’t bear another moment of this.

Nihil: Your highness, our soldiers need rest and you need it as well. Find some peace, this place will help you.

Aaryaan’s voice choked in his mouth for a few moments and it was trembling when he spoke.

Aaryaan: I haven’t known what it is since ages. I am going out Nihil. I don’t want anyone with me.

Nihil: Yes, your highness.

******

Aditya: You are going to be lost.

Nanda: I am not. I am going with the Princess of Shinyun to the temple. They do not allow any other guards to accompany them than the Shinyun peacekeepers. You should stay here. I meant here and do not follow me with your head covered as you did the last time.

Aditya: I won’t.

Aditya tightly gripped the scabbard of his sword. He was scared since the night the wolves attacked Nanda. He was still not out of the fear of losing her. Nanda touched Aditya’s hand and smiled assuredly.

Nanda: I know that my life is important, Aditya. If not for me, at least for you, I will be careful.

Aditya tried his best to smile but he couldn’t. Nanda walked out of the palace chamber without a word.

******

Siyelin: Shinyun temple is the holiest of all places, Alakananda. This is where white magic was born. When black magic took over the world, when there was only disasters and wars, Goddess Yileen sacrificed herself and became pure energy that we now call as the white magic. Her power that keeps black magic at bay, originates from this temple. This is what that keeps evil away and the balance intact. Even one visit to this place will take away the impurity in your heart and will plant love in it.

Nanda watched the huge temple with marble walls. The temple was more than a thousand years old. There was an older temple in the same place which was replaced by the one now. The older temple was smaller compared to this one. Nanda folded her hands and prayed. She found purple lotuses suspended in thin air above the pond inside the temple. The pond had clear blue water and the flowers when blossomed, detached themselves from the stumps and flew to the space above and stood there before withering away. Nanda watched the sight with shock and surprise and Siyelin smiled.

Aaryaan stood inside the temple frozen. He couldn’t figure out the difference between reality and illusion. He kept on looking at the vision in front of him. She was beautiful. He wished that his eyes had never seen anything before her. Her smile, her innocent gaze and her mouth in awe. Everything made him feel as though he was in the presence of something magical. Before Aaryaan knew it, she was walking towards him. She offered him something and he took it in his palms. She signaled him to eat it and he did and Aaryaan didn’t even care if it was poison. He would die if it was from her hands and he was sure that he wouldn’t think twice before it. Aaryaan watched Nanda walking out of the temple and he followed her.

Nanda felt eyes on her and she looked everywhere around. She was right, Aditya was standing outside the temple, at a distance. He had his face covered and was wearing the clothes of a commoner, but it was him and Nanda smiled. She knew that he was worried about her. Aditya was always worried. For the country, for her, for the wars to come, almost everything. He always walked on thorns and Nanda felt sad for him.

Aditya watched Nanda coming out of the temple. He had sleepless nights after the encounter with the woman that night. Her words kept on ringing in his ears. Aditya found a huge crowd in front of the temple and he somehow felt that it would be a mistake to let Nanda get in to the sea of people alone and Aditya walked towards her. The Shinyun peacekeepers tried their best to control the crowd but when the procession started, it went out of their hands. Alakananda was separated from the group and she was pulled away from them by the crowd. Nanda was tensed and scared. She screamed Aditya’s name. Aditya was trying his best to get to her and suddenly she felt a hold on her hand. Someone pulled her closer and covered her with his cloth and hugged her tight and pushed through the crowd to the other side. Nanda couldn’t do anything. He was taller and stronger than everyone else in the crowd. He dragged her making sure that she was not hurt. When they reached the other side, he let go of her hands seeing the peacekeepers approaching her.

Aaryaan: Take care, Princess. I hope that you are one. It doesn’t matter even if you are not as well. You will be one for me.

Aaryaan flashed a smile. Something that he had never done in his life before and then he walked away. Nanda stood there silent and then accompanied the peacekeepers to Aditya who was trying hard to get to her.

********

Nihil: It’s better to forget about her your highness.

Aaryaan: But why? You always wanted me to find a woman and now that I have, why do you want me to forget her?

Nihil: That is because she is the future queen of Salandh. Her name is Alakananda, betrothed to their commander-in-chief. We have come here in peace, let’s leave in peace as well.

Aaryaan didn’t say anything. He looked at the fire burning in his chamber and tightened his grip on the sword. The sharp edge of the sword cut in to his flesh and blood fell on to the floor, but he didn’t feel the pain. It was all numb.

******

Nanda: Why did you call me out here, Aditya? I was with the princesses.

Aditya: Yes, I am seeing that you have already forgotten about me.

Aditya made a face and Nanda couldn’t stop but laugh.

Nanda: What is it, Aditya?

Aditya took something out of a pouch. Nanda looked at it with curiosity. They were a set of bangles.

Aditya: I had bought them from nearby the temple. These are glass bangles and not very costly, but I thought they would look good on your hands. If you may, my princess, please wear them when possible.

Nanda smiled with tears in her eyes and she removed all the bangles on her hands and held her hands forward.

Nanda: Put them on my hands, Aditya.

Aditya smiled and put the bangles on her hands as softly as he could and kissed her on her forehead. Nanda softly kissed his hands and let go of Aditya and ran towards the main hall. Aditya stood there looking at her figure vanishing in to the crowd.