A venture in the dark...

Mallika froze.

Turning back, she met the piercing gaze of her uncle. Putting on an act of innocence was the best way to get rid of the situation she was in and Mallika was well aware of this. So she simply blinked like a confused little kid and asked, "Heh? What do you mean? I just found this fire sign a bit too fancy, so I wanted to have a better look. Is something not right, uncle?"

"Fire sign?" Brihangad rubbed his temples and yawned. He suddenly looked too tired to be continuing the conversation. "That has nothing to do with you, understand. That letter, just forget about it. It does not concern you. And... do not.. mention it to anyone."

"Uncle!!!"

Brihangad's body abruptly slouched off the couch. His head dropped to a side and his eyes were shut. Mallika was bewildered. She rushed over to her uncle's side.

"Uncle! Uncle! Get up! What's wrong with you? Don't scare me, uncle!"

She tugged hard at her uncle's arm, but to no avail. He was breathing, but had seemingly dozed off into a sleep. Mallika frowned. Something was fishy. A vigilant general like Brihangad would not sleep like this, even if he was drunk.

"Guards!" She dashed out of the tent, only to find a sight that shook all sense momentarily out of her.

All over the place, the guards lay like dead, asleep just like her uncle. And in front of her, stood a large gang of about fifteen men, each armed with weapons, smirking.

"Princess Mallika, finally we have you here!"

Mallika stiffened. The situation was not good. The people in her camp had certainly been poisoned. It was the liquor! But what could she do? She was alone at the moment, and vastly outnumbered. Even though her skills were top-notch, these men didn't seem to be easy targets either. From the looks of things, they were a group of professional assassins. But... just who would hire a bunch of killers to attack their camp at midnight? And why were they waiting for her?

"What do you want?" She asked right away.

The men were dressed in black, and their faces were covered with black masks, so it was impossible for Mallika to make out who they were. One of them cackled, "We are on a mission, to get your head for our leader."

Mallika smiled, "So you are after me. I won't hinder you, but you must tell me who your leader is. I dont want to die without knowing who hated me this much."

Her reply startled the bunch of killers who had apparently prepared for a 'fight-to-death' situation with the girl. Their enthusiasm seemed to be greatly dampened as they eyed her cautiously. Needless to say, Mallika was deliberately trying to buy some time. This situation was too abrupt. She had to survive, but it seemed that would need more of tact than force.

"We are professionals," The masked man replied. "And we work in secrecy. We cannot divulge our leader's identity to you."

"What are you scared of?" Mallika walked right up to the men. If she had to take action, she would have to lure them away from the campsite. Else, it would be too easy for them to capture someone else as a hostage and use it against her. "Dead men tell no tales. Once you kill me, your secret will still remain guarded, won't it?"

This was sensible, but the men were indeed professionals. The masked man smiled, "Don't try to fool us, princess. We know well what you are trying to do."

"Eh? Really?" Mallika transitioned to her plan B. "I was just trying to buy myself a somewhat decent death."

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't it the rule to let a person have his last wish fulfilled before they die?"

The assassins stiffened. "We are killers, not officials of the law court. We are not interested in courtesy."

"Aye!! I know that. But aren't you scared that if my last wish goes unfulfilled, I will turn into a vicious ghost after my death and haunt all of you down?" She continued to move gradually towards the forests, away from the tents. Fortunately, the men were too engrossed in her nonsense to notice that even they had started to edge away from their main location.

"What stupid talk!" A second man mumbled. "General, why don't we kill her already?"

Mallika froze. General? That was a title only for high ranking army commanders. How can the leader of a bunch of mercenaries be addressed as General? Just who were these people?!

The masked 'general' seemed to have caught up with the discrepancy as well. His expression changed immediately. "Catch her, now!"

Mallika knew the people had something to hide. But this wasn't the best time to prod them. She turned on her heels and fled.

"Catch the girl, she must not flee!"

Mallika ran as fast as she could. She would have to lure the people out of the campsite before they could hit on the idea of capturing someone as a hostage. She ran like a headless fly, right into the forests surrounding the area. Close behind, she could hear the shouts of her pursuers.

Once she was sure they were at a safe distance from the camp, Mallika launched her offensive. With a mighty kick on the ground, she lifted herself to a low hanging branch.

"No, get her! Shoot!"

A volley of arrows came cutting through the air at her. Mallika smiled, leaping effortlessly from one branch to the next, her agile physique deftly avoiding the arrows hurled at her.

"General!" She heard one of the men shout some distance away. "Wasn't she hurt earlier? Why is she this okay? She's even flying happily!"

For a moment, Mallika felt her steps would falter. But luckily, she managed to duck the next set of arrows and leapt to a higher, more leafy branch on a large sturdy tree, making it more difficult for the men to track her. Was this all meticulously planned? How did these assaulters know she was supposed to be hurt? Was this... a conspiracy?

Her thoughts must have impeded her, for the next moment, she slipped her foot and crashed down on the ground.

Right infront of the men...

"Hahaha, you finally had a fall. Good. Brothers, don't let this vixen run!"

"Vixen? Really?" Mallika stood up, dusting the dirt off her gown. "You have been mistaken, 'general', I am a tigress that you can't afford to enrage!".

With a mighty kick, she sent the nearest masked man flying off his feet. With lightening speed, she grabbed the sword from a second, thrashing his head on a hard rock nearby, kicked a third hard on his chest, sent a heavy, jaw-breaking punch to the fourth and adeptly locked her sword with the masked leader.

The relentless clanging of the metals shook the silence of the forest. Though she had a calm expression on her face, Mallika was clearly not having a good time. There were too many men. And they were not weak at all. In fact, this general of theirs was worthy of a one-to-one match during the martial arts tournaments. She was clearly at a grave disadvantage.

As Mallika was debating on whether she should save her energy and flee again, a shrill shriek from a nearby killer, forced them to pause the fray.

"General! It's ....It's...Hi...Him!"

In an instant, the situation reversed. The masked men seemed to have been petrified, their swords dropped to the ground instantly, and fear was evident in all their eyes.

This was a good time to escape, but Mallika did not want to leave without checking exactly who could have instilled such trauma in the men at an instant. Besides, she herself was suddenly overpowered by an overwhelming presence.

She turned back.

Some distance away, on a rock that was much higher than the rest of the ground, stood a man-- his entire body was covered with a black cloth, but unlike the killers, it was just a cape that fluttered in the wind, revealing a battle-toned physique. His head was covered with a hood that hung down over his forehead till the tip of his nose, revealing only the chiseled jawline and his carved lips.

Thunder clapped in the distant horizon. The sky flashed bright for a moment. Mallika stood rooted to her spot, staring with awe at the figure in front of her. Such a powerful aura! She had never witnessed the like of this before.

"Retreat!"

The sound of the men rushing away, made her turn back to face her foes. But surprisingly, they had already disappeared. "Cowards!" she spat with disgust. They had dissipated the moment the hooded stranger had arrived, as if they had just been clouds of smoke. These people must have been enemies for long. She smiled. Wasn't it sensible to befriend your enemy's enemy?

With that thought, she turned behind to find the man.

But.... where was he?

There was no one standing on the rock in the distance. The forests were silent, just the way they should have been.

"Sir?" She called out. "Are you there?"

There was no response. Silence engulfed the four directions. Only the ceaseless buzz of the crickets continued in the dark. Thunder clapped again.