An evil scheme

"So, King Bajrabaahu, are you going to declare your return to the Old Alliance officially?" Vidala asked, as he tilted his head to gaze at the king of Sailam.

"King Vidala," Bajrabaahu sighed. "You know I have always been a part of the Old Alliance. If not for my father's soft-heartedness, perhaps we would already have succeeded by now."

"I agree," Vidala nodded. "That would have been a hundred times better. Our situation now isn't good. Lord Arjun... You know he is the same. He hasn't really changed anyhow over all these years...."

"He hasn't even gotten old!" Utpala scowled

"He... doesn't age," Vidala chuckled at his brother's remark. "And that is something we can do nothing about."

"Yeah, and like he doesn't age, he doesn't get tired of sticking to those principles of his!" Utpala continued, clearly annoyed. "And as for his background, well, I wonder if God knows that either. How irritating!"

"Background?" Bajrabaahu raised his brows. Lord Arjun's background? This was something that would instantly interest anybody who had even the slightest knowledge about the Lord. As for the reason, it was because nobody, not even a single soul, knew of who exactly this man was. Humans have an innate tendency of being attracted to what is mysterious, and so, this was something that could not be ignored-- either by his friends or his foes.

"That's right," Vidala scratched his beard. "A few months back, a group of my men whom I had sent a few years ago to try looking for Lord Arjun's background, came back to Vaimadri. Guess what they found?" Vidala cackled bitterly. "Nothing!"

"He couldn't have formed out of thin air, right?" Utpala frowned.

"That's right. There is only one very remote and very useless clue about Lord Arjun," Vidala continued. "He doesn't belong to the Deccan. He doesn't belong to Aryavarta either. Maybe he came down from those huge mountains far to the north. This is mere speculation, because you may go as far northwards as you want, but people will still acknowledge his name. So maybe, he came down from the Himalayan region."

Bajrabaahu raised his brows in interest, "From the Himalayan region? Then he must have some contacts with people back there. We might be able to trace his family, right?"

Vidala shook his head. "He has no contacts with anybody. No family, no friends, nothing that we can exploit against him."

"Except the First Princess, of course," Utpala smirked.

"King Bajrabaahu," Vidala looked up. "The last attempt to assassinate Mallika failed pretty badly, again thanks to Lord Arjun. You must have seen that he somehow managed to cure the people of the camp as well. I suspect he has his people inside your palace. Have you tried investigating."

Bajrabaahu nodded. "My secret spies have been looking into this ever since the troops have returned to the capital. But till now, no progress worth mentioning."

"As expected of Lord Arjun!" Utpala shook his head. "He is too skilled in hiding things!"

"Now," Vidala leaned forward to place his fist on the table. "We have to try keeping Mallika in our control. Tomorrow, she is turning twenty. The time period for which Lord Arjun has promised not to interfere in her life is getting over. Once she realises who she is, we are done for. So, king Bajrabaahu, do you mind following my scheme?"

Bajrabaahu's lips curved upwards. "She has never been my child. Tell me what you have in mind, I will certainly help you out."

"Good," Vidala slapped the table hard, smiling, "Very good! In my opinion, we should give murdering her a last try. Tomorrow, won't she be going to the temple on the Nallamalla hills to offer prayers?"

"That's right," Bajrabaahu nodded.

"Then let's plan a secret ambush on her."

"That a poor scheme, brother," Utpala scowled. "She's a skilled warrior. She can face ambushes pretty well. Do you forget what Durg reported last time? She can pretty well fight against five people in one go. And you are underestimating Lord Arjun. Do you think he won't keep an eye on her?"

Vidala smiled, "That makes sense. But if we station enough people, the two of them combined won't be able to survive, say what?"

Utpala squinted, "Just how many people do you plan to station to take down Lord Arjun and Mallika together?"

"Sometimes, brute force isn't the only thing needed," Vidala smiled. "You leave the bothersome part to me. Just arrange a few people, about ten or so, preferably women and children from the villages nearby, to serve as our hostages tomorrow. Kindness is a virtue no doubt, but any virtue can become a double edged sword. We will use what their strength is to destroy them. Say, what do you think?"

"That's a wonderful idea!" Utpala clapped gleefully. "Judging by their natures, they won't be able to overlook the plight of others. We can exploit that to get rid of Mallika at least, if not Lord Arjun."

"Then, that's settled, right?"

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"Uncle," Mallika tapped the table gently, pushing the teacup towards her uncle. "I came to ask you about a person I happened to hear of. Could you help me?"

Her voice was heavier than usual, slightly dry and husky. She couldn't be blamed for that, after all she had never cried the way she had that evening! How terribly shocking reality can be sometimes!

"A person?" Brihangad raised his brows. "Go ahead. Who do you need information about?"

Mallika rolled the spoon in her hand, eyeing her uncle properly. She had suddenly grown wary of every body around her. How could she ever trust a person like she did before? Her mother, whom she deemed dearest to her, had been keeping such a terrible secret from her all these years. Her uncle must have been aware of her identity as well. Yet, he had never bothered to let her know, not even when King Bajrabaahu repeatedly bullied her for every small and big reason. She wondered how many more secrets these people had in their hearts. Not that she hated them, but she simply couldn't bear to accept this glaring fact that they had hidden her very identity from her for twenty long years!

But she had to depend on somebody to find out the answers she needed. And in this palace, she could rely on few people in the manner she could trust her uncle.

"Lord Arjun."

Brihangad choked on his tea, and broke into fits of coughing. By the time he sobered up, his face had turned bright red. "Wh...what?!" he stuttered.

'Just how could this be? How could Mallika have known this name?' Brihangad felt his mind go blank for a moment.

"Lord Arjun," Mallika replied with the same calm in her voice. She sipped in some of her tea. "I want you to tell me who Lord Arjun is?"

Brihangad felt he could have burst that moment, but with great efforts, he managed to calm himself. "How did you hear this name?" He asked.

"I won't answer you till you answer me," Mallika replied, continuing to sip her tea.

"Mallika," Brihangad rubbed his temples. "Not everything can be discussed in the palace."

"Why not?"

"Because your father.... thinks Lord Arjun is his enemy."

"Is that because Lord Arjun crippled him, or is there anything else?"

Brihangad felt his heart do a back flip.

"How..how d..did you know that?"

Mallika shrugged, "I will tell you only after you answer me."

"Mallika! Don't be adamant!"

"If you won't answer, I will go look for somebody else." And Mallika began to rise. Brihangad knew things had somehow gone out of hand. He couldn't let Mallika ask anybody else about the Lord. It could be too risky.

"No no, sit!" He immediately spoke up. Mallika paused, and after a while, returned to her seat.

"Tell me, what is wrong between my father and Lord Arjun?"

Brihangad gulped. This was difficult. Even if he wanted to answer, how should he start? Should he tell her how King Bajrabaahu had slaughtered her entire family? Or should he tell her about the cursed Old Alliance?

As he was about to open his mouth, he suddenly noticed Mallika's head droop to a side.

"Mallika!"

He leapt to his feet, when he spotted a familiar figure gently support Mallika's body.

"Lord Arjun!"

Brihangad dropped to his knees in front of the man, and bowed low, touching his head to the ground in reverence. All had happened in just a fleeting moment, and Brihangad could feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest. A stream of tears leaked from his eyes, as he looked up at his Lord. It was always overwhelming to even experience Lord Arjun's presence.

Mallika was calm and asleep in Arjun's arms, while the latter had an affectionate smile adorning his lips.

"Don't you think she is trouble at times?"

Brihangad was shaken back to reality. He looked at his Lord. There had been numerous times when they had met, but never had he seen this expression on his face. It was so gentle and loving that it made him look almost unreal.

"She is too precious to be considered trouble," he replied after a while.

"I know," Arjun smiled as he carefully removed a streak of hair from her cheek. " But you know what, she eavesdropped on Bajrabaahu and Svetmala while they happened to be discussing her birth. Such a bundle of mischief! Then all evening she cried her heart out. And now here she is, trying to find out about me!"

His voice was still the same deep tone that could send one's heart into a flutter. But it had a strange childish edge to it this time, and Brihangad was more than startled to witness this.

"My Lord, you made her unconscious?"

"She won't be hurt," Arjun chuckled. "But if I hadn't, how would you have tackled the situation?"

"My Lord, she is turning twenty tomorrow. You don't need to hide yourself anymore. Then, why?"

Arjun sighed softly, his eyes still on the girl's face. "I don't care if she learns about me now. But I don't want her to get hurt. Knowing about her birth was already a big shock to her. I just didn't want her to find out any other explosive stuff right away. It might have been too much for her to bear."

That was right. And it could not be gainsaid. Anymore trauma could be too much for the girl to tolerate.

"Then?" Brihangad looked anxious.

"Leave her to me," Arjun smiled, lifting her clean off the seat and carrying her away, as his long hair swayed from side to side with his motion. Brihangad sighed as he watched him carry her off into the darkness, heading towards her room.

If only Mallika knew who Lord Arjun was!