Chapter 21

In her path toward her daughter's bedroom, she already met two guards with swords too. She killed them angrily during a short time that she aggressively planted her sword directly in their hearts.

A few steps later, another guard who was walking slowly too had been slaughtered in a second by the running princess.

The latter hid herself in a dark tunnel in the castle while a group of guards no less than 10 passed by her toward her bedroom.

She continued running in that tunnel until she found herself in front of her daughter's room and in front of two guards.

These guards – who didn't receive any order yet from the king to murder Sundarta – looked at the latter's sword where some blood tears were dropping. They felt anxious while the princess was just looking at them, waiting for any reaction of them.

Indeed, they pulled their sword. But soon, she slaughtered them. After, she tried to open the door but it was locked. She knocked it stressfully until finally Lilly's nurse opened. Once she did, the mother got in without any single word; she took the sleepy child and got out, ordering the nurse to simulate Lilly's body with pillows on her bed.

After she noticed that guards already discovered her absence and started running everywhere in the whole castle, she hid Lilly, who woke up in a little closet in one of the halls. She ordered her in Hindi, wheezing: "Listen, my child, every single guard here is trying to imprison me for torture…"

Lilly intended to ask but her mother shut her and continued: "Don't ask, just listen; don't trust anybody here. They may want to hurt you too. Listen, don't make any single sound. The only person you can trust is Grandma Ann. Ok? When you hear her calling you, you answer her so she can take you with her. Don't trust even you grandfather. If you heard him calling you, don't answer. Understood?"

The child nodded. Sundarta kissed her forehead with tears drooping on her cheeks and said in English: "I love you, Lilly. You got that? Never doubt in my love for you and your father… Bye…"

She closed the door fast and preceded her run until she ended up in a courtyard plenty of guards watching the doors of bedrooms. Unfortunately, they all received the order to incarcerate her. Thus, about 20 men hurried up toward her.

Bravely, the warrior did her best in killing but the more she killed someone, the more she got hurt and injured by more than a one guard with their swords.

At last, she fell down on her knees. Her destroyed golden simple Anarkali sari was full of blood stains.

The guards handcuffed her and waited until the dictator came. He grinned while Sundarta was completely tired, but her eyes were full of hatred and rage…

Ann woke up as the rest of people because of the sudden voice. She saw her daughter on her way to the jail in the crypt, caught by two guards from her arms. She didn't interfere because she knew that interfering might harm Sundarta more.

However, when the latter saw her, she pointed her out with her eyes to the hall where Lilly was.

Luckily, she understood her. Once Edward and his guards disappeared, she ran as best as she could to the hall. She found many similar closets so she whispered: "Lilly? Where are you? Are you here? Lilly?"

Finally, Lilly got out of the closest closet to her grandmother. The latter held her and reassured her. At final, she took her to her bedroom and tried to make her sleep…

***

Sundarta's people stopped celebrating after what happened to their princess…

2 weeks later, after he prepared his army well, Edward began his trip toward Michor with a huge army at the early morning.

Every single person of the army was on horse. That's why their trip would take a short time: 6 days.

Once the trip started, Ann went with Lilly to the crypt after she begged the guards to let her in. She found her daughter handcuffed, her arms were hanged too up, her face was completely dirty and with blood stains and injures. She was so tired, hungry and thirsty that she was sleeping while standing, because the two strings holding her arms were two short that she couldn't sit down on her knees.

She woke up under the voice of Lilly. She opened her eyes and got happy to see her mother and daughter so she barely smiled.

Ann barely also caught her tears because she knew that Sundarta would get sad if she saw her crying. She asked her sarcastically: "How are you today?"

"I'm fine…" She joked also.

"The guards barely let me in with Lilly."

The Adopted Princess just kept looking at her. She was too tired that she couldn't talk.

"Listen, I've got bad news for you… Edward started his trip toward Michor this morning. His army is very huge." Worthington informed.

Sundarta got scared. She didn't know what to do while she was still at jail. She thought about Chandramukhi, Krishna and Milady…

Ann expressed her sorrow: "Samantha, I mean Sundarta… I'm sorry when I thought that you must protect Great Britain; Now, do your best. Never hesitate in cutting that monster's head; all of Great Britain is great and innocent as Michor except its king. Kill him and things will get better. If you think that disobeying the king of your kingdom means betraying it, you're wrong… and I was wrong too…You must be always for the right, not for your dictator king…"

The Adopted Princess didn't understand her mother: how would she fight Edward while she was handcuffed?

Suddenly, Ann answered her by herself; she stepped straight, pulled a key ring out of her pocket, and opened the door of the cell.

Sundarta got so shocked when she saw that while Lilly just entered the cell and hugged her. The mother wanted so much to hug her daughter but she couldn't cause of the strings.

The grandmother, very frightened, hurried up and unlocked the handcuffs. Once she did, Sundarta fell on her knees and hugged Lilly.

Ann didn't want to stop the joy between her daughter and her granddaughter, but she was obliged to: she quickly demanded the daughter: "Samantha, you need to run away now: they may prevent you of getting out of Great Britain."

"And what about you? You surely will get punished by Edward." Sundarta got worried.

"Never mind, darling: I've never even been with you during whole your life. I've never raised you. Let me this time convince you and show you my love to you." She explained.

Sundarta hugged her mother and said: "Mother, I know that you love me; Chandramukhi always said that to me. Letting Edward punishing you won't make me happy at all…"

"Go! Go now!" Ann screamed, ordering her to leave the palace now.

Because of the pressure, Sundarta couldn't refuse; she hugged her for the last time, held her daughter up, and intended to get out.

Suddenly, all of her 200 people came, completely armed; they wanted to go with her to fight alongside with her. Ratan represented their wish, speaking in Hindi: "Your highness, we won't accept watching our brave soldiers dying while we're here doing nothing: we're fighting in your side."

The princess got very glad to watch her people uniting for justice and for their kingdom. However, she asked men to come with her, while asked women to stay to cover her and men's absence.

Worthington showed them a hidden tunnel down where they could get out of the palace. But before she left, Sundarta looked at her mother, and informed: "I promise that I'll cut that dictator's head, I'll put it on a tray of silver and I'll give it to my Michorian parents, so they can hang it on the fence, to become our symbol of threat for everyone who intends to betray us or to attack us…"

"I know you will… And now, go!" The woman encouraged her and insisted her to go.

Indeed, after passing the tunnel, they found themselves in the backyard where they found a few horses.

Sundarta took one of them and she led the rest outside of the castle, fighting every single guard intended to stop them. They fast then found a market.

With their weapons, they threatened the sellers – they brought no money with them – and asked them to give them horses to the rest alongside with food and more weapons.

Once they did, they started their trip, about 2 hours late for the first one…

***