25. The Forest of Paladin

The field ahead of her was bathed in a golden sunlight. It was the 11 o'clock sun, as she'd call it —that time when it wasn't too hot nor cold; the light perfect enough to not blind you, yet stubborn enough to not let you stare at the sun. The most playful hour of the day.

She had her hands wrapped around Kris's neck, and behind him was this sight. She wanted to show him this beautiful view too. But before she could utter a word, the scene changed again, they were in the dead of winter, but there was a fire to keep them warm. She felt Kris caressing her lovingly. She snuggled closer to his body like a baby does to its mother. There was something about Kris which was tender like a new mother. She closed her eyes, wishing to sleep on these shoulders forever.

The chirping birds woke her up. It was a forest. She lay on top of a bed made of the softest grass, decorated with a bedspread knitted with the most tender and fragrant flowers. But this time Kris wasn't to be seen. She panicked. What kind of a dream is this?

"Looking for someone?" A voice asked from behind her. Started, she turned back.

"Kris!! You scared the god out of me."

"I doubt that's possible." He grinned sheepishly.

He climbed down to the bed with fruits in his arms. He was wearing a kind of shorts made of flowers. Mira looked at herself. She herself was clad in clothes made of flowers. She hardly had much on her, but. Realization made her cover her body with her arms. Kris chuckled.

"Silly! Why are you shy? We don't have anything to be ashamed of."

He could say that; he's had these experiences before. But what about her? It's new to her! Mira sulked thinking all this.

"There's no first or second, love. They're all experiences and we experience each moment anew. Even if it's a relation you've had before, isn't each relationship unique? Your parents had two kids— isn't their relationship with each child unique and different? " Kris spoke as if he heard what she thought in her mind.

The dream....did it just change its genre? Mira wondered.

Kris chuckled again. He playfully threw some flowers at her.

" What is this place? " Mira asked.

" This? This is the Forest of Paladin. It's a place I won after defeating the last Paladin."

"What's a Paladin?"

"Keepers of Good, the Guardians of Justice."

"Why did you defeat them, if they were good?"

"Because they're creatures with thinking. They're not machines. They make decisions ; sometimes, wrong ones. Then, it comes upon us to take charge of the situation."

"Us?"

"People like me and Sive."

"What are you? People like you.."

"We are..."

"Mira!?"

Gunny's voice woke her up.

"What.. What's the matter, Gunny?"

"Where's Kris? There's an emergency."

"Not sure. I fell asleep it seems."

"Oh. Sorry. Go to sleep. I'll find him."

Mira rubbed her eyes, her sleep vanishing out of a corner quietly. What was happening?

---------------------

"Pama, did Leibniz call?"

"He left me a message. Where's Kris?"

"Not here. I called dad. He's trying to locate them all."

"I don't know what went wrong."

"Let's go and find out."

"Wait, what about Mira? What are you going to tell her?"

"She cannot be included. She's human."

"Hmm. Meet me at the ring in five."

"Cool."

* * * * * * * * * *

"So you're going to do this? You're going to cheat like always? You call this justice? I spit on you, Krsna!"

JS snarled at him which made Krsna's face colder but he managed to bring a smile on.

"So what? This is me. This is my rule. And you need to leave."

"Things have changed, mate. If you as much as lay a finger upon me, my coven will avenge me."

"Are you so sure, friend? Because the last time I checked, they were planning to chop you into pieces and feed their guard dogs once you were done with the competition." Nietz circled JS like a bird of prey.

"Liars, all of you! You knew I'd win and you're going back on your word."

"What word? Where's your twenty? The word was.." if you had 20"...You simply joined another clan. That's not fair play. You're already disqualified. "

"Did you specify that I can't join a clan? You just said I can't turn any of them. Where's Sive? It's his rules. Let him clarify. After all, he's the god of gods now. Not you."

He pointed a filthy finger at Krsna.

"Well, he is here.." Sive announced his own arrival. "How funny," he continued, "that people forget details irrelevant to them." Sive swished his left hand in the wind and the scene from the day of the deal played itself in front of them. "See? Fine details shouldn't be forgotten. 'If you recruit', I said. Now tell me, what do you understand from that word, Jerassand? Did being a corrupt king once upon a time destroy your linguistic abilities as well? Or have you let go of your dreams of being the head of a clan; willing to be a mere pawn who fights for his leader?"

Leibniz and Nietz looked at each other, pleased. Krsna stood watching with a stoic expression on his face.

" Are you siding with your friends, God? " Pure venom erupted from Jerassand's tongue.

" Let's do one thing, call your coven over. Let's here what they want to say about this. Whether they wish to save you or not." Sive said.

JS gloated. "That's more like you, God!"

* * * * * * * * * *

Gunny had rushed out of the house without telling her anything. She knew something was up, but she didn't understand what, to be exact.

Mira picked her phone up and opened the Buddy Tracker app that she had secretly installed on both Gunny's and Kris's phones. It was Bella's idea; she had texted Mira after leaving the cafe because she understood Mira's frustration of not being included in Kris's inner circle. Bella knew that it might be dangerous for Mira to be directly involved so with the app, she thought, Mira's curiosity would be sated. Only if Bella knew....

"Same place, hmm. But what are they doing at the football ground in the middle of the night?" Mira wondered as she picked up the car keys.