Backstory

Himprayag

Shaurya waited for a moment in indecision but then he shrugged his shoulders and followed the other guy. Rudradev hadn't turned around to check whether Shaurya was coming behind him or not. Shaurya gritted his teeth and wondered exactly why had he decided to follow the guy.

After about fifteen minutes of a silent stroll, the two of them reached a run down but well-lit shack which had a line of customers waiting outside to place their orders even at this hour. Rudradev went straight upto the counter where someone was processing the orders. Rudradev gave a nod to the man and moved past him to enter the area behind the counter. Shaurya followed suit and soon they found themselves at a lone table which had been placed inside.

"What do you want?" Shaurya asked as soon as they were alone.

Rudradev leaned back in his uncomfortable chair and looked at Shaurya. Half of his face was hidden under the shadows which the nearby lamp was casting. The expression in his eyes wasn't visible but he seemed to be pondering over something.

After a few moments, he said, "Make the princess fall in love with you."

His statement left Shaurya stunned. Fleetingly, he thought that it was a good thing that he hadn't been drinking or eating anything else he would have surely embarrassed himself.

Shaurya recovered from his surprise and replied flatly, "I guess the minister is fond of making jokes. Unfortunately, my sense of humour isn't developed enough to enjoy them. I will excuse myself now. Please do enjoy the dessert. G'night."

Rudradev didn't try and stop him. In fact, he sounded indifferent when addressing Shaurya who was getting up from his seat now.

"Best of luck," with that, Rudradev closed his eyes, indicating the end of conversation.

Shaurya paused for a second, his body frozen in mid-air but then he straightened up and gave a bow before leaving the place. This guy was really strange.

Rudradev opened his eyes once the younger guy had left from there. Veer was a smart guy. Unfortunately, he seemed to lack vision. Despite the younger guy's suspicious thoughts which were clearly written on his face, this hadn't been a planned meeting.

Rudradev had genuinely been on the way to this sweet shop when he recognized the young spy from Chandragarh roaming the lanes of Himprayag. It had been easy to recognise him due to the way he walked. It was really distinctive from the brisk, straight steps which the people of Himprayag usually followed due to constantly wading through tricky snow often, making them cautious.

Veer, on the other hand, had a laid-back, wavy style of threading through crowd which made him stand out in this place. This had been Rudradev's impression about the guy when he personally tailed him initially when Veer arrived in Himprayag. He had wanted to know about the mysterious visitor, Bela who suddenly gained favour with the young princess. Shadowing Bela had led him to the discovery of Veer.

Tonight, as he recognised him yet again, he was mildly curious about his destination. Rudradev had just started to tail him only to be discovered by the younger guy. Since he was impressed with Veer's skills in spotting a tail, Rudradev had invited him to share the dessert with him as a way to acknowledge his prowess. Those who knew Rudradev, would have been surprised by this gesture. He rarely invited anyone to eat with him.

Since he had been in a good mood, Rudradev had instinctively given out an advice to the young man, only to be rejected without hesitation. In hindsight, he shouldn't have said anything. It wasn't in his nature to try and help others. Shrugging his shoulders, he took the cold bowl of rasgullas from the shop's attendant and forgot all about the impudent boy.

Shaurya rubbed his hands together to create some warmth between them. He was feeling extremely despondent at this moment and missing a pair of twinkling eyes desperately. Never had he felt like this in the middle of a mission. His growing years had been spent on enjoying the highs which he achieved while encountering the dangers and challenges on an assignment. But this time, he experienced a sense of urgency to go back as soon as he embarked on this journey.

He had known that his task in Saptsindhu had been dangerous. In fact, had Prithvi guruji not changed his mission, who knows what would have been his situation right now. His original task had been to cause as much damage as possible to Saptsindhu's biggest military cum spy base which was stationed near the mountains adjoining Chandragarh.

Since he knew that his identity in that place won't be hidden for long, he had drawn out the plan to 'get killed' and then don a new identity to live in Saptsindhu for a bit before gaining access into the military facility. In order to cause maximum damage, it would have needed to be done from the inside of the premise. Who knows what would have that led to?

That plan got changed due to guruji's instructions for him to join Bela guruji in Himprayag. Not that he came empty handed from Saptsindhu. One, he was dead from the perspective of the enemy and it gave him the leeway of going back anytime and finishing the incomplete mission. Secondly, he had gained the knowledge of a secret passage into Saptsindhu and also the favour of the aboriginals of that area. He had a feeling that they may come handy in the future.

He couldn't wait to get back and tell Prithvi guruji about them.

All in all, he had been holding himself well within control but this whole episode with Princess Ahilya had left him with a bad taste. More than Bela guruji's reprimanding him for it, he himself was really upset about it. He wished so desperately that he could turn back the time.

While Shaurya was lost in glum thoughts, shadows around him were lengthening!