Look who's here
Gurukul, Chandragarh
"The point of having more contestants is to make sure that each one feels challenged and the pool is big enough for the judges to choose the best from the best. Why should there be three contestants now instead of four? It reeks of favouritism," said Ganga in an unsatisfied manner.
Her sense of justice was really strong, having been a fierce competitor all her life and hence, her reaction was the severest out of the lot.
Chiranjeev, who was usually the last one to speak up under any circumstances, immediately piped up and reacted, "I agree completely with her."
His attitude towards the pretty senior hadn't escaped the notice of the other boys in the group and they lowered their heads right now to hide their smirks. It was true! Even the mightiest fell face forward when in love…
"It was the Eastern zilla head who voted for Vindhya alongwith the Western zilla chief," Yash spoke while walking towards them.
He had gone to visit his mother right after the results and was just returning from there.
"Why?" asked Nirbhay with a confused expression.
The Eastern zilla head was a recluse and a mystery to most people, including Nirbhay, who was originally from that zilla.
Yash shrugged his shoulders and replied, "My mother didn't delve into the details but only told me that the letter from the Eastern zilla head had Vindhya's name as the most deserving candidate."
"Let's stop thinking about it. It doesn't matter as long as Mriga has cleared the round. Even if there was any favoritism at play here, henceforth it won't be of any use. The last round is evaluated and decided by the Queen herself. So, let's focus on the preparation for that," said Abhirath, addressing the group.
Yash extended his hand towards Mriga and said, "These are the probable simulations which could be asked in the final round. My mother wrote them down from her memory and has sent them for you. She also asked me to tell you that she chose to vote for another person because the Northern zilla head had already decided to endorse you."
Mriga's cheeks coloured slightly. She took the bunch of papers from him without meeting his gaze. She had been prejudiced against Yash's mother and didn't visit the lady despite Yash telling her so repeatedly. Listening to his words right now, she felt a little ashamed at her behavior. She had let her personal opinions affect her professional conduct which was unbecoming of a QIT aspirant.
Clearing her throat, she looked at him, "Please thank her on my behalf, both for the papers and for displaying faith in my candidature."
Yash felt a real smile spreading on his face after weeks or maybe months. The two most important women in his life had taken tiny steps towards acknowledging the other. For now, he didn't want to think anything beyond that.
Later that night
Bela had to really suppress the urge to drop into her daughter's school once before tracing her journey back to Himprayag. But in the end, the spy won over the mother and she urged her horse to gallop across the capital in the near empty street. In order to save time, Bela had decided to borrow a horse from Prithvi which would take her all the way to the border, from where she would board a nondescript carriage to reach Himprayag.
The convoy of official ministers had already departed during the day from the royal palace but what they were carrying was simply a copy of the original agreement. The queen's stamped decree was hidden beneath Bela's clothes right now. This had been done as a precautionary measure due to two reasons. One, Prince Mithilesh was still here in Chandragarh and had been quiet for too long. Secondly, Bela had no faith in Rudradev and his motives and repeatedly warned Prithvi about him.
The path was near empty at this late hour and the lamps by the roadside were far and few as she hit the outskirts. The moment, Bela neared the border between the capital city and the Northern zilla, she could see a group of ruffians beating up a man with sticks and knives. Though she was pressed for time and didn't want to interfere in other people's business, the odds stacked against that one man made her pull her horse to a standstill just before she reached the gang.
"Let him go!" she said, still mounted on the horse.
Peering at the beautiful woman who was unaccompanied, the men's gazes grew lecherous immediately but one of them put an immediate brake on those thoughts.
"Remember that molesting a person carries capital punishment. A little fun is not worth risking our lives for. We can go to the brothel straight after this," the guy warned his people in a low voice.
"Woman… this doesn't concern you. Just f*** off from here if you know what's good for you," he told Bela, by raising his voice.
Snorting, she jumped off the horse in a fluid movement.
"Have you not been taught any manners? When making a request, you are supposed to say please and ask nicely," she was walking towards the one who had been talking till now.
Before anyone knew it, the man started screaming. Nobody had registered it but the guy's hand had been dislocated and now hung limply from his wrist.
"This is your last chance to escape," she warned before crouching low and hitting the solar plexus of the guy next to the one who had just been hit.
As soon as she reached them, she had realised that these were 19-20 years old ruffians with not much skill. It was better to hit decisively at a couple rather than taking on all of them and waste her time or energy.
And she was right!
Before the guy even started whimpering, the others were scrambling to run away from there. With a faint shake of her head, she moved her attention away from the hooligans to the man who was still on the ground.
From his side profile, he looked to be older than her and his forehead was bleeding, along with various cuts on his body.
"Are you alright? Do you need help in getting up?" she asked him.