No more secrets...

Gurukul, Chandragarh

Prithvi stood in front of Saraswati who was bidding farewell to her father, the old Vaidya. After a few moments, she walked out and her demeanour changed completely.

They went to the Admin building and from there to the underground tunnel which led to Prithvi's house. Once inside, Prithvi helped Saraswati change her appearance. After half hour, a gaily dressed performer exited from the Gurukul and sauntered her way to the famous brothel in the marketplace.

In there, she was met by Prithvi who had managed to reach faster and was standing inside, waiting for her. He led her to the secret room which used to be the meeting place between him and the queen. The three people who had been waiting for them, looked up as Prithvi came into the room, followed by Saraswati.

Saraswati bowed deeply to the queen but Prithvi had started speaking in low undertones to Chiranjeev already, "Did you manage to arrange for everything?"

Despite the extremely unusual circumstances, Chiranjeev looked composed and alert. He had experienced one of the most thrilling moments of his life few moments ago when he came to this room through the secret tunnel which had its entry starting from the queen's chamber.

He nodded his head at Prithvi's question and spoke up, "The musical instruments have been loaded in the carriage already which is waiting at the doorstep of the brothel."

Prithvi looked at the queen, who had also changed her appearance, matching that of Bela now.

"Remember! All of you are a group of singers and musicians accompanying Saraswati to a performance in Southern zilla. Make sure that your names and stories are a perfect match to one another's. Chiranjeev, the driver is an old trusted brother of mine. You will be acting as his lackey. Do you remember your map formations well? You will be the guide, helping him with the directions. You need to take the least travelled route," he told him.

Chiranjeev replied with humility but he sounded confident, "I won't let us lose the way."

"Once you reach there, Saraswati will take up the next stage. Bela didi, your task is only the queen's protection and nothing else. Have faith in the team around you. I have personally trained them," Prithvi's words were an ice breaker for this group of strangers who had come together suddenly under these extraordinary circumstances.

Without many words, everyone started to shuffle out of the room. The queen walked up to Prithvi and said, "I shall wait for your news."

He bowed his head deeply and replied, "I will not disappoint you. Please be safe till then."

Bela who had remained quiet till now, walked upto Prithvi and said in a low tone, "Mriga…"

He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly. No words were exchanged as she followed the queen out.

Himprayag

"You are here? I was just coming to the palace now to seek you. An urgent letter has come for you," the old man told Shaurya as soon as he entered the lodge.

An ominous feeling snaked up on Shaurya's back as he tore open the sealed message. Taking a quill and paper, he sat down to decode it. After a few moments, the blood had drained out of his face completely. Looking at his expressions, the old man couldn't help but ask him, "What has happened?"

But he got no reply.

"Do you have the detailed maps of this region?" Shaurya asked him after sometime.

By region, he was referring to the entire landmass which consisted of the four big nations – Himprayag, Saptsindhu, Chandragarh, and Vayuprastha.

The man didn't waste any time and went into his room. After sometime, he returned with a few rolled up sheepskin scrolls and placed them in front of Shaurya.

Looking at the young man's sombre look, he said, "You may not have been told about me but I finished my last ten years of service under Rani Samyukta's reign. Due to my excellent track record in the army, I was handpicked by a 'then young Prithvi', who had just taken charge of the Suraksha Chakra team in the Western zilla. He approached me not just because of my capability but also because of my background. I had no one left in my family by the time I was ready to retire and he wanted to plant me as a sleeping agent in Himprayag. He managed to weave an elaborate background story which made people in this place believe that I have been living here forever while actually I came to Himprayag only in the last decade. I am telling you this because it seems to me that you may need my help right now."

Shaurya was quiet for a moment before handing over the missive which he had decoded just now.

Royal Palace, Himprayag

Ahilya listened to Gayatri with an impassive face as the latter told her about the happening in Veer's room. After she finished speaking, she looked at Ahilya for her reaction. Even though she didn't suspect the guy, this whole thing was making her jittery. For her, nothing else mattered except for Ahilya's safety. If she was in some kind of a danger, then Gayatri would be loathed to let her go to the lodge where she was out in the open and vulnerable.

"Make preparations. We will leave in half hour. I haven't indulged in cosplay* in the recent times. What should I become today?" she mused to herself.

Gayatri bit her lip before uttering, "But the security…"

"I have you with me. What is the problem?" Ahilya cut her halfway and said so.

Border entrance of the Capital, Chandragarh

The two of them got off their horses. They had been riding non-stop for many hours now. Since both of them were still recovering from their respective injuries, it had been a painful journey for them but the timing was important and they couldn't afford a delay.

"You don't look so good. Has the wound re-opened?" the little child aka Prince Mahendra of Saptsindhu asked the person.

Sharada was holding onto the stomach where Ramanujam had inflicted a near fatal wound many hours ago. Due to Ramanujam stumbling upon the presence of Prince Mahendra, there couldn't have been any delay in their plan any further. It was a good thing that the prince had almost recovered from the deadly snake bite!

*Cosplay - The Japanese term, Kosupure, anglicised as Cosplay, is a portmanteau of the English words costume play. One of the aims of cosplay is to portray a character. You can do this 'accurately' by copying a character's exact look, down to the details. You can also put your own creative spin on it through a mixture of costumes, wigs, accessories, and props