Stabbing in the back

Royal Gardens, Capital, Chandragarh

The two hours of preparation had passed and now it was time for the three contestants to present their 'newly formed countries'. Right then, Indrani came there and whispered something to Prince Mithilesh. He frowned for a moment before nodding his head and rising from his seat.

Then, he followed Indrani out of the place. A pair of eyes keenly watched this happen from the side lines!

Himprayag

Gayatri had reluctantly been coerced by Ahilya to change her look and costume, as well. Eventually, the two of them stepped out of the palace, dressed as the famous twin sisters known for their hugely popular bandit plays. With charcoal markings near the eyes and the chin, the girls looked like two cute rogues out to have some fun. Seated on their respective horses, the girls spurred on having slipped out of a secret exit from the palace. Even though Ahilya seemed to be in a carefree mood, if one was to pay attention, they would realise that she was holding onto the sabre by her waist and her eyes were alert.

She hadn't taken Gayatri's words lightly and instead used dressing up as a ploy to make the enemy feel complacent. Since the lodge was in an uphill remote area, Gayatri and Ahilya rode their horses hard and at a faster pace than normal. They would rather take the enemy on the ground instead of while riding on a narrow path. But to their surprise, they encountered no one all through the way nor when they reached the spot where Veer was waiting for them.

With a sombre look, Veer bowed deeply in front of Ahilya as she dismounted and walked to him.

Her heart was somersaulting seeing his intense gaze instead of indifferent one directed upon her but she stayed impassive.

Drawing a quiet breath, Veer started to speak, "I have received information from a reliable source about an imminent attack on you before the day ends today. I don't have the full details of it but I do know that it won't be a frontal assault. Please take note of the people close to you in the palace."

Gayatri spoke up before Ahilya could, "You could have told us this in the palace itself. Why drag the princess here and jeopardise her safety?"

Veer extended his arm and gestured towards the lodge, "Can I invite you both for a cup of tea?"

Gayatri bristled but Ahilya quickly responded, "Lead the way."

Once everyone settled inside, Veer looked at Ahilya and started again, "What I am about to tell you is an unverified fact right now. If you choose not to believe it, I will not begrudge you for it. But should you find my words worthy, please help."

Both Gayatri and Ahilya were taken aback at his humble and calm demeanour. What happened to the arrogant and indifferent man?

Seeing no objection from Ahilya, he started speaking again, "The long lineage of Saptsindhu kings have held a burning desire for over a hundred years – to conquer Chandragarh. Till date, we have managed to thwart this dream successfully. But at this moment, we are staring at a real possibility of an invasion and defeat. I am aware that there is no official agreement between Himprayag and Chandragarh yet but we need your support NOW. If you help us today, on behalf of Chandragarh, I can promise that we will be there with you when you need us."

There was absolute silence in the room for the next few minutes. Gayatri looked at Ahilya, trying to figure out her thoughts. She absolutely didn't want her princess to be embroiled in the problems of another country. It had nothing to do with them. But she was worried that the princess won't think objectively about it, considering her infatuation with this guy. In fact, she had begun to suspect that Veer had been sent by Chandragarh to seduce Ahilya!

It wasn't visible on his face but Shaurya was really nervous right now. Ahilya's face was expressionless and gave no indication of what was going on in her mind. But he could see Gayatri's thoughts clearly and knew that she would do her best to sway the princess's mind away, should Ahilya choose to agree to his request.

"What is the plan?" Ahilya's calm voice rang out in the room, breaking the chain of thoughts of the other two people sitting there.

"Thank you!"

"Princess, no!"

The two sets of voices rang out in the room at the same time.

Royal Palace, Capital, Chandragarh

"How is the queen? Not too sick, I hope," Prince Mithilesh said in a low tone as he followed Indrani inside the palace.

Maintaining her frown, she spun around and said, "I have taken care of my end of the deal, you need to honour yours. Let my family go and give me the antidote for the queen."

The prince's lips curled up in a sinister smile and he shook his head.

"Should you not let me see the proof of your handiwork before you ask me for this? How do I know that you are telling me the truth?" He asked.

Indrani's face turned uglier as she restrained the urge to hit him, "She is dying and needs the antidote right now. This is why I have asked you to come in. Due to your identity, you can't visit the queen in the sick chamber. Hence I am taking you to a side room from where you can see her with your own eyes."

The prince smirked and said, "Do you know that I love this spitfire side of yours? Only if you weren't this old, I would have surely taken you back with me to Himprayag to be my woman. Never mind, once this all is over, I will be a frequent visitor to Chandragarh. We can always have some fun here."

Indrani didn't bite the bait and gritted her teeth to stay silent. Once this was over, she would personally take a sword and shove it in his black heart.

Soon, they slipped into a dark room which had no other opening except for a window with blinds. The window had an opening into another dark chamber. Indrani put her finger on her lips, gesturing him to be quiet and beckoned him towards the opening. Mithilesh strained his eyes to see the movement in the other room which was dimly lit.

"Ah… so much blood!