Karikalan: Saviour of the Cholas

Chapter 43: The Bride of Urayur

Valavan got up at the crack of dawn. As usual, he pressed the heels of his palms hard on his eyebrows and dragging it up and down a few times before opening his eyes. They then fell on the wall facing him, ready to take in the vision of the two swords and the shield that would be hung there ideally.

They were not there.

He sat up and blinked for a few moments to find that they still didn't magically reappear. Frowning, he looked around. Memories came rushing back.

He was in Nangur.

Unlike how the swords and shields were present in every chamber in Azhundur, Nangur had them in the walls outside.

He had to do something about it.

Stretching, he was about to get up when his eyes fell on the bag on his table.

His present!

He picked up the bag. It was quite hefty. He frowned, having not given much thought to it in the chariot. He jiggled it, feeling its surface from the outside. There was something hard and heavy in it. There was also something soft and long. He felt the hard object once more.

A shield?

He opened it. Inside was a shield, just as he had guessed.

Ha!

He examined it. Instead of how the normal shields he had seen were, it had an elephant engraved in it's middle, remarkably resembling Kali. Her face was fierce, clearly meant to induce fear in the opponent's mind. It was resplendent. He smiled.

This, no doubt, is from Chezhiyan.

He dipped his hand back into the bag to find a scroll. His brows creased.

A letter?

He unfurled it and gasped. Inside was a painting of his mother and father in their finest, looking happier than ever. Whoever the artist was had been extremely skillful for they had managed to capture the joy on their faces exquisitely, exactly like how they had always been. He ran a hand over it, a sad smile decorating his face.

He shook the melancholy off and jumped up, grabbing them both. He examined the wall where he had assumed his swords and shield to be hanging. Two abandoned nails were there. Whatever had been hung on them had been shifted.

Perfect.

On the left one, he hung the scroll after rolling it in the opposite direction, smoothing it out as best as he could without causing any damage. He mentally wrote down a reminder to get another nail to secure it firmly against the wall. Satisfied, he moved to the other nail and hung his new shield on it. Picking up his sword, he strapped it behind the shield. He took a step back to admire his handiwork.

Having just one sword behind the shield seemed a little odd but it would have to do. Taking one last look, he hurried to brush and take a bath, cursing himself for being slightly late for his training.

He emerged from his chamber, feeling immensely refreshed. The chirping of the birds added to his pleasant mood. He made his way to Alli's chamber, whistling softly.

Except for a raise of his brow, the Nangurvel had not objected to their little setup.

Alli was outside her chamber, bleary-eyed. She had removed her hair from the tight confines of her braid, tying it up in a neat bun. A few tendrils managed to escape it, however. She had also removed her elaborate jewels so they wouldn't get in the way. Noticing him, she looked up.

Remembering how she once used to be taller than him, he smirked, pointedly looking down at her. She craned her head up at him and glared. "Wipe that smirk off your face, mister." He laughed and she grumbled some more. "You manage to wake up perfectly put together and make fun of my height. Talk of unfair!" She squinted up at him and her eyes widened in horror. "Did you also take a bath?"