Beauty and the Beast

7

Chenchita watched all the people constantly coming in to visit him. Devas, Gandharvas, Humans, Rishis, and even Kings from far away lands.

"You will just stand there and watch secretly and then leave?" He caught her off guard one day.

She quickly started to run off but he caught her wrist and stopped her. "I... I think someone would be looking for me. I've been gone for quite long." She commented, stuttering slightly.

"Just a sit for a moment, Chanchala. You can leave later when you want." He suggested to her.

Her heart started racing really fast at the touch.

"We spotted some asuras, Chenchita." One of her friends showed up. She instantly jumped away.

"I'll come and see it." She said and took off running, picking up the bow and quiver.

Narayana sighed. He could understand that the confusion was making her slightly scared. She wanted to stay around him but she couldn't explain to her brain why and that scared her a bit.

Silently, he followed her. The girls gathered close to the asuras to ambush. Surely, their weapons needed the number to actually destroy the group of asuras but she didn't seem to have enough to take over the asuras. Also, she was aiming at the wrong place.

He walked down to her. "What are you doing here?" She asked, almost scolding in a whisper. He extended to take the bow and quiver from her.

"Leave, now. I'm not going to warn you again. I have told you several times before." Narayana warned the asuras. Chenchita swore under her breath.

"That isn't how you hunt," Chenchita told him. "Now, run. They will actually attack us and we have no edge."

He raised an eyebrow at that comment. "Animals are hunted, Chenchita. Asuras are fought. A fight is supposed to be fair. I'm the last person to be unfair to anyone. I always give the opponent and option to leave peacefully. The fight should be the last option."

"Umm... Aren't you the one who has a reputation as 'Chhaliya'?" The asuras asked.

"You sure you don't want to run off now?" Narayana asked them.

"No. We are here for that girl. She has killed two of our commanders. We are sent by the King to take her away." He commented.

He set the arrow on the bow. As he stretched the string with the arrow, the regular stone and branches made the arrow almost glow with a golden light. The golden light takes over the arrow. Chenchita watched in surprise.

The arrow whizzed past the tree and hit the Asura right on the throat, piercing through it, almost beheading him and killing him instantly.

"How do you do that?" Chenchita asked. "Oh, right. Astras. I've heard."

"No, just a more sturdy arrows and the right target. You cannot pierce through the chest easily because Asuras usually have thick skin on the chest which makes it difficult to reach their heart with this short distance. Your bow isn't made for battle. It is made for animal hunting. So, not very flexible for fight asuras."

The arrows soon moved in precedence which didn't even let her see when he took out the arrow, when he set it on the bow and when he shot it. 

Chenchita saw him. The courage he held was unmistakable. The moment he stood with the bow in his hand, the Asuras trembled. Just that much could send them off running. The golden lion fur growing here and there over his body. On his shoulders, a little over his arm. The human body of his was built to perfection. Rather muscular matching that lion head of his. Dark skin and jewellery decorating the skin. A golden thread across his chest. A gold waist belt around his hips.