Krishnapriya Devashree

32. The Rescue

The second guard lunged at Devashree, his sword aimed with lethal intent. But Devashree, fueled by desperation and the adrenaline of the fight, dodged and weaved with a dancer's grace and with a precise strike, she disarmed the second guard, leaving him as vulnerable as his companion.

Radha stood wide-eyed but unharmed, and emerged from her place of relative safety from behind Devashree.

"We need to move," Devashree urged, her eyes scanning the corridor for any sign of additional guards.

But before they could continue their flight, Devashree paused. "Wait," she said, turning back to the fallen guards. "Their attire."

Understanding dawned on Radha's face. Together, they quickly stripped the guards of their uniforms, the armor cold and unfamiliar against their skin.

Their faces were partially covered by helmets and their bodies were concealed by armor, making them blend in with the other palace minions.

"Will this work?" Radha whispered, her voice tinged with both fear and awe at their audacity.

"It has to," Devashree replied, her voice steady, though her heart raced with the thrill of their ruse. "Just walk confidently. We're invisible in these."

As they rounded a corner, they were suddenly faced with a daunting sight-a shield of guards stationed before the exit, a barrier between them and the world outside.

Devashree paused, her heart skipping a beat, while Radha nearly collided with her, stifling a gasp. The guards seemed oblivious to the tension gripping the two impostors.

"We... we have to walk past them," Radha whispered, her voice barely audible beneath the helmet that was slightly too large for her head, slipping down to obscure her vision at the most inopportune moments.

Devashree nodded. "Just follow my lead. Walk with purpose. Remember, we're supposed to belong."

Taking a deep breath, they stepped forward, their march towards the guards an exercise in feigned confidence. As they approached, one of the guards, a burly man with a thick beard protruding from under his helmet, nodded in their direction.

"Shift change already?" he grunted, eyeing them with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

Without missing a beat, Devashree replied in the deepest voice she could muster, "Yes, orders from above. Urgent business."

Radha attempted to mimic Devashree's baritone."Very urgent." Her voice, however, cracked mid-sentence, soaring to a comical squeak that was anything but authoritative.

A moment of silence followed as if the entire corridor held its breath.

Then, one of the guards snorted, a sound that quickly morphed into a chuckle.

"Must've been a long night," he joked, elbowing his companion. The tension broke like a spell, the guards stepping aside with amused shakes of their heads, allowing Radha and Devashree to pass.

As they moved through, a guard whispered loud enough for only them to hear, "Take care of that throat, friend. It sounds like you swallowed a frog. And also, you both are way too thin, don't you eat anything?"

"Khate hai n, woh toh bas bachpan main kuposhit ho gaye the, usi ka asar hai." Devashree blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

Once safely past, Radha and Devashree dared not look at each other, for fear that laughter would undo them at the final hurdle.

Only when they had put a safe distance between themselves and the guards did they allow themselves a moment to exhale, their laughter bubbling forth like a pent-up stream.