Princess in Exile/ Sacrificial Thrones Part 1

Etiquette and Art of war

She is beautiful, exotic and graceful. She has required etiquette of a princess and fierceness of a brave warrior, a combination rarely seen. Shambhunath observed as he saw Vani taking down two of her opponents.

How the time flies? It has been fifteen years since Vani came to him. She was just five-year-old but a brave girl. She is trained ever since. Her journey as a student is incredible. She learned everything faster and mastered the art of sword fighting. Vani has grown beautiful day by day as her mother was.

She is a free spirit. Disciplining her is a tough task. She is never in the village and always runs towards the forest. Her laughter and cheerfulness are so infectious. She keeps everyone engaged. But there is an undercurrent to all this; there is a rage. She somehow knows she is different, she doesn't belong here, and there is a bigger purpose for her.

Vani sometimes wondered why she was treated differently than other girls in the village. Everyone loved her, but they had an absolute respect with which they treated her. It maybe because she was the daughter of Shambunath, her beloved 'Kaka' as she called him, or because there was no one whom she had not defeated as a warrior.

Her journey was not easy. Waking up daily before the dawn and then after her reading and etiquette lessons, she had debates and discussions on numerous topics followed by sword fighting or other weapon training. She also had to attend medicine and other basic classes. When she was sixteen, she was left in the woods to survive, without aid or help. At first, she was confused. She couldn't understand why she was there or how she reached there. But then she started her fight to survive. She killed animals for food and warmth. She made her weapons from trees and rock. Vani found shelter in a cave and started exploring the region to find her way back. She hardly slept.

She was attacked by soldiers and village men number of times for her beauty. She ignored the comments and gestures and tried not to get any attention. But when she got attacked, she didn't hold back and gave them a crisp reply. By the time they knew whom they are fighting with, they were either dead or long lost in the woods. She realized that by ignoring such incidents, those lecherous men were not discouraged instead they started following her and attacked her. This got her thinking about other girls.

Unlike her village where there is no gender bias, these parts are horrible. Women are considered being good for menial work and pleasure.

She was enraged, but she couldn't do anything at that point in time.

'One day I would set it right' she thought 'I would talk about it to Kaka once I would return to Hathparbat.'

As a precaution, she covered her body with mud and other things to stop the unwanted attention but then she was harassed for being a mad wanderer.

At the end of two months, she found the Hathparbat and her way back after barely eaten for one week. She survived her last exam, survived the jungle, the ugly face of Humanity outside her sanctuary. And she was ready.

On her return, she bathed in herbs and was given golden clothes to wear henceforth as she has passed her test and now she has become 'Sarvshresth: best of all.'

Shambhunath was beaming. The whole village stood by her as she was appointed as a council member. She brought up the point of what she had faced with Shambhunath on which he gently replied "One day you will make it right dear. Let the time take its course. You will get an opportunity."

"Time is approaching fast," Shambhunath said to the bench of adviser's. None of them seem to be happy with this information.

"Gurudev, why we have to do this?" one of them asked.

"Because this is what we are expected to do. This is what makes us different from others. For the greater good," Shambhunath replied.