Daughter of the Naga | Lesbian Story|

Chapter 13

Behind the stone walls of the sacred city, I felt as if I had stepped into another secret world — a world within another world. The area spanned across small plains and golden hills. A small river ran through a great lake nearby. The blue skies slowly turned gold.

It was beautiful beyond anything I could imagine. The sight of this seeming paradise made the hair stood on my arms. The whole scenery stretched as far and wide as the skyline.

Far into the city, I could see hills dotted with elegant golden temples. They stood erected in their most stunning forms. There were beautiful lotus ponds and blooming gardens. Stone bridges and causeways led us across the water-moats fed by the river.

Our carriages and the royal parade crawled through the central square. A familiar moat and walls came into view. Rising above the plain was another gigantic stone temple. Its meticulously carved towers gleamed in the sun like spires of a golden crown.

The largest religious temple on the planet, my father used to tell me. Angkor Wat stood like a majestic mountain that resembled the top of Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. If I hadn't seen the monument before, I would have thought I was in heavens.

"Impressive, is it not?" Tepi said as she saw me staring in awe. "This is the largest of all the temples. We call it Vrah Visnuloka, which means the 'Sacred dwelling of Lord Visnu'."

"I have seen it," I said, "but in another time."

"You have been here before?" Tusita asked.

"Yes, where I came from this temple has a different name and is not in this perfect grandiose state. Actually, it's...it's a ruin."

"What?" they looked at me curiously. Then we heard a chorus of flapping noises in the sky. I looked up and saw what looked like a flock of giant birds flying towards us.

And as they got closer, I realized they weren't normal birds. Their lower halves were covered with golden feathers. They had large golden wings and feet of a swan. Apart from their plume-covered hind legs, large wings, and long flowing tails, the creatures had the head and body of humans.

My mouth fell open.

"There they are!" Tusita said. "The Kennars are here at last."

"What are they again?" I asked.

"We call those beings, the Kennars," Tepi said. "A 'Kennari' if it's a female. A 'Kennara' if it's a male. They are the celestial musicians of Mount Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva."

I should've gotten used to all the craziness that surrounded me now, but I was still shocked to see those half-human and half-bird people. I wished I could describe how strikingly beautiful they looked up there.

Then to my utter surprise, I spotted Kesar among the flock. She was trailing behind the rest with her golden wings extended in the air.

As soon as she looked down, our eyes met. The rest of the Kennars flew ahead of the procession. The familiar Kennari left the flock and descended, but she did not land. Kesar skimmed alongside our carriage.

"Kesar?" I called from the window. "Is that you?"

"My lady," she said, looking sheepishly back.

"You're a...a..." I couldn't finish the sentence. Maybe I just had to drag my jaw all the way from there.

Once we reached our destination, everyone got off the carriages.

The Royal Palace was at the north end of the golden bridge and the golden temple. It was built from wood and stone with the same style as the one I stayed in, but more complex and on a massive scale. Some houses were three-storey tall.