Devika - A journey unbound by time

19: Shrine

"I am fine. Stop worrying." A faint voice could be heard from below. It reassured the people above ground just a little bit.

"It is just too dark. I cannot see anything." Devika said.

"Dark? Should we send a couple of fir torches down there?" Nanda exclaimed, worry lining on his face.

"Your Majesty, we don't have fire torches here. Don't worry, Little Princess will be safe and sound in front of us in few moments." General Abhay replied in a calming tone.

"I have a small mirror, use that and the light from the opening." Gayatri said and a mirror as small as Devika's hand slid down the tunnel. Her maid servant had carried few essentials which had a small hand held mirror as well.

Devika positioned the mirror such that it could throw some light on her surroundings. She saw that she was standing in on a tiled floor. There was some small designs on it. Her curiosity piqued and she shone the light from mirror around to see that there was a brazier on the wall with pieces of flint next to it.

Devika checked the brazier there was still a little oil in it. She quickly used the flint pieces to start a small fire and lit the brazier. Once she lit it, the room was better illuminated and Devika could see that on the opposing wall there was a huge image of Lord Kaal Bhairava carved into the wall. The carving from floor to ceiling was exquisite and very detailed. She had stumbled into a shrine of ancient times. Excited she walked towards the carving when a small sparkle caught her eye.

The small sparkle seemed to come from the hilt of the sword in the wall carving. She examined the details of the carving. The entire carving was in black stone with certain parts such as the crown, shield, sword and others covered in a metal foil. The parts covered in metal foil had signs of being rusted perhaps due to being buried in moisture. The hilt of the sword had a small image of half sun and half moon joined together to form a circle. The surprising thing was that only this part had no signs of rusting on it. Devika lightly stroked the design, clearing away the dust gathered on it. In trying to examine this anomaly better she mistakenly pressed on the small design. There was a small pop heard as the design detached itself from the carving and fell in Devika's hands. She caught the metallic thing, and went to examine it in the light.

"Devika, don't worry. We have managed to get a rope and we will be sending Veer down to get you." Nanda yelled down the opening.

"Father! I think you and General Abhay needs to come down and check this place. Please come down quickly." an excited voice responded. After calling them, Devika placed the metal thing in her pocket and waited for their descent.

Abhay and Nanda looked at each other and shrugged. Abhay slid down the rope first and Nanda followed. They found the the opening was not a straight fall but sliding down. When they entered the cavern structure, they couldn't believe their eyes. Both of them became excited and Abhay quickly found a couple of other brazier to light up the room.

Once the brightness of the room increased, other details of the shrine were revealed and they found even more carvings related to the stories of Lord Kaal Bhairava. The two grown men excitedly examined each and every detail of the shrine. Moisture and being buried in the ground for many years had damaged some of the carvings but the image of Lord was complete.

After examining the carvings to their heart's content, they quickly made arrangements to call the village chieftain. The trio came out of the cavern by the time the village chieftain hurried. This time he came with a few young men who were able to dig and widen the entrance. Even he was surprised to see the shrine of Lord here. It seemed that the shrine was here before the village was set up. The villagers were happy with this finding as it meant good luck and prosperity for all of them. Having an ancient shrine dug up would have an increase in the religious tourism. People from all over would visit this place and this would mean jobs for the locals.

The chieftain and the villagers all thanked King Nanda and Devika for this finding. King Nanda clarified that it was Devika who found the place. The villagers praised the princess wholeheartedly. Everyone had forgotten that she didn't set out to make the discovery but had fallen in it because of her own folly. One of the young man gifted Little Princess a bunch of wildflowers as a sign of gratitude. Devika had a wary smile on her lips as she accepted the gift. Veer immediately moved to stand beside Devika and gave the man a hard look. When the man saw Veer, a ten year old child, giving him hard look; he was almost tickled to laughter by it.

Looking at the gratitude being displayed by the villagers. King Nanda graciously mad provisions for renovation of the temple. He instructed a royal attendant to give some donations which could be used for reconstruction and cleaning process of the temple.

It was well late in the evening when the royal family reached the palace. The excitement of the discovery was waning and hunger was setting in. Gayayri applied medicine and ointments on the scratches and scrapes on Devika's arms and legs. Dinner was light and nourishing with the conversation focusing on the day's events. Tired everyone hurried to get some sleep.

Devika was in her room changing clothes when the metal thing fell from her pocket. In the events that followed it's discovery, Devika had forgotten about it. Curious she sat on the bed to examine the thing.

The front showed the half sun and half moon design with the rays of sun and slight darker shade in the sun area while the moon section was simply a half circle that was lighter in shade. The back had a small loop that could slide out or in. Devika thought it was a very unique ornament like a locket. She searched for a ribbon to thread the ornament and wore it around her neck. She felt that the locket was a little cold to touch. Checking herself in mirror, she found that the locket didn't really match her clothes and her dressing style but she was reluctant to remove it. Wearing it over her clothes she went to bed.

The night progressed on and the moon rose high in the sky. Devika was feeling uncomfortable, her dreams were being assailed by the memory of her past life. The dream changed and she felt as if she was free falling in an endless abyss. She jerked awake gasping for breath. After taking a few deep breaths she patted her chest and looked up only to be shocked out of her wits.

She was in an unknown room. The room had no doors or windows and she was lying on the floor. There was no furniture in the room nor was there a single object.

"Where am I? What is this place?" Devika murmured, getting up.

"My dear descendant, you have finally arrived to set me free." a voice echoed in the room scaring Devika thoroughly. Cold sweat dotted her back and her palms grew damp as a little shriek escaped her.