Part 4 Arnav and Khushi
"I'm a commander of a sub-division... Friend of Prince Aparajit... My name is Arnav" Said the handsome hunk.
Khushi's eyes glittered. It was not gone unnoticed by Arnav but he didn't know the reason. Why did she become excited?
"Are you a commander of a force?"
Arnav nodded yes.
"That means, you can reach your king or prince right?"
Arnav nodded his head shrinking his eyes thoughtfully. Why did she want to meet the king or prince?
Khushi turned towards the girl, and said,
"See, one of the commanders of your kingdom is in front of you. Tell him about the person who is abducting women and ruining their life" Khushi insisted the girl.
"Who is ruining girls' life?" The question came from Arnav.
Khushi was about to say Hemadri's name, but the girl stopped her by clutching her hand and nodded no.
"Why are you stopping her? Let her tell me" Arnav said strictly.
"What will you do if I tell you the name?" Khushi asked.
"I will take severe action against the person whoever it is"
"Whoever it is?"
"Yes... Whoever it is... You can trust me"
"What if, he is one of the higher officials of this kingdom?"
Arnav gulped down hard.
"Will your action be still loyal?" Khushi questioned.
"The action will be loyal even if the person would be the KING" he swear.
That amazed Khushi.
"Tell him his name" Khushi insisted the girl. She nodded no fearfully.
"If you know the name, you can tell us, Ms. Foreigner..."
"Hemadri..." Khushi says without hesitation.
Arnav gripped his sword handle whereas Viraj switched his gaze from Khushi to Arnav shockingly.
"Do you know who Hemadri is?" Viraj asked.
"Whomever it is... The action would be the same, right?"
Before Viraj answered her, Arnav did.
"The action will be taken but he is not talking about it. We can't take action without proof no matter who the person is. The same role applies to the commander-in-chief as well as a commoner. We are ready to take this issue to the king if you come to the capital with us" Arnav said, looking at the girl.
Khushi looked at the girl. Who nodded no hurriedly.
"You were hesitant at the beginning because you have no source to reach the king. But now, they are ready to take you to the king. Then what's your problem to go with them?" Khushi questioned.
The girl with Khushi ran away from them not wanting to get into trouble.
"Hey, stop... Why are you running?" Khushi shouted.
She didn't stop and Khushi sighed.
"Her fear is justified because she belongs to this Nation. She thinks this issue will affect her future... Why not YOU (he stressed) come to the capital and tell the king what you witnessed here?" Arnav asked Khushi.
Khushi got stuck. Meeting the king? Could she step into the palace? Really? She met a tough time hiding her excitement. At the same time, being a foreigner, she could not accept his invitation right away. It might give them a chance to suspect her. According to them, she would have scheduled her program right? So, she decided to pretend like she had one.
"Me? But... I'm going to Kalinga" She said what came into her mind.
"Kalinga? But why?" A suspicious trace was spared on Arnav's face.
"To see the war... To see Ashoka's bravery... His sword strength..." She shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't you think helping these girls is more important than anything? You can see Ashoka's sword strength anytime. Ashoka will be fighting for his lifetime"
"No... He won't fight after the Kalinga war..." She blabbered without thinking, about what she studied.
"Whaaaat? What did you say?" Arnav was perplexed.
Khushi got stuck. She managed herself.
"I mean, who knows when will he stop battling..."
"He won't stop battling soon. Everyone knows that. We expect he will move towards the south after the Kalinga war to capture it. He may invite us to participate in the war. If it happens, I will take you with me. Now decide, are you coming to the capital with me or not"
There was no second thought in Khushi's mind other than visiting the king of the nation. If she had luck, she might get a chance to meet Prince Aparajit too. And, she was going to travel with one of the commanders of the kingdom who was dashingly handsome.
As he was the head of the sub-division, she could get to know many things about the Kalinga war, Ashoka, the culture of the nation, and people's livelihood.
But...
What if she got into a problem? The girl was not ready to complain about Hemadri. That meant he was a dangerous man. What if he caused trouble for her? Something clicked in her mind. Why should she fear anything when she had the sand clock with her? Couldn't she just get vanished by turning it upside down? Then why should she miss the great opportunity of her life to be a guest of the king?
She was thinking about all the possibilities in her mind. When she did that, her facial expression changed according to the statement... fear, excitement, happiness, whatnot?
She did not know she was being watched. Arnav was keenly observing her expressions. He could not understand what was running in her mind. She looked at Arnav and asked,
"But, how can I travel to the capital with you?"
"How could you have gone to Kalinga?" came the question from Arnav.
"I would have gone to Kalinga, taking my own time. Traveling alone is different. I can change my program as per my wish. But traveling with a commander of a sub-division would not be like that... Right? You have a horse. What will I do? Of course, I know horse riding but I don't think I could ride it for hundreds of furlongs"
"Do you know horse riding?" Arnav asked unbelievably.
"I just ride..."
Arnav spared a content glance with Viraj.
"I will arrange a chariot for you"
"Chariot for me? Really?" again she excited.
"Our troop is nearby... We can take a chariot from there" Arnav said.
"That means, are we going to see your regiment?" She asked eagerly.
Arnav nodded yes thoughtfully.
"Ok... I will come with you" she said cheerfully.
"Let's go"
"Wait... I will bring my bag"
Arnav nodded ok. Khushi rushed to the place where she dropped her bag.
Arnav pulled Viraj close to him.
"I don't trust this girl," Arnav said.
"What made you suspect her?"
"She said she came crossing the Himalayan range all alone. How could a young girl come alone on that dangerous path? It's highly impossible. I don't believe it. I suspect she came to our nation with some intention. This is wartime. Ashoka is battling in Kalinga. We should be careful with anyone entering our nation. She is eager to go to Kalinga, eager to meet our troop, she knows horse riding that's not easy for a common girl. I think she is a Kalinga spy"
"That's why are you taking her to the capital?"
"Yes, we should not let her roam freely but should keep in our eye limit. And more than that, I have to meet the king and told him about Hemadri"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, in recent days I am getting frequent complaints about Hemadri. This is not good for our nation's goodwill. I can't be silent letting him play in our nation's girls' lives. We have to take action against him. He has to be punished"
"Your mother will get upset with you"
"It does not mean I can compromise with my duty. When it comes to this Nation, I won't care about anything. And this is the first time someone is ready to become a witness. I can't miss this chance. The king should know about him"
"Okay, but what if the girl is really a foreigner, not a spy?"
"Yes, there is a chance. I won't take any action against her until I get to know her intention"
"Ok... I will be waiting for your message"
"Yeah, follow my instructions. Now, go to our troop and alert them"
"Yeah..." Viraj jumped on his horse and left the place.
Khushi came to Arnav with her bag. Arnav frowned, seeing her backpack that looked completely strange. He had never seen such a bag in his life.
"This girl, her bag, her dress, her open hair, everything looks strange" Arnav murmured.
"Shall we go?" He asked.
"Yeah..."
"Give me your bag. I will tie it with the saddle of my horse"
Khushi gave her bag to him. Arnav tied it keeping it on his horse. He started walking with Khushi towards the camp.
To be continued...