"Ahem... Your Grace?" General Veerprathap called the lazy prince who was smiling to himself for no reason. Avyukt raised his brows when the general called him.
"What?"
"Let's have a battle. Aren't you bored?" The General asked, trying to test if this man was really their prince or not. Ayukt was about to say okay when he suddenly thought of something.
What if he sweats a lot and start smelling by night?
He only had two pairs of clothes here. He can't afford to make them look ugly in front of Manasa. He had already given her a few creepy looks last night.
"No.. Battle with someone else." Avyukt said and went ahead to lay down on the blanket again to dream about Manasa.
THUD.. KICK...
"YOU BASTARD.. Where is our prince?How dare you use his identity and fool us? WHERE IS THE PRINCE?" The General got all hyper and started attacking Avyukt, who just got kicked by his subordinate.
"WHAT THE F*CK. How dare you kick me? GENERAL STOP.." Avyukt warned as he defended himself from the General's mad attacks.
CLANK... CLANK.. CLANK..
The sounds of metal clashing echoed in the forest. The four other soldiers surrounded the General and the prince, wondering what got into their general to fight the prince as if he wanted to kill him.
"f*ck" Avyukt cursed under his breathe when the General's sword missed his throat just by an inch.
"AHHH..." The General screamed when Avyukt managed to twist his arm and take his weapon. He gulped looking into Avyukt's red eyes screaming of danger and anger.
"What the hell were you doing general?" Avyukt demanded in a low tone through his clenched teeth. The General finally felt that their prince was normal.
"F-Forgive me Your Grace. I was just worried about the sudden change in your behavior." The General explained, trying to sooth Avyukt's anger. Avyukt scoffed and threw the sword back to the General.
The prince no longer wanted to stay among these men thinking about Manasa. Irritated, he left the place and thought of finding the place Manasa would have visited in that remote forest.
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"Hahaha.. You are too strict on our Jaggu brother. That is how boys are."
"That's right sir. That's right. You should go easy on him Lord Chandra."
"Ahh.. How I wish my son to be at least half as good as Jagannath"
"You must be a very proud father"
The men in the room commented and praised the eldest son of Lord Chandra, the military head of the South. They were are gathered in the former king Narendra's palace.
The old man sitting on a throne, Narendra, smiled hearing the men talk and praise the son of Lord Chandra. His wicked eyes scanned the crowd and then the military head, who was happily basking in the praises.
"You have such a wonderful son Lord Chandra. I guess there must be a long line of girls waiting to be chosen as his bride?" Narendra spoke as a maid filled his empty wine glass. Everyone stopped their chit chat and paid attention to the conversation.
Lord Chandra smirked and leisurely sipped on his wine. This was what he wanted. "Indeed you are right, Your Highness. We are looking for a good match for my son. The bride should be exceptional."
Narendra nodded and signaled his head guard. The head guard communicated something to the other soldiers and soon the room was vacated with only Narendra and Lord Chandra left inside.
"I also happen to be looking for a groom for my exceptional grand daughter, Lord Chandra" Narendra said and put away his wine glass. Lord Chandra nodded, acknowledging that Manasa was indeed exceptional.
"True Your Highness. But it's a shame that these two exceptional people don't suit each other. After all, if the royal family and the military family joins hands, who knows who will collapse first. Hahahaha.." Lord Chandra commented and looked at the old man.
"Why do you think so, Lord Chandra? This kingdom doesn't have any princes. The next heir to the throne will be the son of my granddaughter. How about you stop thinking about providing protect to us and instead start thinking is as providing both power and military strength to your future grandson?"
Lord Chandra fell silent hearing the former king's words. Of course he knew about this. But only a fool would trust the words of this cunning old man.
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"Princess please. Don't go out tonight. I heard few maids in the kitchen about the guests today. It seems they were here to talk about your marriage. Your grandfather might summon you later to talk about this." Manasa's maid, Latha started warning her not to sneak out again.
Manasa sighed hearing her maid rambling. She didn't want to know anything about the talks going on. She just needed to spend some time alone, doing what her heart wanted to do.
"Just sleep and everything will be fine. I will return early" Manasa said and sneaked out again. She was more cautious today since she was aware of her grandfather keeping tabs on her.
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"Anna.. Atu vellali ante entha ivvali?" (Brother.. How much does it cost to reach the opposite bank?)A fat man asked Avyukt who was waiting for Manasa on his newly purchased boat.
Avyukt eyed the fatty and the group of men behind him and ignored them. This boat was exclusively reserved for him and his Manasa.
"Anna.. Ninne" (Brother... I am talking to you?) The man called him again.
"Tch.. I am not accepting any customers today. Go.. Go away." Avyukt shooed the men away before they could crowd the place. Manasa might not come if she sees the crowd.
Avyukt was throwing pebbles into the river out of boredom when he heard a soft voice calling him. The voice he was craving to here since the morning.
"Sir.. Is the boat not available today?" Manasa asked when she neared Avyukt. She had heard few men talking about how the boat man sent them away.
"Uhh.. N-No.. I mean Y-Yes.. I-I mean the boat is now okay and r-ready for use." Avyukt wanted to slap himself with his own shoe for stuttering so badly. First impression is the last impression. And he just made a blasting first impression.
Manasa looked into his eyes for few good seconds, as if to see his intentions. When she felt that the man didn't have any ill intentions, she climbed on the boat. She was slightly surprised by the soft cushion pinned to the hard wooden seat.
She raised an eyebrow questioningly at Avyukt.
"Passenger Comfort" Avyukt replied, inwardly feeling happy that Manasa recognized his effort. He giggled inwardly and thought about making another good impression.
The boat soon reached the middle of the river in silence. Manasa was still covering her face, but her eyes were expressive and they explored the beauty of the night to the fullest, making Avyukt jealous of the moon and the stars.
"Ahem.. Mam. You dropped this ring in the boat yesterday." Avyukt said and handed her a golden ring with a peacock feather designed in the middle.
Manasa immediately checked her finger and realized that she had indeed lost her ring. Not that it would make any loss. She had so many rings in her jewellery. But she still appreciated the sincerity of the boat man who choose to return a golden ring instead of stealing it.
"Thank you so much" Manasa said and smiled slightly, making the corner of her eyes curve upwards. She took the ring from him and happily put it back on her finger. Little did she know that it was Avyukt himself who stole it yesterday when she paid him the fare. And the prince slash thief had also etched his name in the back of the ring which the innocent girl didn't even notice.