I couldn't get the look on Aaryans face out of my head. The look in his eye as he threatened that man... I couldn't help but feel a little... frightened.
Nonetheless, I could also understand that something was wrong. Those men were unfamiliar, and Aaryan had told me about the unhappy westerners.
So I rushed home as fast as I could.
When I reached my home, my father was just returning. "Seetha," he called. "What's the hurry?"
"I think something is wrong," I responded as I reached him. "There were these two unfamiliar men with weapons heckling me... Aaryan came in time but his demeanor changed completely."
My father's face became serious. "What do you mean, love?" The look on his face seemed to suggest that he had some idea of what was going on. "Unfamiliar men?" Though he looked concerned, he seemed to decide not to ask anymore questions. "Get the kids inside," he said.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to go get the villagers to safety."
"Why?"
"Your brothers and I noticed some unusual activity in the area... it seems that our suspicions were correct."
"Pa-" My father did not wait to explain any further. Without another word, he rushed off, calling my brothers to join him.
I was frowning, but chose to do as my father said, running around the farm to gather the children. When most of the children were inside, Mayu came out of the kitchen with a look of concern. "What's going on, Seetha?"
"I'm not entirely sure," I said, honestly. "But Pa asked that I gather the children, and Aaryan seemed concerned about something."
Mayu's frown deepened.
"Where's Nithiya?" I asked, realizing my feistiest niece was nowhere in sight.
"She went to go play with Anu," Mayu said. "I should go get her-"
"No," I said. "You stay here and watch the kids, I'll go find Nithi."
Mayu hesitated but nodded.
With that, I ran off.
As I approached the heart of the village, I could see people scrambling around, most of these people being completely unfamiliar to me. Barely anyone I knew was outside right now, which I suppose was a good thing.
I tried to avoid contact with whoever these people were, rushing straight into the home of the little Anu.
Anu's mother looked startled when I pushed aside the curtain that draped the entrance of her home and walked in. "Aunty, is Nithi here?"
The woman hesitated. "Nithi left a little while ago," she said, filling me with worry. "Your father then came along and told us to stay inside and my husband went with him... do you know what's going on?"
I shook my head. "I-'
I was cut off by the sound of shouting. It was a loud, angry shout followed by the sound of horses. Many horses.
Anu's mother held her daughter closely, looking extremely worried.
"I'm sure everything is fine," I lied. "Just stay inside, I'm going to go find Nithi-"
"No, Seetha," Anu's mother called. "You should stay... it doesn't seem safe-"
Almost immediately, we heard the sounds of more shouts and then the sounds of swords clanging against each other off in the distance. The shouts had become more violent and more frightening now and if I wasn't scared before, I was now. "Don't worry about me," I said, rushing to the entrance. "I'll go straight home as soon as I find Nithi."
The woman called after me as I left the home but I didn't respond. When I looked to my left, I could see, in the distance, men who were fighting each other. Some sort of battle had begun and though I did not know why it was happening, it was obvious that I was putting myself in danger.
But I had to find Nithi.
I lifted my sari and began running in the direction of our home. There was only one way Nithi would have taken to get home on her own if she was a normal child. However, Nithi was always rebellious and in search of an adventure. Thankfully though, I knew her more challenging route, which involved tree climbing and river crossing.
I followed the route, crossed the tiny river which took me three steps but would have taken her six, and as I reached the trees that Nithi liked to climb, I spotted her.
She was sitting under one of them, calmly eating a mango though her knees were covered in bloody scratches.
"Nithi!" I called as I ran to her.
Nithi looked up and smiled. "Athay," she smiled, referring to me as aunt.
"Can't you hear that something is going on?" I asked, annoyed. You could clearly still hear the ruckus.
"I hurt my knees," she said. "I fell but it doesn't hurt."
I grabbed her hand and lifted her up. "If it doesn't hurt then you should have walked home, foolish girl!" It wasn't really like me to discipline my nieces and nephews. I was often considered the favourite, easygoing aunt, the one the children would run to when they were in trouble or if they needed something.
But right now I was angry. Angry at this girl for worrying me and angry at her for being so foolish.
She followed me, silenced by the fact that I was upset with her, but just as we crossed the river once more to take the quicker route home, I heard the sounds of galloping horses.
The men had reached me before I even looked up, and when I did look up, the man on top of the horse lifted his boot and kicked me hard against my shoulder.
I fell back, my ears immediately ringing because of the cries of my niece, who was by my side, hugging me to see if I was alright.
I was fine.
But I was also mad that this man had the nerve to touch me with his foot.
I glared at him as ferociously as I could. He was an unfamiliar man who looked rather unforgiving. He looked at me with a look of disgust... as if he thought less of me.
"Little girls should not be running around on their own," he said, coldly. "Where is your husband?"
I didn't answer him as I stood up.
"Speak!" He barked.
Suddenly I heard a chuckle. "It's the little bitch from earlier," another, more familiar voice said.
When I looked past the more frightening man, I saw the two men from earlier today. The men who Aaryan had scared away. For two men who ran with their tails between their legs at the sight of another man, they sure looked like they had an ego that was surely bigger than they deserved.
"These people make me sick," he spat. He was not speaking to me anymore. "They let their women run around like they think they're men. No wonder they end up turning to-"
"Just because you are a soldier doesn't mean I'm scared of you," I said, angrily. "Step aside and let me pass with my niece. If you don't you will deeply regret it."
The man looked shocked, but then the corner of his lip curled up. He proceeded to get off his horse, then he approached me.
Though I said I wasn't scared of him, I began to panic, my fear mostly because my niece was here with me.
However, as he stepped closer, I saw his eyes flicker to my wrist... to the bangle that was around my wrist. When he reached me, he didn't hesitate to grab my arm to examine the bracelet closely. "This..."
Right then, to my surprise, Nithi kicked the man hard in the knee.
I gasped when he did, but proceeded to push him hard, knocking him over. The men were stunned by this, giving me enough time to grab Nithi and run.
We didn't make it too far, just towards the main dirt road, before one of the pigs reached me and grabbed me by the hair and tossed me onto the ground.
The startled Nithi was about to run back to me before I shouted at her, "Nithi, go!"
She hesitated, but ran.
The other man tried to get his horse to gallop after her, but I picked up a rock and threw it in their direction. It hit the snot of his horse, causing it to reel back, knocking the second man off.
I couldn't help but feel good about that.
I picked up more rocks, not knowing what else I could do to get away from these men. They had horses and they were stronger than me.
Maybe I could just try to hold them off... just long enough for someone to come see. We were on the main road now... someone had to come by.
So I threw another rock. And another. And another.
But now the men were laughing. "How long are you going to play, little girl?" They asked. The man who I had knocked off the horse charged at me. I tried to run off but he grabbed me, knotting his fist into my hair.
Soon, the third man joined, sitting atop his horse and looking even angrier now. The leg that Nithi kicked looked to be hanging there, and I was proud of her for doing some damage.
"Do we kill her, Lord Kaalan?" The man on the horse asked.
"No," he said. "Take her. She has that bangle from the Rudraraja clan."
The man who I knocked off the horse raised his brow. "The Prince came and rescued her earlier."
"Hmm," the man smirked, "this village girl has some sort of connection to the clan. She may-"
He cut himself off at the sound of another horse approaching.
"There!" I suddenly heard Nithi shout.
Following her voice, I heard the sound of something piercing through flesh. Blood splattered onto my cheek and the man behind me collapsed onto the floor. When I turned to look at him, he was lying there, dead, with the end of an arrow sticking out from between his brows.
I screamed at the sight before losing balance and falling down. When I turned my head, I saw Aaryan jump off of his horse and pull his sword out from its scabbard.
He looked unbelievably infuriated as he approached the shocked men.
The more frightening man didn't wait. He pulled on the reigns of his horse and turned it around, escaping as fast as he could. The other man wasn't so lucky.
Aaryan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him off his horse. Without missing a beat, he used his sword to rip through the throat of that man, killing him instantly.
I turned my head, trying to look away from the blood, seeing Nithi starring with shock in her eyes as she tried to get off the horse.
When Aaryan grabbed me by my shoulders I jumped.
"I thought I told you to stay inside," he said.
"You killed them," I responded when I looked back at him. His eyes were dark. There was no remorse in them.
"Of course I did," he said. "This is war, and these men are barbarians."
I didn't realize my eyes were watering until Aaryan used his thumb to wipe my tears. His fingers were rough. "War?" I asked.
He nodded, trying to help me up. "These men are rebels. We've been trying to keep them under control for years now."
"Why are they here?"
"Because they believed that the west does not have much of a connection to the royal family. They wanted to take the west but they didn't realize I was here."
I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.
"Come, I'll take you home. I cannot stay away from my men. And I need to find the third man. That was Lord Kaalan, one of the chiefs in the rebel forces."
My eyes widened, though it made sense. He seemed a lot more frightening than the other two. So I nodded.
When we reached Nithi, she explained to me that she spotted Aaryan when she crossed the hill and screamed so loudly that he turned.
Apparently he had went to my home to check on us, then, when hearing from my family that I hadn't returned, he came looking for me.
I was relieved.
I really was.
It wasn't hard to imagine what would have happened if he hadn't reached me in time. However, something felt strange. Something deep inside me was telling me that I should be anxious, and I couldn't explain it.
Whatever it was, it gnawed at me for the rest of the day... long after Aaryan had returned us home. And even well into the next day. Even after whatever commotion was going on had settled.
—
A week passed before silence returned to the village and men began to return home. It took another month for things to begin to go back to normal.
When Aaryan came to see me immediately after the battle that had ensued, he told me that only eight villagers had died.
Only eight villagers.
Five men and three women.
All of them, people I knew. Friends. They may have been only eight villagers to him, but to me they were all like family. And each of them were from a separate family... so eight families in total would be in pieces because of their loss.
When I didn't respond to his comment, I think he realized that his words had upset me. He didn't say anything else. Instead, he sat down quietly beside me.
In the month that it took for things to return to normal, I did my part the help around the village. The village had been ravaged by the rebels and many homes were destroyed. Families were robbed of their goods and the usually content mood of our home had vanished.
I was carrying a huge mass of dried grass for roofs for the villagers when Aaryan joined me on his horse. "Let me help you."
"It's fine," I said. "It's not heavy."
He jumped off his horse and stepped in front of me. "You've been treating me oddly since the battle, Seetha... did you think I would not confront you about it?"
I hesitated, looking up at him.
His eyes were no longer as dark as they were that day when he killed those men. Though they were still as black as night, the light of the sun seemed to be caught in his eyes, making them a little brighter.
"I don't understand why you might be upset."
"How do you kill those men with no remorse?"
He raised a brow.
I didn't even realize it was that which was bothering me until the words came out of my mouth.
"Seetha," he started, "I am the Warrior Prince of Chandraba. What did you expect?"
He was right.
What did I expect?
"I spent my entire life training to fight rebels and men who try to hurt my people," he said. "I was four when my father first put a sword in my hands and seven when I used a bow and arrow to strike down a man for the first time. I was raised to fight. It's in my blood. And if I have to kill a thousand men to protect the people of my kingdom, I will. And I will not waste my energy fretting about their deaths."
I didn't know what I was hoping to get out of him with a question like that. So instead, I sighed. "I'm sorry," I said. "I just..."
I didn't know what to say.
I turned around to face the heart of my village, Aaryan did too. People were still in the middle of cleaning out the place. They had to clean the blood, clear out the rubble of homes that were destroyed and then rebuild.
"Maybe protecting your people isn't just about fighting the enemy," I said.
Aaryan looked at me.
"Look at them... you've protected them but everyone is miserable. I know it's not your fault... but Lord Veerastan made us clear out the bodies of the rebels. I mean... some warriors did help but most of the villagers have never seen a bloodied dead body before. Did you know that?"
He seemed surprised by this.
"They were already frightened and upset but now they are just miserable."
"I will talk to Lord Veerastan. I did not know he ordered that," Aaryan seemed sincerely apologetic.
"It's fine," I said. "It's fine... what I think I mean is... I wish that your men didn't focus so much and killing. There is so much more that can be done. Even by you, Aaryan. Everyone adores the Prince, you know?"
He let out a breath.
"Never mind," I said with a sigh. "It's not my place to say-"
"It is," he suddenly said, taking my hand in his. "I always want to hear what you have to say."
I smiled at him as he kissed my hand, happy to see that at least he was back to normal.
"But... I came here to tell you that I will be returning to the palace at dawn," he said. "I need to inform my father of what had happened, especially since the fool Kaalan managed to escape.
Now my heart sank. "So... I won't be seeing you for a couple months?"
"A couple months," he confirmed. "But I'm sure I'll be returning with good news."
I smiled at him before nodding.
We spent a little bit of time together that evening, however, before it was time for him to leave, he took both my hands in his and looked me directly in the eyes. "Do you still wish to marry me, Seetha?"
"Of course I do," I said without hesitation. I then stepped forward and kissed his lips as he smiled.
"When I return next, your life my change drastically."
The thought was a little frightening, but I smiled nonetheless. "If you are with me then I'll be fine."
He seemed satisfied with that answer, so he kissed me once more before we said our goodbyes and parted ways yet again.
—
As we had done for the last couple weeks, most villagers were up before dawn to help with the rebuilding. It was indeed hard to get up so early, but knowing that families needed help was motivation enough.
The sun was only just rising when my family and I left our home. However, when we arrived, I was surprised to see the village filled with more people than usual. I also noticed that people seemed to be a little more cheerful than usual.
When I reached the group, I saw the familiar faces of warriors from the Western Fort assisting the villagers.
"Did you hear?" A smiling woman said to my father as we reached them. "The Prince sent everyone from the Fort to help rebuild!"
My father began to smile. "That's wonderful."
"And he's returning to the palace in Aathikara today. He said that the moment he returns he will send men over to deliver supplies and food to help us!" Another woman said.
"We'll be able to begin regrowing all the crops that were burned," a man said, happily.
My heart skipped a beat, unable to believe that he actually listened to me and did what he could to bring joy to my people.
As I smiled, however, I noticed something from the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw that, sitting atop Bhumi at the top of the hill that led to the Fort, watching as his men rode their horses down to help the villagers, was Aaryan.
When he saw me, he smiled a warm smile, which I returned.
I felt my heart race as I watched him tug at the reins of Bhumi and leave.
Prince Aaryan is Chandraba was a good man. And now everyone here knew it.
-----------------------
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Luckycharms!! <3