It was late evening. The darkness already invaded the sky, establishing its influence. Few stars appeared, twinkling with their own joy, making the sky look beautiful. Amidst the starlight, the ever glowing moon spread its grace in the dark sky, making it look like a fantasy land where a person can lose himself in the beauty. The soft soothing breeze blew all over the area, making the environment most pleasurable in the time of spring.
During late evenings, people of Maheswari seldom roamed in the forests, afraid of becoming victim to the dacoit attacks. No matter how many times the king had tried to abolish the entire dacoits from the kingdom, they won't leave it.
During such a late evening, a litter was being carried through the mid forests of Maheswari. The crowns of the trees of dense forests rose proudly, covering most of the view of the sky. The soothing moonlight could barely enter the forest floor, making it difficult for the litter bearers to move quickly. The fire torches which the men were holding was the only source of light in the dark forest.
"Hurry up! We need to cross this forest tonight." A man in his late 20s, riding on a horse that was walking in front of the litter, showing the way, ordered the palanquin bearers.
"Brother, can we not take shelter in this kingdom?" The voice of a girl reverberated from the litter as she peeped from inside. "It's already late evening and...we have the risk of dacoit attack." The girl's voice sounded uncertain as she was trying to change her brother's mind.
"No sister, we cannot stop for a moment." The man said without stopping his horse. "We need to reach our destination as soon as possible and it's very important for us."
The girl sighed in disappointment and adjusted herself inside the litter, hugged her knees tightly. The constant fear of getting attacked by the dacoits was eating her alive.
Suddenly she heard few neighs of horses along with thundering voices of some males. She froze for a moment while her body stiffened when she realized that the litter was placed on the floor and her greatest fears came true. Her quivering fingers slowly touched the curtains of the litter, pushing them aside and she peeped out to check on the situation.
Her face turned pale when she saw her brother was no longer riding on the horse but was standing on the ground while a group of dacoits put a kharga (heavy sword) at his neck, threatening him.
"Brother!" She screamed as she came out of the palanquin and knelt before the dacoits. "Please spare my brother's life. You can take whatever you want but please don't do anything to him. He is my only family." She sobbed as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Pretty girl, huh?" The leader of the dacoits with a huge body laughed like a demon. He was wearing a dark-colored dhoti which ended near his knees while his upper body didn't have any cloth. "Why don't you surrender yourself to us along with your wealth? Perhaps then I can spare your dear brother's life." He smirked as if he was the king of the evil powers.
"No! You can kill me but don't touch my sister." The girl's brother begged with his hands folded in front of the dacoits while helpless tears rolled down his cheeks. "She is going to get married in a few days."
"Scream..hahaha." The demonic laughter of the leader echoed in the quiet forest. "So what did you decide?"
"I am willing to surrender." The girl said in a low but determined voice as she made up her mind to save her brother at any cost.
"Great!" The dacoit smirked while eyeing her. "Capture her." He ordered.
The girl's brother was held by a few other dacoits so that he won't move while a dacoit already walked towards the girl. His hand was about to touch her, an arrow swiftly came from nowhere and pierced into his chest, killing him.
"Who's that?" The leader of dacoits roared. But instead of a reply, another three arrows came swiftly and killed three of his men who were holding the girl's brother. "Who is that coward trying to fight while hiding? If you are a true man, then come in front of me!" He shouted, sending shivers down the girl's spine and she quickly hid behind her brother.
No sooner had he ended his words than a person in complete black robes jumped from a tree and landed just in front of the leader of dacoits. All of the dacoits moved back, witnessing the figure, who looked like a silhouette in the darkness. She was dressed in jet black robes while she had a black turban tied around her head with a black cloth covering her face, only leaving a pair of fierce eyes staring at him.
Yes, there she was. The one whose tales were known to all. The person black robes with big round eyes staring through the black shroud covering her face. The girl knew now that she was saved. Yeah, Sanvika Devi had come.
"Sanvika Devi?" The dacoit returned an evil smile. "I have heard a great deal about the messiah of the poor, but never imagined to meet you so soon."
The girl in black robes didn't reply but her big round eyes with softly arched eyebrows and icy gaze clearly revealed her intent - to rip him into pieces. Her fingers tightened the grip around the sword hilt, ready to face any type of attack.
"Kill her and capture them!" The dacoit leader ordered and his men rushed to capture the brother and sister but were stopped by a sharp sword.
She effortlessly swung her sword through the horde, mauling them and making them fall on the ground in no time. She turned and gazed again at the dacoit leader.
The dacoit leader roared and attacked her with his kharga while she lifted her sword to stop the blow. She used all her force and pushed him. Before the dacoit could attack again, she swiftly moved her sword, aiming for his neck but he moved his body in order to dodge it but received a cut on his upper arm. Although he tried to brush it off, he gasped - the cut was clear and deep - gashing his arteries just short of severing them completely. Just then a few other dacoits were about to attack her, suddenly a few arrows came from the trees, knocking them down.
"Escape!" The dacoit leader shouted before fleeing from there.
Sanvika Devi was going for the chase, but stopped short on hearing the neighs and gallops of horses and footsteps of few soldiers. Known for robbing the corrupt aristocrats and distributing the loot among the poor and needy, she knew how much the King wanted to capture her. She glanced at the direction of the sound before averting her gaze to the girl hiding behind her brother.
"Don't move around in forests during the late evenings." Sanvika Devi said in a gentle voice, looking at the girl and caressing her face as she was crying. "Har Har Mahadev!" She thundered like a tigress before disappearing into the woods.
As soon as she disappeared into the woods, a young man riding on a horse came to that area. He was wearing a royal turban around his head while he was dressed in a royal blue kurta with gold-colored embroidery design on it and a royal blue dhoti (lower garments for males) with a golden border. He had a golden chain around his neck, showing his royalty.
"Prince Virendra!" The girl and her brother bowed to the young man riding on the horse as they recognized him seeing the red moon drawn between his brows but the latter's sharp eyes were searching someone while his thick black arched brows got knitted together, unable to find the person whom he was searching.
"Did she escape?" He asked in his deep voice before nodding his head a little, accepting the girl and her brother's greetings.
"Sanvika Devi? She just left." The girl said in a low voice.
Why is she escaping every time I am getting close to catch her!? He clenched his jaws showing his distinct sharp jawline which can even cut steel and shook his head in disappointment before looking at the girl and her brother. "You look like travelers. Why don't you stay in our kingdom tonight? It's already late and you are traveling with a girl."
"Thank you, prince, but we need to reach Ajaynagar as soon as possible." The man bowed gently.
The prince's cold eyes laid on the man after letting out a deep breath. "Well, my men will take you there." The Prince said and he ordered his men to take them safely to their destination.
The Prince waited there until the litter along with his men went out of his sight. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
"Sanvika Devi, you will never escape from me." He said to himself with a strong determination. "You are fated to come to me and I will make sure of that." He took a deep breath before leaving the forest.
You can never catch me, Prince Virendra. Sanvika Devi who was sitting on the highest branch of a tree smirked. I don't believe in fate. So there is no chance of me coming to you.
When she felt that there was no danger for her, she climbed down from the tree. She looked around and when she exited the forest, she saw there were almost no people walking in the streets.
Did I take too much time?! She wondered as she walked through shadows until she reached a big house. A smile appeared on her face as she saw the house. Instead of entering through the front door, she decided to sneak through her window.
She used the ropes and climbed the wall which led to a room. When she jumped inside the dark room through the window, a deep and authoritative male voice spoke which made her freeze at her spot.
"Lavanya, where have you been?"
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This is my first time trying to write Indian Historical FF. Please don't be too harsh on me. I am still a little girl *pouts*
Please do support me and press the little pretty star in the left-most corner 😊
About Prince's clothing, it's something like below. I will be using this type of clothing for royal males.
Kharga:
Litter/ Palanquin: