Ruthless

↠ Prologue I ↞

❝A queen is wise. She has earned her serenity, not having had it bestowed on her but having passed her tests. She has suffered and grown more beautiful because of it. She has proved she can hold her kingdom together. She has become its vision. She cares deeply about something bigger than herself. She rules with authentic power.❞

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THE sun smiled gently upon the two warriors, drowning them both in its subtle luminescence. Two swords clashed against each other, filling the training grounds with a tensed aura. The eight year old Rajkumari fought her father, grunting in frustration as her father defended himself effortlessly.

"Come on Akira, try harder." The king – Maharaja Tej Pratap Singh - urged. An amused smile was plastered to his face as he challenged her daughter. 

"I am hitting harder baba!" Akira said through grit teeth. As she continued fighting against the skilled king, her eyes squinted in concentration.

The younger one swung her sword again and again, hoping that she will be able to fight with enough force. The Princess almost succeeded in hitting her father but it lasted only so long. The king immediately retaliated with an expert move, causing Akira to fall on the ground. Her little sword skidded off into a distance as a loud 'thud' filled the abandoned grounds.

A pool of tears formed at the brim of her doe eyes as she looked up at her father's figure. Stuttering slightly, she said, "It hurts baba."

The king crouched down in front of the rajkumari, meeting her blurry eye level, "Yes you did." He paused and wiped away the tears that had fallen down the princess' juvenile face. Smiling softly at her, he lowly said, "But you know how strong you are right?"

She just nodded, sniffing as more and more tears made their way down her face. The king stood up and offered her a hand, "Stand up and fight again, Akira, you know you can."

The rajkumari refused the rough hand in front of her and picked herself up, wiping away the tears in the process. She hoisted up her sword which lied at a distance and nodded in agreement, "I can."

The king beamed down at her, the wrinkles on his experienced face looked prominent and a certain twinkle adorned his eyes, "That's like my daughter."

"Now what do I always say Akira?" The king paused before continuing - a faint smile still playing on his lips, "Mirror mirror on the wall-"

"-Become the most powerful of them all." The brave princess continued with a bright smile which showed her two broken tooth, long forgetting the pain she had just endured.

"Okay, now, let's do it again and this time, fight me with all the might you have, okay?" The King instructed as the heiress nodded, positioning herself to attack yet again.

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10 Years Later

"Oh come on Veer. That was a cheap move." The princess laughed, her smile taking over her beautiful features. The sunlight kissed her angelic features as she teased the Rajkumar, "Try to fight with all the might you have because such moves won't make you win."

"I didn't even do anything!" The 16 year old rajkumar huffed in annoyance, continuing the duel.

The rajkumari jabbed her sword at him just like baba had taught her, making his sword clatter to the ground. The young boy looked at her with wide eyes. Pointing his index finger at her in accusation, he said, "Now that's a cheap move Akira."