Ruthless

↠ Pandrah ↞

❝I would find you in any lifetime.❞

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THE NEXT DAY

THE oil lamps casted faint light over the maps and maps which were spread over the gigantic table. The queen and the royal adviser stood over them, just soaking in the terrains as they stood in the silence of the map room.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Shree started, her voice still coarse from the day before, a flask of alcohol in her bandaged hand.

Akira stayed silent, not registering Shree's words as she poured over the routes and tracks but none of the information seemed to seep inside her mind; thoughts from days ago rushed through her system, intoxicating her and leaving her as nothing but a armor of nothingness.

"Akira?" Shree put a protective hand on the queen's shoulder, breaking her out of her trance.

"Yes?" Akira slowly muttered as she looked at her friend's concerned face.

"You alright?"

Akira nodded a unhurried yes and even though the other girl didn't fall for her words, she didn't push the sovereign too far.

"So," The Maharani started slowly, pressing her eyes shut as she tried to calm the hurricane of thoughts, "First of all, we send a letter to Aziza to see if everything is alright."

"Everything's alright." The monotonous voice of the commander came following the sound of opening gates, "Trust me, I would know."

"Azi?" Shree looked back to see the commander who stood at the gateway as sunshine poured inside the dimly lit room from the bright hallways.

Aziza looked beaten up and sleep-deprived. Hastily treated wounds littered her body and her hair was up in a make-shift up-do, a gash as long as an index finger's length ran from under her left eye, parallel to her nose. 

"You're alright!" Shree exclaimed as she flung her arms around Aziza – the flask falling to the ground with a loud clank and the contents of it pouring out on the floor – with tears streaming down her face. Akira just gave them both a – although genuine but half-hearted – smile as she stood with her back to the maps on the table.

"Yes, yes I'm alright Shree." Aziza smiled weakly as she broke apart from the girl and glanced at the queen. The commander gave Akira a small sympathetic smile and looked around, taking her time to change the topic. 

She looked from Shree to the ground where the flask lay, "Should you be drinking that right now?"

The curly-haired girl wiped her tears, laughing, "Says the girl who was waiting for God knows how long outside that door, waiting for the perfect dramatic entry."  

"Right, you caught me." The commander raised her hands in mock surrender, "You both look like... something." The commander nodded to her friends with a small smirk even though her eyes were deprived of any sort of happiness.

"Oh please," Shree wiped away her tears and played along, "you don't look like royalty either." The adviser nodded back to the commander.

The two girls smiled but anyone could see the pain that was bubbling under their superficial surfaces and this was just how long they could pretend as if nothing was wrong.

"So," Aziza gulped as she looked down at her hands, hesitantly muttering out, "Did anyone find out anything about Veer? Is he- uh, is he okay?"

Shree exchanged a small glance with the sovereign and looked back Aziza, "No..." She held Aziza's hands, doing her best not to break down again, "But I'm sure he's okay."