The Inseparable Princes

76. Unleash of Arrows

That army had seen everything. Literally everything. They had seen their King and his brother being a part of an ugly battle. They had seen how their King had forgotten to help his ally. They had seen how he was required to be shaken awake by Lakshmana, who had gone on a crazy rampage, scaring life out of Kishkindha. And then they had seen one of their fellow monkeys build a bridge over the ocean. And now, they had seen the pinnacle of unplanned idiocy. Yeah, idiocy was always unplanned, but this was too much. Their King had literally just leapt into Ravana's actual house and had wrestled with him, before he returned, thankfully.

Rama shook his head, breathing a sigh of relief. "What if Ravan had done something to you, Sugreev?" he asked worriedly. Sugreeva scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You can't be running so high on emotions that you just jump into the balcony or terrace or whatever of a demon who has swords that are twenty two yards long!" he said sternly, but he heard a soft chuckle from Nala. Rama looked at him with the corner of his eye and all the young monkey could hear was pin drop silence.

"Wait, so are you serious? Does he really have twenty two yard long swords?" asked Nala curiously. Hanuman rolled his eyes.

"Does it matter?" When Nala looked like he was going to say 'Yes!', Hanuman continued hastily. "No. The point is that Raja Sugreev should not have done what he has done! It's not safe!" said Hanuman.

"You're the King. You're the leader here. And you need to lead by example. You can't repeat what you have done today. Not just because you're the King, but also because you are somebody that all of us require and care about. This should not happen again." said Rama sternly. Sugreeva nodded apologetically, while Angada smiled, glad that his uncle was alright.

★★★

Ravana walked into his court , head held high even when, at heart, he felt like things were going downhill. Obviously, he did not accept it. His mind was in idiot. His heart was an idiot. And he knew that his ego was the greatest. That was how he perceived things. Prahasta, Nikumbha, Mahaparshva, Jambumali, Shatrughna (not Laksh's Shatru), Agniketu, Virupaksha, Pratapana, Meghanada, Atikaya, Narantaka, Devantaka and a hundred more Rakshasas, with their fangs peeping out every two seconds, got up to bow before the King.

"Maharaj, they are ready. They look to commence this battle. Our fort has been surrounded. What do we do now, O King, please tell us." said Nikumbha, his voice deep and gruff. Ravana twirled his mustache, snarling.

"They are just mere monkeys and hermits, Nikumbha! What will they do to us? Ha, they're going to be fighting with twigs and pebbles! It's going to be a child's play for us! We shall attack in no time." he said, his voice and expression reflecting all the overconfidence that was filled in him. He paused, brooding, stroking his greying beard, which could make a habitat for the animal kingdom; it was that large and dense (alright did I over describe that?). "I want Nikumbha," he began, and the said person stood up and nodded with determination. "-Jambumali," he called out next, pointing at the man, and the chieftain did just as the one before him had done. "-Agniketu, Virupaksha, Pratapana, Shatrughna, Prajangha, and lastly, my son, Indrajit. I want all of you to lead the attack today. Take as many soldiers as you like." Indrajit gritted his teeth, enraged. There was actually no reason for him to be enraged, except for the fact that they had been surrounded by an army of apes. And that news had been coming in for days, so he should've learnt to curb that, but well, he did not do so.

★★★

Hanuman picked up the pristine conch shell and held it in both his hands. And then he narrowed his eyes and looked forward. Battalions and battalions of Vanaras had assembled to fight evil. Crores and crores of soldiers, his family, his friends, had assembled to lay down their lives for Rama. Forr Rama, because Rama had made a place in their heart, that now, nobody could take. Hanuman smiled.