The Ballad Of Nirvana

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A door. A silver door. Indriya was standing in front of it. The magnificent silver doors had many miniature figures, almost life-like all around the frame. The door was so shiny in a dim-lit hallway that it seemed to hurt her eyes. The Miniatures had rubies embedded into them. Right over their chests so as to symbolise the heart. The miniatures seemed to look at her in admiration, her and no one else. Indriya looked toward the door and the intricately carved details seemed to pull her as a magnet does. She moved closer and noticed the snakes that had fixated themselves on the door like handles. They had green eyes that glinted in the dim light and were pleading with her to hold them and push the doors. And so she did, she held the silver snakes and pushed the door. Indriya realised she was barefoot but was clothed in rather luxurious clothes. She was wearing a white half saree with long sleeves that ended in bells at the sleeves.

The door was so heavy that she pressed her body against the doors then when she finally did she found herself in the restroom of the restaurant again, the creature sprawled on the floor.

The air stunk of the horrible stench again like rotten flesh and the iron dagger driven through its heart.

'What a horrible creature?!' She thought she approached it.

In the blur of the moment, the creature sprang to life and extended its claws toward her throat. It caught hold of her throat with its slimy clawed hand, pinning her to the wall. Its eyes were bulging and were fixated on the flesh right under her ear where its claws cut deeper and deeper into her throat.

Indriya winced, wheezed and screamed in pain as her skin tore apart, she struggled against its grip but only in vain.

Indriya opened her eyes and saw a pair of eyes looking at her in concern. It was Chag. It was only Chag.

"You were muttering something."He said as he changed the cloth on her forehead.

She looked at the window, it was Dawn. The clock on her bed table read 5 AM.

"How long did I sleep for?"She asked softly, her voice was little more than a whisper. "Somewhere between ten- to twelve hours." He said shifting in his chair uncomfortably.

"What? I was out all night? What happened?" She asked, feeling nauseated at the grotesque memory of the creature. He was quiet for a second as Indriya watched him put his chin in his palms on his knees.

"All afternoon and night." He drawled.

Indriya felt inexplicably weak and her body ached, a sharp pain all the way down her spine made her wince.

"Indriya, you have to tell me what happened?" His voice was deep, sounding grave.

She opened her mouth to tell him, to tell him everything but she shook her head and closed the mouth again deciding against it. She couldn't tell him. At least not without sounding utterly insane.

"I don't know," She lied.

"Indriya, do you remember anything at least anyone tipping something into your drink?" He paused for a moment. "Did you feel a little dizzy while walking to the washroom?" He asked, lowering his eyebrows and scowling.

She wished something of that sort would have happened but she knew it was not, she knew she was not hallucinating she broke into a cold sweat, just at the very thought of that creature sprawled across the floor.

"No. I didn't drink anything during lunch, not even water, Chag," she said breathily, trying in vain to sit up.

The creature from the washroom had been too real to be some kind of a hallucination due to something tipped in her drink.

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Chag knew something was wrong; he could smell it off her clothes, it was the stench of rotting flesh. He knew too well about what it was and who would do such a thing.

But he kept quiet and didn't force her to tell anything because he knew that if she wanted to tell him she would have already told him. Nonetheless, he knew about it, so he would take Agni along for more protection. It was good that his friend was right in time to the restaurant or else Indriya would not have been here.

He watched her as she sat up slowly, weakly resting her head on the bedpost. He knew she was trying to push away a dreadful thought of that very creature he could smell by running her slender hand through her dark black and unbound hair.

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Chag made her a cup of ginger and honey. Indriya was grateful for its warmth, Not that she didn't have enough warmth in her body already. One knot two degrees was the highest fever she had had in a decade. She dozed off after drinking the tea only to wake up for breakfast.

Her cousin gave her a warm liquid to drink during breakfast that was served in bed. It was thick and warm which she ravenously gobbled up. It warmed her chest and throat and it tasted like chocolate.

After a while, when she was reading, she dozed off again. Apart from reading and drawing, sleeping and eating were the only things she did for three days straight.

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Chag could only watch her with concern growing in his eyes, things were out of his hands, he couldn't handle it without telling her. She had to know, but she couldn't know.

If she knew about it she would be shattered and her life would never go about the same. She looked so serene like she was drifting in a world of her own as she dozed off with her book in her slender hands still waiting to be read. Chag knew he couldn't hide it for a long time but he decided not to tell her. Not just yet.

'So much for wanting to be normal, Princess.' He remembered his friend saying as they both looked at her while they brought her home. Thank gods! It was him who killed the creature, had it been the Nirvanian soldiers, the Princess would have been their prisoner.

Chag was saddened by the fact that her own soldiers were hunting her down, her own kin was hunting her.

'I swear, Princess Indriya, I will remain your most loyal courtier and I will make you win this war of justice, just as Krishna had made Arjuna win his. I swear it in my blood.'

He made his silent promise to his sleeping Queen, who looked so young and small to be a relative, even if distant but still a relative, of the cruel beast who seized her throne. His Queen's throne. His ally's throne.