The Ballad Of Nirvana

Chapter 22

Ik you are Outta your breath at this point. Chill, inhale....
Exhale....
Inhale... Exhale...
XD Thanks for reading!
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Chapter 22

Agni indeed did teach her how to punch, and he stayed well away from her as she practiced against the air, when she asked him why he did so he said he didn’t want to break his nose again. After the first time she tried one hit at the sandbag and then her knuckles started to give way to the tiny amount of flesh beneath that’s when Agni asked her to stop.

“Whoa! Where did you get that energy from? If you’re gonna punch someone that hard then at least let me tie the bandages around your hand.” He entreated her hand.
He asked her to rest her palm atop his, which she did without hesitation and he examined her entire hand, once he was done he took out white bandages and wrapped them around her hands in a peculiar way.
Her knuckles were protected and the bandages were flexible so she could move her fingers.
“Be very careful of which part you hit, may it be a man or a woman. The solar plexus is a weak spot for both, a kick to the groin can immobilize both completely. You are strong, Princess, but if you have to knock someone unconscious or if you need to buy yourself time then you have to use your elbows, wait for the right time and hit them hard enough to break their head.” Agni continued, Indriya chuckled.

“You're smart and you have good battle reflexes. You also have an advantage of reading your opponent's mind, so there are more chances of you winning. What you have to work on is that you have become unpredictable to your predictable opponent and you of all people can do that very easily.” He explained. Indriya nodded in response and looked at the sand bag.

“Agni, I am not going to fight anywhere but on the battlefield, or to protect myself, that means there is nothing against me using loop holes right?” She smiled.

“That is cunning, you’re right. But battles have rules, darling. You cannot backstab a warrior. In fact you cannot backstab a warrior anywhere, unless you are not a warrior yourself.” He smiled slightly at her. “On the other hand,” he sighed “If you are fighting with some random guy, then you can use all the dirty tricks.”

“Correct me if I am wrong, but the last I heard I was only a Princess, wasn’t I?” She gave him a maliciously mocking grin.

“Yes, you are only a Princess, Princess.” Agni rolled his eyes at her. ‘A rather beautiful one who can destroy cities with a disarming smile.’ She heard him think and her smile came out to be more genuine but it was still a discomforted one.

They practiced all sorts of combat moves. After practicing for what seemed like an eternity, he asked her to summon her power. Indriya was alarmed at his command but she did not complain.                                                    

She closed her eyes and requested her power to come out, suddenly a cool breeze kissed her face, “Indriya, open your eyes.” A voice called out to her, It wasn’t Samanvita Tamas’s voice. When she opened her eyes she saw a lady. A lady who had adorned antique silver payal, shining gold jewellery and was built like a queen who won over a thousand cities just by talking to the people and not waging war. She was clad in shinig gold silver that had countless tiny hexagons, it almost looked like she was wearing a saree made of gold. She looked like her mother…
The gold speckled eyes seemed to cradle Indriya’s soul. Something inside Indriya seemed to have cracked open and her eyes welled up with tears. She never knew her mother and yet, this...
She opened up her arms so as to embrace her, Indriya’s feet moved involuntarily, without any control, towards her mother.
She wrapped her hands around her mother and buried her face in her mothers chest and sobbed all of a sudden. Her mother ran her hands through Indriya’s hair, her touch was soothing and warm like that of a blanket in harsh winters.
“I am always with you, and you have done nothing wrong by helping, Prince Agni. This gesture of yours will help him grow, nana.” She said softly. A strong smell of roses filled Indriya’s head. “Samanvita, approves of you as a Queen, and as a Princess. As her son’s Princess. That’s what the Prince calls you. Right?” Dharmavardini pulled back to kiss her on the forehead.
“I am proud of you, darling!” Indriya’s mother smiled at her.
“And I am proud of you, I wanted to tell you this for a while but you weren’t around and I didn’t know who else to tell. I love you, not for being my mother, but being a woman I will always be proud of. I am proud of you for being a queen.” Indriya wiped her tears that didn't seem to stop. She wasn’t feeling that sinking feeling like the world had just shut her out, like she felt when she saw tears in Agni’s eyes, but felt like her heart was fluttering around, she felt like she should roll her shoulders back with a puffed chest and tell the world who the real boss is. She felt like she could do anything.
“Now, go, you need to save more than just Nirvana out there, you need to save your fire, that pure fire that you belong to. Save, Agni.” Her mother said, before Indriya could say anything more she vanished in golden dust and wrapped herself around Indriya like a bodysuit.
‘Save Agni?’