The Fire In Her Eyes

VI

Mohana grumbled under her breath as she slipped on her skirt and tidied up her appearance. It was in the early hours of the morning when the sun had not even risen that Mohana had unwillingly woken up. The lack of sleep from the past few days and the thought of meeting the incarnation of Ravana(Ravana, in Hinduism is the 10-headed king of the demons) himself had her in a cranky mood. She cursed at herself for losing her royal ring so carelessly. Had she been more careful, she wouldn't have been coerced into getting back the stupid ring.

She put on her long black robe and strapped on her bow and quiver. She then walked over to her huge window. She picked up her skirt and carefully stepped on the large ledge of the window. She pushed open the window and holding onto the frame, she stepped on the extended branch of the huge banyan tree nearby. This had always been her escape route when she had to get out in the mornings. That way no one could see her getting out and her father would never find out through her guards. Her quarters were on the second floor and hence the banyan tree had been a blessing in disguise. The ancient tree's branches were strong and sturdy, giving her enough support to climb over them and down the tree.

She climbed down the tree and dusted her skirt to get rid of the loosened bark stuck to her blouse and skirt. She then made her way towards the stables hiding whenever someone passed by.

She grabbed an apple from the baskets of food outside the stable and discreetly walked in the stables. Her horse neighed in joy upon seeing her master's familiar face through the door. Mohana's bond with her horse was extraordinary. Both of them had been through the thick and thin together. Mohana's only all time companion was her horse. Mohana had shared every important emotion with her whether she was sad, happy, excited or jealous. Her horse was her only emotional support system, besides her sister. 

"Nice to see you too," Mohana whispered as she patted her horse and fed her the apple. She quickly saddled her horse and took her outside. She mounted her horse and led her in the direction of the woods. 

Her horse sped up and so did her little heart. She felt her heart throbbing from nervousness as she neared the clearing. She didn't understand why she was on edge. Archery was something that came to her so naturally that she could do it with her eyes closed (well not quite literally, that would be hard but you get what she meant). Surely, she couldn't be nervous because of a certain brunet. Mohana, on a good day was a confident little lady but she felt vulnerable under the prince's subduing gaze and it was unnerving for her. She felt like he could read her like an open book and she didn't like it one bit or so she thought. There was no denying that the prince was a handsome man and his entire demeanor was attractive. Mohana was like a moth drawn to a flame, though she was yet to realize that.

She brought her horse to a halt as she saw a figure standing near the edge of the clearing. Mohana took a deep breath in as she mentally prepared herself. She climbed down from her horse as she heard him talk.

"I almost thought you wouldn't show up," Rudra said with a smile on his face.

"Well, I was coerced into coming here, it's not like I had a way out," Mohana grumbled as she tied her horse to the tree.

"But you did have a choice, you just chose the better alternative," He smirked as he walked towards her.

Mohana just glared at him and walked past him, brushing her shoulder against his arm. Rudra grinned as he followed after her like a lost puppy. He found the princess's antics to be adorable. He liked how she walked in front of him taking confident strides with a slight sway in her hips. He tried to stay in the character of a gentleman that he was but he couldn't help sneaking glances every now and then.

Mohana was aware of the giant walking behind her and she tried not to feel intimidated by him. She tried to unstrap her bow from her back but it seemed to be entangled with the quiver strap. She came to a sudden halt as she tried to untangle it. Mohana huffed in frustration as she tried to reach it but her arms started aching.