Nila felt nervous to be standing the court. It had been a long time since she had returned to the Guptas.
She raised her head and saw Emperor Narasimha Gupta on the throne. She hoped in her heart that she would have at least one opportunity to see the Princess. Just to see for herself that the Princess was doing well.
Nila raised her eyes to the series of large rectangular portraits behind the throne of Narasimha Gupta. There were life-size paintings of the gems of the Gupta dynasty such as Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Then, there were paintings of Puru Gupta who was the present Narasimha Gupta's father and Budha Gupta who the predecessor of Narsimha Gupta.
"Well, just because of what this girl has to say..." Narasimha Gupta drawled, "Why are my veteran soldiers getting alarmed like a group of chickens? Who knows if she is a Hun spy sent by Mihirana to track our movements?"
"No, Your Majesty!" Nila shouted, "I used to work for the Princess of the Guptas, your daughter. The Princess can vouch for me, please believe me!"
Narasimha Gupta summouned the Princess to appear before the court. The Princess stood behind the translucent curtain, "Yes, Father?"
"Child, do you recognize this girl?" Narasimha Gupta asked.
"Yes" the Princess burst into happy tears, "Of course, she is my beloved friend and my personal handmaiden, Nilambari. She is the one who I told you was missing, Father! Do you remember I asked you to send your men in search of her?"
"Ahem!" Narasimha Gupta coughed awkwardly, remembering, "I am able recollect her now"
"Then, Your Majesty" said Nila, "I beg you, there is no time to spare. Please prepare for the Hun invasion"
"Alert the Malwa Governor, Bhanugupta" Narasimha Gupta commanded the Gupta General, "Send an urgent letter to King Yashodharman of Aulikara dynasty of Malwa!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the Gupta General said.
"Order the units of infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants to be prepared. Start moving them to the northwest"
The General nodded and exited the court.
"Your Majesty" Nila pleaded, "Please allow me to assist the General"
"Nila, it's too dangerous" the Princess said, from behind the curtain.
"I am sorry but please let me!" Nila requested.
"Alright! Accompany the General, the first stop he will be making is to visit the Malwa Governor for the en masse evacuation" Narasimha Gupta ordered, "But do you know how to ride a horse?" he asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am skilled in archery too" Nila replied, recalling Mihira teaching her both these things. Nila recollected Mihira's handsome face, his voice brimming with tenderness as he called her name. Nila shook her head to rid the image of him and rushed out of the court in search of the General.
The General was issuing orders at the steps of the palace. Nila hurried towards him, "Lord, His Majesty has permitted me to accompany you" she said, raising her voice to be heard over the howling gales of wind.
"Alright, follow me" the General said, brusquely and one of his men handed Nila the reins of a horse. She put a foot on the stirrup and jumped onto the saddle, sitting astride on horseback. The General shouted, "March, men!" Nila jabbed the horse's sides with her feet. The horse reared up and she galloped at windspeed behind the General and his cavalry.
A Few Hours Later
Nila sipped water from her clay water bottle. It was morning and the heat was quite unbearable. The evacuation was underway now. She had rushed to each house on horseback to ask them to leave immediately. She insisted that the old, children, disabled, pregnant and nursing women be escorted away first. The General had alerted the Malwa Governor and he left behind a Lieutenant in charge of the exodus. The General was on his way to King Yashodharman of Malwa.
Nila supervised the exodus of the citizens when suddenly a messenger arrived, "Mihirana has launched an attack on Madra"
Nila cursed in her heart, while the citizens of Malwa were saved, the Madra citizens were now vulnerable to the attack.
"Is there nothing that can be done?" she anxiously asked the Lieutenant.
The Lieutenant shook his head, "No, my lady. Our order was to first evacuate Malwa. Mihirana is a ruthless invader, so, we anticipate him to be successful in breaching Madra. As of now, both King Yashodharman and Emperor Narasimha Gupta are on their way to defend the northwest. There is barely any time to shield the northwestern citizens from collateral damage of the war"
Nila covered her face and sobbed, she knew how brutal Mihira could be. She prayed that the citizens of the Madra remain safe. Nightmarish images of mass rape of the northwestern women kept playing in Nila's head. They both turned towards the sun and prayed for the safety of the innocent civilians of northwest.
Twelve Hours Later
"Report!" a messenger shouted as he raced towards them. Nila glanced at the sky and saw that night had fallen, the full moon shone bright among the stars.
Nila gave him some water and the Lieutenant asked worriedly, "Speak! What happened?"
"My Lord! The terrible invader has been repelled! It's a miracle! The armies of Emperor Narasimha Gupta, King Yashodharman and Governor Bhangupta have succeeded in chasing Mihirana and the Huns away" the man nearly shouted himself hoarse in his glee.
"What?!" Nila asked, stunned beyond words. She remembered how Mihirana was about winning and how ruthless he was to his enemies. How is this possible?
"Quick! How are the citizens of Madra?" asked the Lieutenant, "That bastard would have already slaughtered every single civilian in Madra by the time reinforcements arrived"
"My lord, that cursed invader breached Madra. He crossed Yaudheya. He crossed Arjunayana. He crossed Mathura. He was repelled when he was mere kilometers away from Malwa"
Nila trembled from top to toe in fear, thousands of people must be dead. She swayed slightly and the world seemed to spin, how many women would have been impregnated? That heartless bastard! How could he?! How dare he?!
"That's what is surprising, my Lord" the messenger said, "None of the civilians were harmed in any of the cities conquered so far by Mihirana"
What?! Nila stared at the man, What?! How come?!
GLOSSARY:-
Madra - Punjab Province of Pakistan
Yaudheya - North Delhi
Arjunayana - Northeastern Rajasthan
Mathura - Holy site in Western Uttar Pradesh
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Embrace the Snow
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