Chapter 6

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Mohini tried to calm her nerves as she stood outside the palace gates.

"He will not recognize you. Your face was covered; there is no way he can recognize you." Mohini whispered to herself before she walked up to the guard by the gate.

"Good Morning, saahib. My name is Mohini, and I'm here to join the dance troupe," Mohini said

The guard looked at her with a stoic expression before nodding and opening the gates. As Mohini walked through the ornate gates, Mohini was stunned by the palace's beauty and grandeur. The ornate arched doors were unlike anything Mohini had seen before, and the domes on top of the palace were homage to the foreign lands these rulers were from.

Mohini continued through the gardens, looking around in awe at the new architecture before she heard a familiar voice call her.

"Mohini! You made it!" Padmini said as she ran up to Mohini.

"Padmini! Finally, a familiar face." Mohini said with an affectionate smile on her face

"Don't you mean the only familiar face?" Padmini said mischievously.

Rolling her eyes, Mohini turned and walked up towards the entrance of the palace.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Padmini asked as she fell into step with Mohini.

"It is very beautiful, but you and I know that all this was built using the blood of innocent lives," Mohini said as they entered the palace.

"Mohini! You're in the palace, for god's sake! Can you please hide your disdain for the emperor, at least here?" Padmini asked with pleading eyes.

"Fine, just for you," Mohini said with a teasing smile.

Padmini playfully pushed Mohni as they walked towards the quarters where they held the performers.

The quarters were towards the back of the palace, making it easier for the performers to go in and out of the palace without disrupting the workers' daily flow.

As the two girls entered the quarters, they were greeted with an array of sounds. The musicians were tuning their instruments, the singers were practicing their songs, and the dancers were adjusting their ghungroos.

"Well, I guess this is where we disperse. I'll see you tonight for practice." Padmini said before making her way to the singers.

Mohini stood for a while. It was finally setting in that this was all real. She had to kill the crown prince himself. Fear settled into her chest.

Taking a shaky breath, Mohini made her way up to the dancers. All of them were sisters from her brothel, but they were not Vishkanyas. The madame had a handful of girls who were always used as a decoy, so no one would suspect the vishakanyas moving in and out.

As Mohini made her way up to the girls, their faces lit up with smiles.

"Didi! You're finally here!" said one of the girls, Ira, as she ran up to her.

" Hello my dears, I've heard you all have made quite a stir in the dance world. Would you be able to make some place for this meager dancer?" Mohini winked.

"Nonsense, all the dance we know we learned from you didi," Ira playfully shoved Mohini.

Mohini laughed and sat down with them. As the dancers gathered around her, Mohini updated the girls on the status of the Brothel.

"Didi, is it true that you were sent to kill the prince?" Fatima, another dancer, whispered.

"How did you know?" Mohini asked with shock etched onto her face.

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