Miracle of Love - Avyukt Manasa

5. Night job

"What do you think the prince is doing?" A soldier whispered to his friend while hiding on the trees as the prince had ordered them to.

"Seems like our prince likes rowing boat" Another soldier said as they all peered into distance, where an old boat carrying their prince and a woman was approaching the river bank.

"So dumb.. Tch" The General clicked his tongue as he too watched the free show of his prince. He now kind of understood the reason behind the prince's weird behavior.

The other four junior soldiers looked at their General. The General smirked before opening his mouth. "You all are so dumb. How are you all ever going to get a wife? Huh?" The General mocked, but the soldiers were still clueless as to what the General wanted to convey.

The General sighed, shook his head and decided to teach something to these muscle bodies.

"The prince is in love. Our prince is in love." The General whispered, making the juniors widen their eyes in disbelief. They were all silent for few seconds before bursting into mad laughter.

"Hahahaha... General.. We didn't know you ... Hahaha.. you could joke.. Hahaha" The soldiers laughed, not believing that the god of war, who till day before yesterday thought nothing other than weapons, power and throne, suddenly fell in love with a girl and took up a night job to impress her. Hilarious.

The General pursed his lips. Even he was not sure about his deduction, but what else could he make out of the prince sudden obsession with boat rowing.

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Manasa looked at the boat man in front of her. She had never seen a man so handsome before. Even the Military head's son, Jagannath, who was princecharming to many girls was not this pleasing to eyes. And also this man was so down to earth and honest. It would be a shame to not know him.

"You are from the North" Manasa said. Not a question, but a statement. His clothing was slightly different from the south, and even his features were sharp. Avyukt paused for a brief second before continuing to row the boat.

"Hmm.. I am here to meet someone." Avyukt said, smiling, glad that Manasa chose to speak to him. Or else he might just keep thinking how to make a dashing introductory statement.

Manasa nodded and they both went quite again. Avyukt's voice was deep and smooth, making her want to listen to it again. But he seemed to be a man of few words.

"May I know your name?" Manasa asked softly, not knowing why on earth she trying to strike a conversation with him.

Avyukt was slightly surprised by her question. He looked at the peacock feather on her ring, and then at the small peacock painted between her brows.

"Krishna.. My name is Krishna" Avyukt replied, well aware that Manasa was a devotee of lord Krishna. All the pages in her diary were addressed to Lord Krishna.

An involuntary smile boomed on Manasa's face hearing his name. She nodded and kept quite.

"May I know the name of this beautiful companion too?" Avyukt spoke after few minutes of silence. His eyes looking into hers, and he would have enjoyed the blush painting her cheeks if not for the shawl covering the lower half of her face.

Manasa hesitated to response, and Avyukt didn't pressure her. It's not like he had given his real name to her.

"Manasa. My name is Manasa"

Now it was Avyukt turn to smile. Seems like his 'Honest man' strategy worked. "Manasa" Avyukt tested her name on his tongue and sure enough, it felt wonderful. It felt wonderful to be alive, to fall in love, to make your girl smile and blush.

Soon the boat reached the bank, much to Avyukt's frustration.

"Can you please wait here till I return? It might take two to three hours." Manasa requested softly, knowing that a wait of two to three hours was long. Again, little did she know that she was his one and only customer.

"Sure sure.. Take your time ... Manasa." Avyukt took the liberty to call her by name. He helped her get down the boat carefully. He had decided not to follow her.

"Ahh.." Manasa, who was about to turn around and leave when she jerked backward because of a sudden pull on her shawl.

Lub.. dub... lub.. dub..

Avyukt could hear his heart in his ears. It was beating so fast that he felt Manasa might hear it considering how close they were. Manasa face was right on his chest, her free hand gripped on to his right shoulder for balance. Her right hand was still clutching the basket tightly, making Ayukt wonder about its contents.

Manasa lifted her head and found Avyukt looking back at her with an indescribable gaze. Those eyes spoke thousands of emotions, many which Manasa didn't know how to read. She could only get lost in his black orbs.

On the other hand, Avyukt realized how many good moments he had lost in his previous life. As a couple, Manasa and Avyukt could have shared so many smiles, tears, couple fights, heart breaks and lot more. But they did none of that, and he was the only one who could be blamed for it. He was blinded with the power of throne, with the thirst to conquer, to rule, and to be feared.

The end of Manasa's shawl got tangled with his bracelet, uncovering her angelic features in the process. Avyukt had the urge to pinch those soft cheeks, to kiss those lotus lips, and nudge her small button nose with his. She was undoubtedly a beauty who could make empires fall. Something which he was very proud of in the past, but failed to show any appreciation.

PHWWWTTTT...

The two people on the river bank broke out of their trance when they heard a loud whistle in a distance. Manasa immediately took a two steps back and adjusted her dress. She cautiously looked in the direction of the sound.

"Must be a bird. Mostly vultures. They often do these king of sounds." Avyukt again lied with a straight face, internally cursing the stupid general for whistling for god knows why?

The innocent princess believed the scheming prince and went into the forest. Avyukt glared at the trees in a distance. Veerprathap gulped feeling an angry glare directed at him even though the prince was still very very far.

He had just whistled at what looked like a girl throwing herself into the prince's arms. Why was the prince glaring? Hmphh..