What would happen if you were appointed as a bodyguard for the person you were supposed to assassinate?
Adhiveer is a beloved king. Adored by everyone in his kingdom and beyond.
Shiva, a professional assassin, gets easily appointed as his royal gu...
Three days had already passed, and they were almost halfway to the capital city. So far they've travelled without any hassle. There was always plenty of water and food, which was voluntarily given by the people of the villages they had crossed. All of the soldiers were good to each other. There was unity and comradery among them. They never treated Sukhi, Sabu and her like they were new or even made them feel like they were outsiders.
Bhairava especially sought that all of the soldiers treat her with respect as she was the only woman in the group. He made sure that she had her privacy.
Three more guards had joined them on the third day. They belonged to the patrolling group of border villages of Merujaya. Shiva couldn't understand why there was so much security given to the king. So she decided to ask Bhairava about it. When they were having lunch she asked.
He said " Twelve times in the past eight months, attempts were made to assassinate the king. Twice he escaped by the skin of his hair. We can never be too careful." He gestured to her to sit beside him. "When we were here, the decoy of the king was attacked back in the city."
" A decoy?" Shiva said.
" The king had figured out that something was wrong when the infiltrators had not moved any further from the village. Instead of sending his men, he decided to come down to the village in disguise. But when we were ambushed at the village, it was confirmed that there was someone within the palace compound who was orchestrating all of this. And that they are keeping an eye on every move that the king is making. And that's the reason why he wants new people in his court, as his own trusted personal guards. So he asked all of you to join his guard."
A pang of caution ran through her brain. The king is too clever to make any hasty decisions. Maybe he knew that she was hired to kill him. He wants to get to the culprit in the palace through her. She was a puppet in all of this.
Could Bhairava be the traitor? But he had been nice to her. Maybe that was just a front so that he could easily keep a watch on her. She had never met the person who had hired her. All she'd got was a note. She had to safeguard herself first and had to know who had hired her.
" May I ask you something, if you don't mind?" She asked Bhairava. He nodded." You are senior among all of us here-"
"Did you just call me old?" He asked.
" No... I didn't-"
" I am just teasing you."
She laughed," What I mean is you are older than all of us here. You are older than the king too. How long have you known the king?"
" Well, I am not that old but I have known him since he was born," he said with a slight smile." I am his mother's, Queen Rushita's brother." He said with a glimpse of sorrow in his eyes.
Oh, the late queen. But then that makes him King Bhairava of the Satjaya kingdom of the eastern frontier.
" Then you are the father of Queen Nirvi of the Satjaya kingdom." She said.
He smiled and nodded in affirmation, " Yes, I denounced the throne twenty years ago."
" But why?"
" I took an oath to be the guardian of Adhiveer. He needed me. His mother died when he was five years old. Twenty years ago his father drowned in the Raankai River. He was crowned as the king of such a vast empire. A mere boy of sixteen years, without a father or a mother." He said with teary eyes. He leaned closer to her " I think Rushita was poisoned."
A shiver ran down her spine. The game was older than she thought and whoever was playing it had played it for a very long time without getting caught. She had to be very cautious.
" I haven't talked about this for so many years. I am sorry I didn't mean to burden you with all of this. It's just that you are very easy to talk to. But promise me, Shiva you won't let anything happen to Adhiveer. You will help me protect him. I trust you."
Shiva's heart sank, he was asking her to do something that she couldn't do. The weight of the truth was too much to bear. Her mind was in turmoil. Involuntarily she said," I won't let you down."
He gave out a sigh. She decided not to probe him anymore. The topic would only disturb him further. "Queen Nirvi is very well known for her justice and kindness. A long time back when I had been to Satjaya, the people there had talked about her with great respect. I truly admire her." Shiva said.
"Oh, you have been to Satjaya. Have you travelled a lot? What work did you have so far in the east." He asked.
How could she tell him that she had killed a merchant there? "Trade, I had been there to trade." She said.
He said," She is an amazing ruler and a wonderful daughter. She is just like my Rushita." this time there was a bit of happiness in his eyes. " Adhiveer also has the qualities of his mother. He is not just kind and humble but is sharp and assertive. That's why everyone in his kingdom adores him."
Well, not everyone, she thought.
The next few days were tiresome. The terrain was rugged and covered with dense vegetation. Shiva was not bothered by the journey but what had troubled her was the way the king treated her. Sometimes he would talk about irrelevant subjects. Sometimes just small talk. Most of the time he would ask whether she had food. As if she was some kind of a cow. She had caught him staring at her too many times. He would sometimes get down from his horse and wordlessly walk along her side. The more she tried to avoid him the more he'd try to come close to her.
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They finally reached the capital. The flourishing city of Merujaya was grand in every sense. The city gate was huge with intricately carved stone statues and floral borders. The roads were broad and bustling with people, carts and horses. On the way to the palace, the merchants sold various items like clothes, utensils, gems, precious stones and a variety of foods. From fruits and flowers to scents and silks. Shiva had not seen such a grandeur.
But the most grand of all was the palace. A vast ground covered with gardens and courtyards. Lily ponds and flowering plants. There were animals like rabbits and deer and various fruiting trees.
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Sidhraj greeted them at the entrance of the palace. Shiva, along with others, were escorted to their quarters. Attendants gave them water and food to eat. Her room had a bed and a small window. She lay on the bed as the realisation struck her, she was in a maze and had a task to complete.
" Try not to die." She said to herself.
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