LEGACY ||Indian Historical Fiction||

18||CLOSURE

"Do I have to?" Ishani stood before the amber horse beside which Adarsh stood with his hand held out.

"I'm not sure your horse would match my speed..." Adarsh shrugged.

"So you want me to ride with you?"

"If you want to see the entire kingdom, then yes. Though I suppose I can't force you. It's up to your wish." Adarsh let his hand and went around the horse to climb up.

Before he could, he found Ishani already on the saddle, taking the reins. He smirked and climbed up, sitting behind her, almost wrapping his hands around her as he reached for the reins. He dipped into a low whisper, "Ready to face your beloved speed, my lady?"

Before Ishani could even retort, the horse zoomed forward, cutting the heat of the afternoon sun. Ishani, though a master at horse riding, found the speed very intense, with the fact that her body was flushed against Adarsh's, giving her merely any space to move around.

"So, my lady," Adarsh spoke with a voice very stable for someone who was riding a horse, "You're from Ashokdhar, yes?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Maya, my friend, was previously residing there and she fell in love with someone. Would you help me find him?"

"I can! Though I did find Maya's features very tuned to the north even though she held up her southern disguise. Does her lover have a name?"

"It's Darsh, I believe."

Ishani raised her brow as she wondered. Could it be...no. Even if Maya was Chavi why would she used Darsh's real name?

"That is going to be a hard name to spy out. The citizens in Ashokdhar refrain from naming their kids the name of the monarch as a sign of respect. I'll have to employ all my connections to find out about Maya's Darsh." Ishani slightly lost her hold on the reins.

Adarsh slipped his arm around her waist, steadying her, giving her time to grab the reins again, "Thank you, my lady." He whispered again beside Ishani's ear.

"You keep this sly act of yours up and I won't be held accountable if I fall for you." Ishani muttered under her breath angrily, way out of Adarsh's earshot.

Adarsh simply bit the inside of his mouth to keep himself from smiling on noticing Ishani's ears go red.

"This is going to be one long journey..." He braced himself and got the horse galloping, "first stop."

•••

Chavi meekly followed Hiranmayi around in the academy against Hiranmayi's wishes. She observed all of the ways she taught and she danced. More importantly, she only looked at her face, trying to channel her emotions.

At the end of the day, when all the students were dismissed, Hiranmayi turned to Chavi.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Oh, I-uh, I was just looking at how you express the emotions. I was hoping to learn."

"You don't need to learn it Chavi. You already know how to portray the emotions only you don't think you do."

"Wha-"

"Come in." Hiranmayi led Chavi in before sitting down on the wooden swing inside. She again gestured Chavi to take a seat.

"Acharyaa, how do you think I know the emotions you speak of? I couldn't even portray anything today."

"Dancing is art, Maya, and every art needs imagination. How do you think Adarsh and I or any dancer for that matter emote the presence of gods in our performance? It's because we imagine we are gods or we are with Gods."