The Crown Prince and His Love

Chapter 56|Cave Paintings|

Ilankai

Arulmozhi felt a rush of cold air hitting him as he set foot on the beautiful, luscious sea shores of Ilankai. It was like the gods were welcoming him. Arulmozhi jumped down from the boat, gentle waves caressed his feet lovingly. The shorelines gave way to a thick lush green forest that covered the fairly busy city.

The absolute beauty dumbfounded Arulmozhi but was soon shaken awake from it by Poonguzhali.

"Are you going to stop staring and pay me?" She asked, helping Amudhan off the boat.

"I'll pay after you finish showing me around this beautiful island," Arulmozhi said. Poonguzhali was irritated, to say the least.

"First you declined to pay me upfront, now you are delaying my payment," Poonguzhali said, crossing her arms. Arulmozhi chuckled and walked towards the woods. "Are you trying to skin me?"

Arulmozhi turned, raising a brow. "What do you take me for? A fraud?"

A handsome, elegant-looking fraud.

"Would you blame me if I did?" She asked. Sendhan Amudhan jumped down from the boat to prevent any escalation of their argument.

"Poonguzhali, let's just show him around and leave, why are you arguing?" He said, Arulmozhi nodded.

"Amudha, you don't know, I've seen frauds like this," Poonguzhali shut him up quickly. Amudhan shook his head and tried to pull her aside but Poonguzhali did not seem to budge.

Arulmozhi rolled his eyes. "Why are you making a scene? I'm new here, so I'm asking for your help, is that so wrong?" He asked with a helpless look on his face. "Look at that woods, what if a bear hunts me down or something, my blood will be on your hands right?"

Amudhan gulped and looked at her. "Poonguzhali, please,"

Poonguzhali sighed. "Fine,"

Arulmozhi was smiling ear to ear as Poonguzhali showed him around the beautiful island that is Lanka. Though he was slightly distracted by the serene landscape his eyes kept landing on Poonguzhali.

Sendhan Amudhan walked beside Arulmozhi, trying his best to match their pace.

"Are you and Poonguzhali friends?" Arulmozhi asked, throwing his hands over his shoulder.

Sendhan Amudhan rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "Uh.."

Arulmozhi nudged him. "Do you love her?" He whispered. Sendhan Amudhan looked away, contemplating whether he should tell him or not. "I've seen the way you look at her, tell me, do you love her or not? Or are you guys really just friends?"

Sendhan Amudhan shrugged. "I don't know what she thinks about me," He said sadly.

"So you do love her!" Arulmozhi said excitedly. A rash girl like her and a level-headed man like Sendhan Amudhan would be a perfect couple, Arulmozhi thought.

"Not so loud," Amudhan said, shushing Arulmozhi down. "She'll kill me if she finds out,"

Arulmozhi raised a brow. Before he could get a word in the sky was lit up with bright lightning, followed by a ground-shaking thunder.

"Looks like it's going to rain!" Poonguzhali shouted from a distance.

"Great," Arulmozhi muttered, looking at the sky and then at the sea, it looked like a storm was brewing. He sorely hoped his men would navigate the storm and get here in one piece.

Poonguzhali tried to lead them to a cave before it started raining, but the downpour started sooner than anticipated. The gang was a drenched, miserable mess before they could reach the cave.

Arulmozhi pushed back his wet locks and sighed, leaning against the walls of the cave. Poonguzhali cursed under her breath as she let her hair loose.

"Samudra Kumari" Arulmozhi called out. When will the rain stop?" Arulmozhi asked.

Poonguzhali looked at him coldly. "How am I supposed to know?" She deadpanned. He rolled his eyes and sat down, ruffling his wet hair as he checked out the cave.

Sendhan Amudhan slipped in and sat next to Poonguzhali. "Samudra Kumari? What's that all about," He enquired.

Poonguzhali shrugged, letting her hair loose. "It's just a silly nickname he gave me,"

After a few hours the rain eventually started to subside a little bit, but the sun began setting down. There was no way they could reach the town before nighttime according to Poonguzhali, so the trio decided it was best to stay here rather than going out and being mawled by a bear.

It was not that huge of a cave, the rainwater was beginning to trickle down the roof of the cave a bit too. Arulmozhi leaned back to catch some sleep but something else caught his eye. Some paintings?

He got up and took a closer look at them, furrowing his brows. A picture of a woman holding a baby was carefully etched on the walls of the cave, a series of wavy lines were drawn underneath like a river.

A wave of realisation hit him. "Samudra Kumari?" He called out. "Do you know who drew these?" He asked, pointing at the wall.

Poonguzhali nodded. "It's my aunt," She said. "Why do you ask?"

"Can I meet her?" Arulmozhi asked, dodging the question.

Poonguzhali shook her head. "I don't think so, she rarely comes out to meet us,"

"Will you take me to her if she ever does come over to meet you?" Arulmozhi asked for which Poonguzhali nodded hesitantly.

If the drawings are what Arulmozhi thinks they are, he would find the answer to the question which he had all throughout his life. Who saved him from drowning in the river and why?