Kama: Liberation (Vol-I)

Chapter 51: Feast

Do not touch my sweetheart.

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It was a fine day, but Indumala woke up with an ache in her limbs and heavy eyelids. Last night, she trained too hard. Magic came to her easily but not brutal strength.

In the foggy morning, she recalled the day of the tournament, when she had proved her worth as a bodyguard. The boys she fought against were rather desperate to win too, giving her ruthless blows that had made her skin be blue for days. They ridiculed her, making the usage of magic appear as cheating. The Rajan had never laid down strict rules to not use magic, and he hadn't stopped her when she-

"Ugh. I need not go on explaining it to myself, to anyone. I won because I am worthy."

Although now, when she knew the complete truth about Rudra, she wondered if he really needed her as a bodyguard. Perhaps it was a symbolic move, as earlier Rajans always kept bodyguards. Rudra had muscles Indu could die for, but he didn't have peace of mind. So, maybe, like a guide from above, she was here to guard him from death. She was here to keep him away from melancholy. Her task was to ensure the Rajan was fine not just physically, but emotionally as well.

She didn't know why these thoughts came rushing at her in the morning. She still couldn't digest the fact that her lover, and even her father, were paranormal creatures. They weren't human. They were, once, but not anymore.

She had heard that werewolves and vampires had long lives. It could explain why they didn't age. She didn't know for how long Rudra and her Baba were actually living. In all honesty, she had began to question the reality she was spoonfed.

"On that note, Rudra is supposed to have a long life, but not be immortal. Maybe have a will over his life and death like the Saints do. Then why does he always come back unharmed from injuries?"

At first, she wasn't really worried about this aspect, but it later sank in her mind- he was doomed to be alone. One day, she would be leaving the world. She wasn't any extraordinary human, some otherworldly being. And Rudra would become lonely. Maybe he would choose the wrong ways again.

"It doesn't make sense- people have meditated upon the gods to grant them immortality but no one ever got that. So how come a woman, however strong may she be, curse a man to be eternal?"

The time of the war was nearing. Till now, she didn't know if she would be participating. She had posed the question in front of the two most important men of her life. Her Baba had frowned, and Rudra waved his hand dismissively. "I won't allow you to go on battle, and your Baba is also of the same opinion."

She prayed, that even if immortality was something illusionary in her faith, it could manifest as true for the time being. She wasn't ready to lose him. Their story had just began.

"Or perhaps not?"

The returning nightmares. The phantom addressing her as Petra, and even Rudra mistaking her for that lady in his werewolf avatar. He had refused to accept he loved her, but it was obvious to Indumala. Their conversation in the bathhouse further confirmed her suspicions.

It wasn't just by luck that she had landed here. It was fate's doing. Why else should she, with no knowledge of her parents, end up in the lap of the Senapati of Ishgar? Why should she then go on to become a royal bodyguard? Why the so-called heartless Rajan would fall for her?

There was a condition that goverened his feelings, his submission to love. This condition could be her distant past.

"So, I had known him long ago?"