As Aadrika walked beneath the canopy of ancient trees that wove a dream full of flowers that burst in to countless fragrant colours, her heart was filled with a strange sense of longing, it stirred her being, a yearning for something that she could not name and yet it felt it was true. She touched the sap filled fingers of these giants. These trees that stood testament of the timeless tales of the land had trunks that took more than 3 men to encapsulate. And though she did not know why she felt so drawn to this place, as if some unknown and unseen force was dictating her steps towards a destiny that she could not comprehend yet.
She filled her chest with the familiar scent of blooms and looked towards the call of a peacock, her heart leapt as she caught a glimpse of the king wrestling with a fully grown tiger. Her breath caught in her chest as she watched him move, matching the moves of a predator with nothing on him except his loin cloth, was he tracing it's steps or it was the predator mirroring him she couldn't be sure. It was a dance she didn't understand. As he locked his gaze with the tiger, it bared it's teeth, threatening him, it's eyes squeezed as its canines gnashed menacingly. The animal crouched before it leaped, as if Tathya could read its next move through its eyes, he took his stance. His muscles rippled as he reached its throat, his chest heaved as he drew his breath and gritted his teeth. The sight made her heart swell and she unknowingly wished that he would win this fight. She dashed towards the ring to watch him closer. She noticed he didn't have any battle scars, he won his battles - always, that was what Malini had told her, she had told her that he was invincible, it was his enchanted sword that made him invincible she was told but here he was almost naked and unguarded, fighting a beast. He was beyond his weapons, he was brave, he had courage and great strength. Defeating him was an impossible feat. King Tathya took the tiger down by its throat in a swift move as the onlookers cheered.
"He drinks a pot of ghee every morning and he burns it off by wrestling for 2 hours at least." The army general explained to Aadrika.
Aadrika is at loss of words and looks at him and back at Tathya, swallowing hard as her throat gets dry.
"Sometimes we take turns wrestling him and he is never exhausted." He exclaims, expecting a reaction from Aadrika.
"Such calibre." She squeaks, bringing her fingers to her throat.
She catches herself blushing as Tathya approaches her.
"Do you wrestle?"
"No my lord. I have only been trained in the arts."
"Do you know how to wield a weapon then?"
"No.. I... do not exactly know. I had no teacher."
"Would you like to learn?"
"Today?"
"Why not? But don't you think I should have learnt it since my early days. I might.."
"Dear king , she might be exhausted, maybe she needs some time." Says the general who is a salt and pepper man with a pleasant face.
"No, I think one is never late to start something new. Why don't you pick a weapon of your choice?"
"I wondered if a sword would be right for me to start with."
"That's good, it's a good choice but if you need to start with one, you might need to use these wooden one to practice."
"Oh, what fun will be a wooden one. I should try the real one."
"My dear, one might cut oneself while wielding a sharp weapon and it is not advisable to use something that mocks the actual one for the very first time."
Tathya saw disappointment in her eyes. She picks up the wooden swords and throws one towards Tathya, which he catches swiftly with a smile.
"One needs to feel the weight of his sword and shift his body accordingly, one should see it as an extension of his own body." Tathya moves to a battle pose.
"Impressive." Says Aadrika imitating his move.
"It is different with the armour on." Explains Tathya.
"I can imagine."
"First thing one should learn is to block an attack." Says Tathya and moves swiftly towards Aadrika, catching her off-guard, but she blocks off his attack awkwardly.
"That was close."
"One should be always alert while wielding a weapon." Says Tathya pulling Aadrika towards him, pressing against her back, he moves the wooden sword from her neck down to her waist as she gasps.
His hot breath rolling down her bare skin sends a trail of goosebumps down her body. Inhaling his scent makes her swoon with desire. She leans against him allowing his hand to snake around her, as he turns her around to face him. Her gaze drops and lips part instinctively as she lets out a soft gasp.
"If one is with an armor, even then one needs to be careful with what attack might one expect since an armor can eventually be breached."
"One is not safe, my king." She finds words as she gathers herself.
"Yes, that is a safe assumption to make at all times." He says that and lets go of her. She feels like a genie let out from a bottle. She watches his gait, his body dewy with sweat and the expanse of his chest. Her gaze travels down from his chest to his loins and quickly to his feet as her cheeks turn pink. She mentally kicks herself for not being able to mask feelings and for feeling so in the first place.
The sun sets bringing in the hues of gold and rust down from the horizon into the lakes and ponds, as he looks outside towards the depths of the forests he spots a silhouette of a woman, his brows knot, the silhouette seems like it was that of Aadrika 's, this sets his heart racing. Why would she go into the depths of the forest filled with deadly wild animals and other dangerous beings. He rubbed his eyes to see again but the figure was gone.
