The Fire In Her Eyes

XVI

The sun was setting over the village of Kranthi, casting a magical glow across the Palace walls. The horizon wase a fiery blaze of oranges and reds, gradually softening into pinks and purples higher in the sky. Wispy clouds drifted lazily, their edges illuminated in gold, adding texture to the vibrant canvas above. The calm atmosphere was a contrast to the chaos unfolding in Rudra's mind.

His heavy footsteps echoed throughout the Gurukul as he made his way towards the room, the sahaayak(assistant) had pointed towards. Rudra came to a halt outside the wooden door that led into Acharya Chetan's teaching quarters. Rudra had hoped he would not have to resort to this but his spies had come up with nothing fruitful and time was of utmost essence in his case.

Rudra knocked on the door and pushed it open upon hearing the familiar voice of Acharya Chetan. He walked towards the older man and bowed down, touching the elder's feet in a form of respectful greeting.

"Pranam, Acharya(Salutations, Acharya)", Rudra greeted him in a way all youngsters were expected to treat their wise elders.

"Long live and prosper, the Great Prince Of Avela. What brings you here, child?", Acharya Chetan asked him, offering his blessings.

Rudra straightened up as he stood in front of the noble elder, renowned for his profound knowledge in medicine and war strategies. Acharya Chetan was a well- known figure throughout the nation, his contributions in the field of medicine having saved lakhs of people in the past. He was truly a respectable and exceptional man of his time.

"There is only one great person in this room and that is most certainly not me, Guruji(Teacher)", Rudra offered him a polite smile before continuing, "I come here seeking your help"

"Your majesty, I beg your pardon but I do not believe this old man can be of much help to you", Acharya Chetan humored, offering him a smile as he resumed crushing the dry herbs on the grindstone.

"That is where you are mistaken, Acharya. I believe you are the only person in this kingdom who can assist me in my case", Rudra said honesty lacing each any every syllable. He had planted spies soon after he met Mohana in hopes of finding some dirt on the Maharaja of Kranthi but all they had come up with was insubstantial and lacking proof. Rudra knew the Maharaja was an incompetent and selfish ruler. Word of his arrogance and impudent way of ruling had spread far out; a king least bothered about his subjects. His persona dripped with arrogance without good leadership skills backing up his pathetic behavior. His decisions were often impulsive and erratic, driven by personal whims and emotions rather than reason or justice. He was deeply corrupt, using his position to amass personal wealth and power at the expense of his kingdom's prosperity. His greed knew no bounds, leading to heavy taxation and exploitation of resources. The people of his kingdom were on the verge of starvation. Rudra knew he had to be dealt with but despite King Amish's bad reign, Rudra wanted to uncover incriminating evidence was for a completely different reason; the reason being his daughter Mohana. The only reason Rudra had waited till then to ask for her hand in marriage was because he knew King Amish would reject his proposal. Rudra would be blind to see the strained relation between her parents and her but one would think that would be all the more reason to marry her off but there was the catch. Despite being just a year younger than Princess Shreshta, the king Amish had not yet entertained any potential suitors for her and it puzzled Rudra. His spies had confirmed that there had been no active search of a groom for Mohana and it made him narrow his eyes in suspicion. Granted, her older sister was yet to be married but it was highly common for the parents of any royal family to still look for suitors so why exactly were her parents putting it off? Rudra knew there could be multiple reasons for it but he knew the most logical one; She has already been promised to someone. It made his blood boil when he first figured it out, hell would freeze over if he allowed any other man to marry her, much less to touch her. He had vowed to obliterate anything and anyone who came between them, even if it was her own darn father.