Avantika And Her Quest

A Changing Perspective

Arjun's optimism kept everyone involved in the plan determined and hopeful. The night before we went on our mission had arrived. Most of the planning had been taken care of by Arjun so I wasn't needed anywhere. I went and sat down under my favorite tree in the entire kingdom. It was an old oak tree and reminded me of my kingdom. It had withstood many wars, many droughts and yet stood tall, my kingdom would come out of this as well. I let my thoughts wander, thoughts of my happy childhood, my wise father, my loving mother, my boring tutors and my training with Uncle Suryakant came to my mind. He had never gone easy on me because of my gender. He himself was not a believer of female capability but my hard work and skill eventually won him over.

I wondered what I would do if I came out unscathed. I couldn't rule, and even if I could, I was not sure that I could be everything that Avanti needed but I would surely try and when I needed help I could ask Arjun. After all, he was trained for being king since his birth. A clearing of a throat behind me alerted me to someone's presence. I turned around to see Uncle Suryakant. He smiled at me and looked amused. I beckoned him to sit beside me and asked him what the matter was.

He smiled and said,"In all your years of training, you never had to be alerted to my presence before but you had to be alerted this time. Tell me, have those gossiping maids gotten to you? Have you fallen to the awful disease of daydreaming as well?"

I scoffed and said, "The day I daydream is when the asuras win in the Samudra Manthan."

At this, his expression shifted to a more grim one and he asked me, "haven't they already?"

I shook my head and reassured him, "I trust Arjun's capability to get us out of this unharmed."

He just gave me a weak smile and said, "I know. That boy will do everything it takes to keep you safe including giving up his own life. But some things are there which neither you or I can change, so think wisely before you leave tonight. This may be your last chance to back out."

I replied immediately, "If I die on this mission, I can hold my head high before my father but if I back out and take the coward's way out I could neither live nor die peacefully."

At this, Uncle Suryakant looked at me with tears shining in his eyes,"if your father had been here, he would be proud of the woman you have become," he said and patted my back. It meant a lot to me as I felt that I had finally succeeded in making both the men who matter a lot to me proud of myself. He left me alone to my devices. I walked back to my room to get a good night's sleep. This may be the last good night of sleep that I would get. I laid out my disguise, a small portrait of my parents that I had painted and my dagger. I put two vials of poison and a few clothes in a cotton cloth and tied the ends together. I was both excited as well as filled with dread for the next day to come.

My nerves were getting worse by the moment and my room seemed to be choking me. I walked out and made my way to the gardens to get some fresh air. There I saw Arjun sitting near the fountain. He had his back turned towards me. He must have heard my footsteps because immediately his broad back tensed and he darted around with his sword out. I looked at him, he sighed and put his sword back into the sheath. We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before he decided to break it.

He said,"It's late Avantika. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

I turned to him in amusement and asked him, "Shouldn't you?" His black eyes twinkled with relief and an emotion I couldn't place.

He carefully admitted, "I am glad that you aren't spouting nonsense about going alone again."

I looked at him with rising hints of anger and spoke,"it was not nonsense. I didn't want you to think that just because you are my friend you should risk your life. I wanted you to have a choice and not feel burdened by me and my stupid issues." His eyes took on the same cold glint I had seen a few days ago. He asked me in the same cold and controlled manner that scared me, "what makes you think that by not wanting me to come you are giving me any choice? I had already told you that I want to come with you. Nobody burdened me or forced me to do it. The only reason I can think of for you not wanting me to come with you is that you don't trust me. Haven't I done enough to prove myself to you? God Avantika, what do you want me to do? I thought you needed space after your parent's death and I stayed away. When I saw that you weren't doing very well, I started sticking around and being around you but you keep pushing me away. I don't know what else to do, but I can tell you something. Even if you hate me after this I will still go with you tomorrow. I need to go with you. I cannot stand wondering throughout the day if you are dead or alive. I would die, just by sending you away like that."

All through his monolog, his voice rose and then at the end softened down to a mere whisper. I detected his frustration and helplessness and I was tongue tied. I didn't know what to say. Arjun had always been protective of me and taken care of me like a best friend but I couldn't make sense of his actions anymore. He glanced at me and started,"I am sorry Avantika...

I cut him off as I threw my arms around him. He was surprised and tensed before sighing and hugging me back. I said,"you idiot! I am trusting you with my life and my kingdom. I even agreed to be your vassal, not your dad's. I think that proves how much I trust you and I'm glad that you gave me space. Like you even I couldn't stand it if something happened to you because of me. I have accepted the fact that I cannot get rid of your annoying presence anytime soon so I might as well accept it with the least amount of grumbling."

I smiled at him and he smiled back. Somehow I knew that our relationship was changing. I didn't know to what exactly but I basked in the fact that I wasn't scared anymore.

Glossary:

Samudra Manthan: A mythical tale where the gods(devas) and the demons(asuras) churned a gigantic turtle in the middle of the cosmic ocean with a snake as a rope to obtain divine nectar(amrit). The asuras had the front end of the snake and lost due to the poison secreted by the snake.