The Urban Chronicle ✔

2: CAPTURED

I think they regarded us as spies from a foreign country or so because their captain shouted,"Pakdo!! (Catch them, in Hindi)"

Oopsy daisy! What now?

Well, we did the logical thing and started running in the opposite direction as fast as we could. Now, Neel was an athlete- he took off at the speed of light, me-well, I'm fit and have great flexibility which helps in yoga but running certainly isn't my thing.

Neel noticed this. "Come on Tara! You can do this. We'll run in circles so that it'll be easier to lose the soldiers."

And so we kept the soldiers on their toes by changing our direction all the time, on Neel's suggestion. This was tiring, but I managed it. Then, I came to a point where I could no longer keep up.

I grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "Ok, I've listened to you and run around but I can't do this any longer. So now we hide. Next left, another turn and then we hide somewhere. Please." I said, panting.

"Well, that doesn't seem to be an option anymore." He said looking around, a frown making it's way to his face.

Soldiers were closing in on us from all sides. There was no escape now. How were we ever going to explain to them that we had come from the future?

They tied our hands behind our backs but didn't hit us. Maybe they were going easy on us because we were just kids. They led us to a closed cart and locked us inside. The cart started moving. I tried to remember all the turns we took in case there was even a slight chance of escape.

This was bad. We had no idea where we were or where we were going. Maybe they'd imprison us and starve us to death, or take us to their headquarters and question us extensively.

I sat in silence trying to contemplate what would happen next. Neel sat calmly beside me but the continuous tapping of his feet told me he was just as nervous as I was. I decided that over thinking would just exhaust me further and it would in no way do us any good. I was tired to my bones after all that running anyway. So I slept....

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I woke up from a rather dreamless sleep as the cart slowed down. Beside me Neel was sleeping soundly and I didn't have the heart to wake him up. I had slept for almost two and a half hours, and at the speed we were moving at, I figured we must have travelled fifty kilometers and judging from the slowdown in speed, we had reached our destination.

"Wake up!" I said shaking Neel's shoulder gently. He woke up with a start.

"Where am....oh" he said as he remembered where he was

"Calm down bro! We've reached wherever we were going." I chuckled humorlessly.

He nodded, as the cart came to a standstill. I looked out through one of the cracks in the carriage. We had been brought to a palace. It was unbelievable. The guards opened the carriage door and led us inside, our hands still bound behind our backs.

The sight before us was so extraordinary that it is hard to describe in words. The architecture and design of the palace was beautiful. There was tight security. I had seen palaces before but in the modern era no royals live in them so they don't have the kind of charm this one had. My eyes were wide with wonder as they drank in the beauty of this historic monument.

Four soldiers escorted us to what looked like the king's courtroom. It was empty. We were ordered to kneel in the centre of the room and wait. Two soldiers stood behind us- alert and intimidating.

The king walked in with the prime minister through the huge, intricately carved wooden doors. He sat down on the throne with an air of superiority. We bowed down before him.

"Who are you and what is your business in my kingdom?" he asked in a grave, intimidating tone. "You seem to have caused quite a stir in the village you visited."

"Your Majesty, I don't know how to say this without sounding crazy, but we have come from the future."

He raised an eyebrow in but nodded as though this happened almost every day and was nothing to worry about. "And pray tell me, how did you manage to do this?"

I recounted everything that had happened from detention to when we were captured by the soldiers. It was actually wonderful that we were still standing before the king. I had half expected him to send us straight to the mental asylum when I told him that we had come from the future.

"So, how do you plan to go back?" the king asked gravely. I didn't how to answer that- the portal had closed long ago, we had no tablet, and we didn't even know which part of history we had been dragged into.

It was Neel who spoke, "Your Majesty, unfortunately we have no idea how to go back. We would be very grateful if you agreed to help us in our quest to find a way back home."

"Very well then, there was a prophecy that said that people would arrive from the future during my reign. I always thought it was impossible, but here you are. I was simply making sure that the two of you weren't bloody spies from Greece. I shall utilize my resources and try to help you to the best of my ability. Till the time you find your way back, you shall stay at my palace as royal guests." said the king with an air of superiority.

"Thank you for your kindness," Neel said," Umm...Your Majesty, could you please ask your soldiers to untie our hands. We are feeling a tad uncomfortable."

He waved his hand and our hands were freed immediately. Wow! It must be an amazing feeling to hold such power.

"Wait one last question. Which king are you?" I aid inquisitively, but I guess my tone wasn't very polite.

My question certainly offended the king, but he replied proudly," I'm King Ashoka of the great Mauryan Dynasty, grandson of the great Chandragupta Mauryan, ruler of the vast kingdom of Magadha."

Whoa! This was Ashoka the Great, the guy who built the pillar with the lion heads which is now used as the national emblem of India. By the way he converted to Buddhism after seeing the atrocities of war in Kalinga and couldn't bear the loss and suffering it caused.

Great! Now I'm acting like an officially approved and recommended nerd. But I can't really help it; it's not my fault that I love history.

A few months ago if someone had said to me,"Dude, you'll meet Ashoka someday!" I would have thought that they were teasing me for liking history but now it was reality. People say that they've met Justin Bieber or maybe Shah Rukh Khan, but me- I've met the 'Ashoka'. Yay! How bozonic is that!!

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