SwaRon: The Fairy-Tale Affair

7. Search for the heart of the Soul

He paced to and fro. Anger infuriated. He just couldn't have let things happen this easily. He was supposed to have full proof plan. That's how he usually worked. Then why was this time an exception? Why was he losing this battle? And that too the cost being nothing else but Her! It was his Sharon missing. And with all his calculations rightly worked out he knew it was to do with Prince Louis.

One of his men approached him with his head held in shame. "Prince, we are not able to trace her. We guess, she has been.." even before his tongue could utter a word against her safety, he sprang, "Don't you dare. Stop right in your tracks and gulp those words down your throat, if you don't want your head off your lifeless body."His warning shook everyone present there. This was the worst people had seen of his infuriated self. Mostly he was calm and composed. He knew she would be fine. She had to be. For herself, her family and for him.

Aryan approached him with consoling eyes, "Samrat, she will be fine. We have our informers spread out. I am sure we will find some news, soon." He rushed his hands through his hairs, "When?" His voice shattered. Inhaling, he composed himself, "They have to find her out. There's no way they get a chance to harm her." Sharply shut his eyes, as the possibilities of her being harmed occurred to him. "Find her. Find them."The words splashed through his greeted teeth and his eyes went blood shot red. A tiny little scratch on her would cost them their lives. Even worse.

He approached King Martin, who stood worried at one of the corners, holding Queen Rochelle. She wept on his shoulder. "I want to talk." Declared Swayam.

"What is there to talk?" Retorted Rochelle as she lifted her head from Martin's shoulder. No doubt, they held Swayam responsible for everything.

"King, as much as you want your daughter back, I want My Sharon back as well.. safe." His possessiveness highly evident in his tone, which didn't went unnoticed by Martin. He exactly knew what his daughter wanted. But then he had two opinions about the ongoing situation which made him think harder.

"I know you have your own concern and prior commitments.." He referred to the relationship King Martin and Prince Louis shared. A good relationship since past few years. "..but for now, our only concern is Princess Sharon, isn't it?" his voice soft as he moulded the words rightly and carefully to keep his point of view in front of them. Martin nodded affirmatively. Yes, for now his only priority was his loving daughter, Sharon.

"I already have my men searching for her." No, Martin wasn't getting what Swayam meant.

"Listen to me very carefully, I doubt there's someone with good internal knowledge, involved into all this.. behind Sharon being missing." He was unsure if he would be able make sense to Martin as he looked anything but convinced.

"It's you. It's all because of you that my daughter goes missing today." Rochelle spoke in between her sobs. She didn't want to think of possibilities where her daughter could be or in what condition she could be. And she blamed him for the entire situation.

Gulping the lump of saliva down his throat, his eyes went shut registering the accusation he has rightly received. Had he been a bit more careful, she would have been there. Had he planned it more precisely, she would have been there. Had he held her by his side, she would have been there.. safely residing in his arms.

Martin grabbed Rochelle, who had started hitting her fist into his chest for making her daughter suffer for nothing but a territorial fight.. or whatever it was. Between him and Prince Louis.

"They are all loyal, here." Martin said with a blunt tone. Uninterested. He wasn't keen to listen a word of disloyalty about his men. The commons were too loyal to betray their King.

"Then how do you think she goes missing?" His jaws clenched, still he had his tone low and tried to speak with as much as respect he could deliver. "She couldn't have disappeared in the thin air.. all by herself.. not that the earth would have swallowed her." He shook his head. This wasn't making sense.

"You have to understand, there's someone who has perfect knowledge about this place, every nook and corner of this palace.. and that's how they have made it." He could see amazement settle into Martin as his eyes grew thoughtful.

"Only for my daughter." Martin announced.

"Only for her." He repeated. Only for his Sharon, he would break through all the barriers and reach up to her.

*

She woke up with a heavy head. The sun piercing right into her eyes.. making it intolerant for her to visualize things clearly. Her head spinning, her body numb. Pushing back her head, she lay on the dryness of hay. Hay! She alerted. Blinking a few quick times, shaking her head, she tried to recollect the last memory that she had sighted. Him.

She was embraced in his arms, dancing. The palace was still and Prince Louis kept staring at them with rage evident in his eyes. He had parted them, cornering her to his side, clumsily... then..

She tried harder to recollect when only the view of Swayam's sword thrashing against Prince Louis's throat blurred in front of her eyes.

'Prince Samrat Swayam Raj Shekhawat.' The name constantly rang in her ears. He was the ruling Prince of Asian territory. He was Royal with such simplicity.

She shot her eyes wide open to know her whereabouts. There she was laid on hay in a clumsy place which seemed nothing less than a stable. Unable to trace the presence of even a single living being, she sighed holding her head. It pained. No way that she could walk past this place and happen to reach her desired destination. Not until someone rescued her or she recovered.

Oh! She reminded herself as it struck her that she was been hit hard on her head, while she witnessed Swayam gracefully stealing the night with his glory. Ah! A prince that he was! He charmed hearts with his one move.

She lay back on the hay with her eyes shut, letting the sun mercilessly graze through her skin. With the wound still fresh, she felt herself slipping into the slumber yet again.

Her eyelids parted as she hoped and prayed all of it to be a dream. A nightmare, that she had just dreamt of.. and nothing of it held its presence in reality. Two men dressed as the armed militants stood keenly observing her. At first she had misunderstood the two of them to be one from her fathers' army.. and next she thought of them to be from Swayam's side. Yet they seemed to be different. Holding on to her head, she looked at them with confused eyes. Her head still felt heavy.

Feeling a tight grip pulling her hair, she found one of them leaning against her. She shrieked in pain. His mouth inches away, splashing ruthlessly, "He better not mess with Louis." A bit confused with the statement. "Leave me!" She barked with furry in voice.

"We will once Louis is set free." So the so-called Prince Louis was trapped. Good. Deserved that bit, at least for sanity of others lives. "Anyway, he gets to decide what is to be done with you." He added with an unpleasant, irritating smirk. His eyes travelled the path down to her petite frame, his look making her feel disgusted. "And maybe I know what he wants to-" He untangled his fingers through the hold of her hairs, rashly as she winced.

"Just let me go." She barked with authority quite evident in her voice. "Let go off me, or else you would regret your very own existence." She spat venom through her words reflecting the anger that they had triggered.

Paying no heed to her squeals and screams, they left the place tying her limbs. Knocking and kicking, she tried to get rid of the hold of the rope. But Alas! Nothing seemed to be of any use to her. All she could do was to wait.

Wait for her father, King Martin or her Swayam. Would any of them come searching for her, was still a mystery for her. Maybe her father would.. But Swayam?

The way the two abductors spoke, there definitely seemed to be a loophole in the entire story. There was something she didn't know. But she had to find out.

Trying to fit each block of the puzzle, she tried decoding the mystery of the Prince in Disguise. Samrat Swayam Raj Shekhawat.

She thought of various incidents. Right from the start.