Love you forever

Chapter twenty / In Abhaneri

You are my dream come true
Opening my heart to love so true
Together if we are then
Anything in life can be
You mean the world to me
My heart my forever my destiny.....

It was the darkest time of the night. The hooting of an owl could be heard, admits the silence of the darkness. Rudra squatted behind Gaura, as she waited for the signal. She seemed to be looking in a  particular direction. They were dressed in all black clothes.
"There!!" She pointed. "That's our signal. It is time to go."
He saw a dim light in what must be the middle of the wall of the fort. Clever!! So that is how they gave signals, without anyone finding out. Quietly they crawled over to the temple. It was a small structure. Just a wide platform about twenty five by  sixteen with an eight foot by eight foot room on it. Inside was a Shiva lingam. Gaura had said that the priest came mornings and evenings to perform the prayers. And mostly people visited on mondays or festivals. Otherwise it was deserted. Gaura went to the side of the platform at the back of the temple and pressed some of the stone bricks in sequence. In response he heard a grinding sound.
"Come!" Was all she said.
Climbing deftly on to the platform she went down a hole in the ground. He hesitantly followed her. As he put his foot down he felt the cold dirt floor.
"Quick! Sit down. We don't have time. The guards will come on duty anytime."
He squatted down ducking his head as he felt the stone on top moving back into place. He could feel the dank cold darkness. He couldn't see a thing, there was just the feel of the warmth of Gaura's body in front of him. She was doing something he knew not what.
"How do we move? We can't see a thing."
"I am trying to light a mashaal. Just give me a minute." And sure enough he heard a rubbing sound followed by the sparks as the mashaal came to life. Now he could see a narrow opening in front of him. He followed Gaura as she went into the tunnel.
"Be careful there are steps in front of us and these steps are very very narrow. One wrong step will take us down sixty feet. Keep your left hand on the wall for support and your right hand on my shoulder for direction. But first cover you mouth with your angavastra the air is polluted and damp down there."
They slowly made their way down the spiral steps. The air becoming heavier and stagnant the lower they went. Just when he thought the steps were never ending they finally touched the ground. Gaura reached for another mashaal which was hooked into the wall. Lighting it she gave it to Rudra.
"Did you escape through this way?" He asked as they slowly walked through a tunnel. A man made tunnel sixty feet below the ground. Unheard Of! He exclaimed with wonder.
"Yes!" Their voices were echoing inspite of them speaking softly.
"I don't get it!"
"What?"
"How come you were able to escape. Does noone know the existence of this path!"
He looked around. Water was dripping from the wall. At time even above them. They must be crossing the moat. God! All that water was above them. They were wet even before they had taken a mere dozen steps into the tunnel. Gaura's confidence was the only thing giving him any type of comfort.
"No! No one knows about it. Not even my father or the army chief. This tunnel is an escape route from the city part of the fort to the outskirts of the city itself. It does not lead into the palace. The tunnel was made when the fort was built, but over the years the people who knew about it passed away till it was lost to everyone."
"Then how do you know about it?" He was intrigued.
"It was by accident actually, I did not set out to look for it. I literally stumbled upon it. I have always loved reading and invariably I would end up in either the city library or the palace library. One day I was looking for books on ancient flora of this region when,  I stumbled upon this small room in the palace library. It was a hidden secret! room actually. I discovered a treasure of manuscripts. There were many maps of the city too. Something told me not to tell anyone and so I kept the knowledge f the room and its contents to myself. The room, it was small really, but it had some of the most amazing manuscripts. Many of them were sadly even ruined with time. There as I was going through the books, I found a few maps of the city tunnels in the royal library a few years ago and while study them I found a tunnel which leads out of the palace into the city and one that leads out from the city into the temple. I realised that none knew about these tunnels, so I hid the maps away. It was the perfect getaway for me, whenever I wanted to go to the city or leave the city itself for a few hours. Not realising at that time that these tunnels would save my life one day."
They had been walking for some time now. The tunnel had been going upward.
"Rudra!" She turned and softly whispered.
"Hmmm." He looked at her beautiful face, the lights from the mashaal dancing on the curves. He drew in a sharp breath. How did she have this effect on him.
"We are within the city limits now." She whispered again. "Here every little sound carries across. Don't speak, not even a whisper from now on."