The Urban Chronicle ✔

22: 21st Century, Here I Come

“Wow! The last thirty hours have been the most exhilarating thirty hours of my life.” Neel exclaimed.
“Yeah, I have to agree with you.” I nodded, “Being mistaken for a spy and being taken in as a hostage is certainly not something I’m ever going to forget.”
“I like all this, but I wish we’d found that blasted tablet. It would have made things so much easier.” Neel said in a resigned tone.
Oh no no…..I pursed my lips guiltily and mentally punched myself for not mentioning it earlier. How the hell could I honestly forget?
“Well, I have a surprise for you!” I chirped as I pulled out the tablet wrapped in a part of the sari.
“Is that what I think it is? Mahindra! Have you seen this?!” Neel called out to Mahindra who was trying to start a fire to keep us warm. He hadn’t been paying much attention to our mindless chattering until now.
Neel continued yelling at me, “You had it all along and you didn’t even bother telling us. And don’t tell me you forgot which I’m most certain you did.”
“Why are shouting like a maniac, dude?” Mahindra said in an irritated tone, evidently quite annoyed with his inability to produce a spark yet.
His eyes widened when he saw the tablet I was holding up for both of them to see.
“Tara, is that….” He started.
“It most certainly is, thank you very much. It’s got the same engravings inscribed on it and it even glowed slightly when I touched the first time. So there’s no need to doubt my competency.” I remarked sassily, “And Neel, I’m like your messiah so you better show some gratitude here. I could have easily left you here all alone.”
“Yeah, well….” He replied sulkily.
“You’re full of surprises today, aren’t you?” Smiled Mahindra shaking his head slightly, “Though it would have been a little better, if you had dropped in this bit of information a little earlier. It would have helped with bringing up our morale. If you’ve noticed the two of us have been sulking for majority of this night.”
“Fine I apologize. But I did have a lot on my mind today so you can’t really blame me.” I frowned. It wasn’t fair that Neel and Mahindra were ganging up against me like this.
We had stopped in the same clearing by the stream that we had stopped in on our way here. Fortunately for us, we’d been able to make our way into Ashoka’s territory before sunrise. Shocking?! I know. But fuelled by desperation and assurance for our safety we had travelled for nine hours straight.
We sat there in a circle around the small driftwood fire that Mahindra had managed to start at last. We weren’t really planning to move from the clearing for the next six hours or so. All of us were extremely exhausted and on the brink of unconsciousness. It was a miracle that we had managed to keep our eyes open until now.
I rubbed my eyes sleepily. “I need to sleep and so do you two. I don’t think there’s any need to keep watch. Just rest.” I said, my mouth stretching into a yawn.
“It’s a good thing that we’re light sleepers then. I’m not in a mood to stay awake any longer. I’ve been functioning on less than six and a half hours of shut eye for the last forty hours.” Neel grumbled.
“Yeah, you guys need your beauty sleep.” I chuckled softly as I lay down on the hard, cold ground of the woods, “Good night….”
                                      
                                    ________________________________

The moment we reached the royal palace in Magadha, I jumped off my stallion in a swift movement and headed inside.
“I need to talk to Ashoka urgently.” I called out.
“We’ll come too then.” said Mahindra.
I shrugged. “Dude, speak for yourself. I have a mouth to talk for myself if you haven’t noticed yet.” Neel said, not very amused with Mahindra, “I would like to have a nice bath and maybe eat before I do anything.”
“Your call.” I replied, rolling my eyes at his self obsession, “You’ll most probably miss out on some fun.”
Mahindra and I made our way to the audience chamber with hurried steps. Neither he nor Neel knew about the secret war plan that I had uncovered but I’m sure he understood it was something important. I was glad that he came along though; I wasn’t quite keen on being told that the fairer sex tends to exaggerate and therefore cannot be trusted in matters such as this one.
We were asked to wait outside, and although there was no reason to be tense my brain was in overdrive. I honestly needed to calm down. The prime minister or the king had most probably learnt that I had escaped and their little secret was no longer safe. Neel and Mahindra knew that they’d taken me hostage but they weren’t aware of the real catalyst behind the situation. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to talk about the war plans I’d uncovered until I knew I was safe and in Ashoka’s midst.
I was fidgeting with my hair when I realized that Mahindra was still under the impression that the treaty was still ongoing. I should probably have given him a heads up. He was walking into the audience chamber unprepared for the shocking news I was about to drop.
“Hey, listen….” I said quietly, “Don’t yell at me but I didn’t tell you something about what happened last evening. It concerns you and the whole of Magadha as a matter of fact.”
“Go ahead.” He replied encouragingly.
“Kalingaisgoingtomakeasurpriseattacksoon” I let out nervously.
“I didn’t understand a single word you said right now.” said Mahindra.
I inhaled deeply and said again, “Kalinga is going to make a surprise attack soon. I’m sorry to tell you this, but the peace treaty was a total sham.”
He looked at me grimly. He thought over what I had just told him and the replied, “It was one of the possible outcomes my father and I had discussed about before we left for Kalinga. And with the Kalingan King’s history as a backstabbing war monger, it doesn’t quite surprise me as much as it should.”
I let out a sigh of relief. At least Magadha wouldn’t be caught unaware. I’d also been worried that Ashoka would be disappointed with Mahindra for his failure to bring about the peace treaty, but they’d already gone over the possible outcomes so it wasn’t like he had failed his father.
At that very moment, Neel chose to make an entrance where we were waiting outside the audience chamber. I eyed him with amusement. He clearly couldn’t stay away from us and the place where the main action was happening.
“What? Don’t look at me like that.” He said suavely, “I couldn’t let you children fend for yourselves alone.”
I stifled a laugh as the door opened and the attendant said politely, “Emperor Ashoka will see you now.”
She bowed slightly to Mahindra and went back into the chamber. We followed her through the door, into the familiar room.
“How was he mission, son?” Ashoka asked in his usual grave and intimidating tone.
“Father, it seems Kalinga is not going to play fair. Yesterday the king quite willingly agreed to the peace treaty and we negotiated numerous points based on it.” Mahindra stated confidently.
Ashoka nodded and listened as his son continued, “As you know we got a tip that the magical tablet that is of great importance to our guests. While we were searching they took Tara hostage because she accidently found war plans for a surprise attack they were planning on Magadha. She escaped with a great amount of effort and we immediately started on the journey back home, for I deemed that it would be rather unwise to stay there any longer since the treaty was void.”
Emperor Ashoka rubbed his stubble as he thought, a grim frown on his face. He said, “I certainly did not expect that slimy man to stoop so low, but it appears I overestimated his morality. Nevertheless, I’m proud of how you handled such a trying situation, son.”
Mahindra’s face lit up on hearing the compliment from his father. I guess it was hard to put up with all the sky high expectations and still find the will to continue with the same vigour every time. He was still a child after all and wanted nothing but please his father. I felt happy for him.
Ashoka turned to Neel and asked, “I assume you at least one of you were around when the young lady found the war plans? She couldn’t have fought her way out on her own anyway.”
My blood began to boil. It was a total déjà vu. Why the hell did he not trust me? And wait, did he just question my ability to deal with problems myself. Ashoka was one of my favourite kings in history but I’m starting to get the feeling that he wouldn’t be on my top ten favourite historical figures list anymore. He was too disrespectful for me to like him anymore.
“Actually neither of us happened to be there. The entire credit goes to Tara.” Neel replied.
Biting back curse I said, “Your Majesty, I love how you fail to recognize my merit most of the time. I was alone and if you don’t feel you can trust the fairer sex in matters such as this one, I assure you that I have solid proof this time.”
“Well then, pray tell me your part of the story too.” He countered.
I recounted the events of the previous evening- about how we had split up in search of the tablet infused with portal magic, my capture ordered by the prime minister of Kalinga, my daredevil stunt of jumping out through the window, my escape with the help of one of their spies and all the other things that transpired.
“And here’s the proof you want to see.” I said, placing my phone into his hands for him to see the pictures I had clicked.
“Something to do with the queer communicational device again, I see.” Ashoka said.
“Your Majesty, I suggest you accept that as you’ll never get any better copy of their plans. You have the exact source and you are unwilling to believe it due to your petty prejudices.” Neel asserted. I flashed him a small smile of gratitude.
“Well young lady, I think I shall take your word on that. I must admit that you have made me view the capabilities of women in better light.” Ashoka seemed….impressed?
I nodded. Mahindra said, “Father, she also saved our guests from the inconvenience of staying here in doubt for much longer. She was able to get hold of the tablet while escaping. You have to agree that she played a very heroic role in yesterday’s events.”
The emperor regarded me in a subtle manner and said, “Young lady, you have proved me wrong at every step fearlessly and for that I hold you in high regards. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to host you and your friend. I assume you will be leaving soon, and I hope we were successful in making you feel welcome among our midst. Fare you well, children of the future.”