Krishnaa. An outcast. A commoner. An orphan. A girl surviving instead of living.
Arjun. The beloved prince of Indraprasth. Powerful and regal.
A forgotten prophecy, believed to be a myth, is unveiled again. A hidden conspiracy.
Can these two worlds...
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"So, where do we start from?", Krishnaa asked. Parth thought for a while. "Usually, all important scrolls and books are kept in a maharaj's private library. We should start searching from there".
"And where would that be?" "Mostly on his private floor. But how will we go in?", Parth wondered. "Well, there maybe one way", Krishnaa said and started climbing the stairs and Parth followed her. She stopped at the floor above Ratan's.
"We have to jump". Parth looked at her in disbelief. "No. Absolutely not. Krishnaa, you are injured. Do you want to hurt yourself further?!", he shouted at her. "We will find some other way". "Parth listen ", Krishnaa argued. "We need to be quick. This is the simplest way". "Alright", he stated. "But wait for a moment". He looked around for a while and came back with a rope. Krishnaa raised her eyebrows, hands on her hips as Parth tied it to the railing.
"You are not jumping. Use the rope", he instructed. "And what if someone comes here and sees a rope going down to Ratan's chambers?" "I will take it off after you go and jump down", he replied. Krishnaa agreed and got down carefully, using the rope. Parth jumped down after her and landed in Ratan's balcony. They looked around carefully and were relieved to see no one. They walked towards the end of the corridor as stealthily as a cat.
The library was humungous. Countless books kept on the shelves and innumerable scrolls stacked on a table. "This will take hours", Krishnaa whined, feeling defeated. "Well, we have no choice", Parth remarked and picked up some scrolls, reading through them. "Look at this", he called her. He handed her a scroll. She took it and read through it. It was something about astrology but what caught her eye, was the end of the scroll.
The edge of the lower end was uneven and had half of an emblem on it. Someone had torn it. "What could be so secretive that Ratan couldn't even keep it in his private library", Parth wondered. "Whatever it is definitely will spell doom for Ratan.......we should keep searching". Parth continued going through scrolls as Krishnaa started going through some books, but failed to find anything useful.
She leaned tiredly against a shelf and nearly fell on the floor when it shifted. Behind it was a door made of stone. She sighed, wondering how many hidden rooms and caves would she come across. It seemed like a common thing in Panchal. Parth tried to push it but it didn't budge. Krishnaa touched it and it opened like a sliding door.
"How did you do that?", Parth asked. "I have no idea", Krishnaa said, staring at the room in awe. The cave like room was the complete opposite of the library. It was small and congested with no windows or openings. It wasn't neat, instead boxes of scrolls and artifacts were scattered across the floor.
They found the other half of the scroll. The two pieces completed the emblem........a girl walking out of a yagya. The scroll said something about a crown, which she didn't bother reading. She flipped the page and a picture was drawn on the other side. A map. A complicated one. It would be nearly impossible to decipher it.
As they tried to understand the map, they heard noises coming from the library. They peeped out to see Ratan with his two guests. Parth was quick to shut the door and they held their breaths. Ratan was talking in a soft voice but they heard him say one word. Malini.
Krishnaa's heart skipped a beat. Does he suspect her? If he does, they will have to leave as soon as possible. After what seemed like ages, they heard footsteps fading away. They opened the door slowly and tiptoed outside. Luckily, he wasn't there.
"We should go before he comes back ", Parth said. "Searching anymore is not worth the risk". Krishnaa agreed and they left the place, careful not to get caught. They met Uma one last time, letting her know of their departure, with a promise to meet her again. The went back to the old house and dissapeared into the dark passage.
•••••••••••••••••••••
Ratan was furious. How did Yagyaseni escape? Where did she go? These questions kept resurfacing in his mind. He had alerted all the guards at the border to not let anyone leave. Then how?! This was the second time that he had failed to capture her and hand her over to the master, first one being twenty years back. The master.
He would not be pleased. Ratan shuddered at the thought of having to face his wrath. He would surely be doomed.
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