Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Mriga knew that Yash had been particularly keen on her joining the Finance department. She also knew that after saying no to the offer of help from his mother, he would probably go looking for his department head and request him to hire her. So, she needed to be ready with the proof of her job offers before he could do that. Hence, she had gone and asked Prithvi for help the previous night and within a few minutes, he had handed over three letters of employment from different places which claimed to have hired her for this semester.     

"Oh! I hope the tasks aren't too tiring or strenuous for you," Vandit said in concern.     

Suddenly, Mriga felt a prickling sensation on her neck. Turning sideways, she saw Yash scowling at them. Hastily, she waved him over with the intention of introducing the two of them. But Yash didn't walk up to them. He stood there and sized up the scrawny guy, giving him a stare which seemed to tell the guy to back off.     

"Maybe, we could catch up for a refreshing glass of lassi* next time I visit the market and if you are working around there. I will ask you for the address of your workplace later," Vandit told Mriga but his words brought a scowl to Yash's face.     

After he left, Yash finally walked up to her with a reproachful look on his face .     

"There is absolutely no need to give him the address, in fact, do not share that detail with anyone," he pouted.     

Mriga was witnessing this side of Yash for the first time and found it extremely endearing.     

"I promise I won't give it to anyone, except to you and Ishani," she told him solemnly.     

He was the first guy that she had genuinely liked. Despite being outgoing, she had never flirted with or encouraged another boy prior to this, unlike most of her counterparts who believed that 'practice made them better and wiser'.     

"We'll get late for the next lecture. Come on," she told him and took off in the direction of the room where they had a common class scheduled.     

Later that evening     

Mriga was trying real hard to follow what Prithvi was trying to teach her. But the figures on the different maps kept eluding her.     

"Guruji, I can't seem to follow the meaning or significance of these pictures," she said morosely after the first twenty minutes.     

Prithvi was wearing his usual white flowing robe, this time teamed with a bright blue belt and matching ribbon in his hair.     

Giving her an indulgent look, he said, "it's only been a couple of days. What you see here are the very basics of guerrilla warfare's strategies. You don't need to cram them up. These maps are here to tell you that one can find the solution to a problem in many different and not necessarily conventional ways. For now, just focus on one map. Think that if you were the General instead of the person who has drawn this, what would you do different to make sure that there is no infiltration on the borders."     

Mriga bent down in concentration and spent the next half an hour in trying to draw a crude but similar map to the one she was studying. She handed over her version to Prithvi, who was deeply immersed in some complicated looking coded reports.     

"I will look at your proposed map after the class is over and give you feedback on the same, tomorrow. Right now, it is time to test your intelligence. Do you know how to play chess?" he asked her.     

Mriga nodded her head eagerly and replied, "yes, my mother taught me how to play when I was a child. But I not very good at it. I have been playing the game for eight years now and still haven't managed to defeat her even once."     

Prithvi looked at her expressionlessly and thought to himself, "nor have I."     

He recalled that during that summer, they had played chess to pass time while awaiting news from various sources. Charulata was a formidable player who attacked the opponent's moves aggressively and at a lightning speed. It was as if the other person was pressurised to play faster as well and didn't get time to think through his moves. With this ploy, she had defeated Prithvi in the game, again and again, no matter how hard he tried.     

They were at a crucial juncture and intensity was shimmering in that stifling small room. Suddenly a set of fingers picked up a piece and dislodged the rook standing in defence of Mriga's king.     

"Check & Mate", Shaurya grinned and stood there in his grim laden clothes.     

"Oh, this is so unfair. Why did you help him and not me?" Mriga got annoyed with her mentor who had appeared literally out of thin air.     

She had been feeling so close to victory just a few moments ago.     

"Of course, I will help my teacher. Who are you?" he said imperiously.     

With hurt written all over her face, she replied, "your student."     

"Alright, both of you stop squabbling. Win or no win, you play a mean game of chess. Good job done. Ah... look at the time, will you! It is way past your designated study hour. If Ramanujam finds you sleepy and weary in the morning, I will not take responsibility for it," Prithvi told her in mock seriousness.     

Bowing down to him, she bid him goodnight while completely ignoring Shaurya and walked out of the room.     

"What brings you here at this hour?" Prithvi asked him, all signs of humour gone from his face instantly.     

Since Shaurya was a covert operative and an important one, he didn't move around the campus freely unless there was a special reason. His coming in to the Gurukul at this hour didn't bode well.     

"I found him. The traitor," Shaurya replied.     

*Lassi - Buttermilk