Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

For the past four consecutive nights, Mriga had been going out with Shaurya. It was a different destination every time. At every place, he left her at the scene for a short period of time to let her observe her surroundings and try and learn from them. But she still didn't know what was Shaurya purpose of visiting these varied places apart from letting her enhance her observation skills. Last night they had visited a place where they conducted plays. Unfortunately, she hadn't managed to watch even a bit of it since her task had been to look at other patrons and gauge if anyone looked suspicious or out of place.     

Though she reported her findings to him at the end of every night's excursion, she was yet to receive any acknowledgement about whether what she had observed and deduced was correct or not. But she dared not question him in case he didn't let her accompany him henceforth. No matter the purpose of these nightly sojourns, there were two things which Mriga now knew.     

First, there was something different about the administrative department and its team. They weren't simply a courier service. Though she didn't have any proof, she was sure that this was some sort of a clandestine operations team.     

Second, irrespective of the purpose of this internship, it was the first time in her life that Mriga had been exposed to the real world, the one which existed outside her cocooned existence. There was an undercurrent of some sort of risk which she sensed in every outing and it thrilled her to the core. She had never imagined herself to be the one who would seek an adventure and thrive on it.     

She hadn't met or heard from her fellow apprentices. She didn't know if they were also being given such opportunities and if so, how were they faring. She knew that they reported to Shaurya every morning at 6am but the venue was no longer the store. She wondered at what time did Shaurya manage to sleep anyways.     

"He is probably not much older than us, maybe a few years. But he seems to be in charge of our internship and also carries out secret missions. I wonder whom would he choose amongst us to be his successor? There must be our seniors from previous years who would have chosen to apprentice with the Admin department. Did they also go through such training? Have they managed to go back to the mundane routine of Gurukul post this experience?" with questions brimming uptill her neck, she didn't know how long would she be able to hold onto her curiosity in front of Shaurya.     

That evening, she was about to shut the shop as per routine before going in to change her attire and look. The place never had visitors anyways. Suddenly, someone called out her name.     

"Oh God, I have been looking for you for so many days now," Yash was standing outside the store.     

Her face broke out in a broad grin and she ran towards him. Both of them outstretched their arms to reach the other faster. At the last minute, Mriga stopped self-consciously in front of him. She couldn't hug him in front of the entire bazaar*. Lowering her arms, she extended her hand to grasp his tightly.     

"Uh…hi. How have you been?" she asked shyly.     

Yash couldn't get enough of looking at her. He had missed her terribly in the past few days. After hearing from Ishani about her apprenticeship outside the Gurukul, he had looked for excuses every day to step out and seek her. It had been a difficult task but he had used market survey which was a part of his assignment as a reason again and again for the past few days. And finally, he had found her. His heart was pumping blood way faster than its usual pace, making him feel dizzy.     

He dimly realized that she had asked him a question.     

"Sorry, I didn't hear what you asked," he said, a touch sheepishly.     

In a smile tinged voice, she repeated her question.     

"I have been working hard, doing assignments, trying to concentrate on learning new skills whilst looking for this precious girl and had gone missing during these past few days. I have thought of her constantly during this period. Thank god, I finally found her," he said, holding his breath for her reaction to his bold declaration.     

In the past, he hadn't managed to utter even a single word of his true feelings for her. But her shy gesture, couple of weeks ago and her absence had made him lose his inhibition and the fear.     

Mriga's face went beetroot red at his statement. She didn't know what to say or where to look. Apparently, that reaction pleased Yash because he closed the distance between them the next minute.     

"Why aren't you ready yet?" an authoritative voice shattered the intimate moment.     

Both Mriga and Yash sprung apart in guilty surprise.     

Recovering fast, Yash frowned at the stranger who had addressed Mriga in that familiar manner. Get ready for where??     

"I…uh, I am sorry. I was just going to do so. I won't take long, just give me five minutes," she pleaded hastily.     

"Who is this person, Mriga?" Yash asked brusquely.     

He was too young to be a teacher but Mriga seemed to treat him deferentially.     

"He is…uh, my…" she couldn't complete the sentence.     

"I am her friend. I am assuming you are her classmate. Isn't this the time for you to be back in the Gurukul?" Shaurya spoke with a lazy confidence.     

Mriga looked at him with surprise at the choice of his words but before she could think of clarifying, Shaurya moved close to her swiftly. He placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it discreetly in warning.     

*Bazaar - Marketplace