A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 8

                     She returned home after her shopping expedition with Juan and Sara accompanying her everywhere, made a pot of tea and settled down to a hearty breakfast of boiled eggs, marmalade and bread, cakes and two mugs of piping hot tea. At last, she felt refreshed and charged. She was amused that she had changed her routine for the first time in her life! Having breakfast at noon! Really, Juan and Sara, you are the culprits! Well, I’m sorry for having kept you waiting in the wings for so long. She smiled indulgently and at once started writing.

                Juan started climbing the Western-side steps without much ado. These were also almost vertical like those on the Southern side. Without a thought about his swollen knees, he kept ascending the rough steps hewn into the hillside, probably with primitive tools by an amateur!  Suddenly lots of eagles were swooping on Juan and attacking him ferociously from all directions. Single-handedly, unarmed, he fought them valiantly, as he grabbed their necks and twisted them, clasped their sharp claws and pushed them away with all his might until a particularly vicious bird pecked one of Juan’s eyes and he started bleeding profusely, collapsing on the stone steps with an anguished cry, rolling down the steps, with the angry birds still hovering above him and pecking away at him.

                He found himself on the third step and saw the guard looking anxiously at his sorry state. He gave him a soft piece of cloth that he tore from his turban, to wrap around his eye. He also gave him a sturdy twig, about 6 ft. in length, to shoo away the vicious birds. Writhing in pain, Juan blindly made his unsteady way upwards, randomly waving his ‘weapon’ about, yelling loudly like a madman to scare away the birds and trying to see his way through the remaining one good eye. He shuddered to think about how the Princess would view him and her reaction to his blinding.

               He could still feel the thick red blood gushing out of the hole that was once his sharp eye. To avoid septicemia and certain death, he decided to go in for some home-made first-aid. He sat down wearily on a flat step and got out a slab of turmeric that his mother had thoughtfully provided him with and insisted on his taking along, lest he was hurt sometime during his odious task. Now he thanked her foresight and her persistence in her insistence. Yes, mothers knew the best!

                 Juan broke off a piece, powdered it with his hands, mixed a little water and made a thick paste. Gingerly, he removed the make-shift ‘bandage’ and applied the turmeric paste, wincing in agony. Then he took his large cravat and tied it crosswise over his eye and his head. He felt slightly better. But soon thereafter, as he inched his way to the top, he realized that the birds had stopped bothering him but another thing was bothering him. A slight headache which soon threatened to overtake his well-being completely! The throbbing was the greatest around his temples and at the base of his skull. Nevertheless, he pushed on, determined to make it at least to the summit. Maybe he could plead for some real first-aid at the shrine. Surely they wouldn’t deny him that!

                    With a dry mouth, cramps in his calves, sores on his toes and a head that felt numb, he bravely reached the shrine and promptly crashed in front of its huge iron gates. The guard posted there logged in 100 on his register. He was alarmed to see the piteous plight of that fine young man in front of him. After an hour, Juan opened his eyes to see that he had not moved an inch from there. It was raining heavily and he was soaked to his skin. The guard now wore a protective water-proof sheath around his shoulders. He hadn’t helped Juan in any way.

                    Maybe, Juan rationalized, he had been instructed by the King to not assist him in any manner in achieving his endeavor, which only meant that the guard at the foothill who had given him a piece of his turban was a genuinely large-hearted and brave fellow. He had knowingly risked the wrath of the King and even of losing his job! Anyway, now he had to ask for help from the seers in the shrine, himself. The kind seers would surely come to his rescue! He rose with great difficulty, water dripping from his soaked and tattered clothes, crying in pain and rang the huge gong placed outside the gates.

After what seemed like an eternity, the huge gates opened to reveal an old, very old seer. The folds of skin on his wizened face hid small, compassionate eyes and thin, quivering lips. His large ears strained to hear what the young man was struggling to utter in his feeble voice. “Respected Sir, could you please help me? I urgently need some first-aid and expert medical treatment to save my right eye. I’ve been pecked by a huge eagle, while on my way here.”

The seer looked at him blankly. What was such a young lad doing there in the first place? Didn’t he know that once a person entered the shrine, he could never ever return to the land of the people? Of course, the seer hadn’t even heard about the ‘test’ put forth by the King of Regina and was far removed from such ‘earthly’ news. Much against his will, opting to save the lad, he dragged him in, being closely watched in awe, by the guard.

Warning bells rang in the guard’s ears. What exactly was happening there? How could he inform the King and his Minister about this unforeseen development, as he had been strictly forbidden from vacating his post, at all costs? Of course, it was obvious that the young lad would never complete his task and never marry the fair Princess Sara! He felt very sorry for that young man. He had not only endangered his life for the Princess but also ended up forsaking his own freedom and life. He’d never emerge from the hallowed portals of that mysterious shrine!

The days passed by, with the King worried about the young man’s fate and that of his beloved daughter too! Would she die a spinster? What would happen to his kingdom after his death? The guards had informed the palace that the daring and dashing young man had been attacked by ferocious, nesting eagles, blinded and taken refuge in the shrine. The King had been aghast and then inconsolable at the thought that that lad named Juan would never step foot outside that secluded shrine for the rest of his life. Oh what a waste of a young life and what a pity! The whole month passed by.

The Queen had been informed about Juan’s terrible ordeal, by the King and his Minister. But everybody had been absolutely forbidden to reveal the truth to the Princess. They didn’t dare break the news for fear of breaking her tender, loving heart. But after 30 days, the Princess couldn’t bear the suspense any longer. She pestered the King for the good news. She pleaded with her mother to be honest with her and tell her whether that handsome young lad had succeeded in his daredevil feat. Her parents just looked at her stonily with sad and downcast eyes. She knew deep within her that something was wrong. Very, very wrong!

To be continued.... 

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.