Sara
had literally run up the steps to the shrine, puffing and panting, egged on by
her enthusiasm and love. She knew that now it was “Do or Die”. The guard at the
gates looked at her warily, sizing her up. Now what could this woman want? He
seemed to ponder. His small eyes took in her costume and regal bearing. He even
distinctly remembered that the same woman had come there 3 years ago, albeit
more femininely dressed in a purple gown! Gosh, she was the Princess Sara. He
sensed more trouble. He knew what she wanted and pitied her. He reluctantly
admired her perseverance too! Imagine landing up there, all alone, in the dead
of night, after all those years!
“What do you want, young lady? This is no place for a Princess like you.
Kindly go back to your kingdom and let us all live in peace here! If you insist
in going into the shrine, I must inform His Highness, the King, about it,
immediately. All of us guarding the shrine, have been strictly instructed by
the King, through a written order, conveyed by his guards, that in case you
ever happen to come here in future, we must at once inform the palace about it.
I needn’t say that you are absolutely forbidden from entering the shrine.
Sara, who had been calmly listening to him, said in an even tone, “But
whoever told you that I’ve come to meet my suitor? I’m here on a mission. I
have my father’s permission for the same. You may enquire and confirm with the
officials at the palace. You see, my father is not there, right now, in the
kingdom.”
The guard was even more suspicious now. His senses were on very high
alert! He was sure that that young lady was up to some tricks to meet her
beloved. He readied himself for a battle of wits.
“And what, may I ask is that mission that brings you here in the dead of
night?”
“Will you keep a look-out for the enemies of Regina? Here, at this
height, you have a vantage view. You can easily apprise us about any troops
that may invade our Kingdom. Our spies have informed us that a neighboring
kingdom has readied a large army to conquer us.”
The guard was intrigued. It was the first time in his life that anyone
had ever suggested something so preposterous to him. He almost laughed at the
absurdity of what that young lady was suggesting to him. What could the seers who had given up on everything in life, achieve by
the prevention of these “worldly conquests, these petty wars and
one-upmanship?”Did they even care? Had that lady gone out of her mind? What was
her ruse?
He knew that his
thoughts were on the right track when she said that she had a message from her
father for Juan. “Please call Juan here. I have to personally tell him
the King’s message. You dare not refuse, if you don’t want to be tried for
treason!”
“But that’s impossible, Princess! No one is allowed to come out of the shrine.”
“Then let me go in!” Sara commanded in a high-pitched, thundering voice,
trying to sound as imperious as she could. She knew that her voice carried a
slight hint of desperation and hoped that that guard hadn’t detected it!
“No way, Princess! Please go away and leave us alone. We have nothing to
do with your worldly pursuits.”
“What if the enemies destroy your shrine?” she countered stubbornly.
Aghast, the guard looked at her, speechlessly. Sara knew that she was winning,
by the trace of fear that she saw in his hitherto defiant and courageous gaze. Who didn’t want to live? she mused. Yes, she
had touched the right nerve! He looked doubtful now. The he said,
“What exactly do you suggest, Princess?”
“Please do as I say. Call Juan here at once!”
“I don’t have the authority to do so, Princess. I’ll first have to
inform our head, who’ll take a call. Please come tomorrow. I cannot leave my
post now. When my reliever comes here in the morning, I’ll go in and inform
him.”
Seeing his firm resolve, Sara realized that she’d have to listen to him,
if she didn’t want to rouse his suspicion. She merely said, “All right then,
I’ll sit on this step till your reliever comes here!”
The guard shrugged his shoulders and looked resolutely ahead, as if
unaware about her presence. Sara sat down wearily on the step and stretched her
sore legs in front of her. Soon she fell asleep.
When she woke up, she was in her soft bed in the palace, clad in her
favorite white velvet gown! Had she been dreaming? Where was the shrine? How
had she landed back into the palace? What was going on? She was befuddled and
angry. Just when victory had seemed to be inevitable, she had lost, by stupidly
falling asleep on the most important mission of her life!
She looked around her dazedly. She saw that she was surrounded by guards
who stood discreetly near the pillars in her huge room. Her best friend Myara
was seated beside her on a couch, anxiety writ large on her face. Her face
brightened when she saw that Sara had woken up from her deep slumber. “How are
you Sara? We all have been so worried ever since we found you missing from the
palace, last morning! Why didn’t you even inform me about your daring plan to visit Juan? Now see the soup you’ve
unwittingly landed into! The guard at the shrine, after being relieved, immediately
informed the palace guards who were at the base of that hill, searching for
you! They scooped you up and brought you here.”
Sara was staring at her mutely. Surely she would have woken up on being
carried by those guards! Why hadn’t she felt anything at all? Had she been
drugged? Aghast at that thought she looked at Myara. Guessing her train of
thoughts, Myara said “Yes, you are right. They held a pack of smelling salts
under your nose and made you unconscious!”
As all her senses came
alive, Sara shrieked, “How dare they? Tell me their names at once. I’ll banish
them from this Kingdom.” She started throwing the expensive artifacts on the
bedside table on the wall in front of her and at the guards. All of them
started ducking for cover. She got up and screeched at Myara. “You too get out
of this place. You are no longer my friend. You’ve ganged up with them. Oh, how
I hate all of you!” So saying, she started wailing hysterically.
To be continued....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
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