Tiger on Guard Duty
“Why do not you have your dinner first?” asked Chamundeswari, concerned about her maid.
“I have already had dinner, My Lady! I hope you have had yours,” said Anagha, her voice apologetic. “Please forgive me. I…”
Chamundeswari shook her head. “Do not apologise, Anagha. Tell me, how did you know where to meet Vishnurayan? And what did he say? I must say that you are glowing after the meeting with your husband,” she teased, an affectionate smile on her face.
Anagha’s red face turned redder on hearing her mistress’s words. Giving the princess a shy smile, she said, “You must have noticed the man who played the mridangam in Vishnu’s place?” She continued when Chamundeswari gave a nod, “That was Tambiran. It was Vishnu who had sent him to the temple. He had also sent a message through Tambiran, asking me to meet him near the banyan tree in the centre of the market place; after you had safely reached home.”
“And you rushed out, without telling me.” Chamundeswari sniffed, only half teasing.
“You must forgive me, Your Majesty. You went to bring Manu in and I had to rush as I did not want to be late. I…”
“That is alright, Anagha. Do continue with your story.”
“Just as we had guessed, Vishnu could not meet us because of Pandiyan’s soldiers who had accompanied us. But he had already spoken to Adityan who is a great warrior, I believe. He…”
Chamundeswari lifted a hand to stop her maid in mid-sentence. “How do you know that the man on the wall is the same Adityan Vishnu had spoken to?” she asked, a frown on her forehead. Somehow, the mischievous expression on the man’s face and his constantly dancing gaze rubbed her the wrong way.
“Vishnu escorted me to the back gate of this house. He pointed Adityan who was sitting on the wall and told me all about him.”
“And what is that he said about this Adityan?” asked the princess, thoroughly nettled.
“Adityan is a well-trained warrior who belongs to the Chozha troops, I believe. And he has the experience of having fought in many wars alongside the Emperor himself. Vishnu said that he could not have found anyone better to protect you, Your Highness!”
Chamundeswari’s mouth drooped at the sides and she sighed softly. It looked like she was going to be stuck with the man, at least till the time she was crowned the queen of Kongunadu.
Damn it all!
She sat up suddenly. “Where is Manu? Did he not come in with us?”
“Let me go check, Your Highness!” Anagha went out of the room to look for Manu, returning after a few minutes, a wide smile on her face. “It looks like Manu has a new friend these days.”
Chamundeswari frowned. “What do you mean? And where is Manu?” The words spilled out of her mouth rapidly even as she felt her temper rising. It was all because of that Adityan. All these years, the princess had never lost her temper so many times on one given day.
Anagha laughed softly. “Manu has settled himself on a tree branch, My Lady! And seems absolutely comfortable too.” She refrained from mentioning Adityan’s name as it seemed to irritate the princess for whatever reason.
Chamundeswari glared at her maid, wondering what was so humorous about the situation that Anagha seemed to be on the verge of laughing. “Did you not call him down?”
“Er… Your Majesty! It appears that Adityan is also settled down on the wall for the night.” She controlled her laughter when she recalled Manu’s tail lying on the Chozha warrior’s shoulder.
“What?” Chamundeswari jumped up from the bed where she had been sitting, all prepared to go to sleep. “That man is also sleeping on the wall?”
“Yes, My Lady!”
“Is he mad?” Chamundeswari’s voice was an angry snarl. “Why would he do that? Does he not have a place to go to?” she asked sarcastically.
“I think he is on duty, guarding you, My Princess!” said Anagha in a soothing voice.
“I will go and call Manu in.” She stopped in her tracks when she felt her maid’s hand on her arm. “What?”
“They both seem so comfortable and all settled. It is late, My Lady! The moon is already going down in the sky. Why do not you rest? We do have a long journey back to Azhagapuri tomorrow.”
Not happy, but unable to deny the logic in Anagha’s words, Chamundeswari gave her a nod before going back to her bed. “You are right, Anagha. Let us sleep. As for Manu, I will give him a thorough scolding first thing tomorrow morning. How could he turn his loyalty towards a stranger?” She continued to mutter softly, “And Adityan of all people in the world, a man I dislike so much.” She reined in her thoughts when it suddenly struck her: Why am I so angry with the man, that too, all the time?
She had no answer to the question as Princess Chamundeswari punched her soft pillows a couple of times with a tight fist before settling down for the night. It took some time, but she was fast asleep before long.
Just before dawn, Vijayendran woke up with a jerk when he heard Manu snarl. Wide awake even as he sat up on the wall, he watched in astonishment when Manu sprang down from the wall into the garden and loped further ahead towards the back door of the house. What must have set the tiger off?
He quickly jumped down from the wall too and took off behind Manu, doing his best to remain as silent as possible. He stopped and moved behind a tree when he saw Manu facing a man who was trembling from head to foot, obviously on meeting the fully grown tiger in the garden. Vijayendran could see the man’s hand—the one in which he was holding a kuthuval—shake, so much so that he was on the verge of dropping the dagger.
As for Manu, he was preparing to leap on the man, stretching his sleek body, building pressure on his front paws.
Vijayendran was curious to know what the tiger would do. It was obvious that Manu was completely tame and too well fed to crave human flesh. But it was also evident that the tiger had sensed danger in the man. It was not just the fact that he was a stranger. After all, had Manu not befriended Vijayendran the very first time they met?
The prince could see that the man was up to no good. Or why would be come here before dawn when everyone tended to sleep like the dead?
Manu leaped suddenly and the man screamed, the dagger falling out of his hand in a clatter. He was lying on the floor with the huge tiger’s front paws on his chest.
Vijayendran laughed softly even as he stepped out of his hiding place from behind the tree and walked to the rear doorway of the house where the man was sprawled on his back, abject terror on his face.
As for Manu, he growled deeply, showing his sharp incisors, obviously scaring the man out of his wits.
Removing his sword from his belt, Vijayendran walked forward to press its tip on the man’s chest, right next to Manu’s left paw.
The man lifted his terrorised gaze to the stranger who had stepped into the most unexpected scenario. “Help me, please. Save me from this tiger before he eats me up for breakfast,” pleaded the man. He attempted to bring his hands together before giving up the attempt as he noticed Manu shift his paws on his chest. His breath came in gasps as he fought his fear, but did not succeed. But then, who would not be scared of being under the feet of a massive tiger that was baring his teeth in a loud snarl?
“Maybe I will,” said Vijayendran in a cold voice, “after you tell me what you are doing here at this time of the night. But before you do that, what is your name?”
“Ba… Ba… Bairavan.” The man’s voice shook in fright as he eyed the tiger who had not moved this way or that as it kept its steady gaze trained on him. “My name is Bairavan.”
“What are you doing here, Bairava?” came the next question. Vijayendran also continued to press the tip of his sword on the man’s chest.
“Please get the tiger off me, My Lord. And I will tell you everything. Please,” he begged, on the verge of tears.
“Stop crying, fool! And answer my questions first. The faster you tell me everything, the sooner will Manu get off you. What are you doing here?” asked Vijayendran once again, the coolness disappearing as his voice became stern.
“I came… I came because…” Bairavan choked when he felt the pressure of both the sword and the tiger’s paws on his chest. Realising that he did not really have a choice, he said, “I was sent here.”
“Why? And by whom?” came the succinct questions.
It was not long before Vijayendra Chozhan got all the information from the frightened Bairavan. It looked like when Sokkan’s attempt on the Kongunadu princess’s life had failed the earlier night, Marthanda Bhupathi’s men had moved to the contingency plan that had been made in advance. While the nine soldiers—except for Sokkan who was lying in the Chozha kingdom’s dungeons—were staying in the quarters not far from this house which had been allotted for the Princess and her maid, Bairavan had come here alone to complete the task set for him by his commander-in-chief.
Vijayendran saw red when he realised it was yet another attempt against Princess Chamundeswari’s life. It was time he put a stop to this. He could truly appreciate Vishnurayan’s worry about the princess and why he had sought his help for the princess’s protection.
“Manu,” whispered the Chozha prince softly. The tiger turned his head to look at his new friend. “You can step off the man now. I will see that he does not harm your mistress.”
Manu lifted his paws off the man’s chest to sit down next to him, though refusing to move his tawny gaze away from Bairavan, his posture completely alert.
As for Vijayendran, he rushed over to get a rope from the bag he had left behind on the wall before tying the man’s hands at the back and then to a tree in the compound. “I would advise you not to move, unless you want Manu to tear you to pieces. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, My Lord!” Bairavan choked as he uttered the reply, his eyes not moving from the tiger which had settled down on the grass not far from him.
“Manu, stay on guard!” instructed Vijayendran before quickly turning to go.
The tiger lifted his head to look in the Chozha prince’s direction as if in acknowledgement before turning to fix his gaze on the prisoner.
Vijayendran climbed the wall to jump outside where Kethu, his horse, was tied to a tree. Climbing on it, he quickly rode across town to the fort. One of the guards came rushing when he noticed the prince. Bowing his head, the man said, “Greetings, My Lord! What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“I need four soldiers to go with me. This is urgent.”
The guard rushed inside to do the prince’s bidding. It was not long before four soldiers came to the fort’s entrance. They listened respectfully when Vijayendra Chozhan gave them instructions. “I arrested a man called Sokkan last night. I want this new prisoner, Bairavan, to be kept in a place as far away as possible from the other man. Neither of them is to know that the other has been arrested. Do you understand that?” asked the prince, pinning his sharp gaze on the leader of the troop.
“Yes, My Lord! I will find out the details before having him placed in a dungeon that is far away from Sokkan.”
“Perfect! Now go.” Suddenly remembering, Vijayendran called out, “One moment.” When the men stopped, he said, “Knock on the door from the front. It might be wise to get in touch with the maid Anagha before you arrest Bairavan. Otherwise, it might be difficult to get across Manu, the tiger.”
The soldiers stared at their prince in astonishment. “My Lord! Did you say ‘tiger’?” asked one of them, not sure if he had heard right.
Prince Vijayendra Chozhan grinned. “That is right. The tiger is Princess Chamundeswari’s pet. Manu is usually tame, unless he feels someone is a threat to his mistress’s safety.”
“Oh!”
“Go on now,” said Vijayendran before riding on to his quarters inside the fort. He quickly completed his morning ablutions before breaking his fast and returning to the house where the princess was staying.
It was time to ensure the princess’s safety from her own men.
