Dacoits Strike
A tent had been pitched for Princess Chamundeswari and her maid Anagha while the men slept in the open. The horses had all been fed and watered in the nearby lake before being tied to the trees. A huge fire was lit to bring warmth from the cold breeze blowing across the lake.
Chamundeswari, who had just had a bath in the lake, sat on a stool while Anagha combed her long hair with a wooden comb.
The princess yawned, tired after the long and relentless ride from dawn till dusk. They had not even stopped for a midday meal, having decided to reach the rest house at the edge of the forest before the sun went down. They had made good time while it was a blessing that they did not come across any bandits.
Yes, a gang of dacoits did roam the Pachamalai Forest and it had been heard that this group only stole but rarely killed. That particular day, Princess Chamundeswari would not have minded coming across the bandits, if nothing but to remove her frustration by fighting some of them.
The presence of the handsome and intelligent Adityan was driving her out of her mind. While he kept his distance when they rode in a group, the princess could feel his hot gaze on her most of the time. The horse carriage was extremely well sprung and fast, created especially for the princess’s comfort. But Chamundeswari preferred to ride on Rahu as much as she could, which was all the time. She had pressed the protesting Anagha into the luxury of the carriage as the maid was not really young and could definitely do with some creature comforts.
During the journey from Azhagapuri to Thanjavur, Princess Chamundeswari had ridden by herself while the men had split into two groups, one batch riding in the front and the other at the back. Their numbers decreased to eight, they all rode in the front this time round.
On the travel back to the capital of Kongunadu, Adityan rode at the back, along with her. The princess would have never believed if someone had told her that she could be so contradictory. When he moved along the train, riding sometimes next to the carts, or right behind the soldiers, she was irritated with him for being so far away. Whenever he rode alongside her, she could feel her heart thundering away in her chest, making her gasp for breath. Her skin broke out in goose pimples, making her too conscious of the handsome man riding next to her.
Yes! Adityan was handsome! She could not deny that, not any more. That he was a great warrior was obvious from the fact that she had caught glimpses of the scars he must have gained during the battles he must have fought. She noticed a long scar on his right calf when he jumped on to his horse. Then there was another on his left forearm. She could not help wondering if there were more. Fighting her reactions, she wished that he was back with the soldiers and not riding next to her.
With Chamundeswari’s mother dying when she was barely four, and Vishnurayan training her in warfare, the princess had not had much of an opportunity to understand the relationship between a man and a woman. As for Anagha, she played maid to the princess. But had not thought to speak to her about love or desire. The princess was totally thrown for a toss because of the upheaval in her body and mind at the Chozha prince’s proximity. Being the rebel she was, she could only express it in her anger.
What she did not realise was that Vijayendran, who had had a few affairs, knew a lot about women and he could sense the princess’s turbulence. The more tempestuous she got, the more he found her endearing.
Their journey had been interrupted that afternoon though…
“Look there, my princess!” he had called out earlier in the afternoon, a hand on the reins of her horse, slowing Rahu to a gentle trot.
Chamundeswari automatically turned in the direction he was pointing at and her eyes and mouth went wide in astonishment when she caught sight of a number of peacocks and peahens not all that far from them. Three of the peacocks had opened their feathers out to the fullest extent, turning this way and that as they wooed their mates.
She laughed out loud when she heard the raucous calls the birds exchanged. “Looking at their beauty, one would imagine they would have lovely voices, right?” She laughed again when the peacocks and peahens once again screamed to each other.
Suddenly, Manu, who had been sleeping on the top of his cage, leaped down and raced across the forest, scattering the ostentation of the colourful birds as they flew up on to tree branches.
“Naughty Manu! Come here,” called the princess, laughing some more.
Vijayendran was speechless as he stared at her. The angry woman he had known over the past three days had completely disappeared. In her place was a laughing princess who had jumped off her horse to race after Manu who was about to climb the tree as he chased the peacocks. The prince got down from his horse, a cheerful smile on his handsome face as he took in the lovely scene where the beautiful princess of Kongunadu chased her gentle tiger Manu which in turn was growling at the escaped peacocks. Looping Kethu’s reins around a tree branch, he leaned against the trunk to watch the scene around him.
Anagha pushed the curtain to one side to look out of the carriage when she heard Princess Chamundeswari’s laughter and was thoroughly amused by Manu’s antics. Just as she wondered if she should get down to go help her mistress, Chamundeswari caught her pet by the scruff of his neck and ordered him back to his cage.
“If you do not behave, Manu, I will have to lock you in your cage, do you hear?” she scolded him affectionately.
Manu gave a soft growl of acknowledgement before rubbing his head against her sari-clad leg, making it difficult for her to walk. Which only made Princess Chamundeswari laugh all the more. Soon, the two of them, woman and tiger, were rolling on the grass in a mock tug of war.
Gentle laughter and soft growls permeated the air as Vijayendran and Anagha watched on in amusement. As for the soldiers who were supposedly there for the princess’s protection, they were riding way ahead, probably out of hearing distance—though the prince had his doubts about it—seemingly unaware of the fracas created by Manu chasing the peacocks.
Vijayendran shook his head to himself. There was something really strange going on in Kongunadu. Vishnurayan had not had the time to give much of an explanation, except that the princess’s life was in danger and she needed protection until she was crowned the queen of her kingdom. The loyal servant had also mentioned that it was Princess Chamundeswari’s stepmother Naganandini who was ruling the kingdom. And the queen’s brother Marthanda Bhupathi was the chief minister.
As for Vijayendran, the names were all familiar. As one of the commanders of Maharaja Rajendra Chozhan’s army, it was his duty to know all about the neighbouring and vassal kingdoms of Chozha Nadu. Now it was time to personally get to know the members of the royal family of Kongunadu. It was a good thing he had an alias. From what he had garnered from Vishnurayan’s words, the queen and her brother were capable of fawning over him if they got to know his real identity.
Vijayendran wanted to know them truthfully for what they really were instead of any false personalities they might project if they knew he was a Chozha prince. He waited patiently now for Chamundeswari and Manu to finish their game before the princess got off the ground to dust herself with both her hands.
She looked stunning, her long plait having come apart, with curls dancing around her face and shoulders, the drape of her sari completely askew, exposing her luscious right breast encased in her kachai, the bustier cloth fitting snugly to her curvaceous shape.
Well, Vijayendran was aware that it was not really decent of him to stare, but he simply could not help himself, his gaze going wide as he noticed the contrast between the pearly sheen of her skin and the brilliant pink of her sari and bustier. His hands itched to cup her curves even as his lips twitched, eager to taste her.
Even as he desperately tried to rein in his lustful thoughts, he noticed Anagha rushing to her mistress’s side. With a long sigh, Vijayendran turned his face away from the two women and looked straight ahead.
“My Lady!” Anagha shook her head at the princess. “Could you please sit down on that tree branch?” she asked, pointing to a low hanging branch of a mango tree, “And I will set right your hair soon.”
“Sure!” Chamundeswari stepped towards the tree before stopping. Looking at her pet, she said, “Manu, go and sit on top of your cage.”
The tiger butted his head on her side in acknowledgement before loping gracefully towards the cage on wheels which was attached to a harness pulled by horses that was driven by a coachman. The driver was sitting on his seat at the front as he patiently chewed on dry tobacco leaves, unperturbed as the whole carriage shook when the huge tiger climbed to the top to settle down.
It was not long before Anagha had set right the princess’s attire and her hair before they set off on their journey.
But the stop had delayed them so much that it did not really make sense trying to reach the rest house which was at the other end of the forest. They had finally caught up with the soldiers who had stopped a few miles away as they seemed to have finally realised that their princess was not with them.
It was Vijayendran who decided that they would stop in the clearing not far from the lake. It was a good place to rest and rejuvenate while they could also have a clean bath. He had quickly instructed the men to pitch a tent for the princess and her maid. The men had carried out his instructions implicitly. Sokkan, who had been their leader, was not around and they had automatically looked upon Vijayendran in that role. That their behaviour irritated Sadaiyan, their new leader, did not seem to matter to the other soldiers.
Now, a sleepy Chamundeswari dragged her feet as she walked to her bed, going to sleep the moment her head touched her pillow…
Her eyes came wide awake suddenly even as the princess wondered what had woken her up. She turned in the direction of the curtain fluttering in the doorway to her tent and saw it was still dark, only the light of the bonfire glowing red in the distance.
Then she heard it again, a light footstep. It was a rare night when Chamundeswari slept deeply. After all, Vishnurayan had deeply ingrained it in her that how many ever soldiers or bodyguards were there, it was all up to her to keep herself safe. Just now, she reached under her pillow to find the dagger which she always slept with, her eyes quickly adjusting to the pitch darkness of the tent. She saw Anagha snuggled deeply into her comforter in one corner before she noticed the stealthy movement of a man, bent low as he walked towards her trunk which was set in the middle of the tent, between the princess’s bed and the sleeping Anagha.
The next moment, the man screamed, his left hand holding on to his right arm as blood spurted from where the princess had struck him with her sharp dagger.
“Aaaaaaargh!” screamed the thief.
Despite the long and loud scream, Chamundeswari heard a scuffle outside her tent and rushed out to find out the reason. She could not believe her eyes when she saw Adityan wrestling with a man, one hand having a strangle hold on a second thief’s neck while he tried to prise the long knife from the thief with the other.
Manu leaped into the fray, which helped the struggle end to Vijayendran’s advantage. The dacoit was strong enough to fight any number of men. But he was too shaken on coming across a fully grown tiger in the midst of the camp. Where the hell had the tiger come from? And why was the other man not afraid of it? But before he could complete thinking through all this, Vijayendran marched him further and tied him to a tree; so tightly that the dacoit was not even sure he could breathe normally.
“Why are you here?” asked Vijayendran, his voice hard and commanding.
“Huh! Why would I be here in the middle of the night, do you think? Definitely not to play with you,” responded the dacoit, highly sarcastic.
“You do have a smart tongue it seems. Maybe you would prefer it if I chopped it off for you?” asked Vijayendran casually as he took a threatening step towards the dacoit.
The dacoit eyed his knife now in the other man’s hand before he spat on the ground. “You do realise that it was the tiger which saved your life today, right? Or I would have made mincemeat out of you.”
Without taking her eyes off the two of them, Chamundeswari moved to the side as the thief in her tent stepped out, crying out loudly. Blood continued to pour from the deep wound she had made on his forearm. Anagha was also up now and had followed the thief outside, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she looked around her, her mouth falling wide open in shock.
“Thimmanna!” the wounded thief yelled to his cohort, “This woman here tried to kill me.” His face was drenched with tears.
“Thambi!” shouted the man who was tied to the tree, “What happened to you?”
Vijayendran turned around to see what the commotion was about and was amazed to see Princess Chamundeswari calmly standing outside her tent, a bloodied dagger in her right hand while an unkempt man with blood pouring from his right arm, walked towards Thimmanna—now that he knew what the dacoit’s name was—who was tied up.
“Here!” He stopped Thambi in his tracks. “That woman, as you call her, is the princess of this kingdom. You had better treat Her Majesty with the respect that she deserves, you understand?” Vijayendran towered over the shorter man, sparks of fury flaming in his dark eyes as he glared down at him.
Thambi shuddered. Used to sneaking into different places and stealing in the middle of the night, he had rarely come against anyone, unlike Thimmanna who was a seasoned dacoit, used to brawls and even murdering a few people in his time. Just now, Thambi was too scared to even reply to Vijayendran.
As for Vijayendran, he quickly tied the second man also to a tree, far away from Thimmanna. Turning to the princess, he said, “I apologise, Your Majesty, that you had to fend for yourself. I did not notice the man entering your tent. I wonder…”
“He got in from the back side,” said Chamundeswari, a small smile on her face. She was glad of the action, instead of passively waiting for things to happen. “What do you plan to do with them? They are dacoits in search of gold. I do not think they would have killed any of us.”
“I am not so sure about that,” responded Vijayendran, turning to eye Thimmanna who was still shouting threatening words at him. “I have to compliment you on having a tiger for your company, my princess. Manu is the best guard anyone can provide for you. It was his growl that woke me up in time to catch the blackguard who was on his way to your tent.” He did not mention that she could not have managed to fight both the men. He also refrained from saying that while Thambi appeared rather timid, Thimmanna seemed quite capable of committing murder. “I hope you are not hurt?” he asked, concern in his voice.
Shaking her head, Chamundeswari gave him a bright smile—the first since she met him—on hearing his words regarding Manu. She adored her pet and whoever thought highly of Manu automatically became her friend. “It was Vishnurayan who trained Manu,” she said in a soft voice.
“He has trained him well. And it looks like the man has instructed you well too, princess.”
She lifted an eyebrow at him.
Anagha, noticing that her presence was superfluous now that the thieves were tied up and the princess was safe, quietly went back inside to curl up in her blankets, going back to sleep immediately.
Neither the prince nor the princess noticed her leaving them alone as they continued to speak to each other.
“Your skill with the dagger,” said Vijayendran, pointing to the weapon which Chamundeswari still held in her right hand. “Am I right in thinking that it is not only the dagger you are an expert at wielding?” he asked even as his eyes searched her face avidly. His heart raced at the speed of thunder when she smiled at him so sweetly.
Chamundeswari bowed her head in agreement, her gaze on the forest floor as she felt a sudden shyness—a totally new feeling—overcome her on seeing the adoring expression in his deep and dark brown gaze.
He reached over to take the dagger from her nerveless hand and carried it over to the lake to wash it clean. He also soaked one corner of the angavastram he wore on his shoulder before walking back to her. Taking her right hand in his, he gently wiped the drops of blood on the back of her hand and arm. Turning her hand over, he scrubbed her palm clean, staring at the lines as if he had never seen any before.
The princess stood there dazed, succumbing to his ministrations even as she did her best to keep a mental distance from him, realising that she was probably fighting a losing battle with herself. She could not understand the sudden urge she felt to be held close to his muscular body, with his arms wrapped around her own slender one. Her long and curly eyelashes fluttering rapidly, she opened her eyes to look at him when he spoke.
“Will you be able to go back to sleep, my princess?” he asked. She looked so tired and beaten that it was an effort not to lift her up in his arms to carry her to her bed.
She sighed. “I had better, do you not think? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Only if they left along with the sunrise, will they reach the Azhagapuri fort before sunset.
He shook his head. “I think it is best we stay right here, Your Majesty. For two reasons. I would like to find out if there are more bandits hidden in the forest. If that were the case, we might find ourselves surrounded by Thimmanna’s men.” He waited for her to absorb the meaning of his words before continuing, “I also have to deal with the two of them,” he said, pointing a thumb in the direction of the dacoits. “They simply cannot be let loose nor can we take them along with us.”
She nodded her understanding. “You know best, Adityan.” As the princess uttered the words, she realised that it was but the truth. She felt a huge weight lifting off her chest. Finally, there was one more person, other than Vishnurayan—her loyal servant was not really getting younger—who was concerned for her welfare. “I will leave you to deal with this. And Adityan,” she paused, looking up into his face in the semi darkness, “Thank you for everything.”
Vijayendran watched Princess Chamundeswari as she walked back inside her tent. Yes, it had been disturbing what with the bandits paying them a visit and all. But he would not have had it any other way as the prince felt that much closer to the rebel princess after their conversation just now. And she had even given him a genuine smile which he truly treasured.
He looked ahead at the men he had tied up for the night. Thimmanna had stopped shouting while Thambi continued to whine. What truly shocked Vijayendran was the fact that all the eight soldiers from Kongunadu had slept through the noise.
It just went to show how precarious the princess’s life was!
