The Brave Princess
The soldiers returned along with four dacoits. But it was the dacoits who had tied up the soldiers this time and dragging them back to camp.
Vijayendran was not really surprised by what he saw. After all, it was obvious from Velan’s words that Sadaiyan was in cahoots with the bandits. He whistled softly in the direction of Manu who was licking himself, not far from Chamundeswari’s tent. The tiger came loping across to stand beside the Chozha prince, completely alert.
Thimmanna stopped in his tracks, swearing. He had forgotten all about the tiger and fallen in with the stupid Sadaiyan’s plan. It was the troop leader who had come up with the idea for the soldiers to be tied up and taken back to camp. He had also promised the bandit leader a lot of gold in return for killing the princess.
Hearing Vijayendran’s whistle, the princess came rushing out of the forest where she had gone to pick some flowers along with Anagha. Seeing the dacoits and soldiers not far away from the camp, she ran across to her tent to pick up her sword, bow and arrows. When she stepped out of the tent, she was no more the docile princess of Kongunadu, but a true rebel. Walking forward, she stood next to Vijayendran and said, “I am ready to deal with them.”
“Good!” He was glad to have her at his side, his eyes all admiration for the warrior princess. She obviously knew how to wield the weapons she carried. Pulling his sword from its scabbard, he marched forward to attack the bandits and the soldiers, a roaring Manu jumping into the fray.
The princess aimed carefully, making sure not to hit Adityan or Manu as she shot arrow after arrow, most of them hitting their targets.
The soldiers fell as did the dacoits, what with the shower of arrows from Chamundeswari’s bow and Vijayendran’s sword that struck like lightning. Neither was really concerned about the fact that the soldiers were tied and could not really defend themselves. Which was a good thing as the men suddenly threw of the loose ropes—after all, they were only pretending to be tied up—and sprang into action.
Sadaiyan’s mouth fell wide open as he stared at his princess, torn between shock and admiration. He never knew she could fight a battle. But she was obviously trained in warfare. He fell the next moment, hit by a sharp arrow, his mouth still hanging open as he hit the ground.
The princess had no qualms killing the soldiers from her own kingdom. After all, they had no loyalty towards her.
Velan, who had been washing vessels at the lake, came rushing, only to find himself thrown up in the air by Vijayendran who wanted the young lad out of the way of flying swords and arrows. Clinging to a tree branch, Velan turned his astonished gaze to his princess, amazed by the precision of her arrows. It looked like Princess Chamundeswari did not really need anyone to protect her.
Vijayendran was fighting the last two of the soldiers, all their swords flashing in the sunlight as he parried their thrusts even as he looked for a loophole to drive in his advantage.
The other three bandits having fallen dead, their leader Thimmanna faced the snarling tiger with terror-stricken eyes. Lifting his dagger, he slashed it forward, piercing Manu in his right front paw, making the tiger roar in agony.
“Nooooooo…” Chamundeswari flew across the ground, her sword lifted high over her head before bringing it down on Thimmanna’s chest. “Do not dare harm my Manu,” she screamed, removing her sword to thrust it once again into the bandit leader’s chest.
Just as the soldiers fell to the ground, one clutching his chest while the other his stomach, Vijayendran rushed to the tiger’s side, taking its paw in his gentle hands to check the wound. Blood pouring from its paw, the tiger growled pathetically. “Do not worry, Manu. We will set you right in no time,” said the prince in a soothing voice, running his hand over the tiger’s head. He quickly tore a portion of his angavastram and tied it above the bleeding wound, reducing the blood flow immediately. Turning to the princess who was kneeling on the floor to place Manu’s head on her lap, he said, “Keep talking to him while I go and get my medicine box.”
He got up to call out to Velan, handing the remaining portion of his angavastram, saying, “Get this soaked in the lake. And also get a vessel of clean water.”
The two men returned from opposite directions to where Manu lay on the grass, his chest heaving as he took deep breaths, his head on the princess’s lap. A wary Velan placed the vessel full of water next to the princess, holding the wet cloth in his hands. He could not stop feeling curious about how the warrior was going to deal with the tiger’s wound.
Vijayendran took the wet cloth from Velan and gently wiped the tiger’s wound. “Manu,” he said softly, smiling when the tiger lifted his trusting gaze to his face, “I am going to check the wound to find out how deep it is. This might hurt a bit. But you are a brave tiger, right?”
Princess Chamundeswari smiled through her tears, stroking her pet’s neck. “That is right. My Manu is a truly brave tiger. You go ahead with your treatment, Aditya. I will hold him safely.” She hugged the tiger’s head close to her chest, bringing a lump to Vijayendran’s throat as he quickly checked the wound. Luckily, it was not too deep and did not require stitching. Taking a clean bowl from his medicine kit, he quickly placed some powdered herbs along with the paste of neem and turmeric which he freshly made every two-three days, and mixed a few drops of water to it. Making a thick poultice, he applied it to Manu’s wound before tying it up with a clean length of cloth which he also removed from his medicine box. “There, you should be fine now, my friend.”
“Thank you.” Chamundeswari’s voice broke even as tears ran down her cheeks. “You saved Manu’s life today.”
Velan walked away in the pretext of packing away the medicine box in Vijayendran’s saddle bag, while he was actually moving himself away from the wounded tiger.
Unable to stop himself, Vijayendran reached across to wipe her cheeks. He did not point out that Manu had not really received a fatal wound. “Do not cry, my princess. As long as I am alive, I swear that no harm will befall either you or Manu. And that is a promise!”
Turning her head, Chamundeswari pressed her lips to Vijayendran’s palm, not truly aware of what she was doing. Just now, she felt so much gratitude towards the man that she would have followed him to the end of the earth if he had requested it of her.
Vijayendran felt his heart pumping fiercely in his chest as he felt her soft mouth touching his calloused palm. It felt like the touch of a butterfly’s wings as it made him clench his left hand into a fist, worried that he might otherwise crush her in his embrace. Only, he did not want to take advantage of the brave princess’s moment of weakness.
And brave she was, his Chamundeswari. She had fought like a soldier, nimble on her feet and quick with her arrows. The soldiers and bandits had not really stood a chance.
He knelt beside her, enthralled by her soft kiss, unable to drag himself away.
She and Manu would have probably been lying dead on the forest floor if Adityan had not been with them today. Vishnurayan had definitely chosen well. Chamundeswari felt her heart overflow with not just gratitude but another strong emotion as she kissed his rough palm that was used to handling heavy weapons. She revelled in the texture, holding back the temptation to stroke his hand with her tongue.
Was this what they called love? She had only read about it in Kalidasan’s Sakunthalam, the legendary romance between Sakunthala and Dushyanthan. Hot colour suffused her cheeks.
“My princess!” whispered Vijayendran, his hand cupping her cheek. His body going hard with a desperate need to make her his, he decided to put an end to her caress. “Would you like to drink something? Maybe a cup of wine to calm down your nerves?”
She lifted heavy eyelids to look into his gaze, melting at the adoring expression in it. “I think I need a bath more than anything else.”
He nodded. I could do with one myself, he thought to himself. “Would you like me to hold Manu for you?” he asked.
“Do you think we can settle him in his cage? He can properly rest after that.” The tiger was half asleep with the soothing poultice numbing the pain. Between the two of them, they gently guided Manu into his cage once the coachman wheeled it across. Placing a big bowl of water inside, Vijayendran shut the cage, not bothering to lock it.
He took the princess aside to ask, “What about the coachmen? Do they know that you are a warrior princess?” While none of the soldiers had lived to tell the tale of her bravery, there were three coachmen who were also travelling with them. “And do not worry about Velan. He is completely loyal to you,” he assured her.
Chamundeswari frowned, turning to look at the three coachmen sitting under a tree as they chatted. “I do not really know. Anagha,” she addressed her maid who had walked forward, “What do you think?”
Anagha smiled. “We need not worry about them, Your Majesty! It was Vishnu who hired them as your personal coachmen. You know he would not let any disloyal people near you.”
Chamundeswari gave her a relieved smile before turning to Vijayendran. “There! Now we know.”
He smiled too. “I’m glad that I do not have to kill more people in cold blood.”
Fire sparked from the princess’s golden gaze as she turned around to look at the dead bodies lying further down on the forest floor. “I agree. But they only got what they deserved.”
He nodded. “I will go and get the dead bodies buried. As for tomorrow, let us leave at first light. With Manu out of action, I think it is best that you travel in the carriage, my princess.”
Chamundeswari frowned, on the verge of protest. Noticing a trace of anxiety in his gaze, she nodded slowly. “I will do that.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” He gave her a bow before leaving to carry on with the task of burying the dead men, taking the help of Velan and the coachmen.
