Pruthvi inhaled deeply. Stepping into this place and breathing its air after complete five months brought some old memories back- the days when he was brutally abducted, when he found the opportunity to talk his dead father, meeting his sister he never knew he had, and to finally losing his friend to his enemy-this place may persevere some vivid remembrances, and he couldn't deny that this was place he was born, thanks to Shourya for reminding him. 

He suppressed the laughter directed to himself, realizing how his opinion on this place has altered, from the days when he never wanted a stone in his pocket, to finally accepting himself as a valuable Samagraha. And this has happened especially since he was given a second chance to live.

"What a nice weather!" Leena exclaimed, standing a little distance away from him.

Of course, the weather. How can he fail to notice it. It wasn't chilly, no whiteness of the snow, no ashened clouds. Just the golden glow spread across the sky, and fresh air filling his lungs making him feel exhilarated. It was the real Autumn, he once had experienced during his days as a no one back in Maine.

"Wow!" Leena cried, jumping on her toes, her back faced towards him.

He walked upfront to see what the fuss was about.

They were actually standing at a certain altitude, over a stacked up gigantic rocks.  Stopping at the end of the cliff and leaning ahead to hold the fence, Pruthvi looked down and found himself and Leena exploring the enormous village they were transported in. Huts of Dakshinpur were circular with thatched roofs. He and Leena had seen the two storey huts of Paschimgarh. But this new place, Madhyakshetra, consisted of narrow and tall, cone shaped colourful thousands of cottages, built systematically in a fine number of rows and columns, with decent unsealed lanes between them.

Leena pointed at what seemed like a grand palace, high upon the hill overlooking the village. It had the architecture unlike Rawat's or Sharad's. It wasn't wide, but tall, five storey colossal building, with gold dome towers, an open porch with detailed magnificent pillars, complete ornate in its pattern. The one thing they didn't forget to notice was the white flag at the top of the dome, sporadically fraying with the dull wind.

"Look! There!" Leena said, excitingly.

She was pointing at another palace, in the opposite direction, built exactly and absolutely alike the one they had just seen, including the white flag waving at it's top.

This village looked rather colourful and full of life, people roaming nonchalantly outside their huts, travelling on carts and horses. It was well developed one, no wonder this was the capital province of Paramarashtra.

"Don't fall for it's glory."

They quickly turned around to look at Shourya walking towards them, Maruthi gliding from one of his shoulders to another.

"Sorry?" Leena asked.

"Madhyakshetra is no better place than Dakshinpur to live, when it comes to the terror reigning among the people. Most of Shashi's men live here for it's rich culture, it's easy for them to practise dark magic. And Madhyakshetra has a record of having highest crime rate, especially the missing cases of women."

Leena frowned. "It doesn't seem to me so."

"It's the month of the Fest, Leena," he said, "Paramarashtra wait for two whole years for this month to have a life, to be free. Since Shashi came to power, not even single murder case has been registered. So people don't mind coming outside their huts and live their lives to the fullest."

Pruthvi scoffed. "What, Shashi is a good person for this month?"

Leena chuckled.

Shourya replied, keeping his face straight, "People believe that he is scared of the deity."

"Oh man! You people are nuts!" commented the techie guy.

Before Pruthvi could ask any more question regarding it, Shourya began walking aside, and beckoned them to follow him. Leena was hesitant to do as per his say, and she signaled Pruthvi to know where he was headed to.

"Wait," Pruthvi said, "Where are you taking us? Didn't you say we should stop the wedding?"

Shourya was already walking swiftly, taking long steps. Pruthvi and Leena had to trot to keep up with his pace.

"That is where we are going," he said, "to the Rang Mahal."

"And what is that?"

"It's an amphitheatre. All the weddings and other celebrations are grandly held there. Dakshinpur was once the main organizer, but since King Harsh's death, the venue has changed to Madhyakshetra."

"We need details," said Leena, indirectly asking him to talk more.

"The holy tree of Vrindahina," he said, getting slightly irritated, "there are many grown in Dakshinpur, and only one in Madhyakshetra which is the oldest and divine..."

"Vrinda-what?" Pruthvi enquired.

Shourya stopped dead at the spot and his sudden reaction made Leena slightly bump into him and Maruti to furiously flap its wings. He sighed heavily to control his irritation that these complete ignorant who knew nothing about the country, even after living under Doctor's care for zillion years, were causing. "You have no idea about the speciality of this month, do you?"

"Well, we know it's the month when two star cross paths and dark magic doesn't work..."

"Vrindahina is the deity!" Leena said.

Pruthvi shot a confused look at her. "And how do you know?"

"I talk, Pruthvi, with your  sister, more than you do." She mocked, without looking at him. Reading her expression, Pruthvi understood that she was still quiet angry at him for not mentioning about Tyrell's activities to her.

Shourya folded his hands, and began to tell them, slowly and clearly, everything they needed to know. "The holy tree grown in our country is believed to be the deity's alternate physical form. Its specialty lies in its flowers, that blossoms only in this month, and nobody know why that happens. These flowers play a prominent role in the marriages and that is reason all the weddings are held in this month. Understand?"

"Prominent role in the sense?" Pruthvi asked.

"When a man places a Vrindahina flower in a woman's hair, they are legally bounded in the ties of matrimony."

They gaped at him for a second and then Pruthvi bust out laughing when Leena pursed her lips, bending her head down.

"Is that how you get married in Paramarashtra?" Pruthvi asked, unable to control his laughter, "It's so hilarious."

"It's the tradition," said Shourya, seriously, watching them laugh, "May be you both might have to follow this hilarious tradition one day."

That shut the young couple completely up, a heavy silence settling over then, thicker than an awkward tension in the atmosphere. Pruthvi uncomfortably took a step away from Leena, his insides filling with the thoughts he never had before.

An unbound vague image of he himself placing the flower in Leena's hair appeared in his mind. It might have sounded amusing, but thinking about it felt quite surreal yet beautiful. His heart thumped so hard that he was sure it was audible. They have been together for more than five years now, living together under the same roof. But in these past years, they never talk about their relationship, to neither of them it was important. Was it was time to even think to take their relationship one step forward?

Pruthvi mentally shook her head, pushing all the distractive unnecessary thoughts away.

Tyrell first! Tyrell first!

He cast an uneasy glance at Leena, whose cheeks were flushed pink. He instantly understood she was thinking the same. To avoid the awkwardness, she cleared her throat and said to Shourya, "So, you were taking us somewhere. Shall we go?"

And they just walked, staying little apart from each other, both of them dripped in their own thoughts, they didn't want to have yet.

After about a few minutes of silent walk, a tumultuous crowd came into picture. Leena sudden low gasp pulled Pruthvi senses back to the present. He looked up only to find out they were approaching a humongous wooden gate, and they could easily decipher that it was the opening for the amphitheater Shourya was talking about.

Rang Mahal was certainly ovular in shape, made of variety of coloured stones and bricks. Getting closer to it, they weren't even able to see the most of it, the size of the theater was needed to be blamed. There were about ten knights, in complete white uniform, standing against the gate. They were dressed in a certain coarse material, suit of armour stained by rust. The dressing of Madhyakshetra's knights was way more extravagant than those of Dakshinpur's. Two of them busily checking and welcoming the audience entering inside and the rest sat on their horses guarding the venue. There was a long line of the people standing, each one of them anticipatingly looking forward to enter inside for the celebrations.

"I did what I could do," said Shourya, covering his face with the mask Pruthvi had seen before, "You are on your own now. So do your thing and stop this wedding."

Leena and Pruthvi shared a glance, but kept mum, silently protesting against it by simply not caring about it . Then they heard a horse slow clopping sound coming towards them and it made Shourya aware of possible danger if he stayed there with them any longer. He began to walk past them, but Pruthvi immediately and instinctively blocked his way. He knew he had to do something to return Shourya's favor, and he knew exactly what to do.

"You need to know something," Pruthvi said, "Even Hayden would like you to know. Your friend, Tanishka Thribhuvan is back in town."

Shourya gaped at him through the holes, and his masked face hid the possible stagger appearing on his face. He whispered watching the knight getting down off the horse. "Thank you, but it was unnecessary. What really is important, that you need to watch out for yourself, now that Shashi once again has his eyes on you."

Without waiting for Pruthvi's answer, Shourya ran away from them, with Maruti flying behind him and they quickly disappeared through the Gates.