Pruthvi and Leena were standing against the rusty gate of the Rawat's palace.

Leena's gaze refused to stay fixed at a spot. Her head swayed to and fro several times, she was trying too hard to estimate the extremities of the palace. She gasped several times, showing her state of awed admiration towards the wonder existing in front of them. However, she refused to express it in words which was entirely unlike her. She stayed as calm as she had all through their journey to this place chosen by their dear friend for a rendezvous.

As Pruthvi folded Hardik and held it firm in his hands, Maruti, all of a sudden turned energetic and began to shriek. 

"Home! Home!"

It flew swiftly over their heads, its wings flapping enthusiastically. 

Pruthvi swallowed heavily and felt a streak of sweat sliding down his back as they walked through the lane leading towards the entrance door of the palace. He perceived the familiar haunting essence, exactly as he had on his first visit with Hayden six months ago. The garden on either side- messy and disheveled with overgrown grass, the buzzing sounds of insects and then on walking further inside they picked up the smell of the impurities coming from the water body surrounding the palace.

They slowly stepped up the marble staircase, their feet landing on the floor in unison. Opening the massive entrance door, Pruthvi felt a wave of apprehension fluttering through this veins. Maruti barged inside and flew straight towards the aisle and possibly into the room where Nazira and the bird had spent many years alone. 

Pruthvi took a step inside and immediately halted. His blank stare wandered around the great hall. His breath caught in his throat when he felt himself experiencing the awful day once again. He remembered the acute pain in his heart, the intensifying blurriness in front of his eyes, and the wall over which they were have literally seen Tyrell's soul ripping apart. Lastly, he recollected Jyran Kerenza's voice, that still seemed reverberating in the palace.

Leena, sensing his trouble to walk in, at once held his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He thanked her mentally. He needed to feel her presence beside him.

If Tyrell was truthful about the time he chose to meet, then they presumably had more than a day to spent. Palace might have left to appear aesthetic from outside, but everything beneath its roof was nothing but similar to a closed landfill. Spider webs, the huge piles if debris - Pruthvi rubbed his nose and sneezed. The hard smell of the dust began to give him allergies.

"Ew," Leena commented, keeping her face straight and expressionless, "Can't believe Nazira lived here for four years."

Pruthvi looked at her, feeling pleased hearing her voice again. She caught his eye and glared at him, and Pruthvi waited until her gaze warmed.

"We have more than a day," he said, "We should wait in Nazira's room."

"You didn't tell me why we are here," she said.

"You didn't ask me."

"Oh forgive me, I thought it's better to keep my mouth shut," she said, sarcastically, "Because my voice is irritating, isn't it?"

He looked away, his heart constricting. How could he tell her that this much more than she might have ever anticipated?

"I talked to Tyrell," he said, and her jaw instantly dropped, "I put the Shaatrumani as bait and he accepted to meet us in return I give the stone back."

"You cannot give it back," she said, with a sudden stern voice, "You are not giving it back, are you?"

"What if I do?"

"Then Tyrell will be out of bounds. Don't forget, we somehow, anyhow have to take him back with us. If he gets the stone, we might never find him again."

"Right," he said, giving a single nod, and in an attempt to clarify how they were going to finish the job, "So if I just ask him, will he blindly follow us to wherever we take him?"

She gaped, furrowing her brows. "You are not fighting with him."

"Leena..."

"You promised," she shouted enraged, her voice echoing all over the hall, "We decided not repeat the history, no matter what the circumstance is. Did we not?"

Her words cut him to the very core, giving him a wound so deep. His heart broke, and she wasn't even having an idea that it was her making him see the direction more of where their relationship was leading to. "Believe me" he whispered, his throat paining, "I don't know how to do that."

Pruthvi just wished the long wait to end. He opened the windows of the one and only neat room in the entire palace and sat on the attached seat savoring the fresh air. He and Leena spent the day and the following day as well doing nothing but discussing or rather bickering about what they must do when they get to see Tyrell. Although Pruthvi had agreed that he wouldn't hurt Tyrell, in his heart he knew that possibilities of keeping his temper in control were minimal. Thanks to his alternate kinetic power.

But there was a certainty raging in his heart, how was he ever going to defend himself with Tyrell's lightning attacks, and as well as his dark magic.

Amidst their discussion, Pruthvi almost intended to tell the Maiden of Paramarashtra that as a Samagraha they were left with no authority over their future together. Leena might have forgiven him his earlier offenses, but was it going to be same if he'd tell her that he has almost decided to respect her wishes of not repeating the history?

Sleeping wasn't an option. Pruthvi realized that lack of sleep was slowly making his brain a violent whirl of torment. Leena kept suggesting him to take a nap, but he was adamant to stay vigilant round the clock. Tyrell as a Rahu cannot be trusted. He might or might not even show up within the said time. Pruthvi ran his hand through his hair, feeling tensed when the thought crossed his mind. He wished he was wrong. The bitter experiences of the past days were making him have extra paranoid delusions.

Leena was pacing up and down the room, caressing her locket holding the Aquamarine. Whereas Pruthvi, still sitting beside the window was staring blankly down at Maruthi eating a piece of bread. He concentrated on taking deep breaths only to calm his racing heart. The dawn of the desired day brought in a fresh sweet smell and dense fog through the window. Nevertheless, the stillness, the calmness felt like a warning. As the time passed, there was a subtle variance in fragrance. Pruthvi detected the shift, although not too strong enough for him to have a confident expectation, nor he felt obligated to rush to confirm his suspicions. He waited patiently for next hour and another; requested Leena to stay calm to let him focus, until the sweet smell finally converted into an execrably festering and heavy one.

Pruthvi stiffened, closing off his emotions. Taking a deep breathe, now feeling confident he stood up, setting his torn shirt straight. He ducked his hands in his pockets and checked on both the stones. Maruti flew aside and in a process of watching it go, he found Leena gazing at him suspiciously. He didn't think to enact more than what was necessary. He stiffly nodded at her, asking her not to be doubtful.

It's time.

Her face muscles tightened as she stared at Pruthvi sending him a warning signal.

"Please," she implored, her eyes blazing with nervousness.

He clenched his jaw watching a tear dropped down her eyes. Without giving a reply, he walked past her and not caring to see if she was following him out of the room. Showing gentleness and nobility, he left it to her will, to choose between both of them- the one who loved her with all his heart or the other who admired and regarded her as someone more than a sister.

Keeping his head bent low and folding his hands behind his back, he walked his way down the aisle leading to the hall, Maruthi flying beside his head. The smell was getting stronger and harder and breathing it made his determination to take his friend back go wild. With every step he took, the quietness inside this palace abated, piercing it creepily up with a singing whistle.

Tyrell Kissler was whistling as he carelessly swaggered into the palace. Pruthvi cringed watching his nonchalant attitude. The high ceiling ventilations helped penetrate the rays inside, falling right in the middle of the hall. And that was the spot both Pruthvi and Tyrell unintentionally chose to stand against each other- face to face.

Pruthvi studied him entirely. His grown shoulder length frizzy hair, his altered manner of dressing, his skin eerily glowing standing underneath the brilliance, and that crooked smile. But there was something in his eyes, a certain glint, strikingly in contrast to the way he smiled. Standing too close to him was enough for Pruthvi to notice it - his eyes were too damp with uncried tears as if something hidden beneath all this exaggerated fake attitude was wailing, begging for help.

"Good Morning," Tyrell greeted, his tone clearly stating that he wasn't really meaning it. And then his smile faded, stared daggers at Pruthvi without letting the glint disappear,.and said, "Let's get this over with."

-x-

Author's Note :

Guys, this is to inform you that I will be taking hiatus for about two months once again.

We are nearing the end. We have exactly six chapters away from the conclusion. All six, extremely important. I would say, they are collectively the heart of the entire story. Because of my personal reasons, I am sorry but I have to take two months break. But when I come back in June, I plan to post all the remaining chapters in a go. I hope you guys keep supporting me much as you always do.

Thank you
Jyothi