|| - Enemy's backyard - ||

"If you know your enemy and know yourself you need not fear the result of hundred battles.
If you know neither your enemy nor yourself you will succumb in every battle..."

- Sun Tzu
_________

Horses neighed, blinking against the dusty desert breeze. Sun sparkled in a spotless blue sky and mounted on his proud chestnut stallion Aziz Khan waited for his companions under the shade of the large gate that opened into Chandranagara fortress. He was a man in his late twenties, brown haired like his father and sister and hazel eyed. His jaw was square and his face made of hard lines. His eyes were deep set and cold, even under the blazing heat of his surroundings. Aziz Khan was to accompany the foreigners to tour the city of Chandranagara, since he was the only royal who could communicate with them without an interpreter and they seemed to make him wait too long that he had expected for.

It took another while before David and Andrew finally made their way, towards him. Andrew had a bulging bag slung over his shoulder and David had a leather bound book in his hand. To Aziz both of them looked immersed in conversation. Behind them, a decidedly sour faced Lily floated towards him, delicately holding a lace umbrella that could neither shade her from the scorching sun nor shelter her against the dust. Aziz dismounted to greet his guests who looked at him with impressed gazes.

"I thought Gobind informed you," David said eyeing the horses and then the man in question. Gobind gave him a guilty look to which he narrowed his eyes. "I'd like to walk around if you don't mind."

"But, it's going to be very exhausting as the day progresses." Aziz looked confused. He had not imagined a foreigner who had always been complaining about heat and dust would be ready to walk around Chandranagara. To be honest, he did not enjoy that very much either. Aziz was brought up by a father who missed no opportunity to insist of his higher status until the lad himself believed he was above the mere mortals. He would have loved to ride parting the mindless crowd in the bazaar and flaunting his foreign company. "Trust me riding is the best option in this time and weather."

"Oh I do believe you," Andrew answered this time, smirking slightly at his friend. "But you see the problem is, riding is the worst option for the present company."

"Oh, is Miss Kent, unable to handle a horse or something?" Aziz asked him sympathetically, to which Lily scowled and turned her nose upwards.

"I can manage myself on a horse thank you very much Nawabzada Aziz," she told him, confusing him further.

"It's me," David said finally, casting a dark look at both his smirking friend. "I am a horrible rider. I'd love it very much to keep my feet firmly on the ground."

"Oh dear! What are we to do now?" Aziz asked himself more than from his partners as he privately wondered how fitting his father's description of McLane boy as a flowery excuse of a man had been. When he first heard his father complaining about having to bend to whims of such lad, he had laughed it off as an old man's blabbering. Now he felt rather sorry for himself for expecting a greater challenge from David McLane.

"What else but walk, right?" David suggested sadly and a chuckle escaped Andrew.

"Fine then," Aziz regarded them one last time before gathering his guard. "Let us proceed."

Two of Aziz's guards rode ahead, clearing the way from any possible intruders and the party accompanied by more guards exited the inner city of Chandranagara surrounded by the fortress wall.

The outer city of Chandranagara was also surrounded by a fortress wall. This part was where the merchant folk of the city and the middle class resided, while the nobles and royals were tucked inside the inner city. David and his company had minimum interest in the palaces of the nobles. Life was much more animated in the streets full of vendors. People bustled back and forth, pushing through the crowd to reach their destinations. Vendors called after customers, or simply advertised their goods in high pitched voices. Above them, flags of Nawab's colors, or the court of arms of the emperor waved in the wind, casting shadows on their path as they proceeded forward.

Aziz did not believe there was anything worth seeing in the outer Chandranagara at all and was irritated and surprised to find that they had to step every two or three paces so that David could make a rough sketch of boys riding a horse, or a man selling handmade jewelry, or women bargaining with merchants. He was getting exhausted and to add to his frustration the lady never stopped complaining even once. On multiple occasions they simply had to wait for hours just because she was "too tired to move an inch."

The sun was already descending when a loud cry stopped them on their tracks. It was a ragged man, being dragged off by the soldiers. The vendor of grains shouted incoherently after him, his fists flying in the air in the direction of the man. People gathered around, leaving their tasks at hand to watch the commotion.

"It's nothing let us -" Aziz begun to wave off the occurrence but before he had completed his sentence Dave was already pushing through the mob of on lookers. Andrew gave Aziz and apologetic look and followed his friend, leaving his crabby sister behind for the Nawabzada to handle.

"Beggars!" Lily commented scrunching her nose.

"They are like parasites," agreed Aziz, rising his eyebrows in amazement at finding something on which he and this impossible lady were on the same page.

"Oh I wish you could knock some sense into my brother," Lily rolled his eyes. "He thinks there's a lot to be done to improve their living conditions. Poor fellow doesn't realize that you can never teach worms to live on rugs! Why don't we find ourselves a more pleasant place to wait for them, Nawabzada Aziz? I'm sure you won't mind witnessing this horrible incident."

Aziz could not have agreed more with anyone. They decided to stroll down the lane towards the merchants who had silks on display. Lily exclaimed at the varity of pleasant hues there was to choose from and was momentary forgotten about the heat and dust she had kept complaining about. Instead, she begun to tell him about London and how much she missed being there for the winter.

Far away from them, Andrew and David stood shoulder to shoulder watching as the soldiers hoisted the man from where he was kneeling on the gravel begging for mercy and carried him away, muttering curses in rough tones. The grain merchant was still complaining about the attempted theft.

"Dirt from outside!" he spat on the ground before returning to his place at the grain shop. Slowly the crowd begun to disperse and the two young men started to walk away towards the textile vendors where they could see the tip of Lily's lace umbrella waving in the air.

"So that's how it is," said David thoughtfully, kicking a stone on his path.

"Pardon?" Andrew asked him.

"The grain merchant could call the guards quite fast, don't you think? As if he is some kind of an authority or as if his goods are guarded by the Nawab."

"And his prices are too high if you are to be honest. I don't think that man was lying when he said his family is dying of starvation. Certainly there is a group of people who would not be able to afford that kind of money."

"The gain business is the key of Chanddranagara economy," David told him, scratching his chin. "I believe the prices are controlled by someone higher than that merchant we just saw. If I'm assessing the Nawab correctly, he knows it's the weakest spot on any kingdom."

"I'm not following you yet."

"If you want to conquer a city, strengthen your forces is one way to go about it. The other Mr. Kent is to weaken the city from inside. If you create a grain shortage, it will lead to hunger. Hunger takes no time to turn into anger and the angry subjects turn on the ruler. It leads to riots. A conqueror need only help the rebellion, the city collapses on itself."

"So you think Nawab has the control of grain business in his city?"

"That is my guess. He might be holding the grain storage, releasing only the amount he wants to keep a certain price in the market."

"So since he has no threat of attack or war, now he is using the same power for personal profit, by increasing the prices?"

"Yes. That is one way to look at it, the other would be that if it ever comes to a war situation..." Dave let his voice trail off and finished his sentence in whisper. "A bulk release of grain would reduce the prices and improve his public image."

"Witty rascal," muttered Andrew and they both smiled hesitantly as they watched Lily and Aziz walking up to them.

"Had a nice time, Sister?" Andrew inquired good naturedly, while David nodded at Aziz.

"Nawabzada, I am curious, I believe you could help me with this," he said eyeing the way Aziz looked rather relieved to rid himself of Lillian. Aziz sighed tearing his eyes away from Lily's animated conversation with Andrew and looked at David.

"Anything I could do to help."

"Yes. That man before - the merchant was saying he was from beyond the wall. Whatever did he mean?"

"Oh - he means the scum from the outer villages of Chandranagara. Don't worry Mr. McLane, it is very rare that one of them manages to sneak inside." Dave frowned slightly at the tone Aziz employed but nodded in understanding.

"I see - so when will we tour these - ah - villages?"

"Pardon me, visit them? Mr. McLane those places are much lower for your standards." Aziz tried to enlighten him haughtily. "I'm not sure if you've ever seen a more horrible vision in your life."

"I've seen tribal villages in Africa," Dave told him curtly. "If by horrible you mean brimming with poverty that is nothing I can't handle. I'm a painter Nawabzada, seeing the world is part of my passion."

"Perhaps some other day?" Andrew tried to cool down the situation, noticing the burning grey of his friend's eyes and the slight rise in his tone. Aziz stared at David equally puzzled. For the entirety of their trip he had seen David McLane as a soft, sensitive and easily intimidated man; but right then, there was something hard and sparking in his eyes that gave him a glimpse of some other personality altogether.

"Sure, sure, some other day then," David agreed unwillingly but almost at once. It seemed as if Andrew's touch on his shoulder had broken whatever spell on him. He looked once again, every inch the idiot he was before. "Pictures of poor, gain higher critical opinions. This could be my way to glory you know!"

Aziz blinked at him and thought to himself that, that would be a trip he will not be part taking in. To be frank he doubted whether they would even be allowed to set their foot outside the walls of chandranagara by his father. But that was another thing he would rather not share with them either.

Lily looked positively alarmed at the suggestion.

"Villages? Tour the villages? Are you feeling quite alright Mr. McLane?"

"Yes, thank you," David snapped at her, before turning back to Aziz. "What do you think will happen to that man now?"

"He'll be whipped," Aziz said shortly. Although he privately thought of it as a befitting punishment he was not sure of David's opinion on the same.

"Which he deserves no doubt!" Lily huffed.

"Without a trial?" Andrew said frowning. "That is strange."

"What is the need of a trail? He was stealing from the grain vendor in broad day light!" Aziz failed to keep his distaste away from his voice this time.

"That's not the point of a trail -" Andrew begun angrily only to be silenced by David's gesture.

"That is true," he said nodding in agreement with Aziz. "Criminal's should not be pardoned no matter what prompted their crimes. I've seen limbs being chopped off for lesser offences in other places. When will this whipping take place, Nawabzada?"

"Sometime after the dusk I guess -" Aziz replied carelessly. "They gather people to watch and do it on the city square."

"Better deterrence I see," David added and his gaze lifted to the sinking sun. "I think we should head back too, if we don't wish to witness anymore unpleasantness on the streets. I don't think I can stomach a whipping to be honest."

Lily was too eager to agree and Aziz was only too relieved to finally head back to the comforts of his palace instead of toiling himself on the dusty streets. Andrew shook his head and placed one dark look on the entire street before turning his heel to follow the others.

"We have time for last glances yet," David added in an undertone, falling back to walk with Andrew as Lily and Aziz led the party with the bulky armed guards. "Tonight we return to watch that whipping being carried out."

"Why?"

"Because, my friend I have a very good feeling that tonight we'll be meeting Meghdyut."

**

Mm....

Do you think Dave is right in his assumptions? Will he be meeting the rebel hero anytime soon?
Let me know in the comments and shower your love by pressing that tiny star ☆in the bottom if you liked the story so far!

Thanks for reading!