|| Land of Mirages III ||

Hesitation is the heart's grave

The entertainment group comprised three wagons. It was an arrangement made by Kuwar Shivjit going a step further to highlight his effort at pace making. The dancers, storytellers, aerobic performers and even a soothsayer would toil to please the Nawab's court for the three weeks during which the enemies where supposed to toast for each others' welfare. Then the court would see how much the prince respected the man who coveted his throne. It was all done in the honor of Nawab Khan.

Let him think that; he had whispered in her ear before departing from Madhavghadh. When in reality it was all for her. It was all because Shivjit could not spend so long without seeing a beautiful smile. Of cause, it was all for Afreen.

Toasting to his sugary speech Afreen kept her thoughts masked by a dazzling smile. She let him remain under his blissful misconception of having her wrapped into his empty promises - dancing to his tunes. As long as Shivjit had his uses Afreen had no intention of enlightening him to her true potential either. Shivjit was merely a pawn to both his mother and his guardian Lord McLane. Therefore, Afreen felt no guilt in using him to play her own game.

The guards at the inner gates of Chandranagara fortress gave them no second glance. Still the familiar surrounding pricked at her with an unease that made her self-conscious. Afreen pulled at her purdah and ducked her head as the wagon swayed and bumped carrying them away from the last guard post.

As they neared the heart of the fortress the real motive of her visit - or one of the motives, pulled her out of her thoughts. Afreen dismounted with the rest of her group but did not follow them into the rooms designated to them. As the line of entertainers filled into the ground floor passageway leading to their rooms Afreen slipped away, reducing herself to a moving shadow.

She had to reach Kashi Bai - had to reach her before it is too late. Afreen tucked in the dagger into her belt and felt instantly secure with its comforting weight. Since McLane had disclosed their plan to her during his interrogations she had an idea as to where she should start her search for Kashi Bai. She must be somewhere in the foreigner's wing, pretending to be McLane's daughter.

The fortress swarmed with guards. It seemed they had tightened the security for the enemy's arrival. Did it mean that Khan predicted that these talks of peace might lead to war instead of its original aim? And that he was prepared to tackle the conspiracy the so called peacemakers would bring to his doorstep?

To be honest Afreen did not care. All she was concerned about was the doom circling Kashi Bai and her duty to warn her princess. She slipped past the guards a handful of times before finally managing to appear before Kashi Bai's door. Afreen hesitated for a moment. The betrayed look in Kashi Bai's eyes flashed across her eyes as she inhaled deeply, convincing herself to move forward. Unconsciously one of her hands wound around the hilt of the concealed dagger on her belt before she raised her other arm to knock on the door. Then she stilled instead of knocking. A shadow crept over the glossy wood of the door and a hand covered her mouth just before everything went dark.

**

He watched as the archers raised their bows, pulled their strings before bringing them down to aim at him. The men had been practiced to kill so precisely that their movements were fluid, in tune with one another.

He remembered the red eyes of the man who betrayed his parents as he peered down at him. Those eyes resembled the devil's as they glittered in the firelight.

"Do you know what I do to the secrets I cannot reveal?" He had asked, as his grip tightened on hair on the back of his head, pulling his face forward so that his fiery gaze could bore into his eyes. "I bury them the deepest."

He was brought up to a clan where duty came way before death, but some juvenile part of him still winced and closed his eyes before the archers unleashed the arrows. Knowing that it was too fragile an attempt to shield him from an impending death, an arm shot out to cover his face as he fell on the deep, smooth sand.

The swish of the arrows cutting the air reached him before any real pain could and he could not Inhale his next breath.

His lungs burned in anticipation and with lack of air but the pain he expected did not come. What in reality was a matter of moment felt like and age to him. His eyes snapped open.

He wished he had not opened them. He wished he could not open them. He wished for anything but the sight in front of him.

His mother knelt before him an arm stretched towards him as if she wanted to push him away from the danger. Her wide eyes reflected the desert sky, dotted with lifeless stars. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth as she fell face forward into the embrace of the warm sand. The arrows he awaited had dug themselves into her back unforgivingly.

He heard it as the initial shock wore off. As if from a distant her last scream still echoed, calling him.

"DEVA!"

David's eyes snapped open. The fortress of Chandranagara never allowed him a peaceful sleep. He stared absentmindedly at the closed door of the bedroom he shared with Andrew before recalling the argument he had slept on. Andrew's bed was cold and untouched. It seemed his friend was still mulling over their disagreement and had not returned to rest for a while before they departed to investigate the temple.

'Are you playing a game?" He recalled the words Andrew threw at him and their dark implications. Was he? David mused. That was not the real question. The real question was whether he was ready to hold on to his strategy until the very end. David had to admit that the ride was not as smooth as he predicted it would be.

"I got my answer," Andrew turned away, accepting his hesitation as his verdict. David shook his head not knowing how to phrase his justification.

Andrew was wrong. It had never been a game to him. It had always been a battle and everything was fair in war.

Wars were all about collecting debts. Nawab Khan had destroyed his childhood, his family and his identity. It was a debt that he would collect, one way or the other. But there was another who had cost him his mother. He would not have minded dying for her. But he was never told that to save her was to sacrifice his mother.

A game was where you cannot predict the end result. A war was where you plotted for your desire. David was never a man of guess work. He was never a player of unpredictable games.

"You are vile to play with her trust," Andrew's tone had been laced with disappointment. "To pretend to care when I know, David McLane could never be loyal to anyone."

He had been silly before and lost everything to a scheme that had nothing to do with him. Perhaps being vile had always been a part of his destiny. David no longer cared that his best friend thought ill of him. Andrew and he were never on the same page regarding morality.

Kashi Bai owed him a debt; a debt that he wished to collect.

**

Afreen struggled against Satya who tugged at the knots of the ropes to check their strength before moving away from her. He had tied her to a pillar and Afreen gritted her teeth realizing her chances of breaking through where as slim as the chances of Satyavan becoming her best friend.

His eyes burned as he examined the dagger he had extracted from her, before tossing it away and folding his arms.

"Came back to finish what you couldn't in Madhavgadh lady Afreen?" he asked sarcastically. "I have to confess. You managed to get me believe in your loyalty to Rajkumari Kashi. I should have known better. People like you are loyal to none."

Afreen's gaze was hard as she returned Satya's. Traces of agitation only remained in the unpleasant tilt in the corners of her mouth.

"Let me go, Satyavan Miyyan - I need to get to Kashi Bai before she leaves!"

"Oh - and why is that I may ask?"

Afreen sighed.

"Her life is in danger! She is heading towards a trap!"

"Says the woman who tried to burn her alive!" Satya shot back darkly.

Afreen gritted her teeth, exhaled deeply and looked into his eyes.

"I was not trying to kill her." She said clearly, pressing each word. "I was trying to terminate the cause everyone else was after her life. You do not understand there is a reason why McLane wants Kashi Bai. There is a reason why Nawab Khan kept her alive for so long."

"And what is that reason - may I ask?"

There was a pause and Afreen blinked.

"I cannot tell you."

"Then I cannot help you either!"

"Satyavan Miyyan - she is heading for danger!"

"Danger from what?"

"David McLane. David McLane is not what you think he is."

**

Fated enemy or a faithful friend? Who do you think David McLane really is? Most importantly, will Kashi find out in time to survive?

Tell me what you think, I'm eager to hear from you!

Don't forget to vote! (As I type this we stand at the brink of 500 votes.)

Thanks for reading!