Cold nights carry something for all those frozen hearts. They carry a chance for all those, who have been straying in cold, to feel that warmth.
Valley wrapped in misty sheet and still having no warmth, that night was beautifully intense.
Nandini looked around and then her eyes returned back to him. Quiet, peaceful and carefree him; he was sleeping. She expected a lot of queries and compulsive set of taunts as well, but nothing of that sort happened. She could see how drained he was. She couldn't even make out how much blood he must have lost, but it was a lot. He asked her what she was doing there and then he peeped into her eyes with so much of intensity that she thought for a moment that he would take away a part of her soul.
Not a word afterwards, he closed his eyes and she assumed he was feeling weak. She wanted to ask how he was feeling and why they beat him, but seemed like this new fashion of 'no questions asked' was pretty comfortable. She wanted to be quiet.
Sleep was nowhere in her eyes. She didn't want to close her eyes either because there were scenes playing.

Her father and his victories.

People cheering for him and his name echoing.

Bullet fires and piercing screams.

Town burning and ashes drizzling.

Slavery and exploitation.

Her father's words and her disbelief.

She opened her eyes and wiped away the tiny tear from the corner of her eye.
"They play without a break. Don't they? Repeatedly and without a fail. " Manik asked.

She looked at him all perplexed. His eyes were still closed and head slightly leaned on tree. His voice actually sounded sweet to her in middle of loud noise inside her head.
"I don't know what are you talking about?" She replied in low tone.
"Hmmm, " he sighed and folded his knee.
Nandini looked at him, all flustered. She certainly didn't like such halt to their almost conversation.
And then the urge evolved yet again to prick him and get some words out of his mouth. That strange ire which was highly painful to hold and too undirected to let out.
"I thought you were asleep, " she murmured trying to sound all composed.
She waited and waited. There was no reply. Anger was gone and now there was this unreasonable sadness.
She got up and walked to the grassy edge of land.
__________________________
"Yes, Mrs Murthy, she took the car and escaped with one local boy whom we arrested for hitting one of our officers, " Deputy told Mrs Murthy for third time.
"There must be some mistake. That man must have taken my daughter and drove off," She denied, "Nandini doesn't even know properly how to drive a car."
Deputy looked at her with pity and then assured her how he would again ask his men and see if they could explain it any different.
________________________
"This isn't garden of Murthy mansion where you can choose to have a night walk," he said and stood up.
Nandini turned around to see his chaotic face. Such disfigure; cut on lips, swollen cheek and bandaged forehead; he looked like a complete mess.

Before she could take her gaze off him, he walked right beside her. She lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

"Breathtaking view. Isn't it?" He asked.
She quickly looked at him and found him seeing vast valley in front of them.
"This, oh yes, it's beautiful," she said.

He spared a glance at her and then said, "I bet, better than view from your window."

Silence prevailed for a few minutes. She heard him sighing and she knew another gibe is on its way or else he had decided to get rid of her.

"Your father won't be much pleased to know that you escaped with a commoner," he put, "you know, I don't have clean name either."

"Clean name?" She asked quickly.
"Yes, clean name," he sighed yet again, "I am convicted of many things which people like you don't like."

He was looking into her eyes by tilting his head a little.

"Are you trying to scare me?" She snapped at him.

"I was just stating the truth," he said, "I was getting beaten by army men, if you remember."

Nandini was indeed a bit stressed now. She doubted if she had escaped with a criminal.

"Why they were beating you? What did you do?" She asked turning completely towards him.
He folded his arms near his chest and worn this serious expression on his face.
Her heartbeats were somewhere in her mouth as she awaited him to speak up. As far as she could deduce, he was about to drop a grenade. Oh well, he looked deadly dark for those few minutes.

"I had killed two of their men. I hung them on tree, later," he uttered.
Nandini felt her pulse dying somewhere which was drumming loud just before he opened his mouth.

"What!" She exclaimed almost inaudible.

Her pale face and his sinfully dark eyes, she gulped the fear.

"Yes, I killed them. I hate people with perks. And believe me, I have no control over this urge to kill when I see one of elite people. I just...choke them to death," he finished saying with a devious smile.

Nandini looked frozen to death as her already white tone had turned ice white and eyes didn't blink for even once.

He unfolded his arms and put them in pockets.

She stepped back a little and started going towards bonfire.

"Where do you think you are going?" He asked sternly.

"I.... I... was... I was just feeling cold," she could hardly finish her sentence and she heard him bursting into laughter.
He was laughing like mad and she stood all flustered.
"Look at your face, Highness," he uttered while trying to control his giggles.

Tears started brimming in her eyes and she pursed her lips in absolute ire.

He would not just stop laughing. She looked at him with this helpless rage which didn't know how to shape up.

"This isn't funny," she shouted her lungs out.

She got tricked by him. And his winning laugh was only fanning the fire.

"This isn't funny, you are right," he said composing himself, "this is just one of tricks I play before killing my wealthy preys. "

He was back at ridiculing her. She nodded her head in disbelief and started walking towards bonfire.
His giggles again got scattered in atmosphere.

Anger, again this abundant anger; she felt like punching him and dislocating his already injured jaw; she felt like hitting him with whatever she could get her hands on; And she felt this strong urge to go and wipe away his smug. But she chose not to do any of it.
She dropped the handful of mud on fire and then kicked the burning coal. Coals were scattered and light was gone. She gathered her overcoat from ground and started walking towards forest.

And strong pull grabbed entire of her and she banged into his chest.

"Where do you think you are going? Huh? " he asked.

She struggled hard to get rid of his grip which was almost stopping blood to flow though her wrist vein.

"Leave me," she said all composed.

And he grabbed her other arm as well, made her face him completely. She wrestled a bit to get rid of his muscular frame but all in vain.

"Where this anger was? I so damn missed it," he said softly.

She was confused to no end. She looked into his eyes finally. Tears brimming in her eyes and mild light, she looked like a complete mess.

"These tears, they don't make me weak," he uttered in utterly cold tone, "they just make me angry."

He jerked her away and she stood in shock for few moments.

He walked into the dark, away from the embers bright. She wiped her tears and cursed herself for standing weak in front of him. She was vulnerable.
"It was my biggest mistake to rescue you from that camp, " she spewed.
"I wish I had never helped a worthless arrogant like you," she added.

It felt good. It did. She felt some of that fire diminishing inside but then this pang as if something had burnt inside.

He turned around. A dark contour standing in total dark, she could tell he was looking at her with extreme anger.

"Then who the bloody hell told you to do that," he snapped back and walked into the light.

Dried leafs had caught the fire and blaze again was giant.

She looked into his fire spitting eyes. She did feel a bit of pleasure for making him feel a little vulnerable but again, this pang which won't just leave.

"Nobody had told you to be a worthless hero and rescue a worthless local like me," he grabbed her from shoulder and walked to the tree.

"Nobody had told you to drive like a mad woman on muddy road and drag a worthless moron like me to the woods," he had pinned her to the tree.

"Nobody had told you to pretend like a kind princess when you are NOT," He spewed sheer venom.

"Who am I to you, anyway," he asked acutely.

Nandini was dragged to a hole it seemed as she felt downright congested and choked.

"Leave me," she shouted in broken voice.

"It was a mistake. It was a bloody mistake," she said and then choked.
Her throat didn't support the facet she wanted to wear. She didn't want to prove weak but her throat had to stand by hurt.

He didn't let her go and kept looking at her vulnerable face. She pushed him hard assuming how he must be deriving satisfaction looking at her broken self. She pushed him again.
It was all in vain. He didn't move a bit and hovered her even more. She could feel his breath on her forehead.

"That's my bandanna wrapped in your neck," he murmured.

She couldn't believe his audacity.

"What?" She gasped.

"That's my bandanna in your neck," he again said.

And before she could curse his arrogance, she felt his fingers on her neck, extracting the piece of cloth from her skin. Her breath was somewhere stuck in windpipe and she was amused at his guts.
Was it too warm out of sudden or it was just sheer delusion of warmth?
She felt bandanna sliding away from her neck and he wrapped it on his palm.
"You are unbelievable," she murmured.
He looked at her with this content. It wasn't about having an upper hand, wasn't about seeing her vulnerable or wasn't about winning.
It was something else. She was feeling calm and much composed. She lowered her head realizing their proximity.
He draped the bandanna around her neck again and looked at her keenly. Tying the knot of it, he said, "it smells too good and it's too clean for me to have. "

She looked at him, all amused.
"You are mean, cold and convenient. Has anybody ever told you that?" She stated.
He smiled a bit, coldly and said, "You just did."

She had seen him growling in anger, laughing in bad taste, smiling in smug and staring in blank; he had mere expressions. On his young face, it was difficult to find a sign of juvenility or life. He was too serious and matured for his age. His attitude didn't help either.

He walked towards edge and said, " dawn is about to break. Let's start walking before they hunt us down."

"Go where?" Nandini asked.
"Your home. Where else? Highness has a palace to return to. Has she forgotten?" He quipped.
Home? That would mean getting back there where she doesn't want to be. Not at that time at least. She didn't have strength to face her mother and control her rage. She didn't want to listen to her pleas if she had any. She didn't want to understand how and why. She didn't want to return.
"I am not returning home. I cannot, " she blurted.

He looked at her all confused.

"If you are forgetting, I have escaped with a suspect and even stolen one of their vehicles," she put.
He chuckled and looked at her as if she had cracked a lame joke.

"You amuse me to no limit. Do you know that?" He asked.

"You are stupid or just choose to look stupid to suit your heavenly looks," he added.

It was a twisted remark and she looked at him, all flustered.

"Do you think they would allow themselves to think that you escaped and paroled me with you?" He asked.
"Now if you don't reach home by twilight , I am your kidnapper and you are damsel in distress," he added.

"What?!" She exclaimed.

"I am blood which they take oath for and you are blood they take oath on. Their pride won't go well with your escape stunt," he told.

"No, no! They all saw me stealing the car and all. Nobody can deny that," she argued.

"Minister's daughter ran away discharging a convict, this doesn't sound like a headline they would like," he uttered.

"But minister's daughter is being kidnapped by a convict, they can do better with it if they didn't find us anytime soon," he added.

"I understand. You don't need to worry. I was, anyway, about to part my way," she said trying to show utter disinterest in his assistance.

He didn't say a word. He just looked at her as if trying to read something. She kept stealing glances to know what he was thinking. But alas! His dead frozen face was as usual illegible.

"You don't worry. You just tell them I threw you out of car and ran away," she said while tightening the laces of her gumboots.

She walked past him and he still didn't move.
And then she heard him mumbling something and he strode in same direction, clearly stating how its gonna be him who would lead.

A smile floated on her lips and he turned around.
"Till they catch us, it's going to be my way and my lead," he said, "and never try those unpolished manipulation skills on me. I am worried of nothing."
She kept staring at him, unaffected. He walked close to her. Taking away the bandanna from her neck, he zipped her overcoat tightly. Loosing one end of cloth in his hand, he brought it between their faces.
She held the other end of bandanna as he gestured him to hold it. A winning smile graced his bruised lips and she felt a prick. She jerked it hard so that it got loose of his grip and it did.
She walked past him, leaving him all baffled.
"Are you coming?" She asked with a smirk and he did look amused.

______________________

"I am doing whatever I can, Aashi, " Aryan told Aashi, "I know, Manik is missing but he took Ms Murthy along. "
"You know it's not true," Aashi cried.
Aryan dragged her to the corner and said, "Keep your pretty mouth shut before they kill both of us. I am trying to do whatever I can. Manik anyway was screwed. I just hope we find them. I will try he doesn't get very harsh punishment. I will try."
He finished his hollow assurance and Aashi looked at him with utter disbelief.