❝Men fight wars. Women win them.❞ 
Queen Elizabeth I

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THE nightfall came sooner than she wanted it to. The subtle hues of pink and blues merged together creating an atmosphere of unwanted nostalgia as the sun went down and far away and the moon slowly came to life.

The queen had bid her goodbyes to everyone other than her mother and the Yuvraj. Her mother had refused to show up and she couldn't look at the Yuvraj without guilt gushing through her veins, so, she simply decided not to talk to him before leaving.

As the monarch mounted her horse, her armor felt heavier than it had ever before - weighing her down and launching an uneasy feeling in her chest. She watched Aziza nod one last time at her and then lead the last troop past her and out of the huge palatial gates.

She casted one last look back at the castle corridors - the dirt on the ground was suspended in the air and horses galloped past her away to the horizon - hoping that that one familiar face of the obnoxious imposter would meet her. 

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TWO DAYS LATER

Akira jabbed her sword in the crack of his armor-plate and pulled it back. The once clean sword was now colored in hues of red as the soldier in front of her dropped down like the numerous others before.

Passing men and men battling in the foreign corridor of the Ekam nagar palace, the queen walked past the limestone hallways which were now covered in blood at some places – both from her men and the foreign defenders. She kept walking, slashing through the defending army as their blood decorated her armor and skin, tainting the once clean body and soul with a thousand little cuts and gashes of sins.

She reached her destination – The queen Of Ekam nagar and her son. The Queen and her son were kept in a room, situated far away from all the bloodshed and war and the sovereign knew that they were the key to winning the war.

Akira stood outside the door and put a gentle hand on it. The door creaked open under the light weight of her palms and the queen realized that the door, to her surprise, wasn't bolted shut.

'That's suspicious', the Maharani thought as she raised her painted sword up high and slowly opened the huge doors. Her guard was high - her sword raised and her foot planted firmly on the ground as to not lose her balance - as she took slow steps inside.

She enjoyed a strange peace for about 1/6th of  second until as expected, a figure jumped upon the queen from her left, almost knocking the wind out of her lungs but Akira stood her ground. Akira shoved back the figure – which she now realized was the Queen of Ekam Nagar, Rani Rukmini – and the woman fell to the ground, her sword skidding off to Akira's foot.

A small boy – about seven or eight years old – came running from a hidden left corner of the room to the fallen figure as Akira quickly picked up the sword on the floor and raised them both at the lying figure and the small kid. The sovereign eyes quickly swept over the room for any hidden guards or weapons but to her astonishment, there were none.

The King of Ekam Nagar hadn't expected someone to come after his beloved family and that one mistake would be the one thing that caused his downfall, disarming him and letting the kingdom slip away from his grasp into the palms of another.

Keeping a sly eye on the room, Akira looked back at the woman on the floor but before the Maharani could do anything, the woman lying in front of her broke into a hysterical fit. The kohl in her eyes ran down her face as she joined her hands in front of the authority, "Pl-" sobs after sobs racked through her body as she held the small boy near to her, "Please don't do," sniff, "an- anything to Nikhil."

Rani Rukmini's hand held the small boy as close to her as possible while absolute fear flashed in her eyes. The queen glanced at the young boy and for a moment, she felt as if he was an illusion from her past. The boy next to the fallen woman looked so much like the queen's brother as a child that it made her want to drop her guard and help them up but she decided against it. She couldn't get emotions get to her, especially after all that she had to do to get in this position.

'He's not Veer.' she reminded herself, 'He's not your brother.'

The woman's sobs - which sounded like the cries of someone who was in great agony - brought Akira out of her thoughts. She focused her attention back to the fallen queen.

"Rani Rukmini," The Maharani started calmly, "I am not here to hurt you or," Her eyes vaguely scanned the young boy who whimpered next to his mother, "your son."

Akira rested down her weapons to her either sides and took on a rather diplomatic tone, "I just want your co-operation. If you both come with me, I will make sure nothing harms you or your son."

Rukmini's bottom lip quivered slightly as more tears welled up in her eyes, her voice seemed desperate, "Us? Why do you want us?"

"Your husband – Maharaja Rajaram will surrender if he realizes you both are with us. I don't want any more bloodshed Rani Rukmini and the choice is yours." Akira raised an eyebrow, her words planting a moral decision in Rukmini's head, "Do you want more bloodshed or peace? Your decision could make all the difference."

The foreign monarch swallowed hard as she glanced at her son, her mind seemed to run calculations at the speed of light. Finally she looked up at Akira, wiping the kohl-stained tears from her cheeks, "We both will go with you."

Akira gave them a nod as she helped the queen up, keeping an eye open for any tricks up her sleeve.

The Maharani walked out, the two foreigners walked quietly behind her. Any of Ekam nagar's soldiers fell back at the sight of their queen and prince with Akira.

The three of them made back to palace's biggest balcony which overlooked the bloodied arena where the battle was taking place. Corpses laid on the ground, helpless and bloodied. The animal companions of the soldiers either ran wild or laid on the ground and healers helped the wounded up, trying to take them to safety and quickly patch them up.

The evening sun - along with the million coloured sky - made the grotesque sight look somewhat like a still from a fantasy book but the reality of the situation would have sent chills down anybody's spine. 

The queen heard Rukmini suck in a deep breath as she looked at the battlefield while the little boy next to her hid behind her, looking away from the sight. The Maharani spotted Ekam nagar's king fight against Aziza as the soldiers around them fought each-other, all of them bloodied and wounded.

"Mahraja Rajaram," Akira's voice boomed over the field and the King came to a halt as he and Aziza – who had a small smirk on her face - looked up at the balcony, "Surrender."

The King furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance but his expression changed from frustration to fear in a second as his wife and son came to view.

"I have Rani Rukmini and Rajkumar Nikhil with me Maharaja," Akira pointed her sword tip at the other queen's neck, "It will take me precisely 1 minute or less to take them out."

Keeping her voice threatening, she said, "Surrender and no one gets hurt otherwise," She put enough force on her blade to make the king down below cower in fear, "say goodbye to your lovely family."

A lump formed in the King's throat as he mulled over his decision. Rajaram casted a glance around the paused fight and up at her wife who pleaded with silently. The foreign king finally raised his hands and let his sword and shield drop to the ground and his soldiers followed suit, put down their weapons. Raanpura's soldiers held them down, making sure nothing went wrong.

"I surrender. You win, Maharani Akira Singh." The foreign king declared, looking at the ground as a tint of disappointment crept up his face.

The evening sun shined on Akira's face as she let down the emerald encrusted sword. Gripping her sword tighter, an amused smirk settled on her face as she overlooked the kingdom which was now hers. 

"Thank you for your co-operation Rani Rukmini. It has been a fun collaboration." She gave a side-glance to the foreign queen beside her who was busy peppering her child with faint kisses and telling him that he was alright. 

"A really fun collaboration."

---

The queen lay awake in her makeshift bed, her eyes glossy as she stared at her tent's ceiling, thinking of the day's events and the events of the days before – the strained relationship with her mother, the uprising, a certain someone she didn't want to remember right now. A myriad of emotions ran through her system making her feel numb to the physical world.

She was in battling her own conflict, one which was not physical but rather mental. She was an expert in fighting wars that waged on in real life, leaving scars that stood on display for the whole of eternity and causing bloodshed that could be cleaned afterwards but even she felt helpless in front of the silent demons that lurked in the cracks of her mind, preying on her silently every second of every day.

Her heart seemed to have disagreed with her brain – something which had never happened before. She was the one in control. What she wanted to feel, she felt and what she wanted to avoid, she avoided but now, no matter how much she tried, she felt as if her heart was going against her. As if plan to simply pretend to fall in love with the impostor might have gotten a little off-track.

"Why can't I just end him? He wants me dead, after all." She asked herself softly, feeling some pity for herself as she again found him as the center of her thoughts.

'You know why Akira.' Her conscience seemed to answer her question, 'You know exactly why.' 

'No, I don't know why.' She seemed to argue back. 'I don't know anything. Tell me what it is.'

Her thoughts froze as her hands gripped her sword which lay on the bedside table and she sat up. She heard the fabricated doors of her tent opening and someone walking in with light footsteps.

"It's me." Her commander general said as she walked in. She looked sick - stress lines on her forehead, bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep, a tangled mess of hair on her head and finally, littered bits of fresh scabs and cuts on her body. Akira knew she looked no better. The war had a toll on everybody, after all but something felt off about the way Aziza's eyes didn't meet her own, as if she was suffering a great amount of guilt.

"What's the issue?" Akira asked, referring to the look on her face. When the girl said nothing back, Akira spoke up again, "Aziza you don't really look well. Everything alright?"

"A messenger from the palace came," Aziza started slowly - dismissing what Akira had said - even though her tone was urgent.

Akira raised an eyebrow, asking her to continue.

The commander let out a defeated sigh, "Shree's concerns were right. The palace was under an attack."

"What?" Akira stood up, her motions were burning as she left her sword on the bed.

"The uprising in Mahapuram started too. The people revolted, they fighting against the soldiers. It's mayhem all around."

The queen's eyebrows scrunched together. Everything felt surreal and confusing, as if she wasn't really present in this world but just a spectator who sitting around and watching the chaos unfold, "I- What-"

The sovereign gasped for words but none formed on the tip of her tongue.

The commander continued, "I don't know much about the attacks but I just know that Veer," Her voice got a bit hesitant, "Veer fled the scene. Nobody knows if he is ... If he's even alive or..." Aziza's voice faded into nothingness and her eyes were filled with sadness.

Akira turned away from the other girl, her forefingers rubbed her temple as a faint ache built in her head, "I need to leave for the palace right now."

The Maharani turned around to face the girl who tried to cover her grief-stricken expression, "Azi, I trust you to make sure nothing goes wrong here. I can't lose anything anymore and-" She picked up her sword, "I am going to leave for Raanpura right away."

Aziza nodded hurriedly and bowed, turning around when Akira's hand came to rest on her shoulder.

The commander turned back and looked at the sovereign, expecting her to command her about something but instead felt the Maharani's arms around her in a protective embrace.

The commander felt taken aback as she waited a good minute or so before hesitantly wrapping her arms around her friend. Her actions were still wobbly as if she couldn't bring herself to show affection to the monarch, as of there was some part of her who didn't know how to handle this situation.  

The queen assumed Aziza was taken aback. After all, she hadn't seen this part of Akira – so vulnerable, so real and so human – for about three years now and it felt like it was dream, like she was in an alternate universe.

"Veer is going to be right, Azi" The queen whispered, breaching the silence, "We all are going to be."

Aziza's voice was monotonous - like she already knew this all - as she faintly whispered back, "I know Veer is going to alright."

The monarch pulled away, a faint smile on her physiognomy, "I should get ready to leave."

The commander nodded one last time and walked away quickly. She turned around to give the queen one last look which was laced with a deadly mixture of guilt and sadness, "I never wanted this. I am so sorry Akira."

"What are you talking about? What are you sorry for?"

"Everything." The 22 year old commander whispered, the voice barely making it past her lips and meeting Akira. She then pushed past the fabric of the doorway.

Akira walked to the side of the tent where her cloak laid.

Back to Raanpura. Back to the place where it all started.

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A/N - So everything is going wrong, do you think Akira would survive? Or will she drown under the circumstances?

Stay evil♥️
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