Chapter 19
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Surya was the first one to awake the next morning.

She blinked her eyes open and turned her gaze towards Charu who was still asleep and saw Radha leaning against the pole of the tent where she sat. Her posture looked ready to plunge into a deep sleep. She awoke from her very light slumber with a start when Surya approached her. She motioned for her to go sleep and Radha nodded, trying to act less eager but failed.

The well-rested one quietly shut the flaps of the tent and went out. The sun didn't burn into her eyes as he had not arisen yet. His slow emergence was still to come and the dark, peaceful Brahma Muhurta prevailed. Surya had nothing to do yet, so she decided to meditate and let the sweet songs of birds remind her to stop after some time.

She did not sit right away, of course, she pulled out a thick, warm blanket and wrapped it around herself as she sat cross-legged, falling into the starting stages of the calming process. Sometime later, the birds sang, but Surya just smiled and listened to them. Some more time later, the blanket began to get uncomfortably warm, but she was unfazed. Must be the warm light of the sun, a voice in the back of her head assured her.

It was only when a loud chatter and sharp yelps sounded, she jumped. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the faint morning light. "What on earth..." Her eyes narrowed when she saw a monkey on their cart and a bunch more approaching it and she swung into action. She marched furiously towards them, her hands ringing with loud claps.

"Out, out! No one will dare touch anything!" she shouted to the startled creatures, holding up a nearby stick and moving it in warning. They got up and leaped away in a hurry, clinging to the branches of trees as they fled.

She shook her head. "What bothersome monkeys! I was just in time, else they would've tossed down the goods." She returned back, arms swinging by her, holding a pot in one hand. She walked swiftly to the river and dunked the pot in the cold water, filling the mud vessel with clear, freshwater. She brought it back as quick as she could, taking care not to lose grip on the pot as she headed back.

She assembled a few logs together and started a fire. Surya placed the pot over the fire, letting it boil. She added a few pinches of the mixed herbal powder she carried everywhere in a little pouch, to the water. She went over to the cart, pulled out a small sack of fruits, and brought them back to the tent. She looked into the sack and saw the oranges were still fresh.

Is it just me or do the oranges look fewer than when I last packed them? Ah, I remember now. I had eaten a few on the way yesterday. Surya grinned sheepishly.

Just as she was about to wake Charu and Radha for breakfast, they stepped out of the tent. Surya beamed at them. "Good morning, have a bit of warm water, you two." She gestured to the pot with her head.

Radha rubbed her eyes and massaged her temples. "I'm going to sleep through the ride if it's alright, I have a headache and I didn't get much sleep yesterday," Radha said and Surya and Charu nodded in understanding.

They quickly ate the fruits and went to pack up, leaving their sleep-deprived friend to catch up on her sleep. "I'll drive," Charulatha said.

"No, I'll drive, you haven't slept for half of the night, you can go sleep too," Surya insisted as she whispered to her.

"Fine, I'll sit in the cart, but I'll be... half-asleep. I'll be watching if anything falls out."

"That is highly unlikely to happen-"

"-but I'll keep a lookout just in case."

Surya shook her head at first but then nodded. Half-asleep, that's what she says now. Wait till she falls fully asleep in a few minutes... Surya chuckled mentally. She mounted the seat and patted the horses.

"Ready, boy-boys?" she asked the horses and left only when they neighed in agreement. "Gee-up!"

* * *

It was not easy maintaining three horses at once while you drove a cart that was pulling another cart just as heavy, if not heavier!

Surya looked up into the sky. The sun's glare had gotten brighter but a few more hours till his brightest hour, remained. It had been a long, long trip from their campsite. Surya squinted. There were roof tiles of a house in the distance. "Charu Bhagini, we're approaching the village," she cautioned the sleeping duo. In response, she earned soft snores from them.

She shook her head, smiling. What did I tell you?

She pulled the reins high as the horses slowed down and parked the cart to the side of the main path. She had to physically shake them awake to tell them that they were getting to the villages and they should be prepared with their disguises! Charu couldn't believe that she had slept at all.

"I was wide awake when we left, I just blinked once and then I'm here!" she kept repeating.

"No matter, Bhagini, now could you please go ahead with the disguise?"

Their relaxed faces morphed into hard, strict ones as they got back into their position. The path was much broader than the one through the forests and they began driving steadily. Surya looked straight ahead as she drove, except for a few glances to her sides.

We're at the tip of the shoot, a long way till the roots...

There were few houses on the roads for quite some time, until they reached a road in better condition. Then the number of houses they saw slowly began to double until they were in front of what seemed like a market. But it was an incomplete market. Plenty of shops, but it lacked people. A few villagers peeked out of houses, even fewer stood on the streets, and none had a smile on their faces.

The Veer Naaryaha knew why when they spotted blue flags tied at different poles of the street. Abalabāhu. This village was under his command. Surya almost shuddered but stopped herself when a soldier marched towards them. She put on a serious, business-like face, and turned to him. He was a bulky man, more fat than muscles, the color of his beard making him look older than he was. He looked like he was around thirty.

"State your name and business," he said and snapped his fingers. A boy quickly grabbed a bamboo chair and put it near the man for him to sit. The chief soldier waved his hand, dismissing the boy. He sat down and crossed his legs in an authoritative manner, surveying them with his scrutinizing eyes.

Surya cleared her throat, ready to answer when Radha took the lead and replied in the gruffest voice she could manage, "We are the Manohara brothers. We are blacksmiths of sorts."

The soldier scowled at them without reason. "What are your individual names?"

Suryakanti spoke up this time, "These are my brothers, Radhey Manohara, Chiranth Manohara, and myself Surya Manohara."

"Brothers?" he questioned, arching a suspicious brow as he looked at their varying heights, complexion, and looks.

"Brothers by name, not blood," Charu covered up. Surya could've laughed at how ridiculous their gruff voices sounded were it not for the serious situation. The guard didn't seem to be weirded out by their voices or looks, that was certain. But he did seem suspicious about who they were.

"Where do you come from?"

"Many places, really, we're akin to traveling blacksmiths."

The soldier turned back and jerked his head towards the cart, signaling his fellows to surround them. Three other soldiers came up, walking around the horses and carts.

"What do you sell?"

"Many metal trinkets, but  blades and knives primarily."

"For blacksmiths, you have fine horses," another soldier commented, patting Vayasya who seemed uncomfortable in the man's presence.

"Er, yes, we deal with wealthy merchants who like to collect ancient knives."

"Check the carts!" the first one yelled out, eyes not leaving the trio.

"They've got some nice knives back here!" a tall one said, pocketing a few after he examined the knives placed neatly in the crates. Each one was kept in red cloth, making them appear more precious than they were. "Long, short, some designed..."

The chief soldier's lips curved into a sinister smirk. "Metal goods, horses, and rich blacksmiths. You have two options, I'm feeling generous today, so three: either give us one-sixth of your goods or pay us some amount of money as tax or agree to settle in this town as blacksmiths."

Is it just me or do his options make me feel like we don't have a choice? 

Giving up one-sixth of our goods will mean handing over so many weapons and we wouldn't seem like genuine blacksmiths if we did that.

But paying a sum is not an easy task for us now. We'll have to pay here and then pay for food and sleeping here and in other villages as well! Settling here is out of the question. We aren't real blacksmiths-

"Speak up, buffoons!" he snapped. "I'm not paid to sit and wait for people like you."

"We'll hand over the weapons," Surya blurted out, but thankfully, she didn't forget to deepen her voice.

"Alright, take a quarter of it, men!"

The trio was alarmed. Radha got off and tried to reason, "But you said only one-sixth of our goods-"

"You wasted my time by thinking, and the price increased," he replied.

Radha fell silent and returned back. The three women remained quiet as the guards took away half of the blades and knives they had brought from the academy.

"Not as many as you'd expect blacksmiths to have, chief," one said, eyeing the cart in suspicion. That's because we've hidden the rest under the cart, you fool! Surya thought but remained panicked on the outside.

"These are ancient knives and they cost a lot of money," Surya said. "We make more whenever we run out of ordinary weapons."

"Alright, let them pass, men! They've paid the tax."

Surya immediately rode off into the market, eager to get away from the leeches. The street had many soldiers, fewer traders, and very few villagers. Surya tried to find an empty spot to stop but they were too small. So she drove through the narrow streets and it got less busy as they approached the outskirts of the market. The path was wider, houses were few and so were the people. Finally, she managed to find a good spot right next to an inn. What luck!

She carefully drove the cart and stopped where it looked about right. "I'll go check if there are any empty rooms-" Surya began, ready to get out of her seat when Charu interrupted.

"I'll do it," she said, still in her deep voice. "You will be worn out... brothers," she added.

Radha and Surya fished out some oranges to eat while they waited.

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Sorry for the delay, readers! But I hope the chapter makes up for it.