At the harbor,
Soon after Aparaajitha's ship had docked, an elite special and special group of soldiers who served the special allied forces of Mahishmati and her allied kingdoms boarded the vessel. There was a thorough inspection of all the documents and the vessel notwithstanding the fact that the flag and the letter of invitation from Vijayamarthanda clearly denoted that they were special invited guests. This elite group of soldiers were called 'The Suras'.

This elite regiment was also a means through which Subahu sought to retain control over all his allies, including his own brother-in-law. They were stationed at vantage points throughout the kingdom to ensure the safety of his empire and to deter his friends and enemies alike from plotting against him.

They were vested with supreme powers to act in any manner they thought fit and to instantly execute or assassinate anybody, including allied kings, if they suspected the slightest bit of treachery. There would be no enquiry or questions asked either before or after. In essence, Subahu did not fully trust his own shadow.

Despite being the unchallenged sovereign of a mighty and vast empire, Subahu knew not the comfort of even a peaceful and good night's sleep. Starting with the assassination attempt on his life the night after his coronation ceremony by Surya Varma and Aditya Varma who were Mahendra Baahubali's cousins and Samanths (Allied kings) of the Mahishmati empire, it was only the first of the many series of attempts that followed it. And in most cases, it wasn't even the rebels who were instigating them.

Random people like his palace maids, his personal guards, the beggar child on the street, the town madwoman, the prostitute in the dancing house, and so on. These attempts were so unplanned and disorganized that it wasn't a difficult job to thwart them. Constant vigilance and espionage ensured that Subahu always remained one step ahead of all of them. It was a hard life, living in perpetual danger, trusting no one at all.

Aparaajitha remained on tenterhooks the whole while this elite group was inspecting their vessel for any suspicious activity. They had arrived quite a while ago at the harbor but they were yet to receive clearance to go ashore. The scheme of impersonating was not going to be so easy after all. These were troubled waters. They had to tread very carefully in this minefield without getting caught.

Suddenly Aparaajitha was reminded of the huge cache of weapons, the chests of Gauri Kanth, the huge urns of the secret decoction of Indraneeli and various other kinds of poisonous substances and powders they were carrying on board. They might be able to explain the huge treasure trove of wealth, pearls, spices and precious gems on board by bluffing that they were intended as gifts. But the rest of these things would surely invite suspicion. She wondered how all these things had escaped their notice.

Finally, the Captain of the Suras signed a clearance document that everything was in order. The names, number of people on board and their ages were carefully noted down in a huge ledger before he nodded his curt approval that they could land on the soil of Mahishmati. He also informed them that they would be escorted soon by Vijayamarthanda's soldiers to his royal encampment.

As soon as the last of this elite group had departed, Aparaajitha asked in a very low voice to Mrithyunjay, "How on earth didn't they find anything suspicious on board, Mrithyunjay?"

"Princess, we aren't carrying any of that stuff inside our ship?"

"What do you mean?" Aparaajitha greatly amazed.

"We anticipated this eventuality even before we sailed from the Malava islands. Our ships have all been crafted in such a manner that we are not carrying anything inside the ship but outside. Everything has been loaded outside the ship in secret compartments on the external surface that is usually submerged in the water. It is common sense that any vigilance officer would search the inside from crate to crate but nobody would think about the outside of the ship", Mrithyunjay replied with a cheeky smirk.

Spellbound, Aparaajitha gasped, "Was it your idea?"

Mrithyunjay did not say anything in reply but from the proud look on his face Aparaajitha understood how this idea had indeed been his. She beamed a brilliant smile of approval as he shyly lowered his head. "I really have a lot of learning to do", she continued.
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At Vijayamarthanda's royal encampment,
"Brother, 'he' explained everything to me. But I must still say that what both of you are doing is unjust. You know our Virupaksh doesn't have the mental maturity of even a five year old child. How can you think of marrying him off?" Eiravati exhorted. A slight tremor of disgust ran through her as she enunciated the word 'he'. But she was careful enough to quickly camouflage it.

"It wasn't my plan sister. I was just following 'his' words." Vijayamarthanda glanced surreptitiously at Subahu while saying 'his' with peculiar stress. After a long pause, Vijayamarthanda said, "Not everybody is as lucky as you are in the matter of a son, Eira. Not everybody gets a son like Narasimha. But I too feel his advise is right. Virupaksh will be twenty-three. He is my only child. You know about that fight thirteen years back where I lost my ability to sire any more children. I  have all the wealth and power I could wish for but no one proper to succeed to it. Ashwakootam desperately needs an heir."

With a severely displeased look at Subahu, Eiravati said, "Brother, you are talking about succession and heirs. But of what use is it to get a person who is a child in mental age married to somebody? It is not as if Virupaksh would ever father a child!"

Subahu said in a cutting tone, "What does it matter if Virupaksh actually fathers the child or not! A father is not so very significant!"

"What do you mean?" Eiravati looking absolutely horrified and flabbergasted with the suggestion.

"As long as the child goes by Virupaksh's name, it doesn't matter who fathers it. Remember Mahabharath!" He said in a bland voice.

"That was different and this is different. At least, there those ladies knew what they were getting into. They had the choice. Here this princess knows nothing about what she is getting into. She has no choice or voice in this matter. This is unethical!" Eiravati argued vehemently as everyone in the encampment, including her own brother, stared with ashen faces.

She was the only person apart from his mother whom Subahu allowed to speak their opinions freely and truthfully. Unlike his mother, his wife's opinions frequently contradicted with his own. Though he did not heed her words, he never stopped her from speaking. Any other person who had the temerity of speaking even one-tenth of this would be instantly punished or executed.

Putting an end to the argument, Subahu said, "Nobody has a choice in anything. They just delude themselves that they have." And in an aside, unheard by anyone except his own inner conscience, "Even I too didn't!"
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On the way to Vijayamarthanda's encampment,
A palanquin had been especially summoned for Aparaajitha and her companion Malli. Except three or four members, the rest of their crew members and soldiers had been dispersed and sent ashore with orders to carefully observe everything and gather as much information as they could without drawing attention towards themselves.

Aparaajitha's palanquin was duly escorted by Vijayamarthanda's cavalry soldiers riding in front of them while Mrithyunjay and a few of their men followed behind on foot carefully noting each and every minute detail and imprinting it in their memories for use at a later date.

As the palanquin proceeded along the dusty lanes of Mahishmati accompanied by the humming music of the palanquin bearers who strummed this tune to maintain their momentum, Aparaajitha's heart sank. This was not the motherland she had known. Gone were the busy and bustling market lanes full of commerce and activity. The lanes were full of potholes. They looked empty like a haunted house which nobody except spirits seemed to frequent.

The houses wore a dilapidated look. They all seemed to be in want of repair. Vast stretches of land where there used to be lush green and sprawling fields were now barren wastelands. At several crossroads and turnings they occasionally espied several rotting carcasses and severed heads stuck atop poles. The soldiers who rode in front spat disgracefully at them making the loud and jeering remark, "Traitors!"

Aparaajitha sat impassively displaying no emotion while Malli momentarily quailed at the sight. Aparaajitha laid a comforting hand on top of a distraught and terrified Malli who barely managed to control herself from retching at the sight. Malli said, "It doesn't look like a kingdom. It looks as though a holocaust just blew by." Aparaajitha replied in a hollow voice, "A holocaust that came thirteen years back and remained to stay!"

Unlike the time when Mahendra Baahubali ruled Mahishmati when ladies roamed the streets alone, unescorted and even at night without any fear, women now barely seemed to venture outside the safety of their homes even in broad daylight. Whenever they did, it was out of compulsion. They remained in constant fear of lewd and inappropriate comments and being touched, hauled and molested by all and sundry. What seemed to be even more pitiable was the fact that everyone around except for Aparaajitha and her group seemed to think this state of affairs perfectly normal.

Just then, they passed a group of women bound together by a long and thick rope and being led by a tall, black and bulky overseer. He was flogging them from time to time shouting at them to walk fast. As Mrithyunjay casually glanced at them, recognition dawned on him when his eyes alighted on one of them. He instantly froze where he stood.

Mrithyunjay's eyes were simmering with white hot rage that he scarcely managed to control. As he beheld the tired and weary eyes in the once beautiful face that showed no recognition of him, a silent pearl of tear dropped from his eyes before they unconsciously reddened.

The lady suddenly stumbled backwards over one of the potholes and was about to fall when Mrithyunjay supported her from falling. She merely murmured, "Thank you son", before she proceeded to join the rest of her companions without turning to look back at the tall and handsome young man whom she addressed as son.

Mrithyunjay stared long and hard at her receding figure without flapping his eyes even a single time. The long forgotten words, "Janani Janma bhumischa Swargadhapi Gariyasi (One's mother and motherland are greater than Heaven itself)", kept echoing in his consciousness. Aparaajitha's palanquin trudged forward. She peeked out of the curtains of her palanquin to look at Mrithyunjay when she beheld to her shock that he was gone.
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Author's Note:
A big thank you to all my dear readers and friends. I read all your comments and feedback though I wasn't able to personally reply to each one of you. We had to urgently shift house at the last moment. So that took up a lot of my time for the past two weeks. We are at an important landmark as far as the number of chapters goes. We are at Chapter Fifty. I don't know if the contents inside the chapter were also as good and memorable. Please do let me know how you feel about the story and the characters.