Guru ji felt his heart thumping hard. ..He never expected such a critical situation in his life. ..

Suman viewed  Guru ji . Her brows knitted to notice his confused  face. .

  " Guru ji. ..Is anything wrong. .? "

Being a straight forward, she asked him directly.

   Guru ji  shook his head negatively.

He understood well that none of them had  recognised the wounded man  as  Shiv Pandav Vikramadhitya - the E.chalukian prince...

The only thing they knew was a  wounded man who needs medical aid at once....

Guruji traced his baled head thoughtfully. First thing came to his mind was to avoid the unnecessary trouble by helping the price who was in enmity with their kingdom.

On the other hand , he was desperate to help him as he knew his good virtues..He saw Neela at spot and understood that Ranjith would have gone in search of help. With this , it was clear that both Shravan and Ranjith were unaware of their fort  which was at few distance away..

Guru ji acted fast..He grabbed Suman ' s hand to insist her leaving.

  " My child. ..I think it's not advisable to spend a lot of time here. ..There is no way we could help him. .It is good if we leave this place as soon as possible.."

  Suman looked him baffled. Her brows shrunk in disbelief.

" What do you mean. .?  Are you telling us to leave him like this itself. ? I don't think you are that much stone hearted. .."

Guru ji stunned to hear  Suman. ..

That was  the ever first time, he listen the accusation from suman..She was more like a daughter to him than a disciple. He was the one who had  taught her about humanity and kindness. ..hence, there was nothing wrong at her query. ..But , he was in a position to act  to the situation. 

Guru ji  moved with discomfort. .

He knew shiv ' s good deeds as well. Though, the political issues around them was not in a desirable condition to help him. ..

 
    He thought of  Veera Rajendra chola ,Suman 's father. ..His only goal was his dynasty 's expansion and people's welfare. ..He would be ready  to sacrifice his own daughter's life for the same. ..

The western Chalukya prince Jaya Simhan had an eye on Suman 's beauty. He had sent a wedding  proposal in seeking Suman's hand  ..If his proposal was taken into consideration , the two dynasties would merge together ..

    Guru ji never went against the king 's opinions as the king was always right in his decisions. This time ,  He didn't want his Suman to be a sufferer as he didn't have good idea about  Jaya simhan. ..He heard him to be a cruel ,dishonest ,womaniser. ..Unlike Shiv, he was known for his negative qualities. .

  Guru ji didn't want Suman to be unhappy  with all these political issues. .Hence, he brought her to the fort which was situated at the outskirts of Chola dynasty for some days to keep her. ..

   In this tough situation, he was helpless not to get into the unwanted trouble by helping Shiv. ..

  Guru ji  eyed Suman embarrassed. ..His face was blanched as he was double barrelled at distress.

" Suman. ..I don't want you to step into the unnecessary  mess. .."

  Suman cut him in between. ..

" Guru ji. ..I don 't think anything will  harm me If I  help an injured, unconscious man . ..why  would I  be at trouble to help a helpless  man. .Moreover, you all are with me. ."

Guru ji cleared his throat to earn some time to reply. ..He didn't know how to explain the situation to Suman. ...

" My child. ..I insist you  to think. ..what if he is a spy. ..what if he is a culprit. .a thi...thief. .?"

His throat grew into hard lump to accuse Shiv ..He uttered the last  word hesitantly , stammering.

 ..He knew well that if shiv ever knew that he was accused with such heinous  offences, surely Guru ji would be thrown into pieces. .What he wanted was to bring Suman back to the fort , leaving Shiv in the forest itself . Ranjith would be coming  at any time and the things would not be the same if the truth is unveiled .

Even after Guru ji 's best efforts , suman was not convinced  from her stand. ..

" No guru ji. ..look at him. ..His hands still clutched to his sword. .I can see the scars on his forearms which clearly state his  valour. ...see the place where he was stabbed. ..He must be stabbed from  behind. ..perhaps, he was betrayed. . There is blood strain in his sword , a spy won't fight. ..And , a warrior won't be a thief..no doubt. ..He is a true warrior.."

   Guru ji was stunned with her intelligence. ..He was surprised to hear her words spoken from heart.The  truth hit his mind that the good deeds of a person speak volumes everywhere..

" Suman. ..Guru ji is right. .."

Krithika spoke hesitantly .

" No Krithika. ..it's final. ..we are going to help him. .." She was stubborn..

Nodding annoyed with the discussions , She knelt in front of Shiv.

" Guru ji. ..I tried to stop his bleeding. ..somehow, the bleeding is controlled to some extent. ..Please. . check the depth of the  wound  . We will treat his injury here and can leave him if he gains consciousness.."

  Guru ji understood ..

 Suman was clear enough in her thought and he was aware of her  adamant nature. She always stood at her decision in  believing her heart. Moreover , Guru ji scared what if Suman doubts as he was firm in his decision..  That would be a worse situation which he never wanted in his life ever.

Without any further ado , he bent down  to Shiv to assess the wound. ..

    He pressed the wound with his finger to check the depth. ..

" ouch. .."

Shravan  winced with pain. He tried to open his eyes but failed..

Guru ji nodded negatively. ..

" Suman. ..the wound is deeper and wider than I thought. ..it's impossible to treat him here. ."

Suman shared a worried look with her friends. .. She scratched her forehead and pressed her lips..

" Then, let's take  him to the fort. .." Without any second thought , she decided..

But , Suman 's words shot Guru ji like a storm.

" What. ..?" He shouted in shock.

" Suman. ..Don 't you know it is an offence. .? How we could bring him  inside the PRINCESS FORT. .?"

Guru ji strived to turn  down Suman 's decision.

   
  Yes. ..

It was a  princess fort. . Princess forts were built  for the women of the King's family. .It was used only for the women to get along with their friends and to go for hunting ..The princess fort  was not much bigger like the  forts at capital . Still,  it  was designed to be  safe  and was stored with    enough of armoury  to manage  tiny battles if any. .

There   were handpicked guards  at first level  for protection. .Eminent cooks  cooked deliciously to pamper the Royal women. Talented musicians and dancers were ready at any time to rejoice  the inhabitants. The maids were  around to attend the needs of the Royal women. All in all , the princess fort was not less than a bliss.

Importantly , No men were allowed inside beyond the first level. Exceptionally , old men  and  Lilli puts were permitted inside the fort after the first level....Even the fort guards were  confined to the first level alone. ..

  That was the reason Guru ji stood  shocked when Suman told to take Shiv to the fort....

"Suman. ..He looks like an youngster. ..if we bring him through the main door, what would our guards think off. ..I don't want to jeopardise your character. .."

  Guru ji turned to other side with much annoyance. .

" well. ..in that case, we will bring him to the fort via the secret tunnel. .."

   Guru ji 's breathe paused for a second. ..

" no. ..i can't. ..suman. ..it's highly irresponsible. ..so far, i and your father only knew the secret path. ..i  can't do this. .."

" guru ji. ..Each second we discuss may worsen his condition. ..we will let him to stay for today alone. ..we will manage to hide him from the guards. ..after getting better, we will ask him to leave. .."

It was easy to comprehend for suman. ..but for guruji...it was like surviving a T sunami ...He cursed the morning which was loaded with troubles. ..

He tied shravan ' s eyes for safety since he don't want to let the country's secret out to an intelligent enemy. ..

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  Suman 's room was lit with torches. ..Guru ji placed shravan at her bed. ..

Krithika was ready with the hot water as per the instructions. .Guru ji cleaned the wound with hot water. ..He packed the wound with medicinal leaves. ..

" suman. ..I am going to seal the wound with hot wax. ..He may shout with pain. ..ask krithika to close his mouth. .."

Guru ji ought to be cautious, as the fort guards may  get alerted. ..and if they inform suman s father, then it would be a worse situation. ..

Guru ji was ready to seal the wound with hot wax. .He heated the wax at lamp. ..He poured the wax at the wound corner to close it. ..

Krithika, who was witnessing the whole series shockingly...forgot to close Shravan's mouth. ..

  " a a. ...a...hhh...."

A loud scream came out from Shravan.......

        " it's all finished. .." 

   guru ji s body drained out all his blood out. ..He looked suman with hight of fear. ..her face was clouded with scare. ..

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Friends, the next chapter is here. ..I hope you could go with the track easily. ..do pen down if something is not right. ..i have given details about certain things where ever necessary. ..Please. ..do read and comment. ..thank you guys for your lovely responses. ..