A new day dawned and a surprising calm Randhir went about his morning ablutions and dressed in a fresh set of clothes. He knew what he had to do even as he finished his breakfast of daliya brought to him by one of his guardsmen. The women's troupe doused the morning fires after the campers were fed and they set about to move camp to begin the trek for a new day. Sanyukta was finally given some warm sweetened milk and a couple of bananas to break her fast from the previous day. She had a difficult night sleeping on her side curled up like a baby in the womb since her back was still raw and the bruises would sting, but she lay quiet as a mouse, broken in spirit as realisation set in after experiencing her father's rage, shattering her illusions. 

Her father had made his intention clear the previous night, at journey's end she would be married off, living off the rest of her days in Rajputana in her marital home and her husband would be the master of her fate. If she made any move to rebel or to bring dishonour to her father during the journey he would be happy to have her gagged, bound and cast off in crocodile infested waters. When her father had brutalised her she had expected succour to come in the form of intervention from a certain young warrior but it had not, though she knew the guard troupe had witnessed the beating. She had sensed him standing nearby and watching even if she had been in no position to turn toward him to see his reaction. Unable to digest his indifference she had retreated into a shell, withdrawing herself into the backdrop with turmoil in her heart, hardly bothered about being deprived of food and drink.

What she did not know was that during the journey Randhir had objected in principle to her father about how his treatment of his daughter contravened the job assigned to him as a bodyguard to the maiden. He said it was against his kshatriya dharma to permit violence to be perpetrated against women and defenceless people. Miffed at the young man's stance her father had reminded him that he was a paid mercenary whose job was to offer the caravan protection from external aggravation, and he was ill-advised to interfere in close family matters. It had taken Randhir a massive dose of self-control not to retaliate, realising that the man before him was too insolent to be reasoned with. Samsher, who had been privy to the conversation had  negotiated a truce and things had returned to normal, with Sansher advising Randhir to be careful as he was treading on thin ice.

For the rest of the day Sanyukta kept herself out of view, only appearing at noon to help the women prepare and serve lunch. She had barely eaten, by now being accustomed to surviving on minimal rations. He noticed her gloom and had tried looking the other way, whatever was to be done would come later, he just kept his eyes peeled to ensure she was not subjected to any more aggression. As the sun set they stopped for the night by the riverside and fires were lit to get dinner going. Seeing her stir a the pot of lentils alone he approached her, dropping next to her a small basket of guavas that began to roll about startling her, seeing her distracted for the moment he let slip something in her pot taking care nobody noticed anything. 

He retreated as quickly as he had come in, as she stared at him and the fruit alternately, her hand still absentmindedly stirring the food, wondering what had just happened. She knew his visit had meant something, maybe he was making her a peace offering having neglected her earlier. The other women dished up the food and she waited patiently until she was offered her meagre supper, having managed to smuggle away the guava bundle so that no questions would be posed about them. No sooner had she finished her meal the others began to retire for the night, a tad earlier than usual. She too felt fatigue take over as her head started to feel heavy and soon she lay herself down on her mat, drawing her rug close to her body. Noticing the baniyas retire for the night so soon the camp began to quiet down. 

Randhir waited patiently until the other guards fell asleep and the sentry turned to take a round of the camp perimeter. Leaving Samsher to keep watch he quickly stole toward the sleeping women and picking his precious pinweight size sleeping bundle he hurried with her back to his tent as Samsher stepped aside to make way for him, still on the lookout. The baniya men and women slumbered on in their drug-induced sound sleep, having feasted on the doped lentils. Placing her on her belly on a soft quilt, he unfastened the stings of her backless blouse in the dim light of the lamp, his heart cringing to see the angry bruises and cuts on her back. As gently as he could he rubbed the clear ointment of extract of neem, sal and camphor in a coconut oil base over the marks, surprised to hear her whimper in pain as his fingertips ran over her delicate broken skin. 

He noticed she was awake and before he could tie back her strings she turned toward him abruptly, pulling him onto the quilt next to him, before he could register a protest. "Are you crazy Bai sa, what do you think you are doing?" He asked her, scandalised by her act, realising she had been awake throughout the time. "Rich of you to ask, do you whisk away sleeping maidens to your bed all while sleepwalking?" She rebounded a retort. "You did not have your dinner?" he enquired, curious to find her alert, unlike the others. "I eat what little I am served, never asking for seconds. Why did you bring me here to treat my back, you did not care about it when you stood there seeing me being thrashed! Continue lying down next to me with you back to the tent lest the sentry notice you are in here with a woman!" She whispered.

 "He is your father and your natural guardian, he punished you for your defiance, even if he was harsh, he did not break the law of the land. I am meant to protect you from possible miscreants, not your own father. As someone unrelated to you I had no right to intervene. Treating your bruises is a humane thing to do, besides as a warrior I am trained to heal wounds, that's all. But I could not do it in public view or with your knowledge owing to protocol. I had no choice but to drug your people to protect your reputation." His explanation was valid enough, but her mission was not yet accomplished. " So it is right to touch a tribal girl offering you liquor but wrong to touch my bruises when I am awake?" He could see where this was coming from, and where it was heading. 

"You are a bride on her way to be married, only your spouse can touch you. That girl was a motiari who has been initiated into a Muria ghotul, she was not averse to the desirous touch of a man, she comes from a different culture to ours. And Bai sa, whether you like it or not, a man has certain needs, he is free to gratify them as long as he does not break the law by forcing himself on a woman. She came to me out of her free will. One has to be more discrete in one's conduct with strangers." He tried to talk sense into her. "Who is a motiari and a what is a Muria ghotul, tell me? So, I am a stranger to you, and she is not? You know my name is Sanyukta, and you belong to the same clans as Prithviraj Chauhan, do I not share a connection with you? She bristled. "Sanyukta was a Rajput princess, Prithviraj Chauhan abducted her because they loved each other and she garlanded him symbolically during her Swayamwar. Stop dwelling on legends and act sensibly, Bai sa!" He clarified, trying to dispel her teenage fantasies of grandeur. 

" So I am not born a Rajput like you, but I am still a human with the same emotions as a Rajput woman. And I garlanded you making my choice clear!" She asserted, reaching out for the silver chain and her amulet still around his neck. "Listen to me, what you are experiencing is just an infatuation. Neither of us can afford to fall for this lunacy, we have to stick with ground reality. You will be married to the man of your father's choice in a few days and we will never meet again after that. Please try to understand, it is against my dharma to covet you as I am duty bound to your father. As a Rajput I cannot betray his trust while I am under his employ." He tried to reason with her. "Then you leave me no choice but to stay true to my word!" She rose swiftly and grabbed his dagger lying near his other weapons. 

" Don't worry, I will not harm myself on your watch. But this dagger will go through my heart before another man defiles me with his lusty touch." She spoke her words with clear intent in her eyes. "I cannot permit that Bai sa!" He said, expertly snatching the dagger from her hands. "Do you not know that here in Bundelkhand a man letting a maiden keep his dagger is securing her as his mistress? Hardly an honourable way to conduct your life while dreaming of marrying a noble Rajput warrior!" He was speaking the truth about the prevailing custom of the land they were standing on.  "Why are you doing this to me, do you not care about me at all?" Her dam finally broke, as she dissolved into tiny sobs, her palms trying to cover her face. He felt genuine compassion for the miserable girl as he tied the choli strings on her back and whispered some reassuring words to her, following which she abruptly stopped crying and hugged him tightly. 

In a few minutes a changed Sanyukta stole back to her camp unnoticed, and as soon as she lay on her mat she fell into a deep slumber, feeling calmer than she had ever been through her teenage life. Back in the tent the hot-blooded warrior lay contemplating how he was going to act upon the assurance he had just given the  young girl who had boldly opened her heart to him, brimming with the trust and hope she had placed in him, not knowing what repercussions lay ahead for either of them if they chose to walk on the forbidden path. The only other person who knew what had happened was Samsher, his mentor, with whom Randhir had no secrets. Himself perplexed about the intricacies of the situation, he told Randhir to sleep over the matter to arrive at an optimal solution.