Chakora Van:

Sambhava was screaming, “Our prince has opened his eyes. The sun of Matangpur has risen. Come and see! Yuvraj has opened his eyes.”

The soldiers who had accompanied them to the temple, rushed inside to see the crown prince. Rudradev tried to move but could not do so as he felt a sharp pain on his chest. With a feeble voice, he said, “Sambhava… for how long was I asleep?”

“ It has been one day and one night, Yuvraj.” Vinayak said with sadness in his voice.

Rudradev looked at the woman who was sitting beside him. She did not look familiar at all. He said to her, “Who are you?”

The woman folded her hands and said, “I am Devi. I live in this forest.”

“The royal physicians could not heal you. We had lost all hope when this woman came to our rescue. She treated you with some violet flowers,” Vinayak added.

Rudradev looked at her with moist eyes. He tried to recall his dream. He wanted to know if she was the same woman who had appeared in his dream. But to his dismay, he could not remember what that woman looked like. He sighed. Looking at the woman beside him, he said, “Devi, I owe you my life and there is nothing that I can do to repay you. However, if you ever need any kind of help from me, please do not hesitate. I will help you. You have my word.”

“Yuvraj, you do not have to repay me,” Devi said with a smile on her face. She continued, “You came to the temple of Mata Kali. Whatever you have now, was given by the Goddess. I was only a medium.”

Jayadrath’s chambers:

Jayadrath was sitting on a chair while
Ojaswini was standing in front of him.

“ Did you get any message about Yuvraj? Were they able to heal him?” Ojaswini asked.

Jayadrath replied, “No, my dear. We did not get any message from them. We can only pray now.”

Ojaswini looked at her father's face. There were signs of worry and he was sweating profusely. She said to him, “Did you send anyone with the messenger and the physician?”

“I could not take the risk,” Jayadrath replied. Wiping his forehead, he said, “I informed Vinayak and then set out to meet the physician myself. I sent him and the messenger along with my own charioteer.”

Ojaswini sighed and said calmly, “Do not worry, Pitashree. The physician will reach Yuvraj. I am sure that he will be able to heal him.”

She left her father's chambers and reached her own. She stumbled upon a small table in a hurry. A maid rushed inside the chambers on hearing the sound. She saw the princess sitting on the floor with a bleeding toe. The maid tried to help Ojaswini to get up. But the princess shrugged and said, “I need to take a bath. Prepare accordingly.”

Chakora Van :

Rudradev had returned to the camp. As his body was weak, he had travelled on a chariot. He was sitting in his tent with his dear friend.

“I do not understand. How did we keep falling into the traps again and again?” Rudradev said. He was furious and it was evident in his eyes that had turned red. He said, “Someone has been trying to kill me repeatedly. I get shot. Then, someone asks you to take me to the temple. I get healed there but Senapati Kirita dies here in the camp. As if that was not enough, the doors to the Garbhagriha of the temple do not open and when they do, we find two dead men inside. And interestingly, one of them is the soldier who had advised you to take me there.”

“ Everything was well planned, Yuvraj. I guess we underestimated our enemies,” Sambhava spoke hesitantly.

Rudradev said, “You are right, Sambhava. It was a great blunder on our part. Anyways, does Ojaswini know that I was attacked?”

Sambhava replied, “We sent a messenger to the palace, Yuvraj. He must have reached there long ago. However, we have not received any reply from the palace. If you wish, I can send a secret letter to Rajkumari Ojaswini.”

Rudradev nodded his head in approval.

Ojaswini’s chambers:

Kamini was helping Ojaswini to wear bangles. They were the same gold bangles that were gifted by her brother Vinayak. There was an eerie silence in the chambers. The sun had set long ago and the moon had illuminated the night sky. But dark clouds of uncertainty had blocked the soothing light of the moon from reaching the minds of the people of Matangpur.

Kamini said, “Rajkumari, it is a full moon night. Did you see how beautifully the moon is shining?”

“A full moon night is for lovers, not for thieves. We are thieves too, are we not? Trying to do something secretly is akin to stealing. If you do it properly without getting exposed, you are an artist. But if you fail, you are caught and whipped,” Ojaswini replied.

Just then, they heard the hooting of an owl. Ojaswini and Kamini stared at each other. Ojaswini stood up from her place while Kamini closed the door carefully. Then, they went to a corner of the chamber and moved a painting. It revealed a beautiful sculpture on the wall. There was a sculpture of a big tree with numerous branches full of leaves. However, it was not really what it seemed to be. They pushed the sculpture to open a trapdoor and reveal a secret passage. Kamini took a fire torch and stepped inside the passage. Ojaswini stood in her place and waited for the maid to return.

Some time later, Kamini returned. When she stepped out of the passage, Ojaswini closed the trapdoor. Then they placed the painting in its previous position.

“It is a very important message,” Kamini said. She looked around herself and then whispered into the ears of the princess, “Yuvraj Rudradev is alive. He was healed by a tribal woman. However Senapati Kirita is dead.”

“Did the messenger tell you how Senapati died?” Ojaswini asked.

Kamini replied, “No one knows that, Rajkumari. He was found lying in his tent. The head physician examined him and gave him some medicines. But after some time, he was declared dead.”

Vinayak's chambers :

Vinayak was sure that the victory would be his. He had the royal blood in him, he was a warrior, he was a scholar and also a politician. What did he lack? The blood of the ruling king. But why should that stop him? Rudradev, the biggest obstacle in his path, would be dead before dawn and being the only royal male of his generation, he would become the crown prince. That was what he thought. He was celebrating his victory with wine. He drank several cups. After some time, his legs did not wish to stand on the ground. But somehow, he dragged himself to his bed.

He had a dream that night. A dream which was too sweet to be forgotten and too bitter to be spoken of.

The royal court of Matangpur was decorated with beautiful flowers of all colours. Vinayak could smell them. He climbed the steps one by one. His heart was racing.

The throne looked majestic as usual. He sat on it carefully and touched the throne with his hands. It did not feel like a dream at all. The courtiers shouted in excitement, “Hail Maharaj Vinayak! Hail Maharaj Vinayak! Hail Maharaj Vinayak! Hail Maharaj Vinayak! Hail Maharaj Vinayak!...”