The man who spoke those words was, for lack of a better word, lounging in what appeared to be a throne. His legs were slung across the armrest of the gem-studded, sparkling throne and in his hand, he clutched a goblet made of gold and encrusted with gems, every so often taking a sip from the goblet.

Lilavati scowled fiercely at the man's disrespect of her husband's sovereignty.

As if sensing her thoughts, Kanha placed a hand on her arm without looking in her direction.

The room was filled with people that, if they had not known the nefarious purposes of this gathering, would just appear to be commoners gathering to socialise in the evenings. They were in various guises: guards, maids, cooks, even merchants and more she could not recognise. Lilavati could swear she had walked by several of these people on a daily basis, and it dawned on her just how deep the weeds had grown.

One person spoke. Their voice was gruff.

"It has been nearly over a year since we started this endeavour in earnest. It is a simple objective, this mission. Why is it taking us so long?"

The man lounging at the head of the room smirked amidst a mouthful of madira.

"Patience, my dear friend, patience. It is a virtue that the sages praise to the high heavens, even Vishnu's heaven himself!"

A new, feminine voice spoke up. "We have waited for too long. We need to end this now. Some of us actually have lives we'd like to get back to—not to speak of the fact that that gwala could have caught wind of our plans, his new little plaything is far too perceptive for her own good."

Lilavati stiffened.

Kanha's grip on her tightened.

The man scoffed, swirling his drink.

"If you so desperately desire to return home, you are welcome to take the next boat that leaves to the mainland. I believe there is the last boat before sundown leaving in a few nimishas. If you hurry, you can make it yet. I, for one, will not leave this forsaken land until I have seen that Krishna broken."

Lilavati dared to look to her husband, and there was an unearthly anger in his eyes, burning like flames do dry leaves.

Madhuraa, at her side, was also trembling with the force of her anger. She grabbed one of the daggers sheathed in the folds of her saari, and threw it, striking a person in the head and he collapsed.

Lilavati would have cursed internally had her fury not overcome every other emotion in her.

Kanha stepped out.

People cursed.

Some fled.

Others stayed put, eyes flickering between the man and the three of them.

The man appeared startled, but for only a moment before his features smoothened over. He raised his goblet.

"Welcome, welcome, Vaasudeva Krishna! So glad that you've graced us with your holy presence in this room!"

"Don't speak to him that way," Lilavati snapped before she could control her words.

The man did a double take, and then a grin spread across his face.

"Welcome, Lilavati! Say what, what brings all of you to our humble gathering?"

Madhuraa answered, quite angrily, "We desire answers."

A mocking laugh echoed around the room. "And answers you shall get! Ask away!"

"Why—why are you doing this?"

A jeering smile, as the man spread his hands.

"Why: such a simple question that holds the key to such a complicated answer. The answer was simple, at first. We desired to see your beloved Dvarakadhisha toppled from the high esteem the deluded kings and Samrat hold him in. Kill someone close to him, watch him break, and any of the advice he spoke to the royals further—oh, those honey sweet lies could be covered up with the pretext of grief. But then... then, he decided to murder our king."

The man was now angered. All smiles and pretence was drained from his body language.

"I don't care what sins our king may have committed! This Krishna thinks himself to be Bhagavan, and deems himself important enough to dole out justice and death as he sees fit! Nothing more than the lies of a delusional man giving so much attention to his ego that he names himself holier than the holiest! We want revenge. And we will not stop until we get it."

His breathing was now laboured from the strain of screaming. He took a deep breath and then smiled saccharinely again, spreading his hands.

"You're harming innocent people," Lilavati breathed.

His smile was wider. "Oh, little lady, how naïve you are! Your hands and mine are blackened with the same sins, you have no occasion to speak up. But innocent or not, they are associated with your beloved. And that makes them dark enough."

Lilavati's hand dropped to her hip, where her hilt rested, snug in its hidden position.

"But now that you are here, we might as well end it."

A sharp gesture brought everyone's weapons out, and they were swarmed within an instant.

Lilavati immediately drew her weapon, mentally readying herself for a battle. She inched closer to Madhuraa, intending to stay by her side to protect her friend.

She sprung into motion, ducking against the swing of a sword, flinging her dagger into someone's heart and grabbing another weapon that laid on the ground.

Fighting was a dance that required constant practice, and she tired more easily because she had not practised in a long time. Lilavati caught a flying knife, losing sight of Madhuraa amongst the throng of battle.

Even if she was out of practice, her instincts had not lost their sharpness, and as she continued to fight, clashing swords and ducking against blows, she mentally catalogued their chances.

Firstly, Kanha was there. And she knew he would not let any harm come to Madhuraa, even if she herself had to fall for that. And between the three of them, they should have been able to subdue their enemies.

She huffed, swinging a sword haphazardly. I should've taken lessons from Satyaki and Kritavarma when I had the chance.

She scanned the room, looking for her two companions.

Kanha was engrossed in battle, weaving between his opponents in a dark and yellow blur, his every motion graceful. She let herself look at him for a moment longer than strictly necessary.

He was beautiful, even in battle.

Suddenly, guards entered the room, alarming most of the people. Lilavati let herself take a second to breathe, taking in the fact that they were not alone.

Then her attention was torn away as someone nicked her on the arm, and she hissed, immediately stabbing her attacker.

She froze when someone stabbed her, swallowing a whimper as she struck blindly backwards; greeted with the choking sounds of a dying person. She paused only a moment to pull out the sword sticking out of her stomach, the world tilting dangerously as she did so.

Bodies littered the floor already, and fighting was becoming more difficult as she had to sidestep them and avoid slipping on the puddles of blood on the floor.

She looked for Madhuraa.

Her friend was on the other side of the room, her movements somewhat clumsy and Lilavati's worry rose. She knew Madhuraa had learned self-defence from Satyabhama herself, but she had never been in a fight this intense.

Her throat was dry, and she desperately wished for water as her heart rate sped up from all the fighting, and maybe the blood loss.

And she knew the guards would make short work of the rest of them.

Cutting down the last of her opponents, Lilavati panted. The apparent leader was watching the fight almost amusedly, as though he was watching a sport and not a fight for life.

She rushed to Madhuraa's side and the two of them smiled. Lilavati felt faintly light-headed from the blood she was surely losing, but her priority right now was to protect Madhuraa.

Finally, the last man was cut down, and the guards looked to Kanha, who waved them off, breathing heavily. His gaze scanned the room until he saw the both of them leaning against the wall, clearly out of breath. Lilavati saw the tension leave his slender frame, as he walked to the two of them.

He took Lilavati's hand and smiled at Madhuraa, respecting her wish to not touch her.

"Are you alright, my ladies?"

"As well as one can be after a battle, Govinda."

"Are you okay, Natha?"

He smiled. "Priyaa, I am a good warrior. Have faith in me."

Lilavati said nothing but nodded, resting her head on the wall as her other hand crept to her stomach, her saari blooming dark red under the wound.

Kanha's knowing gaze followed her movement, and he made to lift her up, but she stopped him.

Breathily, she whispered, "I'll live, Natha. I want to see his end. Please."

His eyes shimmered with some emotion, as he nodded.

He let her lean on him, and Madhuraa flanked her other side, holding her hand as the three of them walked towards the man who orchestrated this whole conspiracy, never letting them rest in peace. He was standing, no expression on his face, watching their every movement.

"What say you now?"

The man said nothing.

He tilted his head to the side, and then let a smirk grace his face.

Kanha stiffened.

There was a whoosh of air behind her and before Lilavati could turn, she felt as though someone knocked the air out of her lungs.

"LILA!"

Something twisted in her and she let out a cry of pain. Pain shot through her nerves, blinding every other thought in her mind. She could barely concentrate through the blinding pain.

She sucked in a rattling breath, trying to look at her husband.

One pair of horrified and another set of wide eyes stared at her. Her eyes dropped to her lower body.

The silver gleam of a bloodied weapon stuck out of her abdomen.

Lilavati closed her eyes and swayed, the cries of the guards as they entered the room and some further commotion dulled in the back of her mind. It hurt.

So this was how her story was to end, some voice in the back of her head mused.

She collapsed.

Oh Hari, she didn't want to die.

Kanha caught her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was safe.

It felt as though one moment she was in a chaotic room, littered with bodies, and the next in the silent hallway, lying on the floor, her body halfway upraised against Kanha's.

Her eyes fluttered open to meet his lotus ones. His eyes shimmered with tears, as his soft hand came to rest vaguely near her wound.

"Lila? Lila, tell me you can hear me!"

"Hey, Madhu..." she whispered, shifting her head to see her friend staring at her, eyes wide and face wet with tears.

She coughed. Blood bubbled in her throat.

"It hurts, Natha."

He looked back at her, blinking through his tears. Something hardened in his eyes, as a glow began to emit from his palm.

Lilavati realised what he was trying to do: heal her.

She caught his hand, trying to meet his eyes.

"This was what you meant... the balancing of my scales. My—my life for the ones I've taken. You can't stop this... can you, Natha?"

His silence was enough confirmation.

Something like acceptance began to resound through her. If her lord had no choice, who was she to fight it?

"I wish I could... Priyaa, we just started our life together..." he whispered, tears trailing through his face.

"Look at me," she breathed, reaching out to cup his chin. She normally would not have been so brave, but she was dying.

Oh, Hari, she was dying.

"I want that too—but I can't fight fate. And I would not ask you to break away from your duties just so that I can live. The soul is immortal, you told me once. We'll find each other again."

She coughed. It was getting harder to breathe against the blood that rushed up to her throat.

Kanha seemed to sense that, and he squeezed her hand. The pain was dulled, but blood still seeped out of her at an alarming rate. Some of the red was trickling into Kanha's pitambara, she noticed dully.

Lilavati knew her time was ticking. She had so much to say and so little time.

"Madhuraa," she whispered. Her friend came into view, her eyes shining with tears in the silvery moonlight, clasping her hand like a lifeline.

"Stay with us," Madhuraa near pleaded.

"You know I can't, Madhu... hey, listen to me. You and Natha have a full life ahead of you. Take your time, but I can swear, loving him is the best thing that ever happened to me. Who knows where I would have been if he never chose to marry me?"

Madhuraa said nothing, her eyes closed and her head bowed, Lilavati noticing her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs.

She looked back at Kanha, her vision blurring.

"Ilu... she's going to be devastated. Natha, please, take care of her? And Satyaki and Kritavarma... they're strong but they—their friendship is going to fall apart, won't it? And—and Satyaa Jiji—"

Kanha only shushed her.

"I'll take care of Iltani, I promise. Don't worry, Priyaa. Satyaa..."

She let her head fall back against his chest. Dark spots danced in her vision. But somehow she was strangely comforted.

Perhaps dying was not so bad, she decided. Passing into the next world in the arms of her beloved, there was no better way she would choose. She thought she heard the snort of a buffalo somewhere close by.

"Lila?"

Madhuraa's voice was scared. Lilavati lifted her head, blinking rapidly at the exhaustion that had seemed to seep into her bones. She was tired.

"Hey..."

And she knew her time was up.

She tried to pull away, to look at Kanha one more time, and he adjusted her, smiling lightly through his tears.

By the heavens was he beautiful.

Here was her home, curled protectively around her; hope personified in the humane form of a raincloud-hue and beautiful, burning eyes. Here he was, her hope, her protector.

Her voice trembled, "Promise you'll find me again?"

He tilted her head upwards with a gentle touch and kissed her.

She relished his touch, his eyelashes fluttering like the wings of a butterfly, his lips soft against her own, knowing she would not see him again for a very, very long time.

"I promise, Lilavati. You will come home to my arms again."

A tear escaped her blurring vision. She drooped in his arms, her strength almost depleted.

He gave her a sad smile. "Won't you call me Kanha once, Priyae?"

Her limited breaths rose and fell for a few moments until she whispered, all thoughts fleeing her mind but the sweet beckon of Yamadeva, even sweeter than the call of Nidra Devi.

"Hi, Kanha..."

A watery smile.

"Hey, you."

She smiled at him with the last of her strength.

Lilavati no longer had the patience to keep her eyes open. She shut them.

As her life slipped out of Kanha's fingers, he would not let her go without comfort.

Behind her eyelids danced the Kanhaiya of Vrindavana with a comforting tune emanating from his flute, holding out a hand to her, inviting her to dance with him.

She reached out and accepted his grasp, and a light flashed, all a dancing mirage in her mind.

And her fingers slipped out of his grasp, falling to the ground in a silent thud, her soul passing to the waiting arms of Yamadeva's attendants.

So ended her story.

THE END