At least I'll have something to report the Daanavraj, Keval told himself bitterly. When Shlok had made that sudden declaration, it had thrown him off guard. He observed Anamika as she slowly realized what the tiny boy had declared out loud. For a moment, Keval thought it was true. The way she shook her head and refused to say anything contradicting to the previous statement led him to believe that it was the truth.

It shouldn't have, but it pricked him.

Abhay, he thought, out of all the souls. He clenched his fists involuntarily as he glared at Abhay who made his way toward her. That self-absorbed smirk on his face irked Keval more that it should have the power to. Abhay said something, and then the two of them began to dance with each other in front of the Rakshaks. Keval knew he should act nonchalant but the way they moved, it seemed more sensual... intimate even.

But Anamika was serious. She wasn't messing around like Abhay was. Even in his flirtatious form, he was able to overpower her.

Her face showed pure aggression and it gave him a sense of satisfaction. At least she was trying to defeat that smug fool. She fell on her back losing her talwar. Abhay was leaning over her, too close to her face.

Keval almost gagged at the sight. He blamed Shlok for the show that no one really asked for. He felt smug when Anamika declined Abhay's hand and got up on her own. Keval caught her eyes drilling holes into Shlok, who giggled innocently.

It didn't sit well with Abhay who ordered everyone to go back to whatever they were doing but not before throwing a coy smile her way.

Keval tore his gaze away from the two of them before he decided to give in to his impulse of going and dragging her away from that hunk of a soul.

He thought of his report. He could ignore the fact that he knew that Anamika wasn't really impressed with Abhay and simply mention in the entire ordeal in his report. It would certainly perk Ainas' interest. She would probably use Abhay to get to her since he's not immune to her magic.

He scolded himself for his train of thought. What he couldn't understand were the foreign feelings that influenced him to protect Anamika.

The Daanavraj would be pleased with him. That's all that ever mattered, he would simply act oblivious to the fact that she wasn't really interested in Abhay.

Keval didn't even feel bad that he was targeting Abhay. That boy could handle himself.

'Keval.'

He was aggravated when Anamika called him. She was supposed to make it difficult for him to get to know her. He gave her a flat look to acknowledge her.

'I was looking for you.'

He resisted the urge to snicker, 'I was here, the entire time.' And unfortunately witnessed all that nonsense, he wanted to add.

She awkwardly looked away. She seemed to have heard his thoughts, 'Shlok can be little overbearing sometimes.'

He sniggered, 'Of course, he can.' He changed the topic, 'You could've taken him down if you'd kept your head together.' He stated rudely, 'Also your movements were very sloppy.' He had expected her to walk away from him but when he looked back at her, she was smiling at him.

He frowned, 'What?'

'Nothing,' she shook her head but her grin didn't leave her face. It confused him. He should avoid her just so that he could tell the Daanavraj that he couldn't find much about her. It would be easier to protect her from all the pain that would follow when the war came.

She was getting attached to him.

But so was he.

***

A reasonable amount of time had passed after the 'Abhay' incident. Sometimes, she would hear Rakshaks whisper about it behind her back. Shlok had told different groups about a dozen ways of how she had confessed. 

None of them were to her taste.

But it was getting out of hand. Even when she spoke to Laksh, it didn't seem like he could help her. She wished Yoshanhara was there. She would sometimes sit alone, think about her dear friend. She would flinch at the memory and drive herself to tears.

Everyone listened to what she had to say but it still wasn't enough. She felt empty. She had Laksh, but it seemed to her that he was drifting away. He trained and when he wasn't, he messed around with Shlok. Sometimes, she'd spotted him with the Rakshaks of the Eka station, goofing about.

Abhay would appear out of nowhere sometimes just to make mock her. She was totally fine with it but more often than not, she found herself wishing for him to leave her alone.

And then there was Keval.

He seemed to have reverted back to his old ways. He no longer smiled and talked to the others. He was grumpier than usual and avoided her. She had tried to get through to him, but he was fast. She knew it had something to do with the recent attack. It seemed to have affected him. She knew she could help if she could just get him to talk.

Kasa wasn't there either. There were ten other Yamdhuts, but she wasn't particularly fond of any of them.

She was sitting and sharpening her talwar while she thought about her current predicament.

'-hush! Don't scream! Someone might hear you!'

She heard someone hiss.

She suppressed a groan. She wasn't interested in knowing who was behind her and wasn't interesting in eavesdropping either. She was about to get to her feet when the conversation followed.

'I've heard that Keval is a traitor,' a very eager Rakshakwhispered.

'I wouldn't find it hard to believe,' another hushed voice was heard, 'He's so strange. Have you seen the way he fights? No Rakshak fights like that.'

'He's a coward,' the former stated, 'I heard he disrespected the council.'

Anamika didn't hear anything after that. Her mind whirled as rage took over her.

How dare they talk about Keval that way?

She sprung to her feet and stomped her way behind the pillar where the two Rakshaks were gossiping. They didn't even see her coming.

Her face was frosted. They were stunned when she appeared in front of them, not even attempting to mask her fury. She scrutinized the two Rakshaks under her gaze. She didn't recognize any of them but she had seen them around.

'Where did you hear all of that you speak of?' She demanded.

The two girls looked at each other terrified. Anamika was pleased. They should be terrified, they knew something they shouldn't.

'We- we weren't talking about anything,' one of the girls stammered.

'Don't lie to me. I'll have a Yamdhut examine your mind.'

They whimpered. Anamika waited for an answer, her brow raised.

'We overheard Eka Nayak discuss this with his Rakshaks.'

She found it a little hard to believe them. She placed her hands on her hips, 'You speak the truth?'

'It's true,' the other girl agreed, 'Everyone knows it.'

Anamika frowned. She was enraged. What did Abhay think of himself? He disregarded Kasa's direct orders! And what of Shlok? Was his declaration an attempt to steer her away from Keval?  Had he told Laksh about it?

'If you are lying, you'll have a hell to pay.'

'We are not!'

She nodded and without another word, she marched away, determined to give the Eka Nayak a piece of her mind. The audacity he had to do that! She wanted to take the girls to the Yamdhuts but she had to be sure first. If Abhay had spoken in such a way, he wouldn't outrightly deny it. His ego wouldn't allow him to.

She found Abhay with Lavi, Shlok and Laksh. They were laughing at something Abhay had said.

Laksh spotted Anamika first. He beamed at her but when she didn't return his smile, he was flummoxed. He tilted his head inquisitively at her.

With thunderous steps, she caught their attention. She didn't even acknowledge the others. With a sombre face, she spoke to Abhay, 'You and I need to talk.'

Abhay found the situation funny. He howled. 'You can talk to me here, love.'

Shlok whistled but Anamika remained unfazed. Her insides were storming mess. She decided she might as well take her chances. If they didn't know, the wouldn't care.

'Did you or did you not disobey Kasa's direct orders?'

She heard someone gasp. She ignored them and studied him. His smile faltered a little. He scoffed, 'Do you know what you speak of?'

He was mocking her. She clenched her fists coming to the conclusion that he had disobeyed Kasa's orders.

'Answer me, Abhay.'

He smirked and folded his arms defiantly, 'You can't make me.'

If he could play like that, so could she. She mirrored his pose, 'And you can't stop me from telling the Yamdhuts.'

His expression changed. A dangerous shadow crossed over his face. His facial features tensed visibly. 'You have no proof.'

'Your actions are proof enough.'

He stood to his full height and glowered down at her, in an attempt to intimidate her. It was a futile one, 'You dare go against me?' His voice was deadly quiet, 'Do you need to be reminded of your lowly status?'

'Abhay-'

Shlok's attempt to placate his sahayudhyavan was in vain because Abhay didn't let him speak. His raised his voice, looming over her, 'You dare accuse me of stepping out of line!'

She didn't want to back down. She had known him long enough to know what he was doing. He was trying to gather attention. He was well aware of how much she hated it. She gritted her teeth, 'You are the one who is stepping out of line!' She yelled at him.

'How dare you! You were lucky that you defeated that witch! You don't deserve to be a hero!'

She burned with humiliation. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Laksh walking toward them but Abhay harshly pushed him back. She quaked with anger. She was about to reach out to help her brother-in-arms on his feet but Shlok beat her to it.

She faced Abhay again, 'And you don't deserve to be the Eka Nayak.'

His being went rigid.

She heard loud gasps.

'Are you challenging me?' He asked, his tone incredulous.

She didn't know what came over her. As loud as she could, she declared, 'I challenge you, Nayak Abhay for your position as the Eka Nayak.'

His laughter boomed in the courtyard, 'You can't defeat me!'

'We'll see.'

His nostrils flared with disgust before a sadistic smile took over his face, 'I am going to enjoy humiliating you.'

Every pair of eyes were on them. Anamika didn't bother to reply back. She told herself that she had to win. More than anything, she wanted to crush his pride, she wanted to watch it crush him.

'The first one whose back touches the ground loses,' she told him as she drew her talwar.

He grunted, 'Why the weapon? Why not a duel? Too afraid that you'll lose?'

Why the duel? She wanted to say but she caught a glimpse of a figure behind Abhay, where the crowd had gathered. She spotted Keval's familiar face. He looked shocked with all that was happening. There was a hint of concern on his face too.

Abhay had tried to ruin Keval's reputation. He had the audacity to disregard Kasa's direct orders. He had the audacity to push Laksh. He had the audacity to humiliate her. He had the audacity to think that he was better than everyone else.

It was too late to turn back.

'Fine!' She barked, 'A duel.'

He grinned as if he had already won.

She found herself second-guessing her hasty decision. She put Nashtra back into the scabbard and untied it. She handed it to Laksh who looked like he wanted to protest. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Shlok.

'Rethink your choice,' Abhay said, 'You can still back down and save yourself from a great deal of humiliation.'

She snickered, 'If I am to be humiliated, I will be. You need not worry about it.'

He narrowed his eyes and waited until she walked to the centre of the crowd before charging at her like a raging bull.

With a speed that rivalled his, she stepped aside. Once he was running past her blindly, she gripped the hem of his breastplate and flung herself over his back, landing on her feet on the other side. It almost threw him off his feet but he caught himself. He roared. He began throwing punches at her.

She stuck to being defensive, evading his fists.

She couldn't do that for long. His fist finally connected to her lower jaw. Her world spun. She staggered back, almost falling on her back. She avoided another blow and in her fazed state, she sought refuge behind him. Trying to fight back the pain, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down.

She used her hands skillfully she flipped herself onto his front using the torque of his broad shoulders.

He wobbled but much to her disappointment, he didn't fall.

He flung his arm at her. She raised her to deflect his blow.

For someone so huge, he was very fast. He used his limbs niftily. Blows showered down on her. She saved herself from most.

Her urja was draining rapidly. Her vision was blurry from all the hits she took. She could only stagger away while he moved ruthlessly. He was taking advantage of her tired state. He grabbed her neck and proceeded to throw punches at her face.

She shut her eyes, absorbing the pain. Doubts began to invade her mind.

But she willed herself to do something. If she was destined to go down, she wouldn't do it without a fight.

With a mighty effort, she lifted her hands just in time to block a punch.

'You're useless!' He threw her.

She felt like a rag doll. She almost thought she would fall on her back.

Instead, she fell on her chest.

Not letting the fight end, she got to her feet, feeling all of her sustenance dissipating away. She clutched her sides. It ached. She wanted to cry out in pain but it wasn't a good time to do so.

He was staring at her wide-eyed. Disbelief was written all over his face. He couldn't believe that she hadn't landed on her back.

She dared to smirk but winced at the pain it caused.

If he hadn't roared, she would've definitely lost her balance. She simply moved away.

The look on his face was feral. He charged like bull again. This time, she was aware enough to see the window. She didn't move an inch. She thought she heard Laksh shout a warning but she forced herself to concentrate at the task at hand.

She coiled her legs as he neared, gathering enough thrust to propel herself upwards. When he was close enough, she placed her hands on his shoulders again. Her legs uncoiled, pushing her upward. She could either leap like a frog and jump on his shoulders, or swing her legs and thrust her knee into his back. She chose the latter.

He fell face front.

She kicked him as hard as she could, taking full advantage of his situation.

Her knee hurt but she didn't give up.

Not able to move, Abhay grabbed her foot and tugged it harshly.

Anamika anticipated the move and did a backflip, freeing her foot. When she landed on the balls of her feet, her knees buckled. Where he had gripped her foot, it hurt.

He was in the process of getting to his feet but she summoned all her strength and pushed him.

The look on his face was priceless as he fell on his back. He stayed for some time, both of them staring at each other in disbelief.

Soon, her legs gave up. She sat on the ground, barely able to keep herself awake. The pain came to her, all at once.

'Anamika,' She heard a whisper. 

Keval.

She almost smiled. He pulled her close to his chest, softly brushing her hair with his dextrous hand. A few moments passed. He put her arms around his neck, 'Hold on. I'll take you to your room.'

She wanted to tell him to leave her there. She couldn't find the energy to speak. How could she reach her room? She felt him pick her from the ground. She almost yelped but she was exhausted to react in any way.

'You'll be fine.'

When he finally put her down, she realized that she was inside her room. The pain finally won. Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

'Anamika,' he knelt in front of her, cupping her face in his hands. He gently wiped her tears with his thumb.

'It hurts,' she sobbed.

'Sleep.'

His voice was tranquil. It was so soothing to her. The idea of sleeping on her mat wasn't half as appealing as wrapping her arms around his strong chest and resting her head on it.

He did not protest as she proceeded to do that. He pulled her close with one hand and with the other, he stroked her hair.

There were a few moments of silence when he finally asked her, 'Why did you challenge him?'

'Huh?' She asked, disoriented. She looked up to see his well-defined features. He looked at her over his pointy nose. Her hands shivered as she reached for it. She playfully tugged it, 'I've always found your nose cute.'

She wasn't sure if he'd heard her, or if she was a mumbling mess.

'Why did you do it?' He asked her.

'He called you a traitor,' she spoke clearly, 'I couldn't stand it.' In her pain, she saw clearly. She felt something toward him. As his dark eyes stared into hers, she found herself falling in the depths, basking in his presence.

'It didn't matter to me,' she heard him whisper.

She struggled to keep her eyes open. No matter how much she willed to stare at him and memorize all his features, her exhaustion wouldn't let her.

'It did to me,' she mumbled. She curled up closer to him and shut her eyes, 'no matter what anyone says, you're amazing, special, unique.'

She felt his hair tickle her forehead. She smiled wanly. She wanted to play with his smooth tresses but she failed to lift her hand.

The last thing she felt before falling asleep were his hands that held her securely as his chin rested on top of her head.

***