Dacoit Attack : Chapter 11

Lavanya opened her eyes when a slight sound of curtains reached her ears. Opening her eyes, she saw Jyotimani pushing the curtains to the side, allowing the chilly breeze to enter the room. The darkness prevailed in the sky while slight hints of light showed that the sun was about to rise.

"Good morning princess." Jyotimani smiled when she heard the sound of bangles. "You woke up before I called you. It's 4:15 am now." She smiled after pushing the two big curtains aside.

"Good morning." Lavanya smiled as she got down from her bed. "I usually wake up at 4 am. I love to watch the scene of the rising sun." She went to the mirror and took the comb placed there. "But I asked you to wake up at 5 am. Why did you wake up so early?" She glanced at Jyotimani while undoing her long braid.

"I had to prepare a warm bath for you, prepare clothes and jewelry for you. So I woke up early." Jyotimani replied. "The Queen told me to accompany you everywhere. It means I am coming with you to the temple as well." She took the comb from Lavanya's hand and started to comb the latter's hair, getting rid of the knots.

"That's great Jyoti!" A big smile appeared on Lavanya's face. "I thought that I had to stay with that spoiled prince all time."

"Princess, he is your husband. You should call him like that." Jyotimani said after removing the last knot of Lavanya's hair.

"I won't say it to him. Don't worry." Lavanya shook her head while tying her hair into a bun. "Jyoti, wait here until I come from the bath."

"Princess, let me help you," Jyoti said. "You will be needing my help."

"I can do it of my own Jyoti." Lavanya smiled.

"You are a princess now. You have to abide by a number of rules and you should get used to living in a royal way." Jyoti explained.

"Leading a royal life is really difficult." Lavanya huffed before walking towards the royal bath while Jyoti followed her with a smile on her face.

"Your choice is amazing Jyoti!" Lavanya squealed while adjusting the golden waistband around her waist. "This simple saree looks so good on me and the jewelry... it's so light yet beautiful."

"Princess, when yesterday you were removing your jewelry, I realized that you don't like heavy jewelry. So I selected some light jewelry for you." Jyotimani smiled, putting on the armlets around Lavanya's arms.

"You are really great, Jyoti." Lavanya smiled as she put on the earrings. "The Queen has selected the best girl for me."

"Princess, you are praising me too much." Jyotimani chuckled while putting jewelry on Lavanya's bun before ornating the flowers around her bun and on the long braid.

"Jyoti, generally how much time does it take by the royals to get ready?" Lavanya asked while putting on the mangtika.

"Around 1 or 1.5 hours minimum," Jyoti replied casually.

"What!?" Lavanya's jaws slacked while her eyes balls almost popped out of her sockets.

"Why are you so surprised princess?" Jyoti laughed. "You too took almost 1 hour to get ready."

"Huh!?" Lavanya's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair. "Did I take that much time?" She blinked innocently while looking at Jyotimani through the mirror.

"It common princess," Jyoti said while adjusting Lavanya's ornaments. "You are wearing such jewelry and clothes. So it will take time. You are a ready princess." She smiled as she walked aside, allowing Lavanya to look at herself in the mirror.

"I don't look that bad. It's beautiful." Lavanya's eyes beamed with happiness. "Thank you Jyoti for helping me."

Jyoti's lips stretched into a big smile. "It's already 6: 30 am. I think we should proceed now. Everyone must be waiting for you."

"Sure. Let's go." Lavanya smiled before secretly taking her dagger with her and went to the hall followed by Jyoti.

When she walked towards the hall, she saw Virendra, and others were waiting for her. Virendra was wearing a royal white tunic with red dhoti while a red turban designed with a precious stone completed his look. A red uttariya was hanging freely on the front side from his left shoulder while the other end of the uttariya was twisted at his right lower arm. After arriving at the hall, she bent down to seek blessings from the king and queen.

"Wow! Sister-in-law, you look so beautiful." Saanvi walked towards Lavanya while staring at her, unable to avert her gaze.

"Thank you, princess." Lavanya smiled as she stood beside Virendra without having a glance at him, making the latter frown at her actions.

Though she stood beside him, she couldn't raise her head and look at the prince. Her eyes wanted to look at the prince and admire how handsome he was but her mind didn't allow her to raise her head. Don't look at him. Don't look at him. If you lay your eyes on him, then you would stare at him like a creep. So better don't turn your head towards him. Lavanya's mind supplied.

What's wrong with her!? Why isn't she even glancing at me? She is clearly ignoring me! How dare she! Virendra narrowed his eyes while his gaze was fixed on Lavanya who was listening to the Queen's words. This happens if you marry a wildcat instead of a normal girl. He rolled his eyes while sighing internally.

"Virendra." The Queen called out, making Virendra look at his mother instantly.

"Yes, mother," Virendra said in a gentle voice.

"You already know that the temple is far away from here. If you don't take rest in the midway, then you can reach the palace after completing the rituals in the late evening." Queen Gayatri Devi said. "I want both you to return to the palace by late evening safely."

"Yes, mother." Virendra nodded his head.

Gayatri Devi nodded. After they bade goodbye, Lavanya sat in the litter (palanquin) while Virendra rode on his majestic horse and they set out for the temple.

"Jyoti, cannot I walk with you? I am feeling so bored." Lavanya said in a low voice so that Jyotimani, who was walking beside her litter, could hear her.

"Princess, you cannot walk while traveling. Royal ladies should sit in the litter." Jyotimani replied. "Moreover we are going through the forest path, so don't come out, please."

"But Jyoti, it has been almost 1.5 hours and my legs feel so numb while sitting. Cannot I walk a little?" Lavanya pushed the curtains of the litter aside so that she could look at Jyotimani.

"I don't know princess. You should ask the prince." Jyoti said before letting out a sigh as she was unable to make the princess understand her words.

"That's right." Lavanya smiled and peeped out of the litter. She saw the prince and his friend Mahesh were leading the way. "Prince, can I walk with Jyotimani for some time? My legs feel so numb." She shouted so that Virendra could hear her voice.

"No," Virendra said coldly without looking back.

"Please Prince, my legs are feeling numb." Lavanya tried to sound polite but instead, it sounded like a whiny kid.

"I said no," Virendra repeated. That time he turned his head back to have a look at her. "If you walk now then we won't reach the palace by today."

"Tch...spoiled prince!" Lavanya huffed before drawing her head inside the litter and closed the curtains, avoiding Jyoti's face making the latter chuckle a bit.

"Virendra, don't you think you are too harsh on her?" Mahesh whispered while looking at Virendra.

"If she starts walking then it will take forever to reach the temple," Virendra said while looking ahead.

"She is your wife Virendra. You should be a bit polite to her." Mahesh shook his head as he knew that his words fell on deaf ears.

"Then why didn't you marry her instead of me?" Virendra averted his gaze towards his friend.

"My master, I am sorry. Please forgive this little servant." Mahesh let out a deep sigh before focussing on the way while Virendra pressed his lips together refraining himself from laughing.

After a journey of a total of 5.5 hours, they reached the temple of Goddess Bhawani. As they put down the litter, Lavanya slowly came out of it while the prince and his friend got down from their horses. A big smile appeared on Lavanya's face as her eyes gawked at how big and beautiful the temple was.

The palanquin bearers and the guards took rest in the shade of a big banyan tree while Virendra, Mahesh, Lavanya, and Jyotimani went inside the temple premises. Lavanya and Jyotimani first washed their feet in the temple pond followed by Mahesh and Virendra.

They performed all the rituals and worshipped their kuldevta (family deity). During the rituals, Virendra and Lavanya sat beside each other while Mahesh and Jyotimani stood a little away from them. Lavanya was so immersed in praying that she kept looking at the goddess with eyes full of devotion.

Virendra glanced at his wife a few times. A small smile formed on his face when he saw the devotion in his wife's eyes. Pious lady, huh. Virendra internally shook his head and focussed on the rituals.

After the rituals, they took blessings from the priest and prasadam which they offered to the Goddess.  Lavanya gave the prasadam to her husband first, followed by Mahesh and Jyotimani. She then distributed it among the guards and palanquin bearers. After doing all her duties, Lavanya sat beneath the banyan tree and let out a deep breath. Her stomach already started to send signals, reminding that it was empty and it wanted some food.

"Jyoti," Lavanya called out, making Jyoti rush towards her. "I am feeling so hungry."

"The prince is talking about the arrangements for lunch," Jyoti said. "It's already late. I don't know if we can find anything to eat."

"It looks like it's around 1:30 pm or 2 pm," Lavanya said looking at the sky by estimating the location of the sun. "I think we can still manage to get some food." She got up from her place and started to removed her necklace.

"W-what are you doing, princess?!" Jyotimani stammered as she couldn't understand what was brewing in Lavanya's mind.

"If we don't go out to look for food. We will stay hungry for today." Lavanya took off her mangtika and armlets. "I have given you two necklaces, armlets, mangtika, and some bangles. Stay here, ok? Prince Virendra and I will go along with some of the guards and palanquin bearers and will bring for the rest."

"But princess, what if prince won't listen to you?" Jyoti asked while holding Lavanya's jewelry.

"I will manage, don't worry." Lavanya gave an assuring smile to Jyoti before walking towards Virendra. Standing behind Virendra, she called his name in a low voice. "Prince."

"What happened? Why aren't you resting in the shade?" Virendra asked as he turned towards her. Suddenly a frown formed in his face when he realized that Lavanya's jewelry was missing while she looked a bit more simple than in the morning. "Where is your jewelry?"

"Prince, we should look for food now. It's already around 2 pm. If we don't get food for ourselves, then the guards and palanquin bearers won't have the strength to return to the palace." Lavanya explained.

"You can wait with your handmaid. Mahesh and I will go for that." Virendra said with looking at Mahesh before averting his gaze to her.

"I think Mahesh should stay here to protect them. Since I already removed my jewelry, I will accompany you." Lavanya said in a determined tone which clearly told that she won't change her decision.

Virendra looked at Mahesh to which the latter nodded with a mischievous smile. Virendra sighed and glanced at Lavanya. "Okay. Let's go."

"Wait." Lavanya stopped her husband. "I think you should remove your turban and jewelry. Otherwise, people will understand that we are royal people." She said in a low voice. "I know we came through the secret and shortcut passage, but we are going into the locality now. So I think keeping our identity hidden will be the best for us."

"I agree with the princess," Mahesh said. "This turban and the jewelry gives you a royal look. Remove them. Moreover, the princess looks like a simple girl. I think you should look like a match for her." Mahesh's voice clearly had a hit of teasing which Virendra understood clearly.

Virendra let out a deep breath and took off his turban along with all his jewelry except one with red and white beads. He exchanged his armband with Mahesh's gold kada (a type of bracelet) and handed over his things to his friend.

After both Virendra and Lavanya left the place along with few people, Mahesh sat under the banyan tree to take some rest.

"Lavanya, do you like temples?" Virendra asked, breaking the deadly silence as Lavanya kept walking even without glancing at him.

"Mn." Lavanya nodded while her eyes searched for a food shop. "Why? Don't you like them?" She asked without looking at him.

"I am not someone who likes temples or worshipping," Virendra replied.

"Prince, there's a food shop. I think we can get some food there." Lavanya's eyes beamed with happiness as she spotted a food shop.

She rushed to the shop while Virendra followed her. The people who accompanied Virendra and Lavanya sat on the benches.

"What do you want to have for lunch?" Virendra asked, trying to control himself from laughing as Lavanya was looking at the foods like a kid choosing candy for the first time.

"Pulihora (tamarind rice)," Lavanya said excitedly without looking at her husband.

"But it's sour." Virendra blurted out as tamarind rice was his least liked food.

"I love tamarind rice. If you don't like it, then don't eat it." Lavanya arched her brow while looking at Virendra before averting her gaze to the food.

"Lavanya, listen to me. You can have sesame rice if you want. I think curd rice will be best. The weather is already hot and curd rice will suit the best with this weather." Virendra said in a polite voice trying to convince her.

"If you don't want to buy it for me then I can buy myself," Lavanya said with annoyance in her voice while crossing her arms across her chest.

"Young Master, why are you keeping your wife hungry during such hot weather? Some girls usually crave for something sour." The wife of the shopkeeper said while packing a parcel for one of the customers.

"See." Lavanya wiggled her brows. "I will have tamarind rice and I will take it for Jyotimani too."

"Okay okay." Virendra let out a deep sigh accepting his defeat. This girl is really something. She never listens to me since childhood. Why on the earth did I marry her?!

He decided to buy both parcels of curd rice and tamarind rice so that people might have whatever they liked. After Virendra ordered the food parcels, he sat on the seat while Lavanya sat on the opposite seat.

Suddenly Lavanya's ears caught the word 'dacoits' from the mumbling voices of a group of people. Without glancing in the direction of the people, she just kept her full focus on their words. While listening to the people, she glimpsed at Virendra who seemed to look at his wrist Kada but his face clearly showed that he was focussed into something.

So he is listening to the words too. Lavanya thought as she decided to focus on the information about dacoits. Should I talk to him about this? No. I think I should show any of my involvement in protecting people. I don't want him to doubt my identity. She let out a deep breath.

After listening to all the required information, Virendra stood up to pick up the parcels of food. Lavanya too stood up and they proceeded towards the banyan tree.

"We should proceed towards the royal palace. It's already 3 pm. If we delay more, then we won't be able to reach the palace and there are chances of getting stuck in the forests." Virendra ordered after everyone finished having their food.

Everyone lowered their heads, showing that they would follow the prince's orders. Lavanya got into her litter while the prince and Mahesh rode on their horses and proceeded towards their destination.

"Virendra, why did you suddenly ordered to leave for the royal palace like that?" Mahesh asked in a low voice so that only Virendra could listen to him.

"When I went to buy food, I have heard a few people talking about dacoits. The path we are using isn't that safe after the sunset." Virendra replied while his eyes kept scanning the forest from time to time. "We have guards and palanquin bearers with us. Moreover, Lavanya is here. I don't want to risk her life."

Mahesh nodded as his guess was right. All the way no one talked. Both the prince and his friend's eyes were fixed on each and every moment of the leaves and bushes of the forest. Lavanya, on the other hand, kept thinking about the consequences of a dacoit attack.

How will the prince tackle if the dacoits attack in the forest? We don't have enough man force to capture them. Even I cannot use my ability and help the prince to capture the dacoits. Lavanya bit her lower lip, unable to think of any positive ideas. What if Surya won't reach this area during the dacoit attack? No no. This cannot happen. Devi Sena won't show such negligence. She internally cursed herself for thinking such negative thoughts.

It was already 7: 30 pm and they were still walking in the forests. The darkness already invaded the sky while the dense crowns of trees proudly blocked the way of moonlight from entering into the forest floor. The mashals (fire torch) carried by the guards were the only source of light in the dark forests.

"Jyoti, is everything alright?" Lavanya asked in a low voice since she was feeling uneasy at her heart as a feeling of something bad would happen made her suffocated.

"Yes, princess," Jyoti replied with a smile.

"Mn." Lavanya nodded her head in response and rested her head against the palanquin wall.

No sooner had she closed her eyes for a moment than a thundering voice made her flinch and open her eyes immediately.

"Stop moving!" A voice thundered, making the birds on the trees fly away.

"Don't you dare to stop us." Virendra's voice was heard while which sounded as powerful as that thundering voice.

"The dacoits!" Lavanya's brows got knitted together forming a frown as she recognized the thundering voice.

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Kada: A bracelet type of thing.

Pulihora - Tamarind rice.

Curd Rice: It's very much famous in south India.

Mashal- Fire torch.

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