Virendra-Lavanya Finds Dacoits Treasure: Chapter 28

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"The morning view of this place is so beautiful," Lavanya exclaimed unconsciously as she was mesmerized by the breath-taking beauty of nature.

The sky was changing its hues, indicating that the sun would rise within a few hours. Few feathered friends were chirping gracefully, welcoming the sweet morning. The crowns of the big trees were faintly moving as the breeze was touching them gently.

"Why does it sound like this place isn't new for you?" Virendra evenly asked while taking out the practice equipment.

"Ish!" Lavanya closed her eyes tightly, realizing her mistake. I did commit a big blunder! Of course, I know about the western forests of Maheswari since I am Sanvika Devi. But I never came here during such an early morning. What should I do now!? She bit her lower lip a bit harshly, trying to find an instant answer that would satisfy her husband.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Virendra stood beside his wife while he was gazing at the beautiful environment.

"Well...prince...actually I came here before. So I know this place. I never came here in such an early morning. So..." Lavanya trailed off while looking down to avoid the prince's gaze.

"Did you come here alone?" Virendra glared at her while his voice turned into a grim one.

"I came here with Surya," the princess replied as she glanced at the prince. "Sometimes we come here to pluck the berries. Mostly we come here during the middle time of Purvaanha prahar."

"Is Surya that close to you?" Virendra asked in a serious tone, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest when his wife mentioned the other person's name.

"Yes," Lavanya smiled brightly and looked at her husband. "We are best friends. He is very close to me. When you left me and went to gurukul, he used to accompany me all time."

"Do you like him?" Virendra asked out of the blue, looking at her with his piercing gaze.

"Of course I like him," Lavanya chuckled while averting her gaze from her husband to the beautiful nature. "He is my best friend after all."

Virendra's face turned into a grimaced one as he felt a sudden pang at his heart. A type of uneasiness invaded him while his chest felt heavier as if someone put some huge weight on it. Unknowingly, his brows furrowed, forming deep lines on his forehead. Subconsciously he stared at his wife who was smiling cheerfully while enjoying the beautiful environment.

Does she really like Surya that much? I have never seen her smile this much when she is with me or speaking to me. When I mentioned Surya's name, she smiled so brightly. Gulping the lump around his throat, his lips parted a bit to say something.

When Lavanya didn't receive any response from her husband, she turned towards him, only to find him staring at her with strange facial expressions as if he had been swallowed in melancholy.

"What happened? Why are you looking like someone just stole your precious thing?" Lavanya arched her brows while looking at him with a confused look.

"I-Its nothing," Virendra shook his head and looked away from her.

What's wrong with him now? Lavanya tilted her head while looking at her husband with an utterly confused face. Why are his words and actions so divergent? He was fine a while ago. Wait! Lavanya gasped as if she realized the main reason for Virendra's change of mood. Is he unwilling to teach me those special skills? Is this the reason why he suddenly looked at me like that?

Clearing her throat, Lavanya spoke, "Your Highness, I didn't force you to teach me those fighting skills. It's you who was willing to teach me."

"Why don't you learn those fighting skills from your best friend Surya?" Virendra tried to mask his uneasiness but it sounded like a kid throwing tantrums over a toy.

Lavanya's jaws slacked at Virendra's silly question. Forcing a smile, she said, "Your Highness, let me remind you. I am a married woman and my husband isn't a normal person, he is the crown prince of Maheswari. So I cannot move around as I please."

"I-If I allow you, then will you go to Surya?" Virendra sounded grim serious as if he was making a decision about the administration of Maheswari.

"Oh good heavens! What's wrong with you? Why are speaking such meaningless words this early morning?!" Lavanya looked at him with so done facial expressions. "Did you perhaps drink some bitter gourd kadha (juice) before leaving your room?"

Virendra rolled his eyes before looking away from her. I didn't drink any kadha but your words are even more bitter than any kadha.

"Are you cursing me internally?" Lavanya walked to the other side of Virendra so that she could see his face.

Yes. What will you do? Virendra internally thought while looking at her with narrow eyes.

"My dear Prince, what is going on in your mind?" Lavanya put her hands on her hips and gawked at him. "Don't tell me you fell for Surya. You can't marry him."

"Tch..." Virendra scoffed. "Unfortunately I am already married to you. And why would I marry a man, huh?!" He rolled his eyes before walking to the tree, leaving a silently chuckling Lavanya. Taking a ghungaroo (ankle bells used for Indian classical dances like Kathak, Bharatnatyam, etc) from a bag he walked towards a small tree. Such a stupid wild cat! Why will I marry Surya! She knows how to spoil my mood successfully.

"Your highness, what are you doing?" Lavanya asked while watching her husband who was tying the ghungaroo to the lowest branch of the tree.

"Preparing for your practice," the prince replied as he finished tying the ghungaroo. "Pick up the bow and the arrows. I will tie a cloth on your eyes. You have to listen to the slight sound of the bells of the ghungaroo and then aim at the ghungaroo. Understand?"

"Yes," Lavanya nodded. Bending her body, she too the bow and a few arrows before returning to her place.

The prince took a dark-colored cloth and tied it around her eyes. "Is it okay? Are you feeling any discomfort?" He asked while tying the knot.

"It's fine," the princess replied.

Smiling, he walked to the side and stood beside Lavanya after tying the knot. He took another bow which he brought and took an arrow along with it. Aiming at the ghungaroo, he let go of the string of the bow on which the nock of the arrow rested. The sharply pointed head of the arrow passed by touching the ghungaroo, resulting in the jingling sound of the bells.

"Lavanya, focus on the sound of the bells. Aim at the jingling bells and release your arrow," Virendra instructed her while the latter tried to focus on the sound of the bells.

As Lavanya couldn't see anything except the darkness, she felt like she was engulfed by some strange foreign uneasiness. After her mother's death, whenever she used to close her eyes, the scene of her mother screaming while asking her to flee, the last moments of her mother used to come into her mind. As a result, she couldn't sleep during the nights. Gradually she started to follow a very tight schedule and learned war skills so that she could keep herself busy and tire herself to the point that at night whenever she had to close her eyes, only sleep would invade her. As she grew up, slowly that problem subsided. She could even move swiftly in the pitch-dark night as Sanvika Devi and those bad memories didn't disturb her anymore. Whenever she felt that she overcame her problem, she realized that she wasn't correct. Because whenever she used to put on a blindfold to practice those fighting skills, the agonizing screams of her mother rang at her ears and she ended up throwing the weapons in her hands. This was the main reason why she couldn't learn the fighting skills with a blindfold on.

Feeling the past repeating again, Lavanya tried hard to focus on Virendra's deep voice and the faint sound of the jingling bells. Suddenly her body felt lightweight while her hands were trembling uncontrollably. Trying to get rid of the uneasy feelings, she gulped her saliva.

Meanwhile, Virendra's brows got knitted together when he saw the change in Lavanya's behavior. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead while her parted lips were quivering too much. Her breathing became heavy while the bow in her hand was trembling uncontrollably.

Feeling that something was wrong, Virendra softly called out, "Lavanya? Are you all alright?"

Meanwhile, Lavanya's ears were buzzed by her mother's screams. She was shaking her head violently, trying to get rid of those unpleasant memories. Suddenly the bow in her hand fell on the ground while she stumbled back a bit.

Suddenly she felt a strong arm behind her back, supporting her. Quickly removing the blindfold, she turned her head sideways only to find her husband was standing close to her, supporting her so that she wouldn't lose her balance and fall.

"Are you alright?" Virendra asked, his voice full of concern.

Lavanya shortly shook her head, telling him that she wasn't fine. Biting her lower lip, she looked down so that her husband couldn't see the tears in her eyes.

"Have a seat first, Lavanya," Virendra guided Lavanya to a big log and helped her to sit on it. "I will bring you water."

Virendra rushed to the tree beneath which he kept all the necessary items. Taking out the container in which he had brought the water, he hurried back to the princess.

"Mn," Virendra hummed as he extended his hand, holding the water container.

"T-thank you," Lavanya mumbled and took few sips of water.

Taking the container from her hand, he sat beside her. "Are you feeling alright now?"

"Prince I cannot learn these fighting skills," The princess informed while shaking her violently.

"Lavanya, calm down," He held her shoulders softly and continued, "why don't you want to learn? You were enthusiastic since yesterday but how com you suddenly changed your decision?"

Lavanya sniffed and looked at him like a guilty child. "P-prince, whenever I p-put on that blindfold, my h-horrible past flashes in front of me like a play." She blinked, allowing a drop of tear to escape her eyes. "I-I c-cannot do it."

Letting out a deep breath, Virendra looked at her. Holding her hands softly in his big palms, he said, "I am sorry for not being there beside you when you had to face such a hard time. I think it's time for you to overcome your trauma."

"Y-you think I-I can do it?" Lavanya looked at her husband with hope-filled eyes as if he was her ball of sunshine.

"Of course you can do it," Virendra smiled softly, assuring her that she could overcome her each and every fear. "You are princess Lavanya after all."

"But..."

"But what Lavanya?" Virendra quirked his brows. "Are you still doubting yourself? Lavanya...you defeated Karthik and Mahesh. They are the best warriors in our kingdom. When you can defeat them, then why cannot you defeat your fears?" He smiled as his thumb gently brushed the soft skin of her hand, comforting her. "You can do it. Just trust me, alright?"

"Mn," Lavanya nodded.

"Great!" Virendra smiled.

Lavanya stood up and walked to the place from where she had to aim at the ghungaroo. Taking the bow and arrow in her hand, she looked at her husband.

"I am putting on this blindfold. For now, just focus on my voice, alright?" The prince asked while the princess nodded as she felt that the soft fabric of dark cloth around her eyes. "When you will feel better, you will focus on the ghungaroo."

Lavanya didn't say anything. She just waited for her husband to tie the knot so that she could hear his deep voice. After tying the cloth, he stood a little away from her. His eyes were focused on her while she started to breathe slowly so that she could hear her husband's voice.

Virendra looked at her intensely, trying to test her limits. He decided to speak only when she would start to become restless. His eyes didn't leave her for a second, scrutinization her every expression, starting from her well-defined eyebrows to her slightly quivering lips.

A frown formed on Lavanya's face when she couldn't hear his voice. She started to feel suffocated as if the darkness was engulfing her senses. She tried hard not to lose her focus, trying to search for her ball of sunshine amidst the darkness. Shaking her head sideways, she tried to focus on the slightest sound from her husband. Her lips started to quiver while her hands started to tremble. Her breathing was becoming heavy while her heart started to feel light weighted as if her chest didn't have the pumping organ. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she was inwardly screaming for help but her mind told her to wait for his husband's voice.

"Prince..." She uttered breathlessly.

Before her mother's screams could buzz her ears again, a deep yet soothing voice reached her ears which worked miraculously, calming her down immediately.

"Lavanya, I am here," the prince's deep voice echoed in her ears and she abruptly stopped trembling. "Focus on my voice. Everything is fine."

As if his voice was a hypnotizing one, she obeyed his words, focusing on his soothing voice. He kept repeating those words 'focus', 'everything is fine' etc. Soon Lavanya's breathing became normal while she looked stable.

"Are you alright?" Virendra asked when he saw her breathing returned to the normal state while her hands weren't trembling anymore.

"Yes," Lavanya nodded.

"Good. Whenever you feel restless, recall the happy moments. It will work," Virendra said. "Now focus on the jingling sound of the ankle bells."

He again released the arrow which swiftly passed the ghungaroo by touching its body, causing the bells to jingle. As soon as the sound of the bells reverberated, Lavanya slightly moved her head to the side so that she could clearly listen to the sound and detect its source.

"Aim," Virendra commanded.

Lavanya held her bow tightly and pulled the string of the bow on which the nock of the arrow rested. Upon receiving no commands from Virendra, she understood that she had to follow her conscience. Taking a deep breath, she realized the arrow.

"Take off the blindfold and check," Virendra's deep voice spoke and Lavanya immediately took off the blindfold and looked at the ghungaroo.

To her dismay, the arrow didn't hit the target but got embedded on the branch on the tree. Unconsciously a pout formed on her lips and she looked at Virendra like a lost kid.

"Keep trying. It's not as easy as you are thinking," Virendra crossed his arms across his chest while leaning against the bark of a tree.

Nodding, Lavanya tied the blindfold and tried again. But she failed. Letting out a deep breath, she tried again. Even after trying 5 times, she failed in hitting the target.

"Prince..." Lavanya whined, looking at the prince with the bow and the blindfold in her hand, like a kid complaining about his toys

"Hm?" Virendra hummed in response while leaning his back against the dark brown bark of the tree as if he was enjoying the show.

"Teach me!" Lavanya said while pouting.

Chuckling silently, Virendra walked towards his wife and took the blindfold from her hands. Tying the blindfold around his eyes, he took the bow and arrow from her.

"Watch carefully," he said as he turned his head sideways, trying to listen to the slight sound of the ghungaroo.

Suddenly he lifted the bow and pulled its string, aiming at the target. Pulling the string with maximum force, he let it go.

"Woah! Prince, you hit the ghungaroo!" Lavanya exclaimed.

"See," Virendra's lips turned upwards forming a proud smile as he removed the blindfold. "You have to focus on the sound of the bells to hit the target."

"But why cannot I do it?" Lavanya tilted her head while looking expectedly at her husband.

"When you close your eyes, you should focus on the sound of bells. Instead of doing so, you are allowing your mind to wander according to it's the will and the bitter memories are buzzing your mind. When your eyes are closed, your ears will become more sensitive. So try to concentrate on the sound of the ankle bells only. Don't allow your mind to recall your bitter past." Virendra explained slowly.

"Thank you, your highness," Lavanya smiled as she realized her flaws.

"Try again," Virendra smiled and gave the bow to her.

Nodding, Lavanya took the weapon from her hand. Tying the blindfold, she lifted the bow and arrow. Determined to achieve success, Lavanya aimed at the source of the sound before released the arrow. No sooner had she listened to a sudden sound of the bells of the ghungaroo than she removed her blindfold only to find that she didn't miss the target this time.

Beaming with happiness, she looked at her husband who has a faint smile on his lips.

"Prince, I did it!" She smiled widely like a kid whose wish was fulfilled after a long time.

"Mn," Virendra nodded as he walked towards his wife. "You finally did it. I think we should return to the palace. I think the Purvaanha prahar (6 AM-9 AM) has already started."

Lavanya glanced at the sun which already showed its presence in the clear morning sky. Smiling, Lavanya nodded, "yes Prince, we should return home."

Lavanya and Virendra carefully put the weapons in a cloth-bag which the latter brought. Riding on the horses, they left for the palace.

"Princess Lavanya, the sound of your ankles are making me too easy to detect your location," Prince Virendra said, walking in circles with his unsheathed sword in his hand and a blindfold on his eyes.

"Pardon, your highness, but your heavy footsteps are too loud for my ears," Princess Lavanya uttered while her lips curved upwards into a half-moon smile as she was walking in circles with a blindfold on her eyes and an unsheathed sword in her hand.

"Too confident, huh?" Virendra decreased his pace so that a blindfolded Lavanya couldn't hear his footsteps.

"Not as confident as you," Lavanya replied as she slowly took off her anklets which helped her husband to understand her next moves.

"It has been only ten days and you are already this confident about your skills?" Virendra smiled before attacking her.

"All thanks to you, Prince," Lavanya replied, dodging the blow.

"If you are really that confident, then defeat me." No sooner had he completed his words than he made a strong blow which was hard enough for Lavanya to face it.

"You are speaking too much, your highness," Lavanya raised her sword above her head, stopping the blow.

Using all her strength, she pushed Virendra, causing him to stumble back a few steps. Soon the fight began where Lavanya strongly stopped Virendra's blow while counter attacking them. She used her skills carefully, trying not to use Sanvika Devi's skills to avoid any kind of suspicion. Meanwhile, Virendra used all his skills, trying to defeat her.

Virendra stopped using his sword when he felt the tip of his sword was resting against something else other than her sword. His fingers swiftly pulled the cloth, undoing the knot. Removing the blindfold, he saw the tip of his sword was resting against the epidermis of her neck.

Before Virendra could say anything, Lavanya removed her blindfold and smiled confidently, "I didn't lose either. The tip of my sword is resting against your stomach. Move one step forward if you want to see the consequences."

Virendra's brows got knitted together as he looked down to find the tip of her sword resting dangerously against his stomach. If he has moved a step forward, then the sword would surely make its way into his stomach, forming a serious injury.

"Impressive!" Virendra smiled as he moved a step back, sheathing his sword into its scabbard. "I am proud of you," he smiled.

Lavanya stood still for a moment as if the time had stopped for her while her eyes widened in shock when Virendra said that he was proud of her. Never ever in her dream did she think that Virendra would say something like this. Suddenly she felt nostalgic upon hearing his words.

Flashback

"Virendra, I finally caught the fish," little Lavanya giggled when she caught the fish for the first time after Virendra taught her how to catch fish. Standing in the river water, she looked at her friend who was trying to catch fish.

"This fish is too big for your small hands, little one," little prince Virendra chuckled on seeing how his friend was struggling to hold the big fish which was trying to escape from her small hands.

"My hands aren't small. My hands are big as my father," She huffed and spread her palms to show how big her hands were, forgetting that she had the fish in her hands. No sooner had she opened her hands than the fish slipped and fell into the water. "Ai! The fish went away," she exclaimed when she realized what she did and started to search for the fish in the water.

Meanwhile, Virendra burst into laughter after seeing her deeds.

"Don't laugh, Virendra! Because of you, my fish went away," Lavanya sniffed while tears appeared in her eyes.

When Virendra noticed his little friend was trying to hold back her tears, he immediately stopped laughing. "Lavanya, are you crying?"

"Go away, you are bad. Because of you, my fish left me," she sniffed while tears rolled down her cute, chubby cheeks.

"I am sorry," Virendra looked at her with a guilty face, "I promise that I will catch more fish for you."

"But I caught that one," Lavanya pouted as she looked at the taller.

"You can catch more, Lavanya. You really learn fast," Virendra smiled, trying to cheer her up. "If you try again, you can catch more fish this time."

"Are you sure?" She asked with a questioning gaze, blinking her eyes innocently.

"Yes," Virendra said, emphasizing the word 'yes'.

Her tears vanished as if his words were medicine to her sadness. Smiling, she again put her hands into the water, trying to catch fish. Within a few minutes, she caught another fish which was bigger than the previous one.

"Virendra, I caught another fish!" Lavanya screamed, struggling to hold it, "help me to hold it."

Virendra rushed to her and took the fish from her hand. He threw the fish into a basket to join the other fishes which he had caught before. Lavanya quickly went to the bank and looked into the basket to see the fishes jumping due to lack of oxygen.

"Virendra, my fish is biggest of all," she chuckled as she looked at Virendra who was walking towards the basket.

"Yes, Lavanya, I am so proud of you," Virendra smiled.

"I am also proud of you," Lavanya giggled while moving her legs in the water, playing with it. "Friends should be proud of each other."

End of flashback

"Earth to Lavanya?" Virendra snapped his fingers as he saw his wife was spacing out. "You seem lost."

"Huh?" Lavanya flinched as she came out of her daze.

"What are you thinking so deeply?!" Virendra looked at her from head to toe weirdly.

"It's nothing," Lavanya shook her head and looked away with a slight smile on her face.

Why women are so difficult to understand? Virendra thought. Even though a man can understand a woman but understanding this wild cat is literally impossible!

"Since my training is over, will we return to the palace?" Lavanya asked while putting the sword in the bag.

"Well..." Virendra scratched his neck nervously as if he was hesitating to say something. "It's..."

"Do you want to say anything?" Lavanya arched her brow, confused at the sudden change in her husband's behavior.

"T-there is a waterfall nearby. I thought y-you would like to visit the place," Virendra stammered, as he struggled to maintain eye contact with her.

"So you are asking me if I will accompany you to the waterfalls, right?" Lavanya asked, pointing at herself.

"Yes," Virendra looked away, feeling his ears turning hot.

"Then why are you stammering to say these mere words?" Lavanya burst into laughter seeing her husband's nervousness. "Your highness, you are really amazing."

"Why are you laughing like that?" Virendra frowned while his wife was laughing to her heart's content.

"I-I am s-sorry." the princess pressed her lips together, trying to control her laughter. "I have never seen to the waterfalls."

"Didn't your Surya take you there?" Virendra made a bitter face.

"Your Highness, what has gotten into you today? How come Surya became mine? He isn't a thing. So he isn't mine," Lavanya huffed.

"Whatever, let's go," Virendra took his sword and started to walk.

Such a short-tempered spoiled prince! He was all fine just a moment ago. Lavanya shook her head and started to follow Virendra. How come he is becoming angry after listening to Surya's name? All of us are friends from childhood. Especially Surya and he were very good friends. Aish! This spoiled prince is really a spoiled prince!

"Woah! This is so beautiful!" Lavanya exclaimed as witnessing the beautiful view of the waterfalls amidst the forest.

The water seemed like a single white stream as it cascaded down the rocks, giving the effect of heavenly paradise. The calm yet roaring sound of the water could be heard as each droplet of water seemed like racing against each other to reach the bottom. Though the waterfall was neither a big one nor the flow of the water was too fast to cause one's death, yet had its eye-captivating beauty.

"I never have been to this place before," Lavanya said while looking at the white stream of water.

"This area isn't well-known," Virendra explained, "since we came here on foot, you can already see that it is located deep inside the forest. So normally people don't know about the presence of the waterfall. I used to come here during my training days, so I know about this."

"Thank you for bringing me here," Lavanya smiled wholeheartedly.

Seeing her sweet innocent smile, Virendra felt a tingling sensation in his chest. The feeling which he ever felt before. He felt like a sudden warm wave appeared deep in his chest and spread throughout his body. Even though it was a whole new feeling for him, yet it seemed like he liked it. He smiled as a reply before averting his gaze to enjoy the beauty of nature.

When Lavanya was about to put her feet in the flowing water, Virendra held her lower arm, "What are you doing?!"

"Putting my feet in the water," Lavanya replied while smiling brightly. "Cannot I put my feet in the water?"

"But Lavanya, you are standing on the edge," Virendra said worriedly.

"Please, prince..." Lavanya blinked her eyes innocently while seeking permission from her husband.

"Alright. But be careful," Virendra reluctantly said.

"Thank you," Lavanya smiled again and carefully put her right foot in the water. When she felt that she had stabilized herself, she put her another foot in water as well.

"Be careful," Virendra warned again, standing on the bank.

"I will," Lavanya replied while enjoying the chilliness of the cold water touching her feet.

The gentle sun rays along with the cold water touching her feet, made her recall her sweet memories with her mother. She reminisced how she used to accompany her mother to the river and put her feet in the cold waters despite her mother's warning. A sad smile appeared on her lips. Amidst all the thoughts, she lost her focus and moved a foot forward, absent-minded.

Suddenly her foot slipped and she lost her balance. Before Virendra could understand what had happened, Lavanya fell from the waterfall.

"Lavanya!" Virendra wailed as he saw how his wife fell from the waterfalls.

For a second, Virendra stood like a statue, frozen after witnessing the sight. Suddenly he felt like his heart sank. Shaking his head, he came out of his daze.

Without wasting a moment, Virendra skillfully jumped into the waterfall. For a prince like Virendra who had undergone severe training to survive any situation, falling from waterfalls wasn't a life-snatching incident.

Soon the water splashed at the bottom of the waterfalls and Virendra had landed into the plunge pool. Quickly swimming to the surface of the water, he started to cough violently as he was submerged deep into the water due to the force of the flowing stream of the waterfall. Sweeping his hair back so that his wet hair wouldn't fall on his face, he started to search for his wife.

"Lavanya!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lavanya, where are you?"

Oh, God! Where did she go? Virendra looked around. He felt his heartbeat increased suddenly as if he ran a marathon race. Never ever in his life did he feel this helpless and desperate. He wanted to find her but still couldn't get even a glance at her. I need to calm down first. I cannot lose my patience now. I need to find her. Virendra took a deep breath to calm himself down before searching again.

4995 words...

Ghungaroo: Ankle bells which have great importance in Indian dances. I have learned both Bharatnatyam and Kathak, so I know how important ghungaroo is for these dances.

Well...I again need to apologize. I thought of updating within a week but I updated after 14 days ie 2 weeks. Well, I had to attend in counseling. Since my college will start in November, I got some spare time. But I had to do some household chores, teach my sister and moreover...I had writer's block.

And yes! I was watching Maharana Pratap serial and yeah...it took some of my time. Hehe 😅😅