บท 36: Where One Road Ends , Another Begins ( Part 2 )
After that, he directly threw the shrieking little prince to Captain Shaura of the Garaj vansh. He gave a signal to the rest of the troop to turn around. They were going to enter the final confrontation with the enemy.
Before leaving, the valiant eldest prince said one last thing to the guard captain who was already struggling to keep hold of the crazed Vajradandaka, who was shrieking madly in grief.
"Keep in mind that the future king of Rtadhara is in your hands now. There shall not be any mistakes!"
"Yes, Yuvaraja!" the guard captain saluted one last time.
"No!" Vajradandaka protested even more hearing those words. The energy he displayed was absolutely shocking to all those around him. These troops have all known that the prince had been unconscious for as many as three days!
"No, I do not agree! I will not be king. Big brother is the only king in my heart! I will not agree to this. Big brother, stop! Even if you leave, I will not take your place!"
The soldiers who had followed the eldest prince for the longest time all had tears in their eyes. There were some veterans among them who had seen him grow up from when he was as small as the little prince. They had admired him and worshipped him as liege. Ever since the king was grievously injured about a year and half ago, he was no different than the king to them. He performed exemplarily, impressing even those disdainful ministers who earlier believed that the first prince was too naïve and easily swayed. He proved them all wrong. A brilliant future laid ahead of him and everyone believed he would take Rtadhara to a greater height!
But now…he was already fatally injured and there was no more road ahead of him. All he could do was to fight to the death to ensure that at least his little brother could get away in one piece.
An air of grave solemnity took over the troop who had just repositioned themselves to receive the enemy's attack. Out of the original seven hundred in the eldest prince's battalion who fell to the Dhija ambush, only around two hundred were left. Along with the little prince's men, there were a total of three hundred and twenty defenders. They were wearied from the continuous battles and many of them were injured. The enemy on the other hand had just caught up with them now. Apart from the somewhat wearied Dhija elites who would've already finished them off in the lengthy battle if not for being routed by little prince's reinforcements at the last minute, the rest who were from Jeh-shaan's unit were in top battle condition. Even though they exhausted themselves searching for the little prince in the wilderness somewhat, they have not fought any strenuous battles, so they carried no injuries. The enemy numbers totaled six hundred, which was absolutely insurmountable to this frazzled group.
Even if they fought to the death, they would only be doing so to stall for time so that the little prince could leave…
In the dignified silence, only the weeping sounds of the little child were heard. Accentuated by the high winds, they sounded especially mournful.
Sighing, the eldest prince patted his brother's small face with his big, rough hands. "Cactus. Be good. Brother is going to meet mom again. We'll be watching you from up there. So don't disappoint."
Knowing that no matter how much he cried, he wouldn't change the outcome, the little prince too stopped crying. It is unimaginable for a child to have such a strong grasp on his heart, but the little prince was not a normal child. He was a royal, and he was also…someone who knows what's up there.
Holding his brother's hand, he mumbled, "Up there when you meet me, you will know I meant it when I said you're the only king in my heart. I will prove it to you big brother."
Despite being drained of life energy himself, the eldest prince couldn't help but smile. He knew his brother had always been obsessed with him taking the throne. Being an advisor to king was his dream, but he never thought his little brother would be resistant to being king himself. Still, it was too late to ponder upon the reasons. He rubbed the little prince's head one last time. "Then I hope to see you there…but not too soon," he smiled.
But I am already there…the little prince thought, thinking of the observer who participated in that discussion with the gandharva. When the gandharva made him choose the laughing, he didn't tell him the caveat. The sense of security the laughing baby felt when he was thrown up into the air meant he was bound to have strong emotional bonds. In turn that meant, he was going to suffer enormous pain when one of them broke away. The crying baby might have been born poor and neglected, but there was safety in aloneness too. They will never get hurt so badly when people leave.
The eldest prince looked carefree and valiant as ever as he turned around. Without looking back, the eldest prince left his final words. "Tell my son, father will wait for him to make him proud."
With that, the charismatic hero of a generation rode away into his final battle. He didn't once look back, not the slightest hint of weakness evident in his bearing. It looked the great god of war Indra himself alighted upon him. His aura soaring with the cries of battle, rising the morale of his troops.
Stoically watching this scene, the little prince said to himself in reply. "Yes, how can the future king not make you proud…I will ensure he will definitely make you proud big brother. This is my promise to you."
As though struck by lightning, Shaura, who was listening to his words stiffened at these words. He was terrified of uttering a single word, scared of influencing the prince.
"Let's go Shaura. Let not by brother's sacrifice be in vain. We must escape alive or there is no meaning to any of this."
"Yes, my prince."
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