บท 109: Man Crumbles to Ignorance , Evertyime ( Part 1 )
A shadowy form materialized, appearing even darker as water sunk into its clothes. It fell roughly to its knees where it stood. The glow of candlelight slowly lit its frame and illuminated the form's identity as Sheesha.
"Your Majesty, this subordinate committed a sin. Please punish me." He swiftly bowed and touched his head to the ground.
Vajra studied the contrite form of his childhood protector, trying his best to unleash his wrath upon this man. Truth is Sheesha was just a guard who protected him for half a month in the wild. At that point, his role in the army was that of an assassin and his rank wasn't even that high. It means his engagement with Vajra or any other high personage was only on a mission to mission basis. It was Vajra's own fault to hand over such a high position to him right after. Sheesha became the hidden point of contact of the fourth princess's security detail ever since Vajra came back from the forest. Vajra was just a nine year old child back then that Sheesha was just assigned to protect. But in the course of their mission, he had come to admire the boy and had even become deeply loyal to him. They say assassins are only loyal to themselves, but Vajra was able to win over Sheesha through the dedication he had to the task.
At one point, Sheesha figured out that the prince was going to kill him when he was unaware. It was the one way the boy could think of to resolve the deadlock where Sheesha was dutybound to protect his life while he was ambitious to save his brother's. He would rather kill his bodyguard and let himself die rather than to risk giving away the plan to reinforce his brother by joining up with his dispersed teams at the last moment. It was then that he truly bowed to the prince and recognised him as a real man.
All of that changed however, when the prince returned to the palace and became a drooling idiot. He was broken in the end by his own father and Sheesha, who just found his leader, quickly became leaderless. However, there was still that little girl. The prince's last order was to protect the little girl. The little prince never said or did anything without reason. Sometimes there was more than one reason, just like when he put Jeh-shaan on the deathbed without immediately killing him. He at once neutralized the threat of reinforcements from the capital to the Dhija assassins and also paralyzed the actions of the Royal Guard by getting the captain to fixate on only one thing as he lay on his deathbed. When he chose to be hunted in the forest rather than unite with his personal guard, he created the impression that he had been impulsive and chose to run towards his brother rather than in the designated escape route. He created the illusion that his various teams were trying to unite with him when all along they were going to reinforce his brother and thus camouflaged their true purpose.
Whenever the little prince said or did something, it had deep meaning and context. Of this, Sheesha was convinced. More so, when he assigned him to protect the youngest of the eight princesses at the last minute when he finally reached safety. He thought it was just a little girl that the prince was so fond of, he would even think of her in his delirium. But the first thing the princess said to Sheesha after the little prince returned from his mission was, 'I would've done it better.'
It wasn't just empty talk. Back then, she was the one who changed the medical team that was treating the king. Whether or not the old team was malpracticing, the new team did allow the king to live for six more months. It created just the right interval for the little prince to get back on his feet. While he was recuperating in the Crystal Arrow Tower, she took over all his duties in the main palace when it comes to engaging the ministers and the nobles, keeping them on their side. It was refreshing to say the least, to see an eleven year old girl to speak so eloquently on all matters of the kingdom that require attention. Back then, people praised that she was no less a genius than her little brother.
That and many more things from that period led Sheesha to completely become the fourth princess's follower. Even a grown man can feel lost. That long and nerve-wracking mission in the forest gave this apparition of the Shadow Clan its leader and took him away too. Sheesha all along believed it was Vajradandaka's intention for him to become loyal to the fourth princess. He had four sisters that loved him equally. There was no reason for him to send Sheesha to the smartest one if this wasn't his intention. This was the understanding between a lord and follower those days. When the lord was not able to shelter the follower anymore, he would send him to someone else he trusts and also deserves the follower. So Sheesha believed that the fourth princess deserved his loyalty.
"How long has this been going on?" Vajra turned his back to the kneeling man. His voice was dark and lonely.
"About a year and a half, My Lord."
"Do not call me your lord. For you, I'm just your majesty. You do not deserve to be counted among my faithfuls."
"…Yes."
"How many times did Yuga-dheera come to my land without me knowing?"
"….A total of sixteen times. That I know of."
"Bastard! Almost once a month?!"
"Yes, My…Your Majesty. His Highness, Prince of Pranaya takes his courtship to the fourth princess very seriously…"
"And you helped cover it for him."
Silence.
"Answer me, you traitor!"
The forbidden word. Traitor. It would break any loyal servant. Sheesha's head fell on the damp ground as if his back was broken. He burst out crying as he prayed, "Martanda, forgive this sinner! I didn't mean to betray you…The fourth princess…"
"The fourth princess what?" Vajra turned around in fury and powerfully kicked the man on his waist. The air around him vibrated dangerously, his aura thundering more powerfully than the skies above. Sheesha, who never faced a divine awakened, felt as though hell was descending on him.
"What did the fourth princess tell you!"
It was said that the god of death was the supreme judge of souls. You cannot lie to him. And this man was the purported father of the god of death. Sheesha no longer saw him as a small child. He trembled as he answered, "She said that Abhaya will ultimately fall and at that time, Rtadhara will have no allies. At least, if she was married to Pranaya, with or without your consent, when the time comes…"
"When the time comes, she can be our savior?" Though he looked red eyed and like he was about to explode in a volcano, at this time, Vajra actually felt calmer. At least, now he knew there was a reason. At least, now it felt like his favorite sister didn't totally betray him for love.
"How utterly ridiculous…" Vajra scoffed, but said nothing in the end. Instead, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Sheesha. "What you have said is precisely the opposite of what will happen. Soon, this world will be facing a huge storm. And when the time comes, Rtadhara will be destroyed…and it is precisely because of your actions today!"
"Martanda!" It was like a bomb exploded in the former assassin's brain. He looked wide eyed and petrified, unable to form a single coherent thought, as though he had descended into the eighteen levels of hell. "Why…" his lip trembled and even more copious tears poured out of his eyes before he managed to ask, "Why do you speak such ominous words…"
"Because it is the truth." Vajra walked in a leisurely arc and sat on a curved divan. His aura seemed to have transformed from violent and wrathful to his usual calm and sensible one. Placing his elbow on the headrest, he rested for a while, letting his thoughts take free reign. He thought of destruction in great detail, as though he could see it happen in front of his eyes.
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