"Shiv, I didn"t know that things could take a weird turn now... It will only get more dangerous in the future. As of now, this place is a safe hideout for her, but for how long? We have to act fast and take action before anything happens.""Abhinav, I understand your concern. That is exactly what I am thinking now. There was already one attack near the outskirts of the hidden village by the Lal"s..."
"What? How is that possible? Did they find this village??"
"I"m not sure about that... But if they had they could have attacked any moment. But they didn"t do it... Last time, they manipulated the lions and threatened the lives of the villagers. Ira and myself took care of that issue. Then used the court lady, to kidnap Ira. From all of their moves it is clear that are aware of the location of the hidden village. But the question is, why haven"t they attacked us yet? It somehow feels like the enemies are waiting for the correct time to strike."
Hearing all the details from Shiv, made Abhinav feel dizzy. He didn"t know all of those things that had happened to his long lost sister...
"It"s not like we can immediately vacate this village and move to a different one. Technically speaking, this location of the village that you have found can be used to our perks when there is an attack. We can use the whole forest as our hideout if the situation calls for it."
"Yeah, that was exactly the reason why I especially choose this place and made it as our hideout. But the thing is, we don"t have many abled men to fight. Almost all the people in this hidden village are either normal peasants or n.o.bles, where only a few have the knowledge on swordsmanship. We are lacking manpower."
"Don"t worry about that. I don"t have much soldiers with me, but I do have some strong and loyal ones. Since we both have the same goal, what do you say about forming an alliance with me, Prince of Surasena?"
Without even much thought, Shiv took him up on his offer for alliance. Just like he said, those two did share a same goal at least to some point. Their feelings of wanting to protect Ira and their hideout came first.
....
"Ira, may I come in for a bit." Shiv knocked onto her door. He was indeed very worried about her after all that had happened.
"Yes..." Her voice sounded a little hoa.r.s.e and soulless from behind the door.
When he opened the door and entered into her room, Shiv was hurt to see that painful look on her face.
Ira looked pale and lifeless. Her eyes were swollen and red. He could imagine how hard she must have cried for her face to become such a mess.
The girl looked lonely and sad to the point that it was getting harder and harder for her to bear. She felt pathetic. All she could do was cry and cry and cry again...
Even if she was present in that world with her family, what could she possibly do? She was nothing but a normal girl, who got swept away by the games played by the fate.
The girl deeply regretted the fact that she created troubles for her family. She regretted coming to that world and regretted everything. The more she thought about the things, the more she was left with nothing but regret.
Shiv didn"t know what he could say that might console her. He was not even sure whether he should even say anything to her.
He simply stood beside her and watched her as she was immersed on her own thoughts. He gave her enough s.p.a.ce. He was scared to make her his. He was scared that if she continued to stay by his side, she might have to face a lot of difficult situations, probably much worse than this.
Even though all that Shiv had ever wanted was for her to stay happy and keep smiling, he was not confident enough that he could provide her with all the happiness that she deserves.
Even though they both have not started anything, it felt like he ended everything. He lost his confidence of making her happy!
While he was completely lost on his own thoughts, suddenly he felt a soft b.u.mp on his chest.
The girl whom he thought could not be his, was standing there holding onto him within his arms. Her whole body was trembling. Ira tried hard to control her tears from falling as she burrowed deep into his chest.
"Please... please let me stay like this for a while... I feel like I might go crazy if I don"t have someone by my side right now... Please..."
Her voice was shaky as she begged Shiv to stay.
The moment she made such a request to him, all the thoughts that he had a while back was pushed right behind his mind. He could only focus on the girl that was crying and trembling within his arms. He didn"t want to think of anything or anyone apart from her.
He simply embraced her lovingly as if he was holding something precious with his arms. He gently caressed her head and whispered into her ears, "Cry... cry, as much as you want now. I hope this sadness of yours ends right here. Even though it pains me to see you cry, it was something that was meant to happen. I will always be right here for you. But one day I hope I can bring your beautiful smile back to your face."
....
They both didn"t realise how much time had pa.s.sed. They both were just stuck in each other"s embrace for a very long time. He didn"t know when she stopped crying and she didn"t know how long he had been there with her, holding her sweetly in his arms.
They both were just reluctant to part and break from each others embrace. Strangely it felt very comforting when they held onto each other.
The stillness of the night approached, leaving those two in each other"s arms...