"Prince, I am here to report on the incident of the missing people." General Dev barged into the medical room in search of Shiv.The wound that Shiv got while saving the child from the burnt village was still bad. Aditya always forced Shiv to get it treated properly, but his words made no sense into that stubborn man"s ears!
Shiv still blamed him for the mishap of that village and considers that wound on his back as a form of punishment.
Even though he was in so much pain, he barely let anyone notice it. He was a master of poker face!
General Dev witnessed his master being tied to the bed by Aditya and Abhinav as they started applying his medicines.
Even though Shiv was in the presence of Aditya, his best buddy, he dared to remove his mask! On contrary, if anyone dare to even touch it, he would become very angry at them. Knowing his personality and the psychological scare it left on him, Aditya never pulled any prank with it...
"Oh! General Dev is here. Could you wait for a while until we finish applying his medicines?"
Dev gave a quick nod and decided to wait outside the room until they were finished. But before he could go out, a sudden bone chilling voice was heard which made him stop and turn around.
"What happened? You don"t have to mind about these people, tell what you have to report to me!" Shiv ordered him in a commanding manner as that of a real king! Everyone in that room could sense the tension in the air. Even though he was wearing his mask they all could sense the fierce look on his eyes.
Though they rarely got close enough with him to be able to see his eyes, that time they were sure he wanted to catch the criminal no matter what.
Above all they all came to know and understand how much he valued Ira, her very presence next to him, made him feel at ease. He enjoyed her company more than anything and during that time when she was kidnapped, he looked like a dead corpse!
Since this matter is somehow involved with the world that she comes from, Shiv couldn"t help but feel concerned about it. It also involved his people as well, he couldn"t over look that fact.
General Dev carried on with the report of his investigation.
"Prince, it feels like something is obstructing our path further than the water source. I have tried everything within my power to find those people, but all the clues which are being found is related only to the water source and beyond that point, there is nothing else. I am really sorry to have failed your highness in this way! I do not deserve to live!"
Shiv took a side glance at Dev as he sighed heavily.
"Why do all the people I trust the most always wants to die? I don"t understand you at all..."
Hearing his words, everyone in the room were staggered while their jaws dropped and literally hit the floor!
Everyone knew that Shiv was not the type that would be open about his feelings, the words he uttered was truly something that made those three doubt whether he was truly the Shiv that they knew.
He was indeed changed after meeting Ira and above all it was a very good change. The guy who used to be so unsociable and unapproachable has finally started to warm up and act as a proper human.
Even though it had not been that long since he met her, she somehow entered into his world and took down his barriers one at a time. They were sure that she herself was not aware of the impact she had caused to him.
"What happened? Is something there on my face? Adi, will you hurry and finish bandaging me! I have some work to do!" Shiv yawped at him.
Aditya who stood frozen at his place as if his legs were rooted to the ground, jolted by his sudden screech.
"Hmm... Yeah... Give me a moment." He quickly patched him up neatly and let him leave.
.....
"So... what is happening here? This is the place where the clues are ending?"
Shiv asked General Dev to lead the way to the water source so that he could himself witness something out of ordinary. But his expectations failed him.
Just like what Dev has told him, there was absolutely nothing that could be found in there... though that lighter was the last piece of clue they found near the water source, they couldn"t a.s.sume that the person to whom the lighter belonged is the same person who kidnapped those three villagers.
There was not enough evidence to prove their claim and above all it has even been 2 weeks since those villagers disappearance. Still there were no clue that could lead to them.
Shiv pinched the s.p.a.ce between his brows.
"Prevent people from coming anywhere near this water source. The water shall be drawn and collected by a few set of people accompanied by some well trained soldiers. Those people will supply water to the villagers. No one is allowed near here after 6pm until all of these issues are resolved. Make the people aware of my command and if anyone dares to disobey it, they will have to face my wrath."
"Yes, your highness! I shall heed your command!"
As per Shiv"s orders, the water source was completely sealed off from the general public. Women and children were being taken care of more cautiously.
....
"What!? Shiv sealed off the water source?" Ira sounded so surprised that she stood up and shook Chahna until she felt light headed.
"Ira... Stop... I"m feeling dizzy..."
"Oops.. Sorry about that... But why would he do that? Is there something that he is trying to hide from me? Wasn"t that the place where they found the lighter before... But now he is sealing it off for another reason? What is the connection between these two?"
Ira rubbed her chin as she was deep in her own thoughts...
"Breaking my head over it is not going to help.... I better go and speak with him directly..."