The Shield - Part 1

Clouds hovering over the sky dispersed to unveil the mighty sun who demolished the darkness with his fiery power. Clamour filled the streets of Raipur where the bustling crowd went about their daily business. Dust worked in cahoots with the blowing wind to facilitate air pollution in the city. Sagar went up the hills anticipating his fiancee to apply her attendance. The hills located far away from the bustling crowd laden with silence gave him a respite from the noisy realm. The scenic hills manufactured at the backdrop of a picturesque horizon rendered him goosebumps. He called out his fiancee's name, which reverberated across the hills, luring her into the spot. Both of them waved their hands in excitement. Their wedding was to take place in two weeks and the preparations at their home went in full swing. Sagar, being an avid poetry reader, churned out his own piece to enthral his beloved, Seetha.

When I am alone lost in the hills

Your timely presence gives me chills

You are an angel engraved in heaven

Tomorrow you are going to turn twenty-seven

Like a mighty sun that brings light to this world

You have illuminated my inner world

When I see an adorable smile adorning your face

Happiness replenish my heart's empty space

Let us paint the hills with our love story

Even the nature is envious of our chemistry

You are a beacon of hope that keeps me alive

Your courage is what makes me brave

Thanks for being a partner of my life

In two weeks, you will get a promotion to be my wife

The last line of his poem left her in splits. They both sat together drinking in the beauty offered by nature. Their conversation lasted for six hours which reflected their unconditional love for each other. Eventually, they reluctantly called it a day since the sun threatened to invite the darkness of night.

The next day happened to be Sunday and Sagar looked excited to meet Seetha at the temple. He had donned dhoti to give a spiritual favour and anticipated his beloved's arrival. She did not come even after an hour which surprised him. He ringed her phone but it was switched off. He phoned her parents to know about her whereabouts but to his astonishment even they expected her to be in temple. He sensed something amiss and went on a searching spree. After scanning the nook and corner of the temple, he went up the hills and screamed her name. A strange feeling engulfed him adding to his trepidation. He went back to his home but even there she was not present. Her sudden missing seemed incomprehensible. Fear and anxiety washed away his face. Inadvertently, he stepped on an envelope which seemed to have stored a booklet inside. He picked up the large envelope which had no name imprinted on it. He tore open the envelope and extracted a booklet from inside. It was titled, "The Queen's Revenge"

He started reading the story.

Content from the booklet:

Once upon a time there lived a king named Deva who through his gallant efforts kept his enemies at bay. His queen Rani too supported him in all his endeavours. Both of them were trained combat specialists and they ruled the kingdom of Rajpur with dignity and bravery. They also respected and loved each other and looked inseparable. Their minister Bhadra cast a lustful eye on the queen. He had fallen head over heels for her indescribable beauty and felt envious to see the king and queen being together. He had earned a good reputation in the kingdom through his endeavours but his only weakness was the queen. Nobody could remove his facade because he was damn good when it came to concealing secrets. He wanted to make her his own by hook or by crook. So, he decided to terminate the king. His cluttered mind did not even think what could follow if he eliminates the king. He was blinded by her charm and refused to forfeit his desire. One day, on the pretext of discussing about the matters of administration he injected a poisonous injection to the king which quickly faded him out. The queen who was to visit her mother happened to cancel her plan and she strode into the king's room. Before she could enter, she saw the minister leaving hastily which made her think that something was brewing. She saw the king lying on the bed spewing the venomous liquid out. She couldn't fathom what she just saw. The queen quickly raised alarm and the doctor arrived at the spot and confirmed that he had been poisoned to death. This horrific news did not go down well with the queen. She accidentally stumbled upon a piece of letter written by the minister which was a testimony to his growing love on the queen. It became evident to her that the minister had secretly orchestrated her husband's death. She acted as if she knew nothing about the murderer and she scanned the minister's face who shed crocodile tears for the king. She ordered the sentries to invite the minister to her chamber in a private meeting.

"I have lost my husband in unforeseen circumstances. It's unfortunate and there is no point in mourning about his death forever. Being the queen of Rajpur I desire another king to fill his void. I also want to marry that king," she said.

The minister wondered whose name she would take and had sweat peppered over his face.

"The next king of Rajpur is none other than you. I always admired your work and have no problem in marrying you. Will you be my king?" she requested.

The minister was on cloud nine thanks to her endearing words but if he accepted her proposal immediately she may smell the foul play so he pretended to hesitate. But the queen did not budge and was desperate to have him as the king. Eventually, he gave into her words. She asked him to meet her inside the cave which was located in a secluded place. The minister nodded his head. He jumped in joy unable to resist his temptation to meet the queen in the cave but wondered why she asked him to do so. He shrugged off from pondering too much and got himself readied to meet the love of his life. He did not think about the reason since he couldn't cut through the fog of excitement. Bhadra went inside the dark cave which churned out eerie sounds to raise his heartbeats. He couldn't sense what was being cooked. His muffled voice was barely audible in the din of the dark cave. Startling skeletons interrupted him occasionally to fill him with trepidation. Finally, the voice of the queen revived his desires that seemed to be receding thanks to the scary elements of the cave. He followed the voice which took him out of the cave. He saw the queen rooted to her spot oozing with anger.

"What happened queen?" he asked in fear.

"I am here to remove your camouflage and send you back to where you belong," she fumed.

Unable to deduce the reality, he kept gazing at the queen.

"You killed the emperor of Rajpur to pursue your lustful desires. Now, you are unabashedly getting prepared to marry me. Hang your head in shame," her words laced with venom pricked his heart.

"Please forgive me. I won't repeat this act again," he pleaded.

"I am ashamed to even see your disgusting face. How dare you ask for forgiveness when you have snatched my happiness. You don't deserve a place in our kingdom and here is the punishment for your sin," she penetrated the sword through his tummy which came out on the other side tasting his blood.

"I will avenge this murder," he roared before falling thud on the ground.

With one swing, she separated his body and face. The gaping neck spewed the blood out and the minister's lustful desires also evaporated. She tossed the blood stained sword inside the cave. His spirit could not harm Rani thanks to the spiritual thread tied to her belly. Now, in this life Rani had become Seetha. The spirit of Bhadra had abducted your Seetha and has locked her in the same cave where he had visited before he got killed. His spirit will get liberated only when he kills Seetha with the same sword.

The story sent shivers down his spine and he begged for solution to the problem but the booklet did not suggest any solution to the compounding problem. He feared his beloved's death and was desperate to save her. Since he got a clue that she was locked in the cave, he decided to fight the spirit alone come what may. On his way, he happened to meet a stranger.

"Are you going inside the cave?" he asked.

Sagar was taken aback. "How do you know?"

"I am the one who sent you that booklet," he said.

"How come you know all this?" Sagar asked with curiosity.

"It's not the right time to discuss about my identity. Just think that I am your shield. You got to foil the plan of that spirit before it harms your beloved," he warned.

"I can't even imagine a life without her," he lamented.

"I can understand. I am here you help you out. The spirit is carrying out a evil Pooja before killing your Seetha," he said.

"What is the significance of that Pooja?" he asked in astonishment anticipating an answer.

"His intention is to make the soul of Rani crippled forever. In other words, in every life the soul would get into a crippled body."

Sagar grew apprehensive and he wondered how someone can plan something so diabolical as this.

"I am going to distract that spirit. In the meantime, you unbound your beloved and leave the cave immediately," he said.

"The spirit won't get liberated until it kills Seetha which means it will continue to torment her. I think the plan is not a long term solution," Sagar said.

"You don't think too much. I have a plan for that. You just follow what I said."

Sagar nodded his head in affirmation and both of them went near the cave.

Bhadra's spirit was engrossed in the evil Pooja whereas Seetha was scared to death unable to fathom the complexities of the cave. She was bounded with ropes and tears streamed through her eyes reflecting her paranoia state. After performing the Pooja, he happened to see the silhouette of someone passing through the rock painted with light. He followed the silhoutte and this distraction allowed Sagar to sneak into the cave and release his beloved from harm. Both of them went outside the cave. Bhadra's spirit quickly cast his eyes at the spot where Seetha was placed but to his surprise she went missing. Then he saw the figure of Seetha approaching him from backside. He raised his eyebrows and the tempers flared high. He picked up the sword and charged towards her. She lost her balance and fell backwards. He placed his thigh where her head nestled. He broke into an evil laughter seeing the dread forming in her eyes.

"You are crippled forever," he stabbed the sword on her tummy with his eyes brimming with the satisfaction of a winner.

The female body drenched in blood fell thud on the ground with the legs twitching. The roar of Bhadra sent tremors down the cave as he derived satisfaction from her death. He quickly disappeared which indicated the liberation to his spirit.

Sagar who was peeking through the hole outside the cave had heart in his mouth whereas Seetha looked uncomfortable having seen something as surreal as this. She was still panic-stricken after being abducted by the spirit while she was on her way to the temple.

"Where is he?" Sagar looked surprised.

"Who?" Seetha asked.

"The one who helped me."

He narrated the entire episode to her.

"Who is he? Why did he help you?" A wave of surprise and fear brushed past her.

(To be continued...)