Daughter of the Naga

by Svetlana Ivanova

  Kesar blinked. "My apologies if I have upset you. Is there anything you need? It seems like you most likely prefer a cool bath to ease your troubled mind, perhaps?"

  "Never mind," I exhaled. Whatever I said didn't make any sense to her either. For a long moment, we both just stared at each other in silence. I took in her appearance as she did mine. Then Kesar smiled.

  "You dressed funny," she said, giving me an amused look. "I have never seen this kind of clothing."

  "Excuse me?" I said, looking down at myself.

  "I have never seen any girl dressed like that," she added with curious eyes.

  "I could say the same to you."

  "Everyone dresses this way here." She frowned again.

  I didn't want to argue and just nodded back. Kesar got up and led me to the bathroom outside of the house. The bathroom was a small building made of wood like the rest of everything. Inside, natural beeswax candles were lit around a small sunken stone pool at the middle.

  Other maids were already there, putting sliced lime and herbs and some jasmine into the water.

  "Oh, I think I'm in heaven," I breathed, dropping my satchel to the floor in exhaustion. The other women lifted their faces to me. Strangely, they gasped and whispered to each other as if I was the most curious thing in the world. Kesar ushered me inside.

  "Look! Her hair looks like gold and those blue eyes!" one of the maidens whispered.

  "Yes and those strange shoes!” the other whispered back. “Did she really fall from the sky?"

  I looked at myself awkwardly and turned to Kesar.

  "What are they talking about?" I asked.

  "Pay them no heed, my lady. We must hurry," she said. "The Hora shall be here in no time."

  She came forward and kneeled down in front of me. Before I knew what she was doing, her hands reached out to grab my belt.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Undressing you, my lady, are you not intending to have a bath?"

  "Yes! But I can do it myself!" I said as I tried to pry her hands off my pants.

  "I'm your handmaiden. It is my duty to serve you," Kesar insisted. "You have quite a strange accessory on your person." Her face concentrated hard as she struggled to remove my belt.

  "Oh Kesar, wait!" I gasped when she unfastened it and unbuttoned my pants then pulled them down to my ankles.

  My jaw dropped.

  "Oh, I found your clothing quite easy to let loose after all," she said and looked up at me with a bright smile.

  It took some great effort to refuse the maiden's offer to bathe me. After I finished, I felt utterly cleaned and lighter. Kesar gave me some silk clothes to wear, but I insisted on wearing my old ones. In my bag, I had packed some spare shirts and underwear. I was too tired to even think about what happened to me. And once my head hit the pillow, I passed out.

  When I woke up again, the sky was already pitch-black. There was faint music floating in the air at night. Then I heard the horns blew, or maybe it was the conch shells from the priests, I wasn't sure. But what I was sure of was I still hadn't woken up from this surreal nightmare.

  Kesar came to me again, and her presence only confirmed my bizarre reality.

  "What was that?" I asked in a groggy voice.

  "It's time for you to go to the Main House, my lady," she said. "The other children are waiting for you."

  "Don't call me that. My name is Nikita," I said. "Please, call me Nikita."

  "Yes, my lady."

  I rolled my eyes.

  "Anyway, you said the others are waiting, who are they?"

  "Special people like you," Kesar replied.

  ~*~

  Kesar and three other handmaidens led me through the hallways towards the Main House. I was greeted by the same group of Brahmins afterward. This time they escorted me in silence.

  I had no clue what they were going to do to me. I just hoped that it didn't involve human sacrifice. But even if it did, I might as well let them get it over with. There was no way I could escape from this bizarre realm even if I tried.

  We reached the square, following the pebbled path that snaked towards the stairs. The Main House was located in the middle of the complex. It had a single spire tower with a carved gold-gilded face on top.

  When we reached the hall of the pavilion, a dozen of women appeared by the entrance. They brought bronze bowls filled with flowers. The women spread petals of lotus along the path as we walked past them. I felt like some sort of royalty. The other handmaidens bowed away, except Kesar, who stayed by my side the whole time. For some reason, I was grateful for that.

  I stared around the place in awe. Almost every corner displayed meticulous wood art and gold-gilded patterns. The ceiling had colorful murals of epic battle scenes and tales. A burning hearth set in the middle of the hall.

  We passed between two rows of huge wooden pillars. The golden fiery and floral designs glowed against the dancing fire. This must be what an ancient palace looked like.

  Some maidens took turns feeding the fire in the hearth with some sweet-smelling tree barks and herbs. I thought it was probably to repel the insects at night, but the flame flickered in five different colors, red, yellow, purple, green, and blue.

  Turning my gaze away from the hearth, I finally noticed a bunch of people my age for the first time. They sat waiting on a raised platform on both sides of me. Almost everyone wore strange gold headdresses and intricate jewelry. Their multi-layered silk costumes draped over their elegant figures like some ancient gods. They also looked quite different, beautiful and majestic in their own way. And when they raised their faces to me, my breath hitched. Under their piercing stares, my heart pounded and my palms began to sweat as the anxiety formed in my stomach again.

  Some of these children frowned at me while others looked amused. The more I looked at them, the brighter their faces seemed ablaze as if they cast their own light. At that moment, I suspected that they were not ordinary people.

  There were about four or five boys and three girls. The boys seemed quite intimidating. I was sure two of the boys were twins. The twins looked at me and smiled at each other mischievously.

  One other boy almost growled when my eyes made contact with his. I recoiled back like he was a vicious rabid dog. The rest just shook their heads without a reason. The girls sat quietly. I noticed they didn't wear maiden's dresses like those I'd met. They had some silk attires similar to their male peers, only tailored to suit their more feminine forms.

  One girl wore all red. Even her ember-colored eyes flickered like flames as she gazed at me. I could almost feel the heat from her stare as if she wanted to reduce me to ashes.

  "Why doesn't she look like us? Is she one of us?" she muttered to the mean-looking boy next to her.

  "Too skinny," he agreed.

  "Too pale," the other added.

  I started feeling self-conscious, and the heat on my face grew hotter.

  The white-robed priests motioned for me to take a seat on a golden mat. As I settled down, I still felt the discomfort itching over my body. But at least, one of the girls smiled at me. She dressed in dark green robe. Next to her was a young handsome boy, whose curly dark hair fell to his shoulders. He also smiled at me kindly. I felt somewhat comforted by this accepting gesture.

  No one said anything, and I sat stiffly as they scrutinized me left and right like I was a freshly carved sculpture. A melodious orchestra started playing in the background. I pretended to listen to it while trying to ignore those curious eyes. The palace maids carried out plates of exotic fruit and delicacies then placed them on our separate tables. The rich smell of the feast made me wild with hunger.

  It wasn't long before I lost my patience and dove right into the meal. I didn't care if they thought I was a savage. I was starving. After I was done, a dozen women appeared. They wore peacock tails in their hair. Others held golden and silver flowers in their hands. These women, I now recognized, dressed exactly like they just walked right off the temple walls.
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br />   "What are they doing?" I asked Kesar, who sat beside me.

  "The Apsaras will dance in honor of your arrival, my lady," she said.

  "I thought Apsaras were like celestial nymphs?"

  Kesar muffled a giggle.

  "They can be just mortal women," she said. "But once they start dancing, they're the bridge between heavens and earth. It is the most fitting and most beautiful way to cajole the gods."

  I was deeply fascinated by everything I heard and saw in this place. We watched the Apsaras dance. Their whole bodies looked like they were enchanted by the celestial spirits. I was transfixed until we heard the horn blew again, along with several wailing sounds of animals from the outside.

  Our faces turned to the entrance of the pavilion at the same time. There we saw the shadows of three enormous elephants coming towards the house.

  "Rowrrrh!!!" the elephants trumpeted.

  "The Hora has arrived!" the guard announced from the outside. A moment later, a group of men walked into the hall. A tall figure in a flowing black robe marched along. From under the hood of his cloak, the man seemed to wear an ugly green mask with white curved fangs poking out of the lower mouth and tiny red horns on the head. Even the eyes seemed to bug out from the sockets a little. He looked scary but no one seemed to mind his weird appearance. The priests stood and bowed at the person, who did the same in return. Then he took a seat as the priests started blowing their conchs again. I turned to Kesar.

  "Who is that man?" I said, looking nervously at the black-robed mystery.

  "He is the Bearer of Prophecy," she said. "A descendant of Pipaet."

  "A descendant of Pipaet?"

  "Pipaet was the master of all-seeing," she said. "When Pipaet foretold the destruction of Lanka Kingdom, Ravana, the demon king, who was also his brother, beat him with a shoe in anger. Humiliated and hurt, Pipaet left Ravana and found refuge with Prince Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu."

  "I thought it was just an epic tale!" I cried in alarm. "And what is the Oracle going to do to me now?"

  "Worry not, my lady, you shall see for yourself," she said. I sighed and turned to find one of the priests walking towards me.

  "I humbly request your presence to meet the Hora right away," he said.

  I reluctantly stood and followed the Brahmin. The masked Oracle also walked out from his seat. We came face to face at the center of the hall. I felt a little uneasy inside. What if they used me as a sacrifice for real? I gulped and looked up at the dark figure before me. Then my eyes went wide in terror. The Hora wasn't wearing a mask. It was his actual face! I let out a horrified scream and fell on my butt with a loud thud on the floor. A burst of laughter exploded around the Pavilion.

  I sat there, confused and scared. But the Hora merely sat down behind a small table in front of the burning hearth. He hadn't said a word. The odd-looking man pulled out a wooden board the size of a chess board and placed it before him.

  He brought out a small cloth bag and reached his scrawny hand inside. His hand was undoubtedly green in color. He scooped a handful of powdery white sand from the bag, and I watched the sand flowed from the crack of his fingers onto the board. Tiny grains of sand rolled around, going into form and out of form as if they had a life of their own.

  "Tell me your name and birth date," the Hora said in rusty old voice. I looked around the hall. Everyone kept staring at me curiously. Kesar put her hands to her chest with a concerned look. I gathered my courage to speak.

  "My...my name is Ni...Nikita..." I said, noticing how squeaky my voice sounded. "I was born in the year 1994."

  As soon as I said that, a chorus of murmurs erupted around the hall.

  "A child born in the future," the Oracle said. "A savior from the gate between worlds."

  He waved his hand over the mound of white sand, which started twirling upward like a mini-whirlwind.

  It danced around for a minute before collapsing back. The sand rolled about, forming weird symbols over the board.

  "No pall of darkness has ever before enveloped this holy land," the Hora uttered the words slowly, leaning over the board as if he was reading those signs. "You shall go on otherworldly quests, enter a fire-lit realm where no living soul has ever gone. When ashes fall from the roaring sky, you shall lead the Naga race to the Great War. The fate of the living—and the dead—rest upon you, O the great destroyer."

  CHAPTER 7

  My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. I kept staring mutely at the green-faced Hora. The white sand flowed back onto his waiting palm, leaving not a single grain behind. The Oracle stood, and for a long stretching moment, no one spoke.

  The silence grew louder with the pounding of my own heart. I felt like I wasn't only stuck in this strange dimension, but also in an ancient madhouse full creepy people. I had to get out of here before I went mad, too.

  At last, I recovered my ability to speak again.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," I said and staggered back to my feet again. "You people are crazy! I just want to go home!"

  Kesar looked worried. Her eyes glittered nervously as she stared at me. The Brahmin priests sat in silence.

  "Indeed, there must be a mistake." The girl in red stood. "I request that the Oracle make another prediction again. There is no way this low-born mortal is able to lead us to the battle."

  My face twisted in confusion.

  "My vision is as clear as morning dew and as bright as the light of the sun," the Hora said. "The prophecy has come to me as you have witnessed so, my lady, I am not mistaken."

  "But how could this strange girl be our leader?" the same mean-looking youth said, his thick bushy eyebrows knitted together in one fierce line. "I should be the one who leads everyone in the war!"

  Murmurs erupted in the hall as if someone had just poked a beehive.

  "Oh for the sake of the gods, Issarak, shut your mouth!" another girl growled out from the far left of the Pavilion. "The day you lead us to the war is the day of our doom. Get it from me, everyone either hates or secretly hates you. It would be a terrible mistake if you became our leader."

  "Are you challenging my military talent, Tusita?" the boy spat back. "I am the avatar of Murugan, the God of War. Who else is more suitable than me?"

  "By the grace of my Holy Father," the girl said. "Curse you and your eyebrows!"

  "How dare you!" he growled.

  "Stop all this bickering now!" the girl in green dress hushed them. "You both should know this is destined to happen. The Oracle of Pipaet has spoken the prophecy. We must heed his words. If she was nothing but an ordinary human, she couldn't be here among us, could she?"

  "We do not need your opinion, Tepi," Issarak turned to hiss at the green-clad girl. "Only the trees and rocks would listen to you."

  "How dare you insult her like that, you arrogant brat!" the boy in a golden outfit stood up in defense. His face glowed brightly with rage. Issarak bared his teeth back then rose from his seat and opened his arms wide. To my utter shock, a long shimmering golden spear and crested shield sprang from his hands. Gold dust twirled about from the effect of the manifestation. My jaw was on the floor again.

  "How about I run you through with my spear, Atith?" He snarled.

  "I fear you not!" Atith stepped forward. He tore the silk robe off his chest, revealing a golden armor vest underneath. A long spear also appeared out of glittering gold dust in his hand. Everyone was alarmed as their powerful energy began stirring in the air.

  "Oh geez!" I cried, looking around from face to face in amazement. "What in the actual world is this? Who are you, people?!"

  When they heard my voice, everyone turned back to me.

  "Your Holiness," the Hora spoke. "You must know that standing before you, are no ordinary children."

  "What does that mean?" I squeaked.

  "These are the avatars of the Gods of Meru."

  "Avatars?"

  "They are the incarnations of the gods," Kesar whispered to me. I stared at them i
n disbelief and pure shock. This got weirder than I would like it to be.

  "Now the Lord of Destiny has marked you as the Prophesied Child," the Hora went on. "You must save the race of the Nagas and restore peace to our land."

  "But...But...I'm just a normal girl! I have no magic or power," I protested. "How could I do such a thing? Going to war? Save your Naga race? I think you must've gotten the wrong person!"

  "I have a better solution to this matter," the girl whose name was Tusita said.

  "How about you prove to us that you are worthy of being our savior?"

  "Excuse me?" I said with a frown.

  "Yes!" Issarak said. "Let there be a competition! Let us find out which avatar desires to lead. Whoever is in favor of me leading the war shall remain on my side, and those who are in favor of this ridiculous mortal girl—" he paused and stared at me and the two girls, Tepi and Tusita. "Well, they will regret it."

  Everyone turned their heads between me and him, wondering who they would choose.

  "Yes, a competition sounds great!" the twin brothers said excitedly at the same time. "Although the two of us will take no part of it, a competition is best to prove the strongest of us, is it not?"

  The green-robed girl put a hand on Atith's shoulder, pulling him back gently.

  "If you believe so," she said and glanced at me. "Then the girl is with us."

  "Good," Issarak said with a smirk. "Once we get back to the capital, we will propose this idea to the Queens."

  "And let the Hora set the game," the girl in red added.

  "Hey wait!" I protested again. "Last time I checked I didn't agree to any of this!"

  But nobody seemed to hear me.

  "What do you think, my good Hora?" Tepi turned to the green-skinned Oracle.

  The Oracle pulled the hood of his black cloak, giving us a full view of his terrifying face, which was a lot more terrifying than ever. The Hora's curved fangs resembled a pair of elephant's tusks, sticking out of his thick dark-green lips. His eyes were red and slightly glowing like burning coals. The Oracle might give me nightmares for weeks on end after this.