"Oh dear!" I cried out. "A tiger!"
Almost instantly, I was drowned in a panic — not just for my own safety but also for Amarisa. I feared that she would fall under attack by this stray wild beast.
I was ready to sprint out of my seat, but Tepi grabbed me and pulled me back. She looked like she was trying not to laugh. I didn't get why no one lost their minds at the sight of a giant cat invading the place.
"Oh, Nikita! There, there! Take it easy. It's alright, darling," Tepi said, patting my shoulder to calm me down. "It's just Malis."
"What?"
"Malis was my gift to Her Royal Highness when we first met as a child," she said. "The Princess named her after her favorite flower."
I turned back to the enormous animal. Covering in thick yellow coat, the oversized four-legged beast walked in fluidly. The floor squeaked under each step of those powerful paws. The black stripes rippled over a wall of yellow fur. I watched the world's biggest tiger moving past me with my mouth hanging.
Under normal circumstance, I would have run screaming in fright, but now I was too stunned by this unusual company.
Malis reached her mistress. Both stood at the same height. Amarisa held out her hand to stroke the tiger's large muzzle, making the animal's whiskers twitch. I was holding my breath. When Amarisa turned to walk again, I caught a tiny smirk on her lips. I finally understood. She must have brought her pet here to scare the living hell out of me.
After the Brahmins blew their conch shells for the Queens, everyone settled down. Amarisa sat to their left beside her weretiger. I kept staring at the beast. She rolled onto her creamy white stomach and began to lick her mighty paws. Her striped tail flipped lazily. Amarisa scratched behind the tiger's ears, causing the mighty cat to give the most nightmarish yawn I'd ever seen.
"So, how do you find your first day, my holy one?" Queen Indradevi asked. I had to think for a second to realize she was addressing me.
"Oh! Oh geez, no, please don't call me that...er...Your Majesty....I meant...yes I think it's absolutely interesting. So many strange things to see, well, at least to me, I guess," I said, totally making a fool of myself.
"Mmm...and what did you see?"
"We went to the armory," I told her. "The place was...so wicked!"
Everyone in the hall stared at me like I just grew a second head.
"I meant...fantastic!" I tried to add. "The stable, the hospital, everything."
"I see," the younger queen breathed with a nod. "Would you mind telling us about the warfare in your world then?"
By now it seemed that everyone knew where I came from.
"Oh, well, we no longer use swords and spears in my time. We have guns and tanks," I said, sensing the curiosity stirred in everyone's eyes. "We build carriages from metal that can move by themselves and even fly in the sky. Also iron battleships that weight hundreds of tons—"
"Carriages that can fly? Are those built by humans?" Issarak asked.
"Of course!" I said. "And lots of other things."
"How can you make those things work without a divine blessing?" Issarak raised his eyebrow in disbelief.
"Oh, we sure can with science," I said. "We also invented the deadliest weapons that could wipe out an entire city in a blink of an eye."
"Holy Lord! I have never heard anything quite like this since the Great Mahabharata!" Sambo cried. "Are demons in your world that horrible that you have to use such a powerful astra?"
"Well, no...we mostly use it against each other," I said rather sheepishly.
"How stupid!" Issarak said with a scornful frown. "We only fight against the evil force— not the Creation."
"You seem to forget that some demons are also born as humans," Tepi defended me. "I believe they can be anyone and live anywhere, existing at any time and any realm—not just here."
Sambo had to clear his throat to break up the tension. Tepi and Issarak relaxed again.
"Well, my dear avatars," Queen Jayara spoke up this time. "I think it's a good thing that now we have some insight into the far future, is it not? But for now, let us enjoy a decent meal. You must be all tired and hungry."
Everyone obeyed. The maids started serving us food. We began to get busy with our plates. The Hora, who was sitting next to the Guru, hardly spoke a word since we were here. He just chomped down a whole roasted lamb using both hands. The Guru was stuffing his face with a big bowl of tropical fruit and rice cakes.
Kesar came to sit beside me again and helped me pick fish bones off my fish. But my eyes always drifted back to where the princess sat. I tried not to be too obvious, but it was almost impossible. She was so distracting with her delicate manner. Malis, who found no appetite for cooked food, had fallen asleep on the floor. I was just glad she had no interest in eating anyone either.
"By the way, if I'm not mistaken, your name is Nikita, correct?" Queen Jayara suddenly asked.
"Yes! Your Majesty," I answered with my mouth full and spat a few grains of rice out. From the corner of my eyes, Amarisa tried to stifle a giggle. My face reddened. The Queens just smiled.
"In our culture, every name means something," she said. "So what does your name mean then?"
"Oh, it means 'unconquerable', Your Majesty," I said, feeling quite proud for the first as I said it. A few gasps sounded. The Devatas poked their heads right through the walls as if they'd been eavesdropping.
"That sounds quite promising. I can feel it." The two Queens turned to smile at each other.
"I've heard from Sambo that you tried to lift Chandrahas today, was it true?" Queen Indradevi continued to ask. Another round of gasps echoed through the hall.
"Yes, I did," I said with a nod. "But Tepi said I should wait."
"Oh, why Tepi?"
"Your Majesty," Tepi said. "I just thought she deserved the right to decide for herself whether to try the sword once she's ready to handle the deal."
"Very good. I understand your intention," Queen Indradevi said. "The Moonsword has its history so not many people have the courage to lift that holy weapon. Only the brave few would try. Yet no one had succeeded. I appreciate your concern Tepi. You're wise beyond your age."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Tepi said and bowed. I made a mental note to find out what it was all about regarding the sword.
"My dear Nikita." Queen Jayara turned to me again. "Would you mind telling me how old you are now?"
The question caught me off guard.
"Oh...I'm seventeen, Your Majesty."
"Ah, what a lovely surprise! You're the same age as our daughter," she said, looking over to Amarisa. The princess dropped her gaze as if she was embarrassed to have something in common with me.
"I think you both are going to be great friends," Queen Indradevi added. "How about you take some light classes with my dear Amarisa on the weekends?"
"That is a wonderful idea, sister," Queen Jayara said with a bright smile then she turned to me. "By doing so, you can learn something deeper about our world. Our dear Amarisa shall assist you. What do you think, my dear?"
"It's my great pleasure, Your Majesties," I said with a bow, but my eyes gave a quick glance at the princess. Sure enough, she tried not to show how displeased she was. But for me, I just wanted to dance in pure glee.
CHAPTER 14
A few days passed. I began to adjust to my new life in this authentic parallel world where everything was odd and grand. Each morning Kesar would wake me up at early dawn so that I could start my load of intensive training like a soldier.
In the afternoon, I took general lessons with the other avatars. Sambo taught us everything there was under the sun. Sometimes, the Queens themselves would also give us lectures when they came to brief the soldiers.
For soft skills, we had mathematics, physics, geography, and philosophy with the Guru. The Hora gave astronomy lesson, but only Atith, Vorac, Tusita and Tepi seemed to understand what he was talking about. Queen Indradevi taught us government, architecture and war strategies while her sister t
aught us sutras and mantras.
Other times, the king would inspect the military base when he finished the state affairs. He and his wives would discuss the warfare with the avatars, the Guru, other ministers, and generals.
We would hold an assembly at the Royal Palace if needed. I was invited to join although I didn't know anything about how to run an empire.
As for the princess, she hadn't shown up again since. And of course, I felt like a bucket of parched flowers without her.
Atith and Tusita also taught me to ride a horse, but my horse tossed me around like a dummy. My chariot always ran off track, and every boat I joined in the race always lost. Sometimes, it sunk just a few meters away from the finish line.
They tried to teach me their two-thousand-year-old martial art, and I had no doubt that I was a hopeless. Vorac and Tusita tried to teach me archery. They expected nothing but the bull's eye. I tried to shoot as best as I could, yet on some occasions, the Devatas had to pull my arrows out of their headdresses. The flying Kennars would scurry away every time I raised my bow.
Worst of all, I had become the hilarious show for the other avatars, especially Issarak and Morokot. Indeed, their hope of getting me supports was in vain.
"How could you do that?" I complained while in the archery field one evening. My arrow had just dunked its head to the ground, missing the target for the hundredth time.
"You want to know how?" Vorac said and walked up to me. "Tell me what you see on the field."
"The target boards?" I said.
"How many bull's eye?"
"Twenty or so." I shrugged and turned to look at her. "Why?"
"Because I see only one," Vorac replied.
"Pardon?"
"I only see what I aim for and nothing else."
"How?"
Then she drew a golden arrow from her quiver and tugged it on the string of her bow before pulling it back. Her silver eyes gleamed.
I didn't even see where she was aiming at, but Vorac didn't waste another second, and she swiftly released the bowstring. The arrow cut through the wind. It darted so fast I had no idea where it went. But I heard a distant cry of a wild bird. That was when we saw a crow fell from a tree and dropped lifelessly to the ground.
I stared in bewilderment. A young soldier ran to fetch the kill and brought it back to us. The arrow had pierced the crow from one side to the other, but that wasn't all! It was the eyes of the bird that Vorac had struck. I looked at her with a gaping mouth. Vorac smiled at me.
"That is wicked!" I breathed.
"Huh?" she arched her eyebrow.
"I meant...extraordinary!"
"Oh....well," Vorac said with a shrug. "It's just my inborn gift."
"Poor thing though." I turned to look at the dead crow. Vorac made a face and pulled the tip of the blood-smeared arrow out of the black bird. Suddenly, the crow's eyes healed back to normal.
The bird started blinking once and twice and then flapping its wings. It began a frantic flight from the soldier's hands as if it just woke up from a nightmare. Then the crow flew away and was gone.
"How could it be possible?" I gasped, staring at the soaring bird in the sky.
"Celestial weapons," Tusita's voice came from behind us. "They do no harm to innocent humans or animals."
"Really?" I said.
"Yes, but my Gandiva is still effective if I will it to be," Tusita said. "Trust me, you don't want to see how powerful my bow is."
"Please!" Vorac scoffed. "I thought you just didn't want us to know you have poor aims."
"Excuse you! I am the Wielder of the Great Gandiva." Tusita turned to Vorac. "My holy father uses the rainbow as his bow! How in the Seventh Hell could you possibly doubt my archery skills?"
"Is that right?" Vorac challenged. "Then how come you never show us?"
"I just don't want you to wet your pants, that's all."
"Never mind then," Vorac said and crossed her arms over her chest. “I know you’re just bluffing.”
Tusita bit her bottom lip. It seemed as if they were having one of those couple's moments when one wants the other to please her by doing things to impress her.
"Alright, fine!" Tusita said. Vorac tried to hide a satisfied beam. Tusita walked out into the field.
When she held out her hand, a whirlwind of gold dust swirled above her palm. Then out came a majestic golden bow decorated with hundreds of gold bosses over its shaft. The glittery string seemed to hum softly as if it was woven from nothing but power and light. Indeed, this wasn't the bow Tusita had been carrying around. The real Gandiva was a lot fiercer than I thought.
She pulled the string of the golden bow and aimed at the target boards that stood around the field. I had never seen her eyes sparkled so brightly so that they almost shone.
The sky grew dark above our heads. The clouds began to circle around each other, turning into a flashing storm-funnel where the daughter of Indra stood. I could see a faint glow of golden aura around her as she was holding back the bowstring, and a bright ghostly arrow was manifested from the golden light.
Vorac and I stood back and watched in awe. Everyone around the field stopped what they were doing and stared at us.
Then Tusita released the string. Her bow produced the sound of a mighty thunder. An arrow of vibrating energy smashed all the target boards, shattering them into a million pieces. But it did not stop there, the force of Tusita's powerful Gandiva raged through the field, unearthing the ground and uprooting the grass and trees then splitting a twin palm trees in half. Then it seared off the tip of a rock on the mountain in the distance.
Vorac and I froze in astonishment.
A moment later, we heard Tepi and Atith. They ran towards us. Their faces were wild with surprise. They stared at the mess before them and dropped their jaws.
"What in the world have you done, Tusita?!" Tepi cried.
"Oops." Tusita turned around and shrugged apologetically.
~*~
After a whole day of the torturous practice, I dragged myself back to the chamber. My shoulders ached so much, I felt as if I'd been carrying one of the temple stones with me.
My feet shuffled along the corridor until I reached my resting place. Leaning my body against the door, I pounded it weakly. The sound of footsteps rushed from the inside. Kesar's face lit up as she opened the door, but I fell right into her arms. She caught my sluggish form in surprise.
"My lady! Are you feeling ill?" Kesar asked, trying to hold me.
"Oh Kesar, please help me!" I whined. "I don't want to do this anymore!"
She held me by the waist and wrapped one of my arms over her shoulders then walked me inside.
"You need to rest," Kesar said. "I shall inform the maids to prepare the bath for you."
She helped me lay down on the bed. My legs felt like they had turned to wood, and my neck might break if I turned too quickly.
Kesar removed my boots, lifting my feet onto her lap to massage them.
"Oh Kesar, that feels amazing," I exhaled. Kesar giggled in relief, realizing I was just being a little goose like my father would say. "But I don't think you should touch my feet too much."
"Why, my lady? Am I hurting you?"
"No, no, I just fear I like it more than I should." I sat up again, wincing at the sharp pain in my neck.
At least, I didn't have any class tomorrow. Then a perky chill went through my body. Tomorrow I would get to see the princess again. I couldn't wait for our next meeting. I wished the night would come soon and the sun would rise early.
"Thank you, Kesar." I turned to my handmaiden. "I should take a bath now."
"I help you with a little massaging afterward?" she said. "It might make you sleep well at night, my lady."
I thought it over, but the soreness didn't seem to go away.
"That would be kind of you, Kesar." I nodded with a smile.
After I finished the bath and got changed into my night clothes, I sat on the bed and let Kesar work her magical hands over m
y aching shoulders.
"Oh dear, this feels wonderful," I breathed. Kesar squeezed gently down my back. She seemed to know where my tense muscles were and eased them with her slow and circular motions. I felt the tension began to ebb away with her touch.
"I pity you greatly, my lady," she said. "The hard work has claimed your nerves."
"Only you understand me, Kesar. Thank you." I smiled and patted her hand. "I think it would be better if I take my shirt off and lie down."
Without much thinking, I undid a few buttons of my shirt then rolled onto my stomach. Kesar was silent for a moment but then she slowly peeled off my undone shirt, exposing my bare skin.
"You can straddle me. I don’t mind," I said, completely unaware of anything. Then I frowned when she didn't seem to move.
"But my lady..."
"What’s wrong?"
“No, nothing.”
At last, Kesar obliged. I felt her weight on my lower half as she gingerly straddled me. She had applied some natural oil on my back, and I felt a cold gooey wetness on my skin. It smelled like fragrant herbs.
"Oh lovely," I murmured with my eyes closed. Kesar wiped the sweet scented oil over my half-naked body. I smiled at the relaxing sensation. Her thumbs circled over my sore spots wonderfully. At some point, I had to suppress a moan.
She moved her hands lower and lower until she reached my small back. A ticklish feeling stirred around my waist, and I started giggling.
"Oh wait, Kesar, you're tickling me right now," I said, half-laughing. She continued to massage my sensitive spots.
"Did I hurt you, my lady?" she asked in concern.
"No, it's...fine," I said breathily. "Just move back up."
But my voice must have been muffled against the pillow.
"Move where?" Kesar asked, leaning herself forward to hear me. Her movement made her hands to press harder on my most ticklish parts.
"Oh, Kesar!" I jumped up and instinctively turned my body over. Kesar lost her balance from my sudden shift of position.
Her body collapsed on top of me.
Her face was inches from mine and it turned rosy red. My breath hitched as her soft body pressed against my bare front.
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