All the listeners were impressed by Kautilya’s speech. They waited for their hero’s reply. But Yama remained silent.
Had she got through to him?
“I once found a paradise flycatcher chick,” he began. “He was bawling on a forest floor after his mother had been killed by a hunter. So I brought him home and tended to him. I kept him in a cage because he was small and weak and would not be able to survive in the wild.
“He took well to my care and he loved being in his cage. I kept him well fed and he was content. He had never seen the sky. He never thought there could be something in the world beyond the four walls of his cage.
“However, I felt guilty. He was a bird, and he deserved to soar in the open air.
“I took him out of the hut one day and opened the cage. He was anxious at first but he soon unfurled his wings and took off. If ever I had sensed joy in a creature it was then. He twirled and chirruped and flew from one tree to the next.
“He flew back to me once and it seemed he awaited my permission to leave. I flung him to the sky and he flew into the forests and into freedom.
“He would come and perch outside my hut every dawn to sing to me. Every day I sensed his voice getting stronger, his feathers more lustrous. Very soon another flycatcher joined him, his mate. After that they would come together to serenade me.
“Then one dawn I found only the mate sitting forlornly outside my window. She did not sing. I realised that some ill fate had befallen my former friend. I set out to look for him. After many hours I found him fallen on the forest floor, ripped to shreds by the talons and beak of a falcon.”
“I questioned my own judgement in having let this bird go out free. He would never have known true happiness in a cage but at least he would be alive. But then I saw how long and beautiful his tail had grown and felt how strong his wings had become through flight. Would it have been wiser to keep him safe and content in the cage I had built for him? Or would it have been cruel to have never let him experience the joy of freedom?”
The man’s words did make sense, but Kautilya shook her head and sighed. “The falcons of our world are far more insidious.”
“That is why the strong have to fight alongside the flycatchers,” Yama said.
Kautilya had lost her appetite. She saw that Renuka had finished eating too.
“Let’s go?” she asked her.
Renuka nodded and they began to leave.
“Princess Kautilya,” Yama said, walking up to her.
“Kautilya,” she said. “Just Kautilya.”
Yama nodded. “I am Yama, Commander of the Free Army.”
“Mercenaries.” Kautilya dismissed him.
“I remember you from the last battle at Dandaka,” Yama said. “The one in which I got caught. You were brilliant.”
Kautilya shook her head. “I was a failure. I could not lead anyone.”
“But the strategies were your handiwork,” Yama said. “Your soldiers were singing praises. Dhanush the king, Sameer the fast, Bali the strong and Kautilya the wise.”
Kautilya was shocked. Did Yama have spies in the human army?
“How come you lost the battle?” Kautilya asked.
“Apes are a tough lot to command,” Yama said. “And I am no strategist. We could use your help with the rebellion.”
“I’m sorry,” Kautilya said. “I don’t fight any more.”
And with that, she helped Renuka back to their cell.
CHAPTER 24
Another Daughter
Kautilya could not sleep that night. There was a thunderstorm outside.
There was also a storm raging in her head. She kept reliving her father’s murder and breaking down into silent tears. The world was never going to be the same again. She had lost her family, she had lost her title and there was nothing she could do to get them back. In a way, she had lost herself.
While once she had been sleeping on velvet beds being pampered by servants, now she’d been reduced to sleeping on stone. While once her knowledge was prized, out here her worth would be determined by whether she could outrun her tormenters and whether she could fight.
She shifted onto her side and saw Renuka with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was trembling.
“Why are you still awake?” Kautilya said, startling the ape.
“I cannot sleep during storms,” Renuka said. “I’m always scared that I will be hit by lightning. And since I lost my sight I can’t even tell how far away it is.”
Thunder rumbled and Renuka whimpered.
Kautilya went up to her and sat by her side. She put an arm around her and said, “You know, there’s a way to find out if a storm is coming towards you or going away from you.”
“How do you do that?” Renuka asked.
“When you hear the thunder, start counting,” Kautilya said. “‘One elephant, two elephant...’ until you hear the next thunder. Then start counting again till you hear thunder. If you counted more elephants the second time then the storm is going away from you. Otherwise, the storm is coming towards you.” Kautilya knew that this was not true but she had learned that the illusion of knowledge helped alleviate fear. That was how faith worked.
“Oh,” Renuka said. “I’ll try that the next time I hear thunder. You’re really smart, Kautilya. I am so ignorant.”
“Everyone is smart in their own way,” Kautilya said. “I’m sure that you’re smarter than me in many things.”
“I have a brother back home,” Renuka said. “His name is Angad. He’s like you. He knows a great deal, and he’s very sweet.”
“What about your mother?” Kautilya asked. “Is she really the Lord Chief?”
“Yes,” Renuka said. “Lord Chief Indira is the most perfect example of an ape. She’s well respected and a great fighter. Angad gets his brains from her. The apes used to quiver in her presence but she used to pamper us.”
That reminded Kautilya so much of her own father.
“What happened?” she asked.
“When I was a child I had to be brought to Kishkinda to treat my illness,” she said. “The humans found out who I was and took me hostage. But my mother refused to negotiate and secure my release. The illness was never treated and I lost my sight.”
Renuka had lost her family, too, then.
“Did they never come looking for you?” Kautilya asked.
“They definitely will,” Renuka said. “A mother can never part with her child. Once my mother beats the humans she will find me. I am sure of it.”
She reached inside her robes and pulled out a pendant, an amber one with a damselfly trapped inside. “My mother gave this to me before I left for Kishkinda. They wanted to take it from me when they put me in here but I hid it. I’ve grown up now so maybe my mother will not recognise me. But she will remember this.”
Kautilya wrapped her arms tighter around Renuka. How could she tell her that the apes could never defeat the humans? That maybe it was her fate to die in this prison and never be united with her family?
“I like you, Kautilya,” she said. “I feel the kindness in your soul.”
“Thank you,” Kautilya said.
“Do you really have no one else left?” Renuka asked.
“No. My father was killed by my brothers,” Kautilya said. “I had a friend, Jay. I’m not sure if he is alive. So I am alone.”
“You’re not alone,” Renuka said. “If you want, I will be your friend.”
“But I fought against the apes,” Kautilya said.
“We would have been enemies on the battlefield,” Renuka said. “Now you are my cellmate. Sometimes we don’t choose our friends, the friendship chooses us.”
Kautilya smiled. “I would like you to be my friend.”
Renuka bobbed in excitement. “Once we are free, you can come with me to Dandaka. You can be
a part of my family. I’m sure they will like you if they get to know the real you.”
Kautilya sighed. I don’t think they would.
There was thunder. She heard a murmur to her left. “One elephant, two elephant...
“Three elephant, four elephant,” Renuka continued, “five elephant.” And then she was interrupted by the sound of thunder that poured into the cave. “The storm is getting further away,” she said with a self-satisfied grin.
Kautilya laughed. “Who told you that?”
“You did,” Renuka said. She paused.
“Can you find us a way out of here, Kautilya?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” Kautilya said.
“I really miss my mother,” Renuka said. “I know she will come for me. But sometimes the wait is too painful.”
Kautilya hugged Renuka. “I will find a way.”
CHAPTER 25
Escape
Kautilya spent the next several days surveying the central prison. She noted all the entries and exits, and the prison guards’ schedules and routines. She did not have any parchments to note things down so she had to memorise it all. However, the patronage of the Goddess of Learning meant that was easy.
She spent the nights coming up with different scenarios and plans. However, none of them had any chance of success.
Renuka never mentioned escape again. Her stoicism impressed Kautilya some days and annoyed her on others. She wondered what the limit on optimism was. Should a person hold onto it in the face of insurmountable odds?
One day, Kautilya was feeling the walls for possible loose stones when she was interrupted.
“Greetings,” Yama said. “You seem very busy nowadays.”
Kautilya decided not to indulge Yama with an answer and began to walk quickly away.
“This prison is quite a marvel of engineering, you know,” Yama said. “A tower so high, with no ledges to climb down from, walls designed to stand up to astras and only a single passageway out of here.”
Kautilya halted. Had Yama worked out that she was looking for a way to escape? If so, why was he being so flippant about it?
“I remember,” Yama said. “You said that day that the humans taught the apes everything. But this prison you’re in? It wasn’t built by humans. It was built by apes.”
What was he rambling on about?
“They have a particular problem with the sewers,” he said. “Only apes can slide down them for maintenance.”
The sewers. Kautilya realised that was the solution. If she and Renuka could slide down a sewer they could escape wherever it came out.
But why was Yama telling her? Was he trying to arm-twist her into some deal? Or did he want an in?
“Why are you telling me all this?” Kautilya asked.
“Aren’t you fascinated by the design?” he asked. “I thought you were surveying the prison because you took interest in architecture.”
Was the man joking or was he serious?
“Be patient, Kautilya,” Yama said, “Don’t do something you will regret.”
What did he mean? Kautilya did not care to find out. Her brain had started bursting with new escape plans. She wanted to act on them soon before the guards started to get suspicious.
***
“So what do you think?” Kautilya asked. She had finished explaining the plan. It was straightforward but it relied on Renuka’s full support.
Renuka’s eye ridges crinkled up. Maybe she wasn’t convinced. Or maybe she didn’t want to escape any more.
“Yes,” Renuka said.
“Yes?” Kautilya checked.
“Let’s do it,” Renuka said. “I trust you, Kautilya. If anyone can escape this place then you can.”
Kautilya faked a smile. But then she remembered Renuka could not see, so she let her smile drop and the anxiety take over. A plan was all well and good but it was the execution that was critical. If they failed, the consequences would be dire.
They spent the next two days going over the plan. Kautilya tried to find all the possible things that could go wrong and the safeguards they could put in place to avoid them.
Her biggest worry was Yama. If he’d worked out they were going to escape and warned the guards about it then all their planning was worth nothing. They would just be walking into the jaws of death.
She expressed her worries to Renuka.
“I don’t think so,” Renuka said. “Even if Yama has worked out that we’re planning an escape, he would never tell the guards. He hates humans.”
“What race is he?” Kautilya asked.
Renuka shrugged. “They say he got a boon from the God of Death himself. Now, he doesn’t belong to any race or gender. His face was replaced with wood.”
“It’s not a mask?” Kautilya asked.
“No,” Renuka said, “and his skin changed complexion to the shade of night. But his greatest boon is that he’s immortal like the demigods. That’s why he’s called Yama the Undying.”
“Can he fly?” Kautilya asked.
“I don’t know,” Renuka said. “He might...”
Kautilya burst out laughing. Renuka was confused.
“I’m sorry,” Kautilya said. “But I doubt if he is all that he claims to be. Those might be just myths made by his followers, or even by him, to give his ideas credence. I think he’s just a man who wears a wooden mask and whose skin is painted black.”
“If it’s a mask,” Renuka asked, “why do the guards let him keep it?”
“Go to sleep,” a guard said. He slammed the prison door shut and locked it for the night.
Kautilya helped Renuka onto her bedroll. “Don’t sleep,” she told her. “We will implement the plan.”
“I won’t,” Renuka said. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep even if I tried. I’m so nervous.”
“Don’t worry,” Kautilya said. “We’ll make it through, I promise.”
Renuka smiled and lay down. Kautilya went back to her bedroll, envisioning the whole plan in minute detail. What could go wrong? What could possibly go wrong?
After some time had passed, Kautilya got off her bedroll and looked out of the window. The lamps of Aryavrat had been extinguished, which meant it was almost midnight. The guards would be changing their shifts and be distracted. The other prisoners would be fast asleep. It was time for step one of their plan.
She shook Renuka, who startled awake. Kautilya muffled her mouth before she woke the other prisoners.
“What is this?” Kautilya said. “You said you would not be able to sleep tonight.”
“But then you promised it would be all right,” Renuka said, seeming coy.
Kautilya shook her head and led Renuka to the door. She pulled out a long strand of hair from her head and slid the hair through the bars of the prison door and into the keyhole.
The next step required precise timing. Flicking the hair with her finger, she chanted: “Kadgāstra”. The strand of hair immediately became a solid steel wire. Kautilya thanked the War God for his continued patronage.
It had been a long time since Hayan had taught her how to pick locks. In fact, he had taught Dhanush, and she had just observed and picked up the basics. But hopefully her memory would serve her well. Concentrating hard, she carefully picked at the structures inside the lock. The tiny levers did not budge. Sweat poured down Kautilya’s face, though the prison was chilly. Maybe she had forgotten how lock-picking worked. Her plan would fail even before it started.
Click. The prison gate slowly opened.
She immediately lowered herself to the floor and pulled Renuka down with her. They had decided to move in a crouch. It was dark so Renuka would lead the way.
Without alerting any other prisoners, they slowly crawled towards the toilets.
Suddenly she heard metal clinking.
“Guar
ds,” Renuka whispered. “Running towards us.” Had they been found out? They were already too far from their cell to get back before the guards arrived.
“Breathe in,” Kautilya said, “and roll into the shadows.” Kautilya and Renuka rolled into opposite corners.
“We’re going to be punished,” one guard said. “The warden hates people being late.”
“It’s your fault,” the other guard said. “I told you we’d be late.”
The guards rushed past Kautilya. Once they were gone, she rolled back into the passageway.
She tapped at what she thought were Renuka’s hands. But when she was hit in the face by Renuka’s tail she realised they were feet.
They headed for the toilets again. The stench was enough to guide them to their destination.
They crawled in. Kautilya took the lead and led them to the maintenance hatch. It was secured with a large lock. But this one was easy to pick. She pulled out the wire she had kept and unlocked the hatch. She opened it and immediately warm stinky air wafted into the room. Kautilya gagged but she was determined. She grabbed Renuka and shoved her down the hatch. Then she leapt down after her.
The smell was all-engulfing, but Kautilya did not care. She knew if they made it through then they would be free.
The shaft was lined with grips that were shaped in such a way that only apes, with thumbs on their feet, could use them.
Kautilya held on tight to Renuka, who would have to carry her down the shaft and into the sewer tunnels.
Renuka descended slowly down the shaft. Kautilya watched her arms tremble with the strain but she powered on with the stoic determination that she had used to survive her time in prison.
After what seemed like ages, Renuka finally reached the last rung. With a gasp, she let go and both of them tumbled into the sewer tunnel.
“We did it,” Kautilya said. “Now we just need to …”
“Samdurastra.” The sound reverberated through the tunnel. Terror gripped Kautilya as a solitary arrow hit the floor. They had been found out.
“What is...” Renuka started, but she was cut short as the arrow exploded into a torrent of water. In an instant, the tunnel was flooded and the water began dragging them along.
The Epic of Kautilya : Born To Be King Page 11