“Kautilya,” Yama said, “you have to trust those around you to make decisions too. One person does not have all the answers.”
“I have to prepare,” Kautilya interrupted, and stormed off.
She knew the brothers better than anyone. She knew they had some trick planned.
***
The ape delegation finally reached the Cleaved Rock.
The rock was a gigantic boulder that had been cleaved in half when a legendary human prince arrived here in search of his abducted wife. In frustration he punched the boulder, splitting it in two.
The rock and the land around it were sacred to both the humans and the apes. So it was a safe place to meet. At least that’s what Dhanush wants us to think, Kautilya reasoned.
They were all there: the Lord Chief and her guards, Yama, Druma and the whole squad. Kautilya had her demon mask on.
She had recommended that they arrive before the human princes as it could potentially be a trap. Now they waited for the humans.
“They are here,” Druma said, sniffing the air.
“Yes,” Ādi said, sniffing too. “I can smell horse dung.”
Four of the Raptor brothers arrived on horseback. They wore their infamous bird-head-shaped helmets. Four guards accompanied them, dragging along a large crate.
“What’s in that crate?” Kautilya asked Ādi.
“It’s a prisoner,” Ādi said.
“Renuka...!” the Lord Chief said.
Kautilya knew something was wrong. This did not make sense.
“Greetings, Lord Chief,” Dhanush announced as he leapt off the horse. “I am delighted that you have agreed to come to this meeting. Your fame precedes you.”
Kautilya could see that the Lord Chief was already being swayed by Dhanush’s sweet words.
“Thank you, king,” the Lord Chief said. “It’s good that the humans finally acknowledge apes as equals.”
Dhanush placed his hand on his heart. “Oh, I have always considered the apes as equal citizens of Bharat.”
“And yet you treat them like second-class citizens?” Yama asked.
Dhanush turned to Yama. “Ah, Yama the Undying, your legend has spread far and wide.”
“Which one?” Yama asked. “The one in which I killed your general?”
“So,” the Lord Chief interrupted, “are we here to negotiate a treaty?”
Dhanush nodded. “Definitely. I love my subjects too much. I do not want to see any more blood spilled.”
Liar, Kautilya thought.
“What are your terms?” he asked.
“Full independence for the apes,” the Lord Chief said. “If the human armies leave Kishkinda and free Dandaka, we can have peace.”
Dhanush shook his head. “Too much, your loveliness. There are humans who have lived here for centuries. They cannot be dispossessed.”
“Of course,” the Lord Chief said, “I am aware that there are humans who live in Dandaka now. They will not be harmed when we take over. They can continue living here as our equals.”
“How do I ensure that?” Dhanush asked. “What if the moment my forces leave, your apes turn on the humans?”
“You have my word,” the Lord Chief said.
“That is not enough,” Dhanush said. “Listen to my proposal. You can take over the rule of Dandaka. However, it continues to be an ally of Bharat. We leave a small force here to maintain the peace. It’s not just about the apes turning on the humans. There are danava and rakshasas to the south you need to worry about, and the bears could rise up in insurrection at any time. My army will come to your aid whenever required.
“We will do all this at the price of a small annual tribute. No more war and no more lives lost: apes or human. And you have the best army on Jambudvipa at your service.”
“What about my daughter?” the Lord Chief said.
Dhanush raised an eyebrow. “Pardon me, my lord?”
“My Renuka,” the Lord Chief said. “She is still your prisoner.”
Dhanush smiled. His eyes darted towards Kautilya then back to the Lord Chief.
“She will be freed, my lord,” Dhanush said. “And she will be brought to you with full ceremony after being treated by our best physicians.”
Kautilya gasped.
The Lord Chief was tense. She turned to Kautilya.
Don’t do it, Kautilya wanted to say but she could not do that without revealing the truth.
The Lord Chief turned to Yama. “What do you think, Yama?”
Yama scratched his head. “It sounds like a good offer.”
No! Kautilya wanted to shout.
The Lord Chief turned to Dhanush. “In that case...”
“Stop,” Kautilya said.
The whole assembly turned towards her...
Kautilya ran to the Lord Chief.
She whispered urgently into her ear. “Don’t do this deal. He will turn on you as soon as he has the chance.”
The Lord Chief nodded. “What should be done?”
“Ask him to take away all the armies from Dandaka,” Kautilya said. “If he feels the human citizens don’t have enough protection then they can go back as well.”
“But then,” the Lord Chief asked, “what about Renuka?”
Kautilya gulped. She had to do this. “Renuka is dead.”
The Lord Chief was stunned. “Is this true, Kautilya?”
Kautilya did not know what to say. Why had she not just told the Lord Chief the truth from the beginning? Would she be too distraught now to make a sane decision?
The Lord Chief composed herself. “I would like to renegotiate,” she began. But she was cut short by Dhanush’s raised hand.
“Who is this second advisor you have with you?” Dhanush asked.
Kautilya gasped.
“She is a rakshasa friend of mine,” Yama said, trying to cover.
But Kautilya knew it was too late.
“A rakshasa?” Dhanush laughed. “That’s funny. I thought she was our sister, Kautilya the Parrot.”
Dhanush proceeded to take off his helmet and the others followed suit.
Kautilya sighed. She wordlessly took off her mask and hung her head in shame.
She looked at Dhanush. “You already knew. How did you know?”
“Are you joking, Kautilya?” Dhanush said. “Only you could have implemented those textbook manoeuvres with such precision.”
Kautilya winced.
The Lord Chief turned back to Dhanush. “Well, it doesn’t matter if she was your sister once. She is my adopted daughter now and a fighter for the cause.”
Dhanush smiled. “Wow, Kautilya. I presume the apes treat you better than the humans ever did.”
“Yes,” Kautilya said. “They are my family now.”
“Oh, really?” Dhanush said. He smirked and whistled. The crate was brought forward.
Kautilya’s eyes widened as she realised what was going on. The crate opened and Dhanush pulled out Jay by his hair.
“Let me introduce you to Jay,” Dhanush said. “The man who was ready to give his life for Kautilya’s hand in marriage. She jumped into the arena to protect him from a lion.”
Kautilya’s eyes darted towards Ādi, who was listening intently.
“You remember him, don’t you, Kautilya?” Dhanush asked. “Or have you forgotten him like you’ve forgotten your brothers?”
Kautilya muttered through clenched teeth, “Leave him alone.”
“Kautilya!” Jay cried. Bandages swathed his body and he was clad in the same blood drenched-clothes he had worn in the arena. Fear and pain showed in his face. He had obviously been tortured.
“What is the meaning of this?” the Lord Chief asked. “Why do you bring him here?”
“I have an offer to make to Kautilya,” Dhanush said. �
��She can have the freedom of her one true love, the person for whom she was willing to sacrifice her own life.”
“To Kautilya?” the Lord Chief asked. “This is a negotiation between us, isn’t it?”
Dhanush spat. “The day a human negotiates with an ape is the day I cut my own nose off.”
“Dhanush,” Kautilya said, “don’t do this. If you want me, take me prisoner. Just let Jay go.”
“I don’t want you,” Dhanush said. “I want a better prize in return for him. I want the Lord Chief.”
“What?” Kautilya said.
“You heard me,” Dhanush said. “Give me the Lord Chief and you can have Jay.”
“But how can I?” Kautilya said. Suddenly it dawned on her. Dhanush was trying to sow discord. He had realised from the last battle that Kautilya was the one providing the apes with strategy. Now by putting the Lord Chief on the line, he was going to make Kautilya choose.
If she fought to deliver the Lord Chief to Dhanush, then the apes would be her enemies.
Even if she chose to let Jay remain his prisoner, the apes would not be able to trust her again.
“So what do you say, Kautilya?” Dhanush said. “How long do you need to deliver her to me?”
Kautilya looked helplessly around her. The apes had already drawn their weapons.
“I cannot,” Kautilya said. She looked at Jay. “Please, Dhanush. You know I cannot do it.”
“Of course you can,” Dhanush said. “I will give you a lot of time to work it out. Till then Jay stays with me, or more precisely with Hayan. He hasn’t used Peeda in a long time.”
He began to push Jay back into the crate.
“Stop!” the Lord Chief suddenly said. Everyone looked at her.
“If I surrender myself,” the Lord Chief began, “will you return that boy safely?”
Everybody looked at her incredulously.
“Yes,” Dhanush said.
“Then let him go and take me instead,” the Lord Chief said.
The entire ape delegation gasped.
Yama grabbed the Lord Chief. “Are you mad? You cannot surrender yourself. They will kill you.”
“We shall see,” the Lord Chief said.
“You do not have to do this, Lord Chief,” Kautilya said.
The Lord Chief looked at Kautilya. “I once negotiated away a loved one to secure my nation. Every day since then I have been a prisoner of that guilt. I cannot let you bear that pain. I owe to you everything we have achieved so far.”
Kautilya shook her head. “No, you cannot do that. Your people need you.”
“If my people cannot survive without me,” the Lord Chief said, “then I have failed in my job as a leader. Help whoever succeeds me. Make them a greater leader than I am.”
She turned to Dhanush. “I surrender myself, scum. Send the boy into safe custody.”
All those in the delegation watched in horror as the Lord Chief dropped her weapons on the ground. She walked towards Dhanush with open arms.
Dhanush smiled and pulled Jay out of the crate by his hair. He gestured to Bali. “Bali, escort the Lord Chief to this side. Kautilya, come and take your lover.”
In one swift motion Bali seized the Lord Chief by her arm and Dhanush pushed Jay at Kautilya.
Jay ran to Kautilya and hugged her tight. “Oh, Kautilya, I was so worried for you.”
Kautilya embraced him but her eyes and mind were on the Lord Chief.
Bali proceeded to tie her hands. All the delegates had tears in their eyes as they saw their leader surrender.
“Do not cry. Use this as an example. Put a sword to those who wrong you but give your life for those who help you. Do not flounder when I am not there but find your direction and your new leader.
“Lord Chiefs will come and Lord Chiefs will go but our ape nation shall prevail.” She raised her bound hands. “Minds without...”
Suddenly Bali twisted her neck and broke it.
“She talks too much,” Bali said, shaking his head.
The delegation watched in horror as the limp body of their beloved leader collapsed onto the ground.
They screamed and charged at the human delegation. The Raptors quickly leapt onto their horses and rode away while their guards held the delegation at bay.
Ādi broke through and chased down the horses. He managed to pull Bali off his horse, leapt onto him and began pummelling him.
The other Raptors stopped and watched to see how it would pan out. Sameer started to help Bali but Dhanush stopped him.
“Ādi, no!” Kautilya cried. She knew how this would end. Ādi was a good warrior but he had never faced the likes of Bali.
With a deft motion, Bali pulled Ādi off and slammed him on the ground. Bali stood up, rage contorting his blood-covered face. Kautilya had never seen him enraged before.
He began stomping at Ādi’s head. Kautilya gasped as she saw it being crushed into the ground.
Saira screamed, flew over the guards and swiped her sword at Bali’s back. But before she could even touch him, her blade was stopped by another. Sameer had come to Bali’s rescue.
Moving swiftly he took the sword out of Saira’s hand and grabbed her face. “Well, you are pretty, aren’t you?” Saira struggled but could not free herself.
“Enough, Sameer, Bali,” Dhanush said. “Let’s go.”
Then he turned to Yama. “You are needed back at the camp. As Kautilya will tell you, our brother Hayan the Owl is very dangerous.”
Sameer flung Saira away and in a flash Bali and he were back on their horses. The four galloped away into the distance.
The last guard fell soon afterwards. Kautilya raced towards Saira and Ādi. Saira had Ādi’s bloodied head in her lap. She placed her hand on it. The blood flow stopped and his deformed face began to tighten up. But he remained unconscious.
“Ādi, wake up,” she cried.
Kautilya saw his chest heaving. “Is he alright?”
Saira shook her head. “It’s the shock to the head I think. I could not heal him fully…”
“Will you be able to help the Lord Chief?” an ape asked Saira.
Saira looked at the limp body. She hung her head.“I am sorry but her spirit has already passed.”
The apes wailed and pounded their chest in misery.
Jay was devastated. Kautilya called to him, “Come on Jay. Let’s go.”
He looked up at her. “I’m sorry, Kautilya. I caused all this.”
“You did not cause this, Jay,” Kautilya said.
“Everyone,” Yama said, “be strong. We need to get back to our camp. There’s something wrong. Let’s go now.”
One of the apes lifted up the Lord Chief’s body onto her back, Druma lifted Ādi onto his, and soon the delegation was racing back to the camp.
CHAPTER 52
Camp On Fire
The camp looked like a vision of hell. Hayan and his shock troops had launched a secret attack, burning the tents and slaughtering the sleeping apes.
The ground was soggy with blood. Wails and screams were heard everywhere. The smell of burnt cloth and flesh spread through the air.
Jay saw the sight and began hyperventilating. Kautilya rubbed his back. “Calm down, Jay. Calm down.” Although she herself was having a tough time keeping calm.
“The survivors are back in Vivila,” Yama said. “Let’s go.”
Soon they were at the gates of the town. It was heavily protected by the apes and the townsfolk were on the lookout for potential human attackers.
Kautilya found Druma loading supplies onto the back of a cart. She asked him, “Where is Ādi? How is he doing?”
Druma pointed to a tiny hut. “He’s in there. Saira is with him. He’ll be all right. Saira said there were no major injuries.”
Kautilya walked to the hut and saw that �
�di was awake.
“Princess.” He spotted her.
Kautilya feigned a smile and walked in. “How are you?”
“I’ve been better,” Ādi said. “Your brothers are really something.”
Kautilya nodded. “I didn’t think they would find out who I was.”
Ādi shrugged. “Well, they did. That Dhanush, he looks just like you.”
Kautilya bowed her head. Her brothers had caused carnage that day.
“How’s your boyfriend?” Ādi asked.
“Who?” Kautilya asked.
“Him,” Ādi said. “It was so obvious right from the start that you two had a thing for each other. He’s a good-looking man.”
“It’s not like that,” Kautilya said. “I mean ... it’s complicated.”
Ādi stared deep into her eyes.
“That night,” Ādi said, “I never got a chance to ask. Did you mean to kiss me?”
Kautilya stared back into his red irises. “It never could have worked. Not with...”
“Saira,” Ādi said over Kautilya’s shoulder. Kautilya turned to see her.
“Enough, Ādi,” Saira said. “Take some rest.”
She turned to Kautilya. “Do you need to be here?” she asked.
Kautilya shook her head. She said goodbye to both of them and left the hut.
As soon as she exited she looked around and saw pain and misery everywhere. Injured warriors leaning against walls and carts full of corpses being taken to be cremated.
Her head started spinning. Everything she had built up over so many months had collapsed. There were no more specialists. Those trained to fight tended to the injured, and the old and the young had to lend a helping hand. They had lost the plains and would have to retreat to the hills. It was only a matter of days before they lost the hills too.
CHAPTER 53
A New Chief
There was great mourning as the Lord Chief Indira was buried. Thousands of apes bewailed the passing of their leader. All the good work she had done for her people was acknowledged in their grief.
Kautilya watched and compared it to her own father’s death. His murder had been cheered by the people he had dedicated his life to. The unprecedented peace, the accelerating commerce and well-being of the citizens had all been forgotten in their irrational urge towards violence.
The Epic of Kautilya : Born To Be King Page 24