Married for three nights

Part 5



I survived because the fire inside me was brighter than the one outside.

-Anonymous

They were going to burn the widow alive!

He wasted no more time in racing back to the camp and shook awoke a snoring Meghraj in his tent, his voice shaking in excitement as he explained what he just saw.

Meghraj though, showed no such excitement after that.... instead looked at him with a blank stare for a few empty beats.

"Don't tell me that you are going to save that woman. "

"I am! "He replied in a heartbeat without a second thought.

"Now don't you dare tell me that you need my help in creating that scandal. "Meghraj yawned, preparing to go back to sleep.

"I do! "Nair replied again.

"See your sisters have already done enough to torment me for one day now you don't try to martyrize me for no reason at all. "He growled and Nair decided to leave him alone because it was proving to be useless.

"Fine by me!  You coward rascal!. I will be the first to wave and say good bye when they will burn you. "

He then barged into the tent of his sisters for they always have some mischief up their sleeves and most of the time they are able to get away with it.

So why not now?

They silently listened to their elder brother's narration and correctly guessed the horror that is about to occur. "What are you waiting for? "Maya asked. "Send the guards and arrest those imbecile morons who are trying to inflict such pain on an innocent! "

"That's where the problem arises. "He sighed.

"There ain't a few to be arrested. Not even hundred. There are thousands gathered out there and I am afraid that they are as much royal as we are!" He recalled the way the guards dressed in strong metal amours had lined the pathway.

"Then?"Mohini looked at him.

"That's the reason I am here. "Nair replied and saw as the twins kept looking at each other for a long moment, neither of them speaking yet he felt like a hundred words were being exchanged and then they together grinned, their eyes sparkled like it always did and Nair knew that they had got an idea.

"You know we noticed this morning that the people of this town are highly superstitious. They believe the goddess of the wilderness would have their head if they did something immoral and that none of the commoners come anywhere in the vicinity of the forest at night because they believe the goddess herself stroll around the place guarding the town with her powers. I don't know if the royal family would believe this fabricated lie or not but....we could always try."

"So what are you planning to do? "It was Meghraj.

"Oh you are up your highness and I thought why the wild bear stopped snoring? "Maya blinked innocently while Mohini barked a laugh.

"I swear to God that-"Meghraj looked murderous.

"Please stop it! We don't have much time...."Nair interjected between the nasty verbal war and thankfully they all stopped at once.

"I have seen the temple of the goddess a few yards behind our camp, send someone to fetch everything present in there." Maya spoke. "We'll need it all....the jewelries on the idol of the goddess, the garlands and the  sword in her hand. "

"And prepare two large grills, fill them upto their mouths completely with burning coals."

"But what will you do with all these? "Meghraj could neither understand the head nor the tail of their demands.

"You will see i***t, now just got outside and keep track of their actions. "

~♡~♡~

It had been half an hour as Nair and Meghraj stood behind the lines of trees obscuring them from the view of the people at the funeral.

Their hands clutching tightly at the reins of their horses, at any moment now the signal might come and they would need to make a run for their lives as well those depending on them.

The priest stood beside the corpse of the dead man and uttered the holy mantras, relentlessly while the young widow was held back by two strong mens.

Suddenly, the priest stopped turned around and said something and to Nair's utter horror he saw a regally dressed young man to come forward with the fire torch in his hand.

'He was going to lit the pyre! '

And soon he did, the wooden logs slowly creating a humongous hallow of light that rapidly consumed the dead flesh of the man. The two men who until now had kept the woman pinned to ground now pulled her up.

"May the soul of great King Uday Narayan rest in peace! Rest in peace! "They all chanted together.

The men carried the lady towards the burning pyre as the chants grew louder and louder.

A few more empty beats passed and Nair was about to tell Meghraj something but the words were hammered back into his throat as he saw the greyish fumes filling into the glade.

The whole area getting under a layer of mist as everyone looked around startled.

Just as per their plan, their guards were fanning the burning coals to create such effect, hiding behind the trees of the forest on either side.

"What's happening? "Someone shouted from the army and that's when Mohini entered into the glade, strolling from the temple. She was dressed in green, thr jewels of the the goddess now adorning her, the sword of the godness now clutched tightly in her grasp and her gait was something Nair had never seen before.

She walked like a tigress preparing to pounce on her prey.

"How dare you! "Her voice reverberated through the place as people gaped at her.

"Who's she?" Someone murmured and that's when her identity came into light.

A man among the commeners replied. "It's the goddess! It's the goddess herself! "

And within the next moment every single man on that infertile land kneeled on the ground, their heads bowed down, their hands joined.

Be it the commoners, the guards, the soldiers or even the courtiers. Except the men of the royal family who stood still and glared at Mohini.

"Stop this bullshit right away! "The man who had lit the pyre a moment before roared. "Stand up everyone and arrest this girl who dared to create hindrance in my father's funeral! "

A few of the guards had barely raised their heads on getting that order when Mohini forced them back to the ground with her laugh.

A laugh so boisterous that could shook upto the spines of weak. "Who gave you the power to take an innocent life?"she roared, looking straight into the eyes of the prince while the rest of the population kept kneeling on the ground.

"You wretch! "The prince pulled out his sword. "You think you can fool me with that attire and false mist? Tonight I will burn you alive as well! "And no matter how much Mohini tried she could not keep the fear that came to her as the foreign prince strode towards her.

And that's when Maya whistled. As loud as she can afford to.

'It was time! '

Through the mist then came a pair of riders who did not spoke, who did not faught but were gone as mysteriously as they appeared but gone with them were the 'goddess of woods' and the 'young widow! '