Chapter 122

Rabba Ve, everyone!!!

It's been long since I called out names before a narration. Special thank you to those who "liked" and commented to the last chapter: Throne-winner Jahnvi, long-time-no-see Mavs, sweet Meg, owin, dear bablio, mira, sweettintu, siamesecat, fervent karsvinu, Chotteskhushi, rini_kat, dear march, kkyajo, eager vaishiksg, very dearest Leena, sweet moomin, dear amira, excited aspalas, namita, dear darya, dear Riti_LMH, cheery memorable, sweet hushniya, dear samarablog, dearest dimishra, Sofna, beloved mbibi, dearest vidya, dedicated readers flowers4u and seshatree, dearest Mouktika, dear beloved breeze, dearest Maz786, affectionate shreelakshan, Surya. Ravi, dearest lover of the tale MEsw, dear Smrikta, sib_12

The following is one my most favourite chapters and I was so excited when I sat myself to write it two weeks ago. I've been waiting for the day when I can be able to narrate it to you all and here it finally is.

It doesn't come without notice that my favourite chapters will exclusively include my favourite character. And all those readers who missed him like I did, well...here he finally is. My dearest Jha! MUAH!

Chapter 197: Bitter Battles

Smoke from fired canons and blasted barriers swirled in the air and the sounds of clashing swords and dying grunts rang about.

The East lands rang with the sounds of battle into the third day and the bleary sun could not shine through the smog. But from within that white smoke rode a mighty horse and its relentless rider, his sword lifted in ruthless ride.

His eyes missed nothing as he rode his horse over the wretched land, sensing enemies approach before seeing them and swinging his sword in every which direction, felling any intruding figure that came close to his fatal sword.

He was too skilled, too certain in his craft. No enemy could stand against him.

He caught a moment from the corner of his eye and, with a light sway, brought the sword slicing through the heart of the enemy beside him.

And then it happened.

The enemy was falling to the ground, his eyes widened in the shock of death as the red-drenched sword was drawn out of his heart in the descent. But General Jha had no look of victory on his face for having felled another enemy.

By some strange incursion of the smoke around him, the General saw the enemy's pale face distort into a woman's.

A woman from his memory...the soldier's shocked expression mirroring into the faint expression of the imagined woman.

"No! Mother!" the General breathed out in a trance.

Suddenly, in that staggering moment when he'd forgotten he was in an exposed battlefield, an enemy on horseback rushed at him with a sword held poised for plunging.

The General was distracted and, hence, late to react, but Lightning, sensing the vulnerability of the moment, neighed aloud in warning and lifted her forelegs to shield the sword's approach towards her Master's heart.

The horse's sudden movement brought the General from his daze but the damage was already done, the enemy's sword sliced through the air, wounding one of the horse's forelegs.

Whining and losing balance, the horse stumbled to the ground but the General jumped off the horseback and escaped being crushed under her.

"Lightning!" cried out the General, and then he looked at the enemy on horseback, towering before him with the sword aiming for him again.

Growling in rage, the General sprang forward and sliced his sword across the enemy's chest, bringing the man crashing lifelessly to the ground.

Lightning was too much in shock and hurt to rise again, so the General knew he would have to fare this fight alone. The horse was in a vulnerable position, easy prey to be trampled upon and too wounded to defend itself.

So taking a firm stand right where his horse had fallen, with redoubled energy, the General fought those enemies approaching him and his horse, circling around Lightning in protection and finishing any enemy that dared to close in on them.

He fought furiously, crying curses aloud, almost maddened in his movements, wrought by the vision of the woman he had had and also by what had become of Lightning. And woe to those enemies who strayed to him for no one escaped the brutal blow of his revenge-ridden sword.

The long battle was over, punctuated by the silence of death that prevailed in every battle's aftermath. The camp was crowded, the wounded being given medical care and the remaining soldiers burying the dead faithful where they had met their end in brutal battle.

Sent by the Commander, a soldier went in search of General Jha but the General was not in the camp.

A little distance away from the camp was an abandoned shack that looked something like an empty barn.

Here sat the General, at the doorway that had no door, his legs stretched before him, his back leaning against the wall.

His hat was lost, lying somewhere in the bloodied battlefield, and his uniform and hair were pale with dust.

The sunlight at the open doorway revealed Lightning lying on the floor of the shack, stretched across from him, her head on her Master's lap, her wounded foreleg wrapped in a tight strip of cloth.

The horse was in pain and struggled to sleep.

The General had inspected the wound on her leg, going too deep that it was almost impossible to be cured. At least, that is what the medic in the camp had said.

But he was certain that with time, it could be mended. However, there rose the issue: He could not take care of Lightning or wait for her to get cured when in the battlefield. He would have to go home...

Home? Where is home? Isn't one's home where one's heart is?

His heart was in his cure.

A cure that he was in desperate need for.

However, a cure he knew he would no longer have.

He had struggled to keep his other side at bay, especially after Lightning's fall.

Every moment, he was on the verge of breaking out. And the unbearable pain...

His hands fisted absent-mindedly.

Breathing in, he tried to block out the image of the girl who had been his cure and who had been taken away from him.

No, he was not going to that Castle again. He will not. Not to see her held in that man's arms. I don't need to be reminded that there is no hope.

Lightning's muzzle brushed against his thigh and the General looked down, caressing a hand over her gray mane.

"How do you feel now, girl?"

A weak guttural sound issued from the horse as it attempted to answer while trying to bite down on the pain.

"It's alright," he comforted her, "Hold a while longer and the pain will go."

Lightning didn't answer but lay on his lap, breathing weakly.

Feeling lost and lonely, the General leaned back and stared into the darkness of the shack's inside.

It was either the heat of the day or how fogged his disturbed mind was but he thought he saw a little girl materializing before him, the same one that had haunted him many nights.

"What do you want?" he grunted passively.

The girl sat cross-legged on the floor, near the horse's wounded leg, her face hidden in the shadow.

She reached out a hand to touch the horse but the General barked, "Stay away!"

The girl's hand paused but did not withdraw.

The General was furious, "Who are you?"

The little girl lifted her face to look at him, her eyes aged and angry.

The General stared at her and suddenly the girl's ominous hand touched where the horse was wounded and Lightning whimpered painfully.

"No!" the General roared, reaching out to the grab the girl.

But before the General's dusty war-worn hands had grasped at the girl, she vanished into the darkness, smiling evilly.

Lightning had calmed down the moment the girl vanished but the General was too shaken by what had happened. If it had only been a dream, how could Lightning have felt it too...

The General gritted his teeth in anger, and frowned at the darkness, "If you are the one to be born to my wife, then cursed be you and hated be your birth! For you come only to bring torture upon me."

Just then the sound of someone approaching the shack, boots crunching on the dry grass outside, drew his attention and a shadow appeared before him, bloating out the sun in the doorway.

"General Jha?"

"Yes?" the General narrowed his gaze to look up at the young soldier's face.

"The Commander has asked to give you this."

The General took the letter the soldier held towards him.

The soldier turned to leave as the General opened the parchment.

He glanced at the title of the dispatch and felt his blood drain.

The receding steps of the soldier, the weak breathing of his horse and the verdict in the parchment...the General took a faltering breath, his hands trembling as they held the parchment and a tear slid down his dusty cheek.

It was early at dawn, the sun only about to emerge and the sky still gray from the smoke of last day's battle.

The barren land owned just one tree to which was tied the clueless white horse.

Her mane and white hide were grey with soot and dust. She was given the tree so she could lean on it because one of her forelegs that was wrapped in cloth, could not hold her steady.

Lightning grunted and watched her breath come out of her nose as white smoke. Finding it fascinating, she looked up to see if her Master had seen it too.

He stood there, a dozen steps away from her, his hatless head bowed in dismay.

She neighed lightly, to catch his attention.

He recognized her call and lifted his head to look at her.

The light in her eyes was cheerful despite the pain in her leg. She beckoned him with her head but he refused to move.

He shook his head sadly and then his despondent gaze fell over her shoulder.

She looked over her shoulder too and saw the three men standing there.

One of the men was someone in a greater position, branded with more medals than her own Master. And another of them was leaning casually against a long gun.

Lightning still didn't understand why her Master should be so forlorn.

She looked at him and saw that he was looking at the ground again, as though not wanting to look at her.

Lightning neighed yearningly, wanting him to look at her and not ignore her so. But he refused to look up.

She heard one of the men call out some order.

She heard the men step backwards, their boots crunching on the dry grass.

She heard the man with the gun lift it up, the air swiping as it was lifted up.

She heard it all. But she never once looked at them.

She looked only at her Master. Her beloved Master who had always been there for her and for whom she was ready to lay her life.

If only he would look at me...the horse yearned.

As though hearing the echo of her heart's wish, the General looked up.

Fresh tears glistened on his cheeks, a sight she had never seen. No, Master. You are strong. You always should be.

She heard the gunman cock his weapon in the distance.

And then she understood...why her Master was crying.

But she didn't falter, she didn't move.

She was a General's soldier.

Courage ran in her blood.

With one last look on her Master's face, she closed her eyes.

And then she heard his voice.

"What?" the Commander stared at the General, who was approaching him.

The soldier with the gun looked at the General too in surprise.

"I said, HALT," the indomitable General repeated as he came to stand before the Commander.

"What do you mean halt?" the Commander was taken aback, "You know this is the rule of warfare. A horse that cannot be mended and a wounded soldier who is too battered to be fixed must be killed by will. Rid them of the pain by death than letting them suffer the pain for the rest of their life."

"Killed by will, right?" the General pointed out.

"Yes," said the Commander.

"Well, I am not willing, sire," said the General, "I cannot have my horse killed."

"It's a horse that is inoperable, useless in battle. It will be a burden to feed it and take care of it when we know it can provide us no returns. In battlefields, we cannot make sympathetic choices. Only the fit survive."

"I am well aware of this protocol, sire," the General nodded, "And neither do I want my horse to be a burden to the battalion."

"Are you going to send it away, then?"

"Commander, I never remain in any place without Lightning."

"But you can fight the battle with another horse..." reasoned the Commander, sensing the obvious.

"I've fought battles only with the Lightning. If Lightning cannot fight in battles any more, neither will I."

"What? What madness is this!" asserted the third man, "Are you throwing away your position and your privilege just for a damned horse?"

"Lightning is more than a damned horse for me," asserted the General, looking sadly at his horse where she stood watching the inaudible conversation, "She is the only family I have..." The only one who understands me...

The Commander was astounded, "I see no sense in this. You are a General. You cannot fling away all that you have done and all that you have become just in a moment's spur of sympathy!"

"This is not sympathy," said the General, looking at the Commander, "This is duty. Duty to safeguard the life of one who is faithful to me. Isn't that what 'soldiers in position' uphold with regard to those in his service?"

The Commander and the other two men were speechless and they could only stare in disbelief as the General walked up to the horse and untied it.

Lightning neighed happily and nudged lovingly at her Master's chest.

Smiling and with happy tears in his eyes, the General kissed her forehead, "I will never abandon you..."

He walked up to the Commander, the approach slow because he had to lead the limping horse with him.

Drawing out the sword from his sheath, the General inclined it on the ground, at the feet of the Commander, "My sworn allegiance to your servitude and to your battalion, I hereby withdraw, sire. Relieve of my duty that I may go in peace."

The Commander was not sure what to say, "You are too good a soldier for any Commander to lose. But you leave us no choice. If the horse matters more to you than everything else, then begone and peace follow you wherever you go. Your service has been exceptional and your leadership will be missed."

"As will I miss the life I have been accustomed to, Commander," the General nodded, and then gave a final formal salute, "It has been an honour working under you, sire."

"As it has been with you, General," the Commander saluted in return, nodding grimly.

The General bid farewell to the other two men with a single nod, before turning about and walking away, his beloved horse limping confidently beside him, as the morning sun rose and shone down on the tired twosome, lifting their spirits in the freedom they obtained from resigning a world that wished to separate them.

This chapter meant a lot to me and I am eagerly looking forward to what you think. No, I don't want long comments. Just one line would suffice as to what you think of the whole chapter.

Also, like I keep repeating all the time: do not think of the later look of Abhaas Mehta when you imagine Shyam in your mind. The initial look of Abhaas Mehta in the show is what you need to consider and maybe a little more handsomer version of Abhaas too...