Chapter 2:
Abhimanyu didn't quite understand how he had arrived in such a troublesome circumstance. The mud on his face proved that he was having a rotten day, but his brother was having the worst.
The two boys had met Acharya Chanakya after causing a lot of damage to the soldiers of Magadh.
As their punishment, they were sent to Patliputra to earn the cost of the damage, also they weren't allowed to meet their mother, who was treating the King.
Then they met the monstrous Prince, Shushim, who, by now absolutely despised the two boys.
Then, Chanakya had arranged for them to attend the Royal Academy, which they did, after a lot of persuading their Mother.
After that, Shushim and his gang started humiliating Ashok and Abhimanyu, when to their rescue, came the second Prince, Siamak, and both the boys befriended the Prince.
After a lot of struggles and hard work arrived that particular night, where the students of the Royal Academy were invited to a royal feast.
Ashok and Abhimanyu had decided to not go and stay and practice for their upcoming competition, but Siamak had insisted and the boys couldn't say no.
As Abhimanyu wore the borrowed clothes from Siamak, he felt a strange feeling, as though something extraordinary was going to occur to him that night. And so it did.
The two lads arrived to the banquet, where Siamak had decided to show them around.
"That's my room, and that's Brother Shushim's. Oh, have you met our youngest brother, Drupet?" Siamak asked.
"Yes, we met the Prince last week," Abhimanyu answered politely.
"Okay, I'll show you guys our practicing area...".
Abhimanyu yawned as Siamak chatted about his ancestors and the history of the castle. His eyes travelled towards the lake, no...not a lake, but a garden.
"What's that?" Abhimanyu inquired.
"That's our place for peace you can say. When Father went off to a war and returned a while later, he seemed to be in a sour mood and he built this. He visited this area almost everyday," Siamak explained, then continued with his talk.
Abhimanyu paused whilst the other two carried on walking, he admired the view and the sound of nature. Then, a soothing voice invaded his head. It was calming and so melodic, so sweet and full of passion.
The almost teen shook his head as he tried tracking the voice down, his companions long gone away.
He stepped into the garden, the voice growing louder as he grew nearer. His eyes caught a small figure near the end, where the swing was. Curious, he began approaching the humanoid object, making sure not to create any sound.
As he got nearer he realised that it was a girl, with long beautiful hair, emerald eyes, pale skin and an amazing smile.
The young man was struck by the lady's beauty, his smile growing larger as she sung to the swans resting in the lake.
"Wow..." He breathed. The girl stopped singing and turned to face the voice that had disturbed her.
Her eyes widened at the realisation that someone had over heard her.
"Keep on singing," Abhimanyu whispered, still dazzled by the lady.
The girl gave him a confused look.
"Your voice...it's beautiful..." The boy murmured.
A little surprised, the girl only managed to mumble a "What?..".
"Er...I mean, you sang terribly! Never heard something like that before!!" Abhimanyu spoke rapidly, his mind running crazy. The words were horrible and mean, but his thoughts were sweet and kind.
Your voice is like the nightingale, your eyes are like emeralds, you are beautiful...' His thoughts screamed.
"What?! I have never met a boy as arrogant as you!" The girl yelled.
What Abhimanyu wanted to say:
I'm so sorry! I never meant to say any of that. Your voice is amazing, I've never heard anything so beautiful!'.
But what really came out:
"But it's the truth, you can't deny it," Abhimanyu said.
"God! Your such an ill mannered Prince! You live here, right? A son of King Bindusar, and so manner less.".
With that, the girl left.
Abhimanyu sighed. Tough luck.
"Wait! What's your name?".
But the question still remained,
Who was that beautiful girl?