Chapter 335: To Err is Human
In his dim cell, Lord Arnav took a deep breath and, for the unnumbered time, tugged hard at the manacles that bound his wrists to the wall.
He winced from the pain erupting where the metal was cutting his flesh but neither the pain nor the bleeding could dissuade him from pulling as hard as he could until he could no more as his strength waned.
Wheezing, he hung his head low, his sweaty strands of hair dangling down to conceal his face as he wept.
He wept not from the pain or from his weakening strength.
He wept for his mother. He had not been able to protect her from his heartless father.
"Amma..."
He saw her standing in the darkness, her sad eyes pleading to him.
"I will never leave you, Amma..." He whispered to her.
Standing lost in the vastness, his mother gazed sadly around and then vanished into the nothingness.
"Amma!!" He called out and then drooped his head.
Had he betrayed her by marrying the daughter of the very same woman who had caused his beloved mother immense misery, even to her very last breath?
The woman who was the reason your father murdered your mother...
He saw himself running out from the melodic hallway of the mansion where his sister's wedding was imminent and into the open night garden.
Lights dazzled everywhere he looked.
He heard the sounds first. From the tall rosebush that his mother had painstakingly nurtured and cared for. His mother's favourite place in the garden...
And from there came voices, angered and agonized. His mother and father were quarrelling again.
He rushed across the garden, determined to stop the belligerent duel between them...when he froze suddenly at the sound of the gunshot.
He swallowed.
All sounds vanished and he could hear himself breathing aloud... Was that his heartbeat he heard inside his head?
Then another gunshot was heard.
The ropes of fear broke inside of him and he rushed forward, screaming at the top of his voice.
And then he stilled and looked up.
Across the room from where he was fastened to the wall, he saw Kushi lying on an altar. She was dressed in the white garb she had worn at their hasty wedding. The gown he had chosen for her at the fair...
From where she lay, she turned her head to look at him.
Though her eyes brimmed with tears, there was a coldness in her gaze directed at him.
Lord Arnav swallowed, recollecting the horrid dream again.
And then he gaped at the sight of something moving over her.
Something that look like leafy brambles and prickly stems.
And then he saw them: The blood red roses that peered from underneath the leaves.
A gasp escaped his parted lips.
It was the rosebush that stood tall and sacred at his Castle in his mother's memory.
He stared in bewilderment as the merciless stems wound around the altar table and around Kushi, enclosing her entirely in the green coffin.
"No..." He whispered in shock as the roses and thorns curled and coiled around her face, and nothing of her could be seen anymore.
"Kushi!" He called out and then his starved, delusional mind found that he was alone in his dark cell again.
Lord Arnav grieved silently. What have I done, Kushi? What have I done!
He gritted his teeth, pulling at the shackles and deliberately hurting his wrists.
He squeezed his eyes shut from the pain and tears streamed down his cheeks.
Wasn't she true? Haven't I given more importance to my past than I should?
His strength faded again and he leaned against the wall, feeling fatigued and forlorn.
He was ruthlessly torn between his love for his mother and for the woman he had made his wife.
Just then, he stilled, his ears picking sounds of struggle outside the door. Was that the sound of a sword ringing through the air? Instantly, another sound followed it, one of a body heavily crashing to the floor.
Surprised, Lord Arnav stared at the door to his cell.
And then, all of a sudden, something smashed through the door and, as the dust cleared, Lord Arnav squinted his eyes to find a familiar silhouette standing at the doorway.
The silhouette hesitated on sighting him, but then took a confident step forward, a sword in each hand.
Lord Arnav felt a wave of nausea hit him. Getting a grip on himself, he scowled wrathfully in the intruder's direction, "You!"
"Yes, me," the General replied, returning his swords to the sheaths at his belt.
"I should have known," growled the First Lord.
"Known what?"
"That you'd be behind all this. I never trusted otherwise," Lord Arnav eyed him angrily.
"How thoughtful of you!" remarked the General, walking towards him, "And how do you explain my present appearance of a rescuer in contrast to your imagining that I have a part to play in your imprisonment?"
"It must be all part of a plot to rouse no suspicion," pointed out the shrewd Lord Arnav.
"How magnificent are the workings of that wonderful head of yours, Master Menace!" teased the General bitterly, "But it's sad that that little brain of yours didn't have the quick intelligence to not get yourself caught in the first place!"
"You had it all planned, didn't you?"
The General was impatient, "Listen, you thick-headed nincompoop! I have a good mind to leave you hanging here but I've got to get Anarkali out of this hellhole and, against my wishes, I may have to need your help."
"Nice try," Lord Arnav grinned nastily, "But I know who you're really here for. And let me tell you, as long as there is breath in me, you will not dare to even stand in the same room as her!"
The General rolled his eyes and then grunted, "Think what you will, but I am not your enemy here."
"Oh really!" snorted Lord Arnav, "Then how do you explain your entrance, into his heavily guarded place, unseen? They must have let you in! Look at me: not even my bestial senses could help me out of this mess."
The General smirked smugly, "I am a soldier by profession and I have a few handy tricks up my sleeve. You, on the other hand, are familiar with only the making of silk socks!"
Lord Arnav gritted his teeth, "Not socks, you clouded dimwit! Robes, gowns and suits fit for royalty!!"
"Indeed!" chuckled the General, "And look where that royal skill has gotten you!"
Just then, their attention was turned to abysmal doorway as four guards crashed into the room.
In one fell swoop of his swords, (well, actually four swoops), the General had undone their existence.
Lord Arnav blinked. Was that a rehearsed intrusion or is he really on my side?
The General turned to his former enemy, "I can't singlehandedly keep warding them off every time! Why can't you break free of those chains?"
"You think I haven't tried?" Lord Arnav rattled the shackles binding his wrists, "They're bewitched or something. I can't seem to transform in them."
The General approached him and (while Lord Arnav kept a wary eye on his enemy) inspected the chains. He tried pulling them and instantly felt his strength subside.
"What in the name of-!" The General stared at his hands, at the chains and then at Lord Arnav, "Where did they get these from?"
"My uncle," answered Lord Arnav ruefully.
"Your uncle's the one that's kidnapped the whole lot of you?" The General's eyebrow rose in astonishment, "What kind of cracked family do you come from?"
"I don't have time for family stories, fancy pants," Lord Arnav interposed, "Just get me out of these!"
The General took a step back, "So you trust me?"
The First Lord frowned, "Not a bit."
The General tilted his head, "Then why the request for help?"
"Isn't that why you are still standing here?" Lord Arnav asked perceptively.
The General judiciously crossed his arms across his chest, "Tell me you're sorry and I'll help you get freed."
Lord Arnav let out a rancorous laugh, "I'm not apologizing to you for anything, you reckless brute!"
"Calling me names is not helping," reminded the General calmly.
Lord Arnav pointed out, "Neither is this stalling of time."
The General prompted, "I want to hear something sweet from your mouth."
Lord Arnav blinked, "Candy balls?"
The General grinned, "Sweet about me."
Lord Arnav grunted, "I find NOTHING that's sweet about you, you infidel cheat!"
The General gritted his teeth, "I am not an infidel cheat! I wasn't after your wife for nothing. I had led myself to believe she was my cure until-"
"Until what, fart brain?" Lord Arnav argued.
"Until I learnt it was Anarkali," the General admitted.
Lord Arnav eyed him distrustfully, "I don't even think a person can be a cure."
"Take it any way you will, but I am here for her and that is all," declared the General in finality.
Lord Arnav paused testily, "I won't forgive you that easily."
The General nodded, "I am not asking for your forgiveness. Just someone to watch my back while freeing the rest of our stranded family from this Mad Hatter's Wonderland."
Lord Arnav studied the General's face for a moment and then let his shoulders relax.
"Right then, let's get me out of these," he rattled the chains again.
The General was unmoved, "Only after I hear one sweet thing about me."
Lord Arnav groaned, "You can't really mean this!"
"This torture I deserve to give you!" fortified the General, not letting slide the possibility of a personal triumph of pride, "A single appreciation in return for your freedom."
"Fine!" snarled Lord Arnav, "You have..." He paused. His head was cobwebbed in the Appreciation Department. Especially for someone as repugnant as-
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tried again, "You're a..." Oh, this is annoyingly hard.
His frustrated gaze fell on the swords hanging from the General's hand.
"You're a good swordsman," blurted Lord Arnav.
The General pursed his lips in mistrust, "You mean it?"
"I swear I do," claimed the First Lord hastily.
The General smirked knowingly, "Fine, then, tell me I am better than you at the skill."
Lord Arnav was flabbergasted, "What the!"
"Say it!" the General impelled.
Lord Arnav smiled and repeated, "I'm better than you."
The General shook his head with an amused light in his eyes, "You know what I meant."
Lord Arnav grumbled inwardly, This is worse than hell! He inhaled deeply.
"You're-" He grunted, paused, "Better," paused again and then growled crossly, "Than me."
The General was pleased, "At what?"
Lord Arnav grimaced, "At fencing."
"Now, that's a good boy!" The General appraised him.
Lord Arnav growled, "Don't you boy me, you-"
"Ah, ah! Call me names and in chains you remain," reminded the General.
Lord Arnav muttered a curse under his breath and then composed himself, "Alright, no names. Just get me out of these."
The General stepped back and then, lifting his sword, descended it heavily onto the metal. A loud clanging sound echoed blaringly across the entire room but the metal, in appearance, was not even nicked.
"Not a scratch!" the General mumbled, baffled by in the indestructability.
Lord Arnav was stumped, "What the-!"
The General glared at the chains, "Nothing stands in my way!"
And then, his hand reached into the strap at his the belt and drew out a shotgun.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Lord Arnav was incensed, "How dare you bring-"
"Listen here, Pig-headed Lord of Stubbornness," the General barked at him, "Sometimes you have to let Stupidity have a back seat."
Lord Arnav glared at him, "My law of banning guns is a decision born of prudence and NOT stupid!"
The General held the gun coolly at his side, "So you'd prefer being chained there, in manacles that swords can't break but guns could possibly destroy?"
Lord Arnav frowned disapprovingly at him, and then let out a resigned sigh.
The General grinned, "Ready for the fireworks?"
He lifted his gun to the height of their shoulders and aimed at the metal.
Somehow, Lord Arnav was grounded by the strange conviction that the General would not aim the gun at him. He didn't know where that trust stemmed from but he didn't like the idea of having harboured it one bit.
The General's hand was steady as it held the gun and pulled the trigger. The explosion was ear-splitting as metal struck metal.
But both men were staggered when they found that the gun had failed to even scrape the metal.
The General gritted his teeth. The invincibility of the metal was getting on his nerves.
Without a warning, he held the gun aimed at the chain and fired a couple of furious shots at the wall where the chain was hinged.
Horrified, Lord Arnav yelled over the deafening noise of the gunshots, "What are you doing?! Stop this-"
And then Lord Arnav wisely shut his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut as the General shot all over the wall where the First Lord's ankles and wrists had been fastened by the merciless manacles.
Bricks and dust sprayed and splattered all over the place and finally, when the General halted his firing and their ears stopped ringing, they blinked around through the fog of smoke and dust that smelled of brunt rust.
Lord Arnav coughed out the dust particles that had strayed into his mouth and the General brushed off the dust that was drenched all over him during his riled exploit.
"Goodness!" Lord Arnav exclaimed just then and the General saw that the chains had come free of the wall, though they still dangled by his wrists and ankles.
"There's nothing we can do about those," the General nodded to the chains Lord Arnav was draped in.
"At least I am unfastened from a fixed structure," smiled Lord Arnav and then he looked at the General, not knowing what to think of him, "I still won't forgive you."
The General grinned spitefully, "I'd be trampling my self-respect if I were to expect forgiveness from you."
Just then, their hearing picked the sound of many armed men rushing down a corridor, presumably heading for their direction.
The blasting gunshots had alerted the whole company of guards to their little escapade.
"We will be ready for them," growled Lord Arnav, gearing his vigour.
But he felt his fingers and looked doubtfully at the General, "The chains are still disabling me."
The General thoughtfully eyed the chains at his wrists and then looked at him.
He unsheathed his swords and flung them for Lord Arnav to catch them by the hilt.
Lord Arnav held them in his either hand and looked at the General, who drew his rifle and prepped it, as he explained, "Use your human strength, Master Menace. The metal only disables the strength you draw from the beast in your blood."
Lord Arnav gave a stiff nod and, swinging the swords to get a familiar human grip on them, he charged for the open door, followed closely at heels by his newly befriended brother-in-law.
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