NOVEL~*Hiding behind a Stranger*~THREAD 49 - CHAPTER 54

Three Great Emperors had toiled hard to build the vast and flourishing legacy of the 'Mughal Empire', keeping relative peace by unifying its Mughals and Hindus. However; by mid 1600s, cracks began to appear in its solid foundations. Insecurities crept in through the gaps, widening the gulfs between the two religions once again.

With the old Emperor becoming too feeble to take charge and his jealous successors remaining preoccupied with expansion and power, the damage was never repaired. Not surprising then that new rebellions arose every day. Violence escalated, claiming many innocent lives.

Yet; in the midst of such turmoil and peril, there bloomed a beautiful story - much like a lone flower blossoming upon the steepest edges of a cliff - a story of love, of sacrifice and honour!

Forced to flee from her motherland, the one home she knew... forced to leave behind her people, for whom, she was their only hope...forced to grievously abandon the last rites of her loved one while the flames on the pyre were still ablaze...the orphaned heiress of 16 overcame grief and many shortcomings, as she embarked on a long dangerous path... setting out to seek help and support, for her people and her lands...

Till a chance stay with a complete stranger would change the course of those very plans forever!

Being the most shrewd, determined and unforgiving of the lot meant he was formidable... a force to be reckoned with... it also meant he could have owned it all - riches, power, women and fame... but, he fancied none of it...

As a recluse with simple tastes, the rich life held no real appeal... power didn't tempt him... women didn't interest him... his passion was work and his only family were a few loyal friends... he had decided that he wanted little else in life...

Till a chance visit from a complete stranger would change that decision forever!

Don't ask the Lord to take away death,

Ask Him instead, to take away your fear of death.

For death is a must in everyone's life,

But fear is not.

Don't ask the Lord to carry your burdens for you,

Ask Him instead, to give you the strength to carry them.

For burdens are a must in everyone's life,

But weakness is not.

'Don't ask the Lord to take away sickness,

Ask Him instead, to give you...'

SNAP!

Her eyes opened when she thought she heard a twig SNAP, in the far distance. So she waited, wondering if she would hear anything more. Nothing was audible for a bit.

Until, there it was again - the slightest echo of a SNAP!

Followed, by a dull rustling of leaves.

Alerted, Heera sat up. The sounds were so faint that she'd had to stifle her breathing to catch them. So faint that no one else would've suspected anything. But she knew - something, or someone was out there.

'An animal, probably?' she looked around, about to caution Bajrang. But the very next instant, as though to confirm her suspicions, she heard another RUSTLE. Then another. It was now clear that the hush sounds recurred with every passing moment. By the fourth RUSTLE, she guessed what it had to be - the soft scrunching of dried leaves under the flat stomp of a horse's hooves! 'A rider?'

'Bajr...' She was about to yell out - but all of a sudden, her words stalled, almost instinctively. Through the clearing, the image of the rider had emerged.

The image was hazy. The rider was on the other side of the thicket, travelling through a rustic by-lane. But however unclear the silhouette, that distinctly masculine frame could not be mistaken for anyone else's - the impressive attitude that stood out even in such a dense setting, the shoulders that sat proud above a robust physique. Yes, it was undeniably HIM.

'Khan Sahib? But...'

Her sentence was left abruptly hanging when Heera had come to realise that the rider had paused. He'd spotted her. After which, the man seemed to glance about, surveying the surroundings.

The next moment, he quietly dismounted his horse, and walked through the clearing - till he surfaced from the wooded overgrowth to appear right in front of her.

'What's Khan Sahib doing here?' Heera pondered - unaware that she was holding her breath, as his dark eyes became clearer 'What work might he have here? Now?'

'Sahiba' his brusque voice was as low as the tread of his feet, his glances still busy inspecting the area 'You're alone... here?'

Akbar's wary glimpses skimmed the wilderness that lay behind the temple and beyond - a place that was occasionally frequented by the very tribes that'd attacked them before.

'Ai Khuda' he exhaled, his mind in two places. The Sahiba might think he was overreacting, but how would she know what he knew through his profession - that the safest men were the least sorry?

A moment later, he settled upon the most reasonable decision he could think of 'I'll wait by my horse... till her guard re-joins her'

'Till my guard re-joins me... you're going to wait by your horse... aren't you?'

Heera had somehow guessed it from his actions, even if he hadn't mentioned it aloud. Noticing the way he rolled his restless fingers within his fist, her gazes studied his tall persona 'What's on your mind, Khan Sahib? And what's making you...'

She hesitated, unsure if she must complete the rest 'what's making you ...so protective of me... Khan Sahib?'

Instantly, a small flutter stirred within the core of her chest, proving that she'd been right in hesitating to complete that statement. It was only a small flutter, but stronger than any such emotion she might have felt in the past. Strong enough to overpower any scepticism that might've been lurking in her mind.

Suddenly, his muffled roar came out of nowhere 'DON'T move... Sahiba...'

Startled out of her thoughts, Heera remained as still as possible, making a sweeping survey of the steps below, and then, the steps beside - wondering what could've upset him so. Was it a snake?

'What is it?' an edgy murmur eventually slipped from her lips 'And where?'

Akbar, however, didn't respond. He wasn't even watching the young lady - one wrong action, one misstep and this might end horribly.

The young man had been on his way to the horse as planned, when he'd noticed it from the corner of his eye. Perched on the stone railing right behind her, with its venomous tail ready to strike, was the infamous red scorpion. Fortunate for the Sahiba that he'd caught it in time, or she would've been writhing in excruciating pain for days to come.

As for the troubling issue of their growing physical proximity - well, Khan Sahib was being his usual dignified self, his attitude unaffected and business-like.

Unaffected? Business-like? How wrong was she!

Only HIS inner self was aware of how many fights he'd waged to maintain an aura of indifference - and how tough each of those fights had been.

For, even when she was not in sight, this Sahiba had lately made it a habit, to haunt his thoughts - both, asleep and awake. One could only imagine his state, when she sat so close to him, in flesh and form. So close that he could nearly smell the rose on her skin and touch the silk of her hair.

'The enemy that's behind me.. Is it very dangerous... and cunning too?I only ask because it seems to be taking you a good while to deal with it, Khan Sahib...'

Yes, it was a sly quip. But Heera didn't know what else to do to keep her mind occupied. If she didn't, she was certain HE would soon be able to hear her beats that were now pulsing so hard, they drowned every other sound around her.

Now, there was nothing to stop her from observing the angular facets of his features or his intriguing dark eyes. There was nothing to stop her being drawn towards the magnetism of his face - a face that somehow appeared more rugged, more handsome then when she'd met him first.

'You haven't answered me yet, Khan Sahib...' she asked the man who'd returned her quip with nothing but a steady glance 'about the enemy that's behind me...'

'Dangerous AND cunning? Interesting match it'll be then...' her frowns assumed a deceptively questioning look 'well... I do hope I'm not wrong in assuming that you're an expert at this... in assuming that you like playing such deadly games?'

'No you're not wrong...' Akbar replied with the faintest of smirks. So the Sahiba WAS baiting him - maybe as a means to divert herself. Or maybe because, she was getting curious about him. 'I do like playing deadly games, Sahiba... but, I do hope I'm not wrong in assuming that my games have you intrigued... that you're beginning to like playing them too!'

'Intrigued?' Heera managed to stifle a surprised sigh, but she wasn't as successful at stalling the heat from spreading to her cheeks and her neck. How was she to respond to that allegation? A 'Yes, I'm intrigued', and she would lose. A 'No, I'm not intrigued', her lies would be caught - and she would still lose. He turned out to be a better sport at this game than she'd thought - and like an amateur, she'd ended up caught in her own web.

Even if he might have ever been tempted in life before, he could always bring such urges under control. But for the first time, he felt like there was nothing he could do to stop the phenomenon as he experienced the sort of emotions that overpowered his morals. The sort of urges that warmed his blood and raced his pulse, leaving his lungs short of air. The sort of emotions that led him to observe a woman's quivering lips, and her flushed skin, as she blushed.

They'd barely ever spoken much, or even met, but this Lady had touched him in ways no one else had - emotionally, and physically.

Anyhow, he would have to somehow cast aside these unforeseen feelings and deal with the emotional aftermath later - for now, there was the unresolved issue of that abhorrent creature looming over them.

And unfortunately, the scorpion that'd crawled off her veil, was now only inches away from her back.

So, not wanting to alert the aggressive creature, Akbar moved near the Lady's ears 'Sahiba...'

'W...what!' caught completely off-guard by the unfamiliar sensation of his warm breath brushing against the gold of her earrings, her parched voice echoed 'W... what are you...'

'Sahiba...' he spoke over her 'when I say move, just jump forward immediately... DON'T look back... alright?

It almost took her a moment to regroup herself, and grasp what he was trying to do 'Yes... alright...'

'MOVE!' he yelled..

Regrettably though, owing to her partial vision, it took Heera a moment longer to spring down the steps than it should have, thus compelling the young man to do something he'd hoped he didn't have to do. In a flash, Akbar stretched his arm forth to block her from the attack - since blocking was quicker than bringing a fist down upon a moving creature from an awkward spot.

Alas! The very next instant, the scorpion's lethal tail had found its mark - on an exposed part of his hand.

'Baisa... we heard some noises... what happened?'

'Khan Sahib? What are you doing here?'

'A scorpion...' she tried explaining, replacing the veil on her head 'I...'

'Then, why didn't you call us, baisa...'

'Why didn't you shout out for help...'

'Bajrang, calm down... I hadn't known of it myself... it was Khan Sahib who'd spotted it before it was too late...'

Heera then turned to him, her eyes awash with fresh signs of panic 'But... you're hurt, aren't you? Lord... please tell me it wasn't the red scorpion... its venom is potent!'

Akbar said nothing, though his continued silence gave away the truth.

Sometime later..

'Don't worry about me... I've grown immune to such poisons and venoms... just stay safe, Sahiba!'

Those three lines had told her more about the man than anything her own guards had uncovered, than anything her own maids had found out about him in the past 10 days, leaving her with mixed feelings - both, good and unsettling.

In fact, reflecting back on it all, 'mixed' is how she would describe her emotions following the encounter. It was as though the Heera who'd visited the temple that morning was different from the Heera who stood here, a short while later.

He'd distracted her from her woes before too - but never to this extent. Taking her to the realisation that his presence was becoming an elixir of sorts - temporarily relieving her from all her miseries, however terrible they might be. And Heera couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing!

Those three strong words 'just stay safe'

And then, there was the unabated worry regarding his health. Sadly, there was no immediate way to enquire about his wellbeing - but Heera was concerned. Concerned if he'd had the wound examined by a Vaid. Concerned that he mustn't travel till his health had stabilised. Khan Sahib might have brushed off the mishap, but she'd treated enough scorpion bites to know that the pain was extreme.

Which brought her to the mystery of how he could walk away from such life-threatening calamities, again and again, like nothing had happened?

What did he mean when he said he'd grown immune to poisons? How could a businessman - however, well-travelled -grow immune to poison? How could he be so unafraid, that he almost seemed invincible? Was he a seasoned warrior in another lifetime?

'Alright' Heera eventually relented with a worried sigh, admitting that she had acted out of character. She'd crossed a line, by letting herself get so comfortable, by getting carried away in a manner that didn't befit her rank or position. That too, with someone who was still a relative stranger. It was out-of-character. But, the situation was unusual and her mind wasn't in the right place - no point beating herself up about it any longer, was there?

'Shouldn't happen again. Wouldn't happen again' she vowed with a resigned frown, before disappearing into the sick chamber - to attend to the responsibilities that beckoned.

That night at the safe house..

'Darn creature!'

Slapping another layer of medicinal paste on the site of swelling, he wrapped a fresh cloth around his arm, using his teeth to pull the bandage into a knot. As a man who'd spent a good amount of his days lying low, hiding in wildernesses, such encounters with scorpions and snakes weren't uncommon. 'Another 72 hours of this suffering' he panted, holding his ribs, the insides of which were pounding recklessly - all of it a side-effect of the venom 'but at least, she was spared from this!'

'Very dangerous... and cunning too... the enemy that's behind me? I only ask because it seems to be taking you a good while to deal with it, Khan Sahib...'

'Yes...your enemies are dangerous, cunning and many, Sahiba... and I would shield you from them all, if I could!'

True, he would shield her - if only to preserve the addicting sight that was her smiles and music that were her giggles. If only to safeguard the hazel of her eyes and the uniqueness that lay in their spirit. But, could he really shield her forever? From every enemy?

As his head swirled and his skin trembled from the effects of the toxins, the saner part of his mind clung on to their rare interactions from that morning, and to the unforgettable images of her femininity. The kind of femininity that'd given him his first tryst with passion.

A dull ache abruptly needled through his chest - an ache distinctively different from all the other physical pains he was enduring right then.

'Hundreds of women this warrior turned down... and the one woman that he wishes to protect, he can't...'