HBAS Chat corner - Page 4

Hiding Behind

A

STRANGER

A Historical Romance by Lashy

( Abridged)

Part II. The Tempest.

Chapter 12.

'COME ON...'

The men dragged the prisoner along and shoved him to the ground, in front of their master's feet. In the very next breath, however, they had to tone down the intensity in their threats.

'KN... kneel down here...'

Khalil might be their captive - bound and tied. He might have been defeated and demeaned - but the rabid aggression with which he'd just snarled back in response to those threats was terrifying - as though he would bite their flesh off.

'Wait here...'

Khalil's wounded army had been driven out - their weapons and horses taken away as punishment. The Hakims had arrived, examined and administered medication to the Sahiba, who was still not conscious, but on the road to recovery. Her maids and guards had been shifted to the other side of the camp - to receive medical care, but also to be kept away from the unpleasant drama that was about to unfold here.

She was safe. His loyal men were safe. Everything that had to be taken care of, was taken care of. His mind was finally at peace.

'Ustaad...' Khalil grit his teeth after having borne the torture in silence for half an hour..

'Why am I being punished when all I did was follow our Huzoor's orders?'

'Oh!' Akbar nodded 'So, all you did was follow our Huzoor's orders?'

'And tell me, don't all masters owe their students a few chances at least, Ustaad? If I remember rightly, I WAS your favourite recruit once!'

'Favourite recruit? Oh yes... I vaguely remember something like that' Akbar shrugged a shoulder 'In fact... I must give it to you, Khalil... you've gotten better with time... your speed... the way you covered up your tracks... I left the capital day before yesterday... and it took me all of two days to hunt you down...'

'Day before yesterday? From the capital?'

For a fleeting spell, Khalil's bitterness and hatred diffused into shock as he tried to decode the message behind the mentor's sarcasm. Was the man claiming to have crossed more than 200 miles in 2 days? How was that even humanly possible? He had to be boasting. 'Two days? From the capital?' he sneered 'If you say so...'

'You see...' Akbar stifled a half-yawn 'when the rest of my students get good, I feel proud... when students like YOU get good, I know to get BETTER!'

'Well said Khan Sahib... well said indeed!' came a bold cheer from Azeez 'By the way, I apologise for being brazen... but, I'm sure I speak for others when I say that I'm impatient to find out what plans you have for our prisoner, Khan Sahib...'

'Execute him!'

'Have him hung from a tree...'

The suggestions soon came trickling in from the rest of his supporters too - all of them apparently having their own personal grievances against the general.

'My men... my men...' Akbar played along, after having allowed them their share of fun 'I generally take pride in fulfilling all your wishes... but on this instance, I'm going to have to leave you all disappointed!' The commotion fell quiet, the men curious to hear him out. 'Unfortunately, I have given our Huzoor my word that I will spare his life...'

Khalil, however, had just been gifted a new lease of life!At last! Ustaad would NEVER break his promise to the Shehzaade. So, he was safe. At least for now. 'Oh my God! Thank you...' he blew out a gust of air in relief.

'It's obvious isn't it...' he announced with renewed confidence thereafter, though cautious not to get too carried away 'a prince wouldn't want his generals harmed... in fact, I wonder what he would have to say when he knows that his best general, his right hand man is being treated this way... besides...' a sudden spasm in his shoulder, forced him to take a long breather 'besides... how is it MY fault that our Huzoor handed me back the assignment?'

But the mentor didn't reply.

'Darn!' Khalil was hanging onto the last bit of will to keep his brittle temper from shattering through.

'Ustaad... I'm curious... what games did you play... to get our Huzoor to hand you back the assignment?'

'Ustaad Sahib... if you want... we can work a deal... split the spoils of Parnagarh - the money... the slaves... what do you say?'

'Ustaad! YOU didn't return with the Farmaan in time... so, our Huzoor turned to the next man he trusted most... why take your anger out on me for your incompetence?'

'Aaargh...' Khalil eventually winced through his teeth, all that suppressed molten fury beginning to leak through every barrier of tolerance he'd put up 'ANSWER me!'

'You MADMAN...' he growled - the torn muscle in his shoulder was now shooting tremors throughout his chest, forcing him to wobble onto his feet 'Parnagarh was MY assignment...' his eyes were bloodshot, his words dripping with contempt 'YOU were the one who snatched it from me!'

The next instant, Akbar lifted his left boot and placed it firmly on Khalil's injured shoulder, pushing the arrow blades deeper in, splicing his muscle further - thus forcing the man back down upon his knees.

'ARRR RRR RRR RRR' Khalil's hoarse yells jolted the stillness of the wilderness, sending flocks of morning birds fluttering into the skies 'RRR RRRGH!!!!'

--- 'ARRR RRR RRR RRR RRR RRRGH!!!!' ---

'Wh... what...'

Heera slowly pried open her eyelids. 'Wh... where am I?'

There was a fuzzy blue cloud hovering over her, somewhere above. 'No...' A few moments later, her groggy head realised what it actually was. 'It's not a blue cloud... it's a sheet... a canopy... tent canopy... I'm in a tent... but h... how how long have I been here... how many d... days?'

She forced her eyelids apart once again.

A soft light was making its genteel way through the heavy blanket of darkness. It was dawn break. 'W... wait... it's morning?'Her mind dragged its way out of the fog of drowsiness, inch by inch, till it stopped at the last memory it could recall.

The nightmare!

'Ma Bhavani! No... no... those savages have left me here to rot...' she lamented 'the poison ring... I must get it... and end the...'

Anticipating the worst, her palms instinctively reached out to pull the veil across her body. But it all seemed to be intact - her attire, her modesty and her health. Instead, she came across a pleasantly-unexpected discovery - an additional shawl, warmly wrapped around her. 'H... how could that be... wh... what happ...'

--- 'ARRR RRR RRRGH!!!!' ---

'W... who's that? Gokul? They're torturing Gokul...' Grabbing the edges of her bedding, the young lady got up - first on her elbows, and then on her knees before she managed to position herself upright. 'No... it's not poor Gokul... they killed him already...' a tear sprouted from the corner of her eyes 'it's Bajrang... probably... I... I...'

As Heera stood on her feet, the world around her spun even more - and she had to hold onto whatever she could, to stop her lifeless limbs from sinking to the floor 'I... I must do something... to stop the torture... but... why can't I think... why am I so dizzy...'

She got her answer when some of her senses subsequently returned. There was a strange scent under her nostrils.

'Oh God!' She recognised the scent 'I've been drugged... those brutes... those savages have drugged me... to... to...'

Imagining the worst, she started making her way to the exit.

It was a battle, carrying her body across those few steps with the entire tent swimming around her eyes. But she managed it, pulling one feet after another. One feet after another...

--- 'Parnagarh WAS yours, Khalil... but no one seized anything from you... you lost it because, you were not sensible!' ---

'W... wh...' She stopped in her tracks, her heart leaping forth from her chest. 'W... wh... what was that? A voice...' But, why did that voice sound so familiar?

'N... no... can't be...' she buried her throbbing head within both arms, hoping that would stop the voices and the spinning 'I'm hallucinating... because of the drugs...'

'USTAAAD!!!!' Khalil wailed in agony 'Take your feet off... that is my right shoulder... my right hand... my fighting hand... STOPPP... you're injuring it further...'

Akbar gradually arched forward, his leg still firmly pressing against the man's shoulder 'Then maybe you should have used that hand only to fight battles... not used that hand to plunder, pillage, rape and murder' he snarled near Khalil's ears - his words just as vicious as his actions 'And more than anything else, you shouldn't have used it to manhandle the Sahiba!'

His thirst for revenge eventually quenched, the young man removed his boot from the wound!

He couldn't take the man's life, but he had made sure that Khalil would never be able to use that 'offensive' hand effectively again!

'Noo... ooo... ARGHH HHH HHH...'

The instant the boot came off, the suffering ironically became far worse. So much so that even the fires of hell might've burned his body less. The new cuts made by those shards of metal, sent searing shocks around his shoulder, leaving him a shaking and shrieking mess 'NOOO OOO OOO' he writhed on the floor 'NOOO OOO'

Somewhere in between those blinding flashes of pain, and varying states of semi-consciousness, his broken ego went on to take a deadly vow - the great general Khalil might be a beaten man today, but he would avenge all of this - the torture, the humiliation. EVERYTHING!

'Wait till our Huzoor hears of this, Ustaad... of what all you've been up to! Argggh!'

Evidently, her camp had been taken over by a fresh party of armed Mughal troops now - specialist mounted archers of some sort. Who were these men? Had they attacked the place when she'd been unconscious? Were they rivals of Khalil? Had the Shehzaade sent them to have her captured?

Either way, the new party of troops seemed to be spine-chillingly fearsome. Well, they HAD to be fearsome, if they'd vanquished Khalil's men in such a short time! 'Oh Lord... how are we g... going to free ourselves from TH... THIS attack? I... can't even th... think straight...my head hurts' she shuddered in anguish 'My p... people? Wh... where are they? What have these men done to th... them? Please Ma... let them be safe... w... what am I s... supposed to...' her mouth went dry 'a... and w... who... is... that?'

Had she just spotted the leader of their group? The conqueror? 'Oh Lord!'

Whoever he was, she could make out that this man was important and powerful.

He appeared to be seated on a low furniture, right at the centre of all that uproar - surrounded by a team of hefty men. Yet, his hazy silhouette somehow dominated everything else. And from the fuzzy outlines of his metal head-gear, from the heavy armour chiselled onto his body, it became increasingly obvious that he was an aggressive warrior!

So, Khan Sahib was the ruthless conqueror? The aggressive warrior?

'Oh dear Lord!' her eyes misted with tears, as her mind wrestled with countless feelings at once 'But, WHAT is he doing here?'

Why had he come back? Why had he returned after having turned her away so heartlessly? Surely, his presence here, in the middle of nowhere, at such an odd hour, could NOT be a coincidence!

'Did he... come here... to...' Heera cupped her mouth 'HE was the one who saved me... from... from Khalil!'

But, How? Why? And was THIS the significance behind his 'Just stay safe'? Had he been aware of her troubles, watching out for her all along?

'But... h... how... does he know Khalil?' her guts began twisting into knots 'And who is this 'Huzoor' they're referring to? Is their Huzoor th... the Sh.. Sh... Shehzaade? Please... no... no... no...'

--- 'You asked me how I got back the 'Parnagarh' assignment, Khalil...' Akbar calmly twiddled his thumbs 'truth is, I do not resort to dirty games... or cruel crimes... I do what's expected of me... I found the Farmaan in the haveli, and handed it back to the Shehzaade... that's all! Now get out... I'm tired of your presence...'

'You found the Farmaan, USTAAD? Really?' Khalil tried hard not to give his enemy's achievements credit by reacting to it. But, it was becoming increasingly impossible to continue playing indifferent 'What a scheming liar you are...'

'NO! He is not lying...' Akbar's supporters grew enraged.

'You better address him with respect Khalil Sahib... he is the Ustaad... both, ours AND YOURS!'

'Khan Sahib, why don't you show him the Farmaan our Huzoor gifted you in return? That'll shut him up!'

'What?' the general's face turned a furious red 'WHAT FARMAAN?'

'A new Farmaan' chuckled a few men, deciding to add fuel to the fire that was burning down Khalil's pride 'stating that Khan Sahib is the newly appointed 'Mansabdar of Parnagarh'!'

'C... can't be...' sputtered Khalil in a frenzy - suddenly nothing else seemed to matter 'The MANSABDAR of PARNAGARH? But... but... HOW?'

'Well... this status... this promotion is a gift from the Shehzaade in return for his loyal services all these years...'

'Not only that... Khan Sahib intends to marry Harka Sahiba very soon... and Huzoor has given his blessings for the upcoming wedding too...'

'That way... he will truly be master of all of Parnagarh... your game's up Khalil Sahib!'

'Alright...' Akbar interrupted them. Not too comfortable with where their conversations were heading, he was quick to bring it all to an end 'that should do, my men... take him away... and you may all go rest...' --something unexpectedly came over him and the young man glimpsed up to his far left corner.

'Argggh!' Akbar pressed his forehead as the stressors threatened to crush his skull from within 'HOW am I going to face her? WHAT am I going to tell her now?'

Rubbing his face within his palms, he mumbled a hurried instruction to Ibrahim 'I have a few things I need to... to talk to Harka Sahiba about... so, make sure no one enters the tent...'

Before he could disappear though, a friendly grip on his shoulder held him back. 'Don't worry...' Ibrahim patted him 'everything will eventually work out...'

'Thank you...' the young man nodded, a quiet pause later.

The Tent..

'And this man who played a role in jiji's death... how could HE be the one, to whom I gave my...' her shoulders heaved, gasping for air - though any amount of air wasn't enough to counter the life-sucking grief that was suffocating her.

HOW MUCH MORE?' As it is, she'd lost all her near and dear ones. Now, she'd lost control of her lands. And soon, she'd lose face with her people too.

Burying her face into her palms, Heera retreated into her own dark world, questioning the Goddess, over and over, turning into a victim without a voice. 'Why... why... why?'

'What am I doing?' she asked herself, as that bitterness spread, infecting every part of her, till her body was reacting with a feverish anger 'Why am I dragging myself on the floor... sobbing... why am I turning into a victim without a voice, when dealing with... with the...' The feelings inflamed, into a rage.

Suddenly, the young lady took him by surprise when she clambered onto her knees, reaching for the knife hidden behind her skirt 'This will have to end today... now... I might not kill him, but I would at least...'

Blinded by misery and dazed by sedatives she tripped on her skirt twice, before she eventually stood up - with the weapon in hand. 'Y... you m... murderer...'

'Sahiba...' he took a bold step closer despite the threat looming in front of his chest, to try and diffuse the situation 'Please give me one chance to explain... that's all I ask...'

'Get away f... from me... you m... murderer...'

Akbar took a few long breaths to try and shake off those paralysing worries - which the young man did more for her, than for himself. 'No... no, I am NOTHING like Khalil!' he softened the grimace between his brows 'I stand against the kind of crimes these rogues carry out...'

Too hysteric to pay heed to his words, she vehemently shook her head, continuing to speak over him.. This one time he would not let her have her say. Not until he'd finished. Because this one time he wanted to be heard first - to make it clear to her, that he was NOTHING like Khalil! 'Sahiba, you can ask around if you must... but, it's no secret that I DETEST such violence... it's also the reason behind my growing enmity with Khalil, and a few others... EVERYONE who knows me - be it, a FRIEND or a FOE - would say the same!'

All at once, there was an unexpected pause - maybe because of what he'd just said. Or how emphatically he'd said it. But she stopped refuting him.

'Alright...' he exhaled, recoiling his fingers and dropping his hands to his sides 'but, you must believe me... I had nothing to do with what happened to your sister... I wasn't even involved with any of this... till AFTER your sister was... was killed so unfortunately...'

'Huh?' dropping the palm that'd been supporting her giddy head, Heera reopened her swollen eyelids 'Wait... wait... wait... wait... wait... wait... wait... involved? With Parnagarh?' her pupils widened in alarm 'How could I forget? So, you ARE the man Khalil was referring to... the Shehzaade's 'best officer'... the one keeping a close on us, for the sake of the Farmaan! Are you not?'

When she received nothing but an achingly heavy silence from him as reply, she got her dreaded answer!

Bombarded by another shocking realisation - probably the last onslaught that her already damaged foundations could take - the young lady briefly lost her poise.

Originally posted by: lashy

Quote -

When Akbar shows Heera his scars that came from his battered childhood

"To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.
Elizabeth Gilbert

OMG! What a deadly move of Ustaad's and what deadly combo of lines and GIFs. Superlative! 👏 ⭐️ 👏