Mirage
2/2
Rudra ran like a man possessed, "Stupid woman...I should have never let her get away from my sight..." he was already struggling to keep his thoughts away from the repercussions of a lone gun shot when a second shot sent shockwaves through the air and stopped him dead in his tracks, was that it? The ground literally shook beneath his feet.
~~~
Half and hour ago.
~~~
"Thakurein" the excitement was palpable in his voice. Normally she would have been thrilled, but today was Rudra's wedding and she was simply annoyed at the timing of this call, "What!?" she asked not even bothering to conceal her irritation. Of all the days, why today! She frowned at her fate,"Do you have any news?"
He spoke after much persuasion and assurance from her side, "The royal guards..." he mumbled, his earlier excitement a thing of the past. He knew, just like she did what exactly was at stake now. This was serious except while he had seen the other side of the story just a few minutes ago, she had only been privy to one facet of it, one that had been carefully constructed, a lie which had now become synonymous with the truth.
The Thakurein cut the call and clutched the phone tightly in excitement; it meant only one thing, the royal guards travelled with the Thakur and since they were both at Chandangarh, it meant, Paro was with him. Thakur had held up his end, kept his promise and finally brought Paro to safety, to home, her day could't get any better! She could barely contain her excitement as she ran towards the other end of their ancestral palace in Chandangarh. She couldn't believe her luck, not only had she seen her son after fifteen years - all grown up and with his bride but she had just been given the news that her love had kept up his word and brought her Paro home, the orphan child whom she loved like her own.
~~~
ThakurSa!
The familiar had never felt as good!
So much so that she felt a maddening relief course through her even while the fortitude that had kept her sane all these days slowly ebbed away until she finally fell apart; as if weeks of emotional and physical exhaustion had finally taken its toll.
He heard her out patiently as she narrated her horror story in its entirety. All the while, his devious mind calculated the time he would need to walk her to the Palace's cellar and finish what he had come to Chandangarh for.It didn't matter whether she was telling him the truth or not, or the fact that she was an innocent, he knew that. There was too much at stake, and Paro was not significant enough to warrant risking it all. For him, her death was key to his survival and so when it came down to that simple fact it was hardly a decision to ponder over. There was no point wasting anymore time, Thakur thought as a clueless Paro poured out her heart to him, it was time for Paro to die.
"BaiSa" he cut her off purposely suddenly bored with her sob-story, "ThakurSa..." Paro blinked wearily but he was quick to silence her, "BaiSa...you do know that even walls have ears right?" his furtive eyes however alerted her of another possibility.
Thakur swiftly guided her away from the room and led her towards the basement "We cannot talk about this here...you do understand, don't you?" he was on high alert even as he led her through the grand central hallway lined with portraits of his forefathers, the kings of Birpur.
"Look around BaiSa..." he stopped infront of the majestic painting of his own father as a confused Paro looked on, "This is what's at stake..." and when he saw lines of confusion deepen on her face, he added, " So much history and all of Birpur's heritage...all at stake now..."
"ThakurSa... you know, I don't believe the BSD" she wasn't sure where he was going with this but she needed to convince him that she had not sold her soul to the devil or sided with the enemy yet, "They are ruthless men who kill innocent people, and their dreams...and..." the image of Varun getting shot played on her mind again like it had a million times already since that fateful afternoon, "who killed my..."
"Shhh... BaiSa" he had had enough of that already, "You are not getting it" he was very close to losing his patience, the mask of goodness ready to slip.
"I...er...they tried to convince me that you had...plotted against...the weapons...and that my marriage was a ..." Paro struggled to put together anything cohesive or say that word...
"Sham?" apparently the Thakur didn't share her inhibitions, it was the first seed of doubt. Neither did she miss that sly smile on his face. She had seen it innumerable times before but never had it made as much sense as it had in that fleeting moment. But she was quick to brush away those renegade thoughts, ThakurSa was like a father-figure to her. But was he really?
"Come with me BaiSa...there is so much we need to talk about. But this is not the place for it"
He walked a few paces to realize that Paro was still rooted to her spot in deep contemplation, he turned and asked her, "Don't you trust me?"
Paro realised just how difficult it was to shrug off years of conditioning when she found herself nodding along almost mechanically. She stood no chance against this seasoned pro, who was relentless in the pursuit of his goal, "How much do you love Birpur BaiSa?" He asked as he held out the door for her and led her out of the grand central hallway to the darker confines of the oval service stairwell.
Old habits die hard. Despite her concerns, Paro found herself following him obediently, "What kind of question is that?" she asked hurt at his insinuation, "Birpur is my home"
He smiled satisfied at her response and even more pleased at himself, "Birpur asks for a sacrifice BaiSa but..." Thakur was putting on a show with practiced elan, "But?" her inquisitive eyes held his.
"Are you willing to go through with it?" Paro's eyes followed the movement of his hands and she froze when he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, "Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice..." he paused as if he was intentionally letting it soak in, giving her time to process, "For Birpur?" he didn't need to elaborate further, Paro was blinded no more.
Paro could only stare back in shock, one day I won't be there to protect you and it will be too late. His words came crashing back, and she knew, she had made a colossal mistake. The Jallad wasn't really a Jallad.
"Don't worry, I am not a brute...to make this painful for you" it was the Thakur's voice that broke her chain of thoughts, "Or so stone hearted to ask of this ultimate sacrifice without letting you know why Birpur asks of it" he smirked in premature satisfaction.
"I haven't..." no words made sense, Paro could only stare in shocked silence as he narrated the events that led to Bindi's death, the truth about the weapons smuggling. She couldn't figure out what was worse, the speed of his revelations or the depth of his deception. The final blow came when he confirmed Rudra's version of truth that she had refused to believe repeatedly, the truth of her marriage. By then, Paro had truly lost all sense of reality. And so, she did not feel intimidated or flustered at the face of his threats or fear the imminent death. Instead,Paro felt utterly lost, like a falling leaf floating through the skies; no anchor just free, lost...a homeless wanderer. Nothing registered after that, not his words... or the voice inside her head, except the seam of nothingness that enveloped her world.
When he pulled that trigger, the sound, greatly amplified by the walls of the stairwell reverberated through the air and burnt her senses, Paro simply closed her eyes and surrendered to death.
~~~
Except death didn't feel any different.
A terrified Paro opened her eyes to see Thakurein at the opposite end, holding up a gun with her shaking hands. Paro followed the direction of those troubled eyes and saw the Thakur writhing in agony as he lay in a pool of his own blood, "That was for Nandini" the Thakurein's hoarse voice singed the air.
"Mala..." he tried to stop her but she was not willing to listen, not anymore, "And this is for those sixteen others whose life...you monster" their lives would never be the same but she was well past the point of caring.
"Thakurein Nooo!" Paro wasn't quick enough for her. The sound of the second gun-shot virtually shook the old walls of the service wing. All that was left was the smell of sulfur and metal...everything went eerily quiet after that.
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