The noble woman averted her eyes in embarrassment, but said politely, ‘I am sorry, but I
am quite sure that we have not met earlier.’
‘No it’s not that,’ said a smiling Shiva. ‘It’s just that in our society, women don’t fight. You
move your sword quite well for a woman.’
O hell! That came out all wrong.
‘Excuse me?’ she said, a slightly belligerent tone in her voice, clearly upset about the for-a-
woman remark. You don’t fight too badly either for a barbarian.’
‘Not too badly?! I’m an exceptional sword fighter! Do you want to try me?’
O bloody hell! What am I saying? I’m not going to impress her like this!
Her expression resumed its detached, supercilious look once again. ‘I have no interest in
duelling with you, foreigner.’
‘No. No. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t want to duel with you. I just wanted to tell you that I am
quite good at sword-fighting. I am good at other things as well. And it came out all wrong. I
rather like the fact that you fought for yourself. You are a very good swordsman. I mean a
swordswoman. In fact, you are quite a woman...,’ bumbled Shiva, losing the filter of judgement,
exactiy at the time when he needed it the most.
Krittika, with her head bowed, smiled at the increasingly appealing exchange.
Her mistress, on the other hand, wanted to chastise the foreigner for his highly inappropriate
words. But he had saved her life. She was bound by the Meluhan code of conduct. ‘Thank you
for your help, foreigner. I owe you my life and you will not find me ungrateful. If you ever need
my help, do call on me.’
‘Can I call on you even if I don’t need your help?’
Shit! What am I saying?!
She glared at the caste-unmarked foreigner who clearly did not know his place. With
superhuman effort, she controlled herself, nodded politely and said, ‘Namaste.’
With that, the aristocratic woman turned around to leave. Krittika continued to stare at Shiva
with admiring eyes.
However, on seeing her mistress leaving, she too turned hurriedly to follow.
‘At least tell me your name,’ said Shiva, walking to keep pace with her.
She turned around, staring even more gravely at Shiva.
‘Look, how will I find you if I need your help?’ asked Shiva sincerely.
For a moment, she was out of words or a glare. The request seemed reasonable. She
turned towards Krittika and nodded.
‘You can find us at Devagiri,’ answered Krittika. ‘Ask anyone in the city for Lady Sati.’
‘Sati...,’ said Shiva, letting the ethereal name roll over his tongue. ‘My name is Shiva.’
‘Namaste, Shiva. And I promise you, I will honour my word if you ever need my help,’ said
Sati as she turned and climbed into her chariot, followed by Krittika.
Expertly turning the chariot, Sati urged her horses into a smooth trot. Without a backward
look she sped away from the temple. Shiva kept staring at the disappearing profile of the
chariot. Once it was gone, he continued to stare at the dust with intense jealousy. It had been
fortunate enough to have touched her.
I think I’m going to like this country.
For the first time in the journey, Shiva actually looked forward to reaching the capital city of
the Meluhans. He smiled and started towards the rest house.
Have to get to Devagiri quickly.
singke
(singke)
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