❝You were always the feeling I felt too much.❞

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TWO DAYS LATER

AKIRA stood on the terrace as the morning sun casted a pink blush on the queen and her kingdom. The land beneath looked almost peaceful but alas, almost is never enough. The queen knew that a storm was brewing - a storm which was coming for her and her kingdom and from the looks of it, the boy she had developed a certain interest in was the eye of the said storm.

"Akira," The commander general addressed the queen from behind.

"Aziza" The sovereign nodded in response.

"I have some news," Aziza's voice was hesitant and Akira gestured for her continue, "The spies you asked me to send to Mahapuram are back."

"And?"

"Some planning is being done there, planning for a," She paused, "uprising."

The queen said nothing, waiting patiently.

"And we found out that someone from the kingdom had killed Mantri Rishabh and I think that maybe Veer might be the next victim of the uprising." Aziza took a step forward, her voice softening at the mention of the prince, "Shouldn't we call him back, Aki?"

"We can't." The sovereign focused on the farthest edge of the kingdom where a river flowed in front of the wooden watchtowers which stood in their eternal glory, "We can't leave the land to the rioters."

The commander's voice was urgent, "Then we should atleast help him out. Should we send more troops his way. Maybe I could go or-"

"We don't have any spare troops to send over Aziza, over half of them are in Ekam nagar and the others are needed to guard the palace, you're well aware of that." The monarch's voice was calm amidst the chaos. "I need you here, by my side."

Aziza's feet shuffled slowly and she followed the queen's line of vision to look at the peaceful kingdom which stood ahead, her voice sounding defeated and one-part guilty, "Then what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to reach out to the Junagarh governor and tell him I want him to a few of his troops to Mahapuram as soon as possible."

Aziza nodded and the queen continued, "Also send a letter to Veer warning him about the uprising as well as the troops from Junagarh. Tell him to keep his guard high no matter what."

"Yes"

"Now how is everything with Ekam nagar?"

"Only the last group of soldiers is left, all the other soldiers are in position. We can leave by tomorrow-"

"Tonight." The queen cut her off, "We leave for Ekam nagar with the last faction tonight."

The commander scrunched her face in confusion, uncertainty lacing her narrow eyes, "You want us to leave tonight? As in today after sundown?"

"Yes, Shree will stay here and take care of the kingdom along with the other courtiers but you and I will leave with the last group tonight. I trust Veer to look after the Mahapuram situation."

The commander nodded after a hesitant pause, "Understood. I will prepare the troop for tonight's journey."

"Good."

---

Akira held tightly to the flimsy book in her hand as she waited a second before knocking on the huge doors sketched out of aurous metal and a voice greeted her, "Come in."

'Why are you here Akira?'  The voice seemed to ask her and she took a deep breath before opening the doors. 

The sovereign pushed open the doors to Kartik's room and peeked inside. Her eyes squinted at the lack of light in the room which contrasted with the morning sunlit hallways outside. The curtains on the windows were almost closed with a hint of faint sunlight sneaking inside the otherwise dark room. An oil lamp on the bedside was lit and the sovereign could make out that the sheets on the bed were sprawled on the bed in a messy way.

On the bed, Kartik sat with his back against the headboard, a book sat open in his grip as he looked at the book with pure concentration. The faint light from the window illuminated his shirtless torso, the scar still on display.

His eyes did not leave the page as he gestured towards the bedside table, "You can keep the food there, thank you so much."

He had assumed the queen as a handmaiden. A faint teasing smile made its way to the monarch's lips, "I did not know you ate books for breakfast, Yuvraj."

"Maharani?" His gaze snapped away from the book as he looked up at the queen who stood at the doorway with a thin book in her hands.

He got down from the bed, resting his book next to the lamp and absent-mindedly ran a hand through his hair, "I did not realize it was you."

The monarch muttered and shrugged loosely, "You don't realize a lot of things."

"Pardon me?"

"I said" She raised the slender book in her hand, "I am here to return the book you had lent to me oh-so-generously."

A chuckle filled the room, "That's not mine. It belongs to you, your library."

"Yes I'm aware," Akira walked till the edge of the bed, her eyes were fixated on the sheets and not the man in front of her as if she couldn't meet the intensity in his eyes. She kept the book on the edge of the bed, "But you can have it considering how much it means to you."

"Thank you." He glanced at the book and then back at her, "You read it already?"

The queen looked at the familiar stranger, "Yes." A small smile overtook her hard exterior, "I put aside some time from my very busy schedule to read it just as you had suggested."

The room echoed with faint laughs as Kartik walked over to the edge of the bed and picked the book up, his shoulder brushing past the queen at the slightest, "And how did you like it?"

Akira forced her gaze to the curtains that swayed at a distance, away from him, "It was great."

The two of them yet again stood in undesired silence. A hurricane of thoughts ran through the queen's head as she replayed her conversation with her adviser from a few nights before. She knew that the stranger was no good news but for some reason whatsoever she refused to pick up the sword that sat securely on her waistline.

The imposter did not move an inch from where he stood in front of her and Akira found herself standing at the same spot – frozen too.

'Do something Akira, why are you standing like you're a vulnerable prey? You are the predator in this game and you need to eliminate him.' The voice seemed to scream at her, guilt ridding her as she did nothing the voice said.

Kartik finally spoke up after what felt an eternity of silence, "Anything else?"

"Uh," The queen's eyes swept over the room briefly, slyly avoiding his line of sight as she searched for everything and anything to challenge the silence, "Yes. Why is your room so dark?"

He looked taken aback but answered the question nonetheless, "I guess I like it like this."

"Oh, my mother always told me that we should not read under poor lightning because it causes-" Akira fisted her hands and her eyes widened as she found herself unable to stop talking, "a strain on our eyesight and worsens it. Basically, it's not a good idea."

"Oh" He slowly said, completely confused from the turn of events. He let out a small laugh, "I will keep that in mind the next time. Thank you."

Akira swallowed dryly, the embarrassment creeping in, "Yes"

Kartik drummed his fingertips on the book as they both yet again succumbed to the silence.

She tried to change the topic, trying to keep her mind off the war and spies, "So... can I ask you something? If you don't mind?"

He gave her a smile, "Of course, what is it?"

"How did you get-" She paused, re-evaluating if she should ask such a question about his past or personal event, "Actually, never mind."

"No, no, no" He chuckled, shaking his head ever so slightly, "You have to tell me now, you can't leave me in the dark."

He chanted like a child, "Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me..."

She rolled her eyes and smiled at his childish acts, "Fine, I'll telling, shut up. I was wondering that how you got that scar," She paused, her eyes momentarily glancing at the scar on display, "on your chest, I mean."

"Oh" The smile on his face faltered a bit, "That memory isn't my fondest one, I must say, but I guess I did allow you to ask, so I should answer-"

"No, no, no." She cut him off, feeling a tinge of guilt pulsing through her, "It's alright. You don't have to."

"It's fine, it's not such a big deal." He laughed again, trying to cover up any kind of hurt he felt, "Well, I got this scar when I was about eight. My villag-" His eyes widened as he realized his mistake, "-kingdom. I was playing outside and my kingdom was under attack. Before I realized, a guy had slashed his sword though me. The last thing I can remember is my mother rushing to my rescue and then... then I blacked out. When I woke up," His throat closed and he pushed the words out, "she was gone."   

'He just admitted something Akira, this is your chance, question him.' The rational part yelled out yet she didn't ask him.

"I'm sorry" Akira said, the steadiness of her voice astounding her, "I didn't know."

"It's alright," He repeated, "I just don't like talking about it. The scar is a reminder of the way I couldn't save my mother. If I wasn't out, maybe it wouldn't have happened. I failed her, so, I usually keep a distance from that memory."

"It isn't your fault," Akira put a hand on his shoulder almost involuntary, "You were a kid Kartik. You were eight," She put force on her words, "just eight. Don't blame yourself. You didn't fail her or anyone, at that. I'm sure she'll be proud of you."

"It's easier said than done, I suppose." He gave her a sad smile and cleared his throat, changing the topic, "But thank you."

There he went, changing forms like water again - going from confident to vulnerable and then back to being his usual smug self.  

"Uh," The queen slightly fiddled with her fingers, not knowing what else to say. "I'm leaving for Ekam Nagar tonight." She said, glad to know that she had some other topic to talk about.

"Oh"

"And" She looked the alleged crowned heir in his eyes, "I just wanted to warn you that if you do anything suspicious while I'm gone, Shree will kill you."

His gaze didn't waver from hers one bit, "I'm aware."

"Alright then, I guess this is goodbye." She looked away.

The silence that lingered between them wasn't strained like before but rather understandable. It felt as if a thousand words were being exchanged in the melancholy silence.

"I have to go look after some things. I will see you after I have conquered ekam nagar." A pause, "That is, if I come back alive."

The Yuvraj just nodded, for once the quick witted boy fell short of words.

Words left the brink of her lips before she could think twice, "Goodbye Kartik."

His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked back at her figure, "Did you just call me-"

She pressed shut her eyes in regret. It took all her will power to not start smiling on the spot, "Don't push your luck."

"Okay..." A smile was etched into his features, "Goodbye Mahara-"

"Akira." The queen paused, letting herself smile a little, "Call me Akira."

"Goodbye Akira."

The maharani turned around and walked out of the room with turmoil of emotions battling inside her. The queen had almost forgotten what it had felt to feel something after years of shutting herself down and now even a tinge of sadness felt foreign to her. As she trudged through the hallways, his voice called after her.

"Akira?"

The queen turned around only to be met by the imposter catching up with her, "Yes?"

"Can I ask you for a favor before you go?"

Akira's voice was infiltrated by a bit of suspicion, "Sure?"

"Would you mind showing me around? I haven't really have had gotten a proper tour of the kingdom." He smirked, "It's long overdue, I believe."

"I don't think that is the smartest idea." She answered with a sympathetic smile.

"Oh, it's alright." He shrugged it off, trying to hide the disappointment in his eyes, "We'll save it for another time then, goodbye."

He turned around and Akira stood there for a moment, just evaluating her thoughts – Will there even be another time?

Winning a small battle against her thoughts, she spoke out, "Wait."

"Yes?"

"I guess I do have some time on my hands." The queen muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. Akira smiled up at him, "Put on a disguise, we are going for a detour."

'Stupid Akira, there she goes, letting him live.' 

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