the immortal of maluha

‘Yes,’ said a worried Ayurvati. ‘Close to thirty-six hours.’
‘Thirty-six hours!’ cried a surprised Shiva, before collapsing on to a comfortable chair. He
noticed a forbidding figure sitting at the back, his right eye covered in a bandage, his amputated
left hand in a sling. ‘Drapaku?’
‘Yes, my Lord,’ said Drapaku, as he tried to get up and salute.
‘My God, Drapaku! It’s so good to see you. Please sit down!’
‘It is heavenly to see you, my Lord,’
‘How was your end of the battle?’
‘I lost too many men, my Lord. Almost half of them. And this arm and eye,’ whispered
Drapaku. ‘But by your grace, we held them till the main battle was won.’
‘It wasn’t my grace, my friend. It was your bravery,’ said Shiva. ‘I am proud of you.’
‘Thank you, my Lord.’
Sati stood next to her husband, gently caressing his hair. ‘Are you sure you want to sit,
Shiva? You can lie down for a while.’
‘I have slouched around enough, Sati,’ said Shiva with a weak smile.
Ayurvati smiled. ‘Well, the poison certainly didn’t affect your sense of humour, my Lord.’
‘Really? Is it still that bad?’ grinned Shiva.
Parvateshwar, Drapaku and Ayurvati laughed weakly. Sati didn’t. She was watching Shiva
intently. He was trying too hard. He was trying to forget, trying to get others to focus on
something other than himself. Was this dream much worse than the others?
‘Where is his Highness?’ asked Shiva.
‘Father left for Ayodhya this morning,’ said Sati.
‘My Lord,’ said Parvateshwar, ‘His Highness felt it would not be right to keep Swadweep
without a sovereign for so long, considering the circumstances. He felt it important that the
Suryavanshi army be marched across the empire immediately, with Emperor Dilipa as prisoner,
so that the Swadweepans know and accept the new dispensation.’
‘So we’re not going to Ayodhya?’
‘We will, my Lord,’ said Ayurvati. ‘But in a few days when you are strong enough.’
‘Some twelve thousand of our soldiers remain with us,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘We will march to
Ayodhya when you are ready. His Highness insisted that Emperor Dilipa leave behind one of his
family members with our unit as hostage to ensure that no Swadweepan attacks our much
smaller force.’
‘So we have one of Emperor Dilipa’s family members in our camp?’
‘Yes, my Lord,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘His daughter, Princess Anandmayi.’
Ayurvati smiled, shaking her head slightly.
‘What?’ asked Shiva.
Ayurvati looked sheepishly at Parvateshwar and then grinned at Sati. Parvateshwar glared
back at Ayurvati.
‘What happened?’ asked Shiva again.
‘Nothing that important, my Lord,’ clarified Parvateshwar, looking strangely embarrassed.
‘It’s just that she is quite a handful.’
‘Well, I’ll ensure that I remain out of her way then,’ said Shiva, smiling.