The court was four hours long that morning and Jaya sat on the throne and listened to every single issue and complaint. She didn’t take a break. The court time is increasing every day and the number of complaints raised by the representatives and the people themselves were also mercilessly at a rise. It never angered or bored Jaya to hear the complaints but these days it pained her that she was not able to do anything to fix them. People were facing various issues, lack of water, food and also security threats from within and outside the Kingdom.

Sea was the main support system of Sarayuha and that was bothering them too. The pirates were a constant threat at the open sea as well as at the coastal areas. In the first few years of appearances of pirates in the Sarayuha seas, the soldiers of the Kingdom accompanied the sailors in the voyages. But this practice was put to an end later as the number of soldiers in the army had to be cut short due to lack of gold in the palace treasury. The soldiers of Sarayuha and their families were given free food and clothes and as the income reduced it became tough to provide such perks to them. There were very fewer soldiers to even keep peace in the city now and none in the outskirts and the villages, mostly it was people on their own. They had to fight the problems by themselves and that was saddening. The worst fact was that even though Jaya held a position of power she was not able to do anything to protect the weak. The people in the villages and city took care of themselves but for those in the coastal areas the nightmare was darker. The pirates entered the coastal villages in the middle of the night. They killed, looted and even abducted men, women and children. Jaya was even hearing stories of how children are taken from the kingdom by slave traders and were sold to the pirates.

All these stories scared her to the spine. But she never showed her fear to anyone. When you have to lead an army to war or a country to its future, never let anyone see that you are afraid, if not you will end up losing everything even before the struggle starts. Sahasra entered the palace gates. She wore silk clothes and her jewellery. In the palace she was a princess, soft at words and heart. Though her queen mother taught her to fight, she never wanted Sahasra to go in to battle. Her mother always wanted her to be safe. Jaya even objected to Sahasra’s visits to the royal orphanages and to the city. She feared for her daughter. But Sahasra was not someone who would listen to anyone against anything that was right. She was the princess of the kingdom though not the heir; she had her responsibility to the land. She met people both in the royal family and the commoners. She knew their problems and tried to fix them at her best and people knew it well and they loved her for that. She even helped them at their work and to improve the security in the city. She fed the children at the orphanages and taught them at times. These were the things she did with her mother’s knowledge but the responsibility of the guardian was not something that she told anyone except for the other three.

Sahasra waited for Jayara to come to the main hall in the roof top. It used to be the place where music and dance events were held at the time of her grandparents. Now the place was silent and empty, just the colourful floor and the beautifully painted walls and ceiling. The hall was of the colour white but it had splendid sculptures and hand painted artworks. It was mesmerising to look at them. No matter how many times Sahasra had beheld the place; it never failed to astonish her as though she was seeing it for the first time. Everything about her kingdom was beautiful and magical, ancient and philosophical and that gave her more reasons to try saving it. Jaya spoke very less these days and Sahasra knew the reasons, mostly the meetings between them were two or three exchanges of words or her playing some musical instrument. It gave her mother peace of mind and she would do anything for her mother’s happiness. Jaya entered the hall after a few moments and saw Sahasra looking at the ceiling of the hall. The child has grown, she thought but her daughter’s curiosity to the world hadn’t changed. When Sahasra saw Jaya she went and hugged her mother. Jaya always made sure that the children in the Royal family knew nothing about the problems in her country until it was time. Varun would listen to her and would stay put, but Sahasra was different, she would listen and also respect her mother but when it comes to the safety and welfare of the people she always chose to defy the queen.

After her meeting with Jaya, Sahasra went straight to the garden of Heles in the west end of the palace. It was a hidden place. The Garden was one of the oldest parts of the palace which was built a thousand years or more ago. There were flowers and trees growing in the garden but they were not tended to, hence looked wild. But the sculptures and the hues of the place were breath-taking. Most of the walls and statues were dust now but it gave a mystical air to it. It was where the guardians met. Sahasra had been visiting the people for the last few years and that familiarised her with the issues they were facing. Though most of the problems were larger than her abilities, there was one thing that she was good at, fighting; hence, she decided to tackle the security threat in the Kingdom and re-established the Ranks of Guardians. Charan and Praga were from the royal family and they both had excellent fighting skills. Hiten was a soldier, Sahasra had met a few years before. He fought against her in a dual and that taught her about his strength. When Sahasra entered the garden the others were already present. It was different to see them all in the palace clothes rather than the ones they wore at night. Praga was a close associate of the minister and hence he was allowed to stay in the court when the proceedings were happening. He gave them the information about the occurrences in the kingdom.

The guardians had been planning to camp at the coastal villages since long but as they lacked in number, they were not sure if they could defeat the pirates on their own. The people they fought in the cities were fighters too but not skilled and the pirates were heartless and had no pity. Hence, if one of them gets caught, death or even worse was certain. But it has been too long and it was time for them to do their part. What is glorifying about one’s skills if they are not put in the use when needed. What good is the name guardian when you are afraid for your own life and are letting others to die instead? It was their choice and it had to be made today. All four of them knew fear, they were afraid for their lives. The moment when you feel fear but you still chose to walk in to the battle field and face your enemy that is when you are at your strongest self.

It was dark and the stars were hidden by the clouds. It may or may not rain. The sky above Sarayuha was always deceiving. The guardians waited over the rocks behind the sandy shores. They have been coming to the coastal village since the last two weeks. But there were no happenings till then. The other areas of the east coast were previously raided and this was the village that could be the next target. No one can be sure of it, but it was based on the calculations of previous occurrences, the people who knew the sea would have better knowledge but the guardians had to take their chance. You will never know the strength of your enemy unless you face him. You can either die fighting him in the battle ground or silently wait until he finds you and destroys you, so why die the death of a coward when you can get the death of the valiant.

Raiding coastal villages were a child’s play for Zrah. He had seen the seas since the day he was out of his mother’s womb. The salt of the sea water and the night winds blended with screams of people intoxicated him more than any wine would ever offer. Their cries were his music and the smell of fear made him stronger. Zrah headed to the village with a small ship with a crew of less than thirty people. When attacking a ship in the open sea, you need bigger ships and more crew, because the sailors would be expecting a fight and would be equipped, if the merchant ship is big, the pirates had to come in a group of at least four ships. But when you raid a village, it is easier. The villagers will easily give in, then burning the huts and taking the people were easy tasks.

Sahasra heard the bell ringing at the tower near the rocks and she knew the pirates were about to land, she could see the ship approaching and she jumped down to the sandy shore below the rocks, others also followed. They were about to run to the enemy and that was when they saw fields of flaming arrows flying to the ship hitting some of the pirates who were getting down from the ship. They fell to the ground; the rest of them jumped out of the ship and ran to the coast that is when the sands that was silent before that very moment became lively, the grains flew in the air and people jumped out of the pits that were dug in to the soil, they were dressed like villagers but they had weapons in their hands, swords and spikes and Sahasra could also see people hiding in the rocks with bows and arrows in their hands. She had never heard of a thoroughly planned defence from the coastal villagers before. The guardians froze for a few moments and then Sahasra heard the war cry from a man who was standing before the pirates with villagers behind him. Both the villagers and the pirates slammed and their swords met each other. Most of the villagers were not skilled warriors but some of them were fighting very well. The man who led them was the best among them. His techniques taught Sahasra that he was not formally trained but he had gained his knowledge in the art of war from practice he got facing the enemy many a times. Sahasra raised her sword and then ran to the battle field and the guardians followed.

She struck down the pirates that came in her way. The villagers led by the man was fighting bravely and she was amazed by the way the man protected his followers. He had the knowledge of each of their skills and he supported them accordingly and when one of them fell behind or was about to be slayed by a pirate he sensed and was there to help them. Sahasra felt a great admiration and respect for the person. Whoever he was, he protected her people and she was indebted to him.

Kshitij was in the middle of the battle when he saw four masked men joining their fight. He was not sure which side they were on but later he realized that they were the warriors of the night about whom he had heard many times since his arrival at the docks after months in the seas. He was surprised to see them in the coastal village as they appeared only in the city before. But he had no time to think or watch the fighters; he had his own platter of war at hand. Kshitij was not novice to battling pirates or killing them. It was a regular matter in the seas of Sarayuha and he knew it well. But leading the villagers in the battle was new to him and a dangerous task. There would be casualties but if he wouldn’t do it he would have to watch the people he knew and loved being taken and killed, so he had to fight. He trained them and waited for days in the coast.

Kshitij was striking down one of the pirates and that was when unexpectedly another tried to pierce a sword to his chest, he thought he was wounded but then he saw the sword of one of the masked warrior blocking the pirate. The warrior caught the pirate’s hand and turned around and slit his throat with her sword. Her hair that was tied by cloth became loose and it flew in the air like the waves in the evening breeze. She moved in the battle field like the waters of Kuntala River in the mountains, strong and unstoppable, uprooting everything that came in her way. Kshitij stood there watching her for a moment and then he came to his senses and started striking down the pirates in front of him.

The battle lasted for a long time. There were casualties on his side but all the pirates were caught and killed and their ship was seized. That victory gave a new hope for the villagers and they celebrated. Kshitij wanted to thank the warriors of the night for their help. He didn’t know who they were but they had aided him. But the guardians were not the people who waited for words of gratitude and had already left. A battle is not always the end of everything good or the beginning of everything bad, it may sometimes be the dawn of newer journeys that could bring peace to both kingdoms and people.

Amrutha