The beautifully vast palace of Ramapur was turned upside down in search of information and Ratan made sure of that. If the security had been tight then the royal wedding would have taken place and they might have returned back to their kingdom, but no, these brainless people have to do this and let the princess be kidnapped. Which eventually led to him being insulted in front of that security dog, Vikram.

Arjuna had already left along with Vikram to catch those bandits and get the princess back safe. The job which Arjuna had assigned for him to do was done long ago, as the investigation was a child's play. He handed over this job to his most trusted men to investigate all the guards of the palace. He will only investigate royals, Ratan at any cost would not stoop to the level of interacting with people who are of low class. Arjuna made a mistake of assigning him to do this job but that doesn't mean he will follow his words.

His investigation with the royals went smooth, it was as clear as a day that no royal was involved in this issue.

"So what is our next step minister Ratan?" Asked his most trusted man, Ganesh asked as he stood near the entrance.

"Gather a few soldiers from Ramapur's army and-"

"But my lord, king Arjuna has taken almost one-third of their army for the search of the princess. If we take the remaining army this kingdom might be in risk-"

Ratan moved forward, punching that man right in his face making his nose bleed as he yelped in pain, "I don't need your stupid opinions! I am Arjuna's right hand! An honorable minister of Abhiras, so what I say is or do is always right!!" His screaming voice made Ganesh stumble behind in fear as Ratan spoke, "And you better know your place."

Shortly, the soldier left muttering a small yes pressing his palm against his wounded nose. Ratan would reach the forest before Vikram and handover that lost Princess to Arjuna. Of course, Arjuna would be impressed and in return, he would ask something which would increase his status and respect to an unimaginable level. Smiling to himself he walked out of his chamber gathering his sword.

* * *

The scorching heat was eating away all their energy. But Arjuna is determined, he will find Chitra. It was almost an hour since they had left the palace trying to follow the clues which they got, his heart broke just to even think about how those bandits would be treating her. Chitra was too innocent for her own good and those bandits were heartless and cruel, they have burnt villages, and harming a helpless princess was almost an easy task for them.

"My lord, I have divided our soldiers into two halves, one would go towards the east side to enter the forest, while we move towards the west side."

Arjuna nodded his head in agreement, he deeply abhors the situation in which he was caught in, though all the power was on his side, his queen was not with him. Vikram and Arjuna happened to have a few soldiers with them as they marched towards the north on their horses.

But soon they reached the end of the village and all they could see were few huts surrounded by dense forests behind with no man in sight. However, fortunately on the patio of a small hut sat an old lady doing some chores and Vikram immediately jumped down his horse walking towards her.

"Old lady, did you happen to see anything weird today? As in anything different than the usual?" Vikram asked in a soothing tone, trying to be as calm as possible.

Her expressions were not visible as she has covered her head with a headscarf. Married women are bound to cover their faces and in some villages, even to stand near another male who wasn't their husband was a crime.

"Something unusual?" She spoke in a shaky voice and her tone indicating her old age.

"Oh yes," She hummed as she kept folding a few dried clothes, "I happened to smell something funny, a strong pungent smell."

"How many members do you think-" Vikram's words were cut short as she picked up the sentence.

"But that smell dissolved into thin air as it drizzled here, I was also stunned to see that it was raining in mid-summer! Why would it rain in summer? Oh, young man, the world is changing- "

"Excuse me woman, but can you describe how they looked? Did they have a woman with them? " Asked an impatient soldier who was done with her gossips,

But all at once, she began laughing loudly and that soldier was more frustrated as she was not understanding the complexity of this situation.

"I am sorry Young man, but I am blind." Saying she lifted her headscarf, to say she looked scary would be an understatement. One of her eyes was closed but the other was white with a grey eyeball, "I notice the change in my surroundings with the help of smell, and from your sweat smell, I can say that you and your men are in a hurry."

Both Arjuna and Vikram were shocked, Arjuna got down from his horse and walked towards her. He almost smacked his head that he was unable to notice this when she kept talking about smells, he was always taught to respect elders but for a moment he forgot his manners,

"I apologize for the rudeness of my men, but my woman was abducted from the wedding stage and I am in a hurry to find her," Arjuna spoke as he walked near the lady.

She smiled and covered her face with the edge of her old cotton saree, "No problem son, it is every man's duty to protect their wife. But this forest is thicker than you know and deep than you can comprehend."

Before Arjuna could speak she advised him, "At the beginning of this street, there lives a blacksmith. He knows each and every corner of this forest, but he won't go with you."

"Why?" Vikram questioned,

"He has a little brother to take care of, he might tell you the route but he won't accompany you." She spoke in a low voice, but energetic enough.

" t's fine, I can handle that information-"

"I have a solution for that also, tribe lord." The old woman spoke in a jovial voice. Tribe lord? Arjuna was the king of a huge kingdom! But he didn't correct her.

"And that is?"

"Take my grandson with you, he is good at handling wild animals. But in return, you have to promise me something."

There she goes, thought Vikram. Is it that impossible for people to help without expecting anything in return?

"And that would be?" Asked Arjuna.

"Take him with you to your tribe. Give him some position and life."

"And will he come with us?" Questioned Vikram, while wondering how a grandson can leave his blind grandmother behind and join them.

"He will, so now stop wasting time and find your bride young lord."

* * *

A wet rope was tied to her hands, all her bridal ornaments were taken away and she was covered with a cotton saree to avoid any attention as they passed by. They blinded her eyes by tying a rag around her eyes.

Her bare feet were hurting from the rocky path they were walking by, never in her life once has she faced this much physical pain and humiliation.

From their conversations, she has picked up that they would be selling her to a brothel house.

The hilly path amplified her pain, her feet were bleeding and the harsh moment of the wet rope on her hand was hurting like hell. She couldn't sleep yesterday night all the excitement about her wedding, but now she prefers she is dead.

What could be worse than being sold off to a brothel house?

Chitra would never again see Arjuna's face, she missed him gentle hugs and his warm kisses and lost with those deep thoughts she lost her step as a sharp rock slit the skin of her foot and the tight blindfolds didn't help her to maintain her balance, all of sudden her head felt light as she lost her control and fell to the ground. If this was how she was going to die, she was thankful that her mother in heaven had sent Arjuna in her life, those few memories with him, those gestures of affection she had got from him were enough for her to die happy.

***