The night's blue sky looked calm with a slight tint of darkness surrounding, tall green trees covered most of the view as Chitra sat under a tree staring at it. Her legs were pulled up close to her chest as she laid her head on them staring at the endless dark sky.

It would have been easy to blame someone for this situation, but how can she? At the end it's all her fault that she didn't learn any useful skills back at the palace, she should have chosen to learn some sword fighting instead of that helpless dancing.

She turned her head to see that a few metres far from her the group of bandits were partying along with their chief; Baldev. While Meenakshi sat nearby staring at her with a huge smirk on her face, she looked content with what was happening. The look on her face made Chitra's blood boil with anger, Chitra regarded her as a mother and she does this? Trying to kill her all this time?

"Even if you survive this you will definitely have to face the god's wrath one day." Chitra said, looking straight in her eyes, hoping that she would get to see the deep hatred in her eyes.

Meenakshi smiled listening to that, "God?" She laughed throwing her head forward, "I stopped believing at such but if there is really a god up there I would love to meet him."

An intense feeling of abhorrence filled Chitra as she saw Meenamma laughing and she quickly turned her head away. A lone tear slipped through her eyes wondering if this was really the woman who had raised her, the Meenamma she knew was kind and a wonderful woman, she was someone who helped her in catching butterflies even though both of them were bad it, she was someone who slept with little Chitra holding her tight when she was scared of thunders on a rainy night.

A sudden moment beside her frightened Chitra thinking it was Baldev but to a slight relief it was Meenama, she slowly sat beside her leaning her head to the rough bark of the tree looking at the sky hopelessly.

"For our old times sake I will tell you a tale." She said playing with a jade ring on her finger.

Before Chitra could reply with a rude comeback she continued with her story, "It said that one should never lie, cause once you lie you would be forced to lie a thousand more times to cover that up. This is a tale of two sisters, a tale of love and betrayal."

"A Mother's love has no end, Chitra. She would starve to death but will make sure that her child is fed. Maanika was a royal escort , she had the beauty of a heavenly celestial nymph and had a smile which was as bright as a ruby. But she was never satisfied as she has always wanted to marry one day, to have a happy married life. When time passed and years flew by, she realised that royal escorts can never have such dreams, her only duty was to satisfy the royals. So then she started to dream a happy life for her two beautiful two daughters."

Where was this story going? Chitra wonders. But she didn't interrupt as the only way that Baldev would keep his hands to himself was Meenamma being by her side.

"The two sisters fought like there was no other day, they would bang each other's head till they bleed. But Maanika knew that though they curse and fight they have an immense love for each other."

"What are their names?" Chitra said, still resting her head on her knees and her long hair was touching ground on the other side.

"The elder one was named after goddess Parvathi as Meenakshi. Maanika wished that her daughter should get a husband like lord Shiva who would destroy the world if anything ever happened to his wife, who would consider his wife as his other half. So after a year when she had another daughter she named her as Kamakshi, once again an avatar of goddess Parvathi." Saying Meenamma turned her head looking in Chitra's eyes.

Shocked, Chitra stood up straight as Kamakshi was her mother's name, " You are lying! You can never be be my mother's sister-"

"Quiet!" Meenamma said, placing her finger on Chitra's lips, "No interruptions young lady. So where was I? Right, Years passed by and soon they were of age to be married. Both the sisters wanted a different life from what their mother has dreamt off, the elder daughter wished for a peaceful life so decided to move to the end of the village to become a farmer while the younger sister wanted an copious rich life so left to become a dancer."

"Maanika was heartbroken to see her younger daughter chasing behind rich men falling in the world which she had escaped from. But she choose to remain quiet as most of the times trying to pull someone behind from falling in a dark dirt will just make themselves push forward in that dirt."

Meenamma shifted a little so she could stretch her legs as she spoke, " Life turned into a beautiful cloud for Meenakshi as she fell in love a man, he was not a normal person though, he was a rebel. He would bravely point out the king's mistakes without any fear and his manliness made her fall for him some more. Soon they got married and built a happy home for themselves and fortunately Meena was pregnant. The couple's happiness knew no limits, she wrote letters for her sister and mother about this and shortly she got a reply from her sister. But Meena never knew that her happy cloud was going to burst."

"When Meenakshi went to visit her sister with her husband, she was happy to see that her sister has got what she had always wanted, Kamakshi was married to the king. It was love at first sight for the king, he married Kamakshi the immediate next day. However, Kamakshi was not happy to see her sister marry a good for nothing rebel."

Meenamma's old face was filled with tears as she whipped them with the edge of her cotton saree, "Kamakshi was not loyal to her husband and had an affair and unfortunately Meenakshi's husband happened to witness her being with some other man. So Kamakshi showed her true colors, she made up lies about Meenakshi's husband selling information to the neighbouring king. And the neighbouring kingdom's minister even acknowledged that lie, saying that was a fact. Even that minister was a man in Kamakshi's love trap." Meenamma's lips trembled as she spoke, "She got her sister's husband slaughtered by adding a traitor tag to his name."

Meenamma hid her head in her hands as she cried and Chitra was shocked beyond words as small snippets of her childhood made back to her brain, it was true that her mother was never with her for most of the nights, " That day, running to save her husband's life Meenakshi fell over stairs and lost her child also, happiness was was lost like a passing cloud in a huge sky and since then she planned to avenge her husband and innocent child's death."

"Meenakshi worked as a maid to her own sister for seven years and before she could do anything her sisters chambers caught fire and she died in that accident, but Kamakshi's daughter clung on to Meenakshi since then."

Chitra's head swirled in dilemma, should she hate her mother for the person she was or pity Meenamma as her life got destroyed.

"Meenakshi lost hope in her life as god had decided to take her enemy away before she could do anything, so she decided that she would destroy the life's of their children like how her innocent unborn child had to die. She killed the child of the minister who had helped Kamakshi and now it is the turn of her child." Saying Meenamma looked at the sky and her face showing no emotions.

She killed Ratan because his father helped in killing her husband? How is that fair! He was innocent and Chitra's heart pained to realise that Meenamma never loved her, she raised Chitra only for her revenge.

"Baldev!" A man cripled his way to their place screaming, he was bleading and his back had two arrows shot in.

"What happened?" Baldev shouted in anger looking at the man's condition.

"We are losing! Abhiras is fighting back like a crazy bull who has seen red, Their army is much more powerful and stronger than we have expected, King Aditya wanted me to inform you-"

His words came to halt as Baldev stabbed him in his throat and pressed it hard as blood spilled around. Chitra closed her eyes hard as she couldn't see that cruelty, "I will never lose, you piece of shit!!" He screamed his throat off as all birds resting peacefully on the trees flew away scared from the noise.

Baldev walked angrily and placed the tip of his knife on Chitra's throat pulling her head up by her hair, "Who said we are going to lose? We have got the heart of that mad bull right under our thumb." He smirked and pulled Chitra to a standing position and shouted, "Get the horses ready! We are going make that king kneel down infront of us!"

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