The Mosquito and the Lion

eleven

Alia dunked her head beneath the creek's surface, relishing the cold. They had been in the mountains for an hour when they found the winding body of water, and Alia, missing the harbor, had stripped down within seconds to take a much-needed swim.

Vikram, embarrassed, had mumbled something about scouting the path ahead and disappeared into the foliage. After some prodding and finagling by Alia, Nandini had joined her. Her clothes lay folded nicely on a rock. Alia's were scattered carelessly on the earth. Her knife lay beside them.

Vibrant fish swam around her, the brave ones so close that they pet her limbs. The freezing water was punishing, but Alia considered it a gift from the Gods, sent to alight her nerves. She grinned, diving back underneath the current and swimming closer to Nandini, who stood primly in the water, carefully ridding herself of dirt and grime.

She felt at home beneath the water, the wildlife swarming around her, the mossy rocks tickling her bare feet. Near the coast of Toshalwar lay jagged cliffs. Much to the dismay of the Kshat guard and local fishermen, she, and a few of the other slum rats, would spend deliriously hot days jumping into the sea. Dangerous, no doubt, but she always loved that thrill — of not knowing if you would plummet into the rocks or sink into the water's icy depths.

Alia broke through the surface, sending waves over the scholar. Nandini gasped, water dripping down her face as she sputtered from the freezing cold. "You... you... you!" She pointed a shivering finger at her, murder in her eyes, but Alia only giggled. "You child!"

Nandini's eyes sparkled with mirth as she shoved her hands forward, sending a cascading wave in Alia's path.

"Oh, it's on," Alia replied, gasping for air.

Laughing, they played like young children in the water, sending waves and splashes in the other's direction. Alia had never had so much fun. So much so that, for a moment, she forgot they were in deadly mountains, on the cusp of a dangerous trek into a labyrinth.

"Truce! Truce!" she yelled, shielding her face from Nandini's relentless attacks.

Nandini smirked. "Now why would I agree to a truce when I've got you pinned against the bank?"

"Fine!" she huffed, wrapping arm around the rocks as she steadied her breathing. "You win, hap—"

A sword's edge fell at the side of her neck, cutting into her skin with no regard. She hissed with pain, the metal hot against her skin. In front of her, Nandini stared in horror, her eyes wide with fright. The timid girl from the carriage was making a most unwelcome return.

For her part, Alia felt like a fool. She had gotten too distracted with their... frolicking. Alia knew better than to let her guard down. Now, she was clad in just her undergarments in a creek, with a sword at her neck and her back to her attacker.

"Which one of you is the princess?" She recognized that voice, the deep timbre that haunted her dreams last night.

It couldn't be.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she wanted to scream at the Gods for this cruel prank. Her karmic balance could not be this off, but she could see the truth in Nandini's eyes.

"Swim to the other side," she mouthed, but Nandini was frozen in place. Alia swore under her breath, head spinning with escape routes and plans. Vikram should be on his way soon. You just have to stall.

"I'm only going to ask one more time." Alia flinched at the harsh edge to his tone. "Which one of you is the princess?"

She didn't have time to figure out how he knew about the Lost Princess. If she could just get the upper hand somehow, she could perhaps coerce it out of him.