Karikalan: Saviour of the Cholas

Chapter 48: Karikalan

Six months passed.

Valavan grabbed his sword and walked towards the doors as he did everyday for his training. He caught his reflection in the mirror on his way out.

He had changed a lot, physically that is. He hadn't cut his hair, his curly locks brushing his shoulders. All the training had definitely helped. His shoulders had broadened significantly. Incessant swordplay had rewarded him with bulging biceps. He had even grown taller. The changes had been subtle and gradual but had been there nevertheless.

The major change was that he didn't bother to hide his legs anymore.

The only thing that hadn't changed? It was his will to wage a war on Irungovel and vanquish him.

Realizing that he had been staring at himself for quite some time now, he chuckled, dashing out of his chamber. He flew down the stairs and slowed down as he saw no sign of Alli. Sighing because she was late yet again, he was about to make the final turn when he heard a pair of voices.

"They are late, aren't they? At least that Karikalan must have been here by now. He's never late is he?"

Valavan stilled. It was the guards who stood outside the training room. The other snorted. "Maybe he managed to screw up his legs once again and is limping all the way down!"

Both the voices chortled. Valavan couldn't breathe.

Karikalan.

That's what they called him behind his back.

Valavan found himself walking forward mechanically. The guards caught sight of him and paused mid-laugh to bow low. Valavan could clearly read the panic written all over them. He usually nodded to acknowledge them but didn't bother today.

Karikalan.

Movements resembling a puppet, he attacked what has come to become his favourite dummy- a mutilated one.

Swing! Slash! Jab!

He heard the sound of Alli's telltale anklets but didn't turn, continuing to attack the dummy with everything he had got.

Karikalan.

He attacked harder. Over and over his sword swung, adding fresh cuts to the battered dummy. Alli made an appreciative sound. "Well, well, well! Look who is on fire today!"

Valavan didn't respond to the pun.

Karikalan.

He could hear that Alli had paused on her way to grab her own sword. Recently, there had been a shift in their schedule. Valavan didn't train her anymore per se. She trained on her own beside him, occasionally even sparring with him.

She never once won though.

Their evening sessions weren't that of dagger throwing either. He practiced archery nowadays. During the middle of the day, he meditated to get rid of the fear of fire.

He had made tremendous progress.

Initially, he simply stood afar, making himself think of all the times with his mother and how he had loved fireworks. Slowly, he taught himself to open his eyes and watch the fire.

Now? He sat down on the same spot Alli had shown him months back and stared the fire down. Not only had he managed to not run at the sight of fire but had also managed to reduce the number of nightmares he got. It had also helped him with his focus.

Alli had been there every single time. The first few weeks, the only reason he had been able to tolerate the sight of fire was because she made ridiculous shadows with her hands in the light. As he increased the size of the fire from little lamps to raging fires where Irungovel's presents and all his occasional messages were burnt unread, their tradition of making shadows to each other caught on.