अन्तः अस्ति प्रारंभः।
The end is the beginning.
A caterpillar dies, to birth a butterfly. Water evaporates to rain down. Dead carcasses fill the stomachs of vultures.Life gives way to death and death to life. In a vicious circle of different karmas...
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When he had first seen her, he had known she was a killer. A melancholic one, yes, but Eklavya knew how to discern the blood long washed from one's hands.
Mihira had been nothing but a suspicious captive, for the first three days of their travel. He had feared that she would kill him as well, that she would betray him. Eklavya knew that he had honed his art of spying much since the starting days of his career and the slip of a girl was no trouble for him, but ultimately, arrogance would never do any man good.
He had kept vigil, talked to her like he would to an old friend and tried to lower the guards that she had before her words but had realised it wouldn't be enough. Mihira's words and her mind were heavily guarded, fascinatingly enough, and Eklavya had been determined to just deliver her in Vidharbh and leave for the capital by himself.
Something, sometime, had changed between them. He didn't remember when or why or how. He had slept with his back turned to her and she had slept in before him— a rarity. He had seen her flinch at loud noises and she'd seen him rub at the stump in his hand, a phantom ache spelling his mistake of naivete.
He had seen her, struggling to get a home. Seen her eyes water when she saw the Royal family— a chance at a new life for her. Seen her sitting outside the Council building almost everyday as the sun set. He'd seen her, looking transfixed as she stared at the dead body covered in red.
Eklavya had been the sole witness to the girl's ascend in authority and the way her ambition bloomed in Vidharbh. He'd known long before, but the way she had baffled even the Crown Prince confirmed that she is meant to be remembered. Remarkable.
For now, Eklavya looks between Rukmanetra and Mihira with a sigh. The hostility between the two of them is maddening and he wonders again why had he decided to join the law enforcers in his free time. The mission to spy on a lonely Gandhar is coming for him, he knows. He is staying on borrowed time and yet, spending everyday around dead bodies and quarrels.
He wishes everyday he had made a better decision.
"Your Excellency," Mihira says, hands splayed onto the table where reports are strewn over, her bangles clinking,"He is no vigilante. Every murder victim was clean, nothing controversial found about them. Even your best officers have not been able to find anything incriminating about them."
Rukmanetra sighs, his hands clasped behind his back as he paces almost leisurely. Years of knowledge of the prince tells Eklavya just how infuriated he is, impeccable manners and mask in place as it were. He says,"I concur, Devi. However, as you've clearly stated, the killer has, for the lack of a more suitable term, put the victims in clothing obviously related to Yam Dev as well as Shani Dev. If not a vigilante, this seems to be a misguided and horrible attempt at religion."
"Not entirely probable, your Excellency,"Mihira counters, almost absentmindedly refilling her glass of water and placing it in front of Eklavya as Rukmanetra stops to look at her in disbelief. Eklavya smiles, sweet thing. She continues,"I am not completely ruling out the possibility, but it sounds improbable, your Excellency."
