Cittaja || Indian Historical Romance

73.

Shakra had spent the whole day with Shatrujit and Abhijit about the political ascension plans in Rayapuram. Mayurakshi sat in the study, focusing on her administration work.

The fluttering of wings caught her attention, and she noticed a black raven. "Raven? What happened to the hawk??" Mayurakshi tried to reach out to the raven with a piece of meat, but it kept flying away. "Arrey!!!" She tried again by offering meat. The raven was enticed with meat but still didn't actually reach up to Mayurakshi. A little paper was tied to its foot.

"What is-" Suddenly, it began to get into her mind. The raven was an obvious sign of Maukali. That's why the raven refused to let her hold it. The raven only recognized Shakra as the one allowed to hold it. She assumed that it was a message from Maukali.

Mayurakshi put the piece of meat down and moved away from it, hoping the bird would take it. As expected, the raven came and picked up the meat. She knew the raven wouldn't ever be willing to let her take the paper tied to its foot. She was sure about it. So, she sat down on her chair, trying to think of how to get to the bird. Ravens have always been cleverer than most birds. Shakra's hawk was used to her; this raven wasn't. His hawk liked her petting it.

She tapped her finger on the armrest, trying to think about how to get the bird to come to her.

Can't you just let it be, Mayura? Isn't it just good for us not to know? Her brain tried to convince her. She needed to know what her husband was up to. His and Maukali's actions were never up to par. Maukali has a habit of leaving chaos in his wake.

Maukali was never a good sign. Ravens were seen as a symbol of death. That was why Maukali was a raven mask. She remembered the dangerous aura that surrounded her when she met him. Maukali was definitely someone close to Shakra. She could trace him back to her husband. There are too many loose ends. Maukali's usual victims were never people loyal to or close to Shakra. They were all those who could be traced as traitors. Too many loose ends and untraceable tracks were an obvious sign of Shakra's involvement. The loose ends were due to Shakra making too many purposeful tracks that would lead to 100 different conclusions. They would definitely find one end to him, but it was only one out of many. It was always impossible to prove Shakra's actual involvement.

Even in Krishneri. Shakra had come to meet her, and very conveniently, Maukali also arrived there on short notice. It couldn't be possible without Shakra bringing along Maukali. That is what made Mayurakshi instantly change her mind about putting Maukali against Shakra. She was already doubting Maukali's attachment to Shakra. It was an unusual manner in which Maukali was killed.

He was technically a mercenary hirer. He hired mercenaries, but on some occasions, Maukali himself was also killed. He had his own brand of mercenaries. They were all called Mauli. Unlike Maukali, Mauli were all crows. Noticeable with their masks. Just like the tail feathers in crows and ravens, Maukali has a more wedge-shaped feather distribution, while Mauli has a fan-like distribution. Maukali was larger than Mauli. Mauli was at least seen by some survivors, but Maukali leaves behind no survivors when he kills.

Mayurakshi saw the raven jumping upon a trunk.

"Do you realize that he is in the fort itself? Go find him. What are you doing here?" Mayurakshi sighed at the bird, disturbing her peace of mind. She was a little uneasy as she thought about Maukali and Shakra. It was still on the trunk but didn't move away.

She walked over to the trunk it was standing on. "Why are you jumping on this after eating?" She noticed a black, feathery coat just peeking out of the trunk. A family black feathery coat. The raven suddenly flew at her to push her away from the trunk. "Hey!!! Be nice..." She tried to shove it away from her.