Swasan SS - Ice King

5.Twisted Fairy Tale

Hi!!
Before you launch at the chapter, let me give you a warning. A twist that defers Ice king from the original is coming your way… So be prepared when you spot Ragini…

Just by giving a moth a forewarning, can you stop it being attracted to the flame of its destruction? Sanskar shook his head as he watched his once best friend’s glossy, tear-filled eyes; there was genuine happiness reflected in her features layered with pain of watching his fate. There was a time when he would do anything to rid that painful look of hers and now it did not matter to him much.
Then came his mother, her expression was a lot similar to Shona’s but edged more towards the pain. She stretched out a trembling hand to touch his face.
No. He could not have that. There was a slight possibility that her motherly affection would weaken his resolve, he slapped her fingers away.
‘Get off you bad woman!’ he scoffed lightly. ‘I’m talking with Shona!’
Sujata’s face paled as he uttered those hateful words. She had never liked the authority that half Bengali had over her son and now even in his unstable mentality he preferred her over his mother? Giving Swara an intent full look she backed off reluctantly. 
Laksh did not forward himself for the reunion, but watched from the sidelines as the family gathered around him. Even Sanskar did not have eyes for him, for his gaze fell over the considering, understanding and perhaps all seeing one of Durga Prasad; his strategy master in the past.
As the ancient pair of eyes met the younger one, a silence etched between them. The opportunity was too intense for Sanskar to hide behind his childlike mask; this man would eventually see through him. His empty, innocent gaze dropped for a moment as a thoughtful look crossed Durga Prasad’s eyes and Sanskar’s stare turned lightly mocking.
It had been this same house, five years ago when he refused to be duty bond soldier to the man who stood in front of him. He was once Durga Prasad’s apprentice in the same game they were playing each other at the moment.
Sanskar took a breath and so did Durga Prasad, he was slowly reaching a conclusion. It was the moment when Arjuna stood in front of Guru Drona, firing his own donated ‘Astra’s back at him. Sanskar’s lips curled slightly as he could imagine the conversation between their psyches.
‘You left willingly, I had not compelled you, why come now seeking revenge?’ The old man would say.
‘You told me I was leaving our dual unfinished; I come in hope of finishing it forever.’ Sanskar would answer him.
‘Don’t you know that Arjuna never killed Drona?’
With a smile Sanskar looked at Swara.
‘But I don’t come as Arjuna, but an altered version of Eklavya from whom you snatched more than a thumb. After all his own son was the cause of Guru Drona’s death right?’
‘You don’t touch her! You don’t dare use her!’ That was a threat. He narrowed his eyes.
‘She had always been mine,’ Sanskar would say calmly.
Silence between them grew heavy with those unsaid words as Durda Prasad cleared his throat.
‘He can’t stay here!’ He said out loud at the end.
Sanskar arched an eyebrow before pulling his mad mask back in place. ‘Touching’ was the way how the old man’s world seems to rotate around Shona. ‘But what to do, Durga Prasad, that had been a bad move. Your pet is a moth and I am a flame, fatal yet irresistible for her. Now watch how your fortress falls beneath my feet.’
*
Not every beauty falls for a beast. Not every beauty is imprisoned in a castle by a beast either. Some beauties are born in imprisonment and they always fall for the free flying angles outside their windows. Those angles with their soft flattering wings takes them to dreamy heights before dropping them ruthlessly in to depths of despair. Not every beauty gets her prince charming in the happy ending, some has to turn in to bubbles and disappear like the little mermaid.
Ragini was such a beauty and her fairytale has a lot of unwanted drama in between falling in love and that happily ever after. She’s still struggling in the middle.
A long time ago she had learned that no fairy god mothers would come for her aid, no ‘prince charming’s would sweep her off her feet. If she wanted love she’d have to fight for it. But there was a problem; no war is waged unless there is an army and a king to command it. That was what she wanted, a king and an army.
Unlike many thought it did not start with that recently failed proposal. The one Lakshya’s mother had forwarded for her, while his father had withdrawn it the very next day because her sister had taken her place.
Her history with Lakshya went a long way back.
He was her first crush, when they were both bystanders of Sanskar and Swara’s epic friendship. He was the first guy who danced with her in a prom, although for just a little while. After Swara left, Sanskar had completely attached himself to his new friend, later girlfriend Kavita; but she was there for Lakshya. They had a very good time together, before he went abroad for studies and was rejoined by Swara.
Why could not he just understand that she was far too deep in? There could never be anyone else for her? So many times she thought he realized her feelings, he had given her hopes thousand times. They were all momentarily flickering joys; she would soon be picking up the broken parts of her happy bubble. He had pushed her, a way too much; always thinking she understood.
Of cause she did, but he did not. It had been a long since she had fallen from that cliff of innocence to the abyss of immorality beneath.
There came a time when she had decided this hanging on the thread was enough. But there was no one who would fight for her, a person who would yield the sword that would win her, her long desired love.
Then it happened.
She could not confirm the date of that party, but it was some business affaire she had no idea about. Sometime, five years ago. The venue of cause was the Maheshwari mansion and she had found Lakshya there. He said Sanskar was not coming, that he was out of town for something very important. He had a very secretive aura about it, when he said that.
Soon after she had spilled some juice on her dress and had to wash it off. Returning from the wash room she had surprisingly spotted Kavita following Durga Prasad uncle to his study. Curious as to what business they had to discuss, Ragini followed them.
‘Where is he, please tell me!’ Kavita was almost begging. ‘I really need to speak to him right now!’
‘I thought you and Sanskar had finished whatever between you two,’ Durga Prasad said slowly. ‘I have no reason to tell you where he is.’
She couldn’t hear any further from that point as Lakshya had spotted her there and because she was not going to draw any attention to the conversation she left with him.
But she found Kavita before she left.
‘Kavi?’ She called out for her, from the front steps of the garden. Kavita stopped and looked at her, then recognition flashed across her face.
‘Ragini!’ She rushed to her. ‘Do you know where Sanskar is?’
‘Um I don’t but I can find that out, why?’ She asked curiously and then adding her concerned tone said, ‘You look troubled.’
‘Do you have a pen?’ Kavita asked, there was a piece of paper in her hand.
‘I have a pencil,’ Ragini said as she handed her that. Kavita scrabbled something furiously on the paper.
‘Okay, if you find him before I do give him this.’ She said handing her a piece of paper. ‘Don’t lose it Ragini, it’s really vital for me!’
With a last flash of a hazy smile she was gone.  Ragini looked at the crumpled paper in her hand. She did not realize its value just then. But after a week, all were crystal clear.
Sanskar had planned to marry Kavita, secretly and on their wedding venue someone had killed her. But before she died she had failed to transfer whatever information she had given to Ragini to Sanskar. The piece of paper had ten times the value then.
Sanskar somehow had worked out that his uncle knew his plans. In his mind some part was played by Lakshya as well. But it was Ragini who put the last nail in that coffin of Maheshwaris.
The crumpled paper had Kavita’s writing.
My life is in danger. He knows all about me now.
If something happens to me now you know whom to blame.
In between those two lines a web link to someone’s Google drive and its password was written. Ragini’s fingers shook as she erased this middle line and folded the paper. She was going to hand this to Sanskar along with the account of the conversation she overheard.
Slowly her lips trembled and arranged themselves to a faint smile. Her breathing, that quickened with the cheat she just completed turning to normal speed. Finally she had a commander for her army.
Shuddering at that old memory of herself she watched the events of Swara’s engagement unfold in front of her. Poor, Maheshwaris, they will not know what they hit him until they lose their eye. For what she had gone through, their lavish palace deserve to be scorched liked this by using their own blood as combustor.
*
‘Come on Sanskar!’ She giggled at him before disappearing in to the crisscrossing dark alleyway ahead. Her hair danced with her steps, his lips slowly etching in to a playful smile he followed her.
Tip, tip,
The first drops of rain landed on his cheeks. The dark alley surrounded him, but there was no trace of her.
‘Kavi!’ he called out. No response, as the chill of the now pouring rain wrapped against his spine. ‘Kavi!’
‘Something dark lay ahead of him and then it hit Sanskar. This was just another dream. Just another vivid imagination where he was going to lose her… He was sure it was Kavita who lay ahead, in a pool of her own blood.
‘No,’ he muttered but his legs kept nearing the spot.
Duck!
Before his nightmare reached its climax a sound startled him. He opened his eyes in to the reality almost glad that he did not see that gruesome sight again and found her staring at him.
He had not expected to see Swara at the moment, when he was most vulnerable of all. With a jerk he realized that she had closed his bedroom window, causing that sound which broke his dream. The mask of insanity he wore in front of her in these days was forgotten somewhere as he started at her shocked expression. He sat upright quickly on his bed and scowled at her.
‘Are you stealing my stickers again Shona?’ he asked in a frustrated tone.
‘Your… what?’ Swara said before she realized the situation. Her eyes slowly turned moisture.
Sanskar had always been a hero to her. Someone she always believed was capable of protecting her. Watching him broken to such an extent was torment itself. She could not believe someone with such a strong resolve and sharp wit would reduce his mental ability to a five year old, she never thought Sanskar would be defeated by life, in such a horrible way.
Sanskar on the other hand scratched his head and continued to scowl at her, adding final touches to his act. At the moment all he wanted was Swara out of his room, so he could spend the night peacefully with his pain. Her loyalty surprised him even after all these years.
She had almost stood against Durga Prasad’s decision to side with him. The man had clearly refused to keep him in the house. The way he watched, Sanskar had a doubt if he knew that all this insanity was an act. But he could always count on the partiality Swara had in this house and her own innocence, she was not going to let her friend (Who is currently a maniac in her opinion) suffer this way.
‘No,’ Swara said as she sat on the side of his bed. ‘I wasn’t here to steal your stickers Sanskar.’ She stopped for a moment. ‘How about I tell you a bed time story, so you can sleep again faster? I have to make up for waking you up haven’t I?’
He nodded reluctantly and laid back down as Swara started on some silly story. Wanting to get out of this torture sooner, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. Something, almost a speck of electricity passed through him. She was stroking his hair, as she talked.
Unwanted yet not utterly unwelcome sleep started to creep in once more. Sighing inwardly he gave up and let her carry him back to that dream land. It was the first time in those five years someone had touched him affectionately, that the warmth of her action almost melted one coat of icy hatred inside him.
Sanskar slept, first time in the recent past without deadly nightmares of Kavita troubling him and was not awake until few hours in to the next morning.
*
OK, So this is where we stop for today.
If I deserved the time you gave to read this, please do tell me. I’m waiting eagerly for feedback.
Thanks for reading!!