(Book 4) Hayden Mackay and The Fest of Vrindahina

30.3 Gate 11- Rake Over the Past

I passed on a glass of water to her. She quietly and quickly drank it all at once. It took awhile for her to come around, but she finally did. She stayed calm, sitting up straight in the chair. I took a few steps back and dragged my chair to sit right next to her.

Now I understood why she has been behaving oddly since we had stepped into this realm. My challenges were coming to an end and she might have felt obligated to value the promise. She finally found a way to come out of the insecurity, although it took her months to do it so. I was glad that she had done it, I was glad that she believed in me to share everything she had gone through.

A gust of wind blew inside and her hair flew over to her face. Impulsively, she pushed it back. And then made an attempt to finally reverted to the present. Realizing I was sitting only a few inches away, she looked up frowning at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded and smiled grimly. Clearly, she was lying. After a month of living with her, wouldn't I know that she was still sad? Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. There was a sheen of slight wetness in them, without any glimmer or charm.

"I am really sorry," I whispered, "I always knew that it was terrible, but I could never have guessed, not even in my dreams, that people of this country can cross all the limits."

"Not all the people," she said, softly yet sternly, "Just a few. Others are innocent and noble."

I gaped, unable to believe her. "Nazira, why do you love this country so much? Don't you realize? It's an impure dustbin, full of garbage and rotten materials."

"Dustbins can be purified," she said instantly. "All we need is someone capable to clean this garbage."

I gulped down, unable to speak up. I averted my eyes and rubbed my nape. It was her country after all. No matter what I said, her devotion was unalterable.

"Did you tell anyone about this? To Shourya?" I asked.

"He already knew everything, I guess. He works for Shashi and sometimes, he speaks in riddles. It was him who told me that this process of drinking blood as an elixir to gain and keep power within oneself is named after him-Almourah."

I bend a little down and asked, "How about to Doctor?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't tell him anything, just like I couldn't anyone of you. But he himself asked me-Is it Almourah? With the way I reacted, he understood what had happened with Queen Premila. But I doubt if he knows about King Bhupathi Garg's involvement."

"King Bhupathi Garg," I said sarcastically, raising my eyebrows. "Nazira, I understand that you were a victim, but apart from it, you are a witness too. Why couldn't you...?"

"Why will anyone believe me? Who am I? You know that people of this country fear me because they think of me as someone equal to Zarina Khan. And top of it, he is the king of Madhyakshetra, the capital province. Do you know how powerful they are?"

"I don't care. To my eyes, he is a criminal."

"No, you don't understand..."

"Yes, I do understand. Don't tell me he belongs to the clan of Rajya, how great they are and blah-blah."

She scowled. "I never said that."

"Yes, you did."

"Did I ever say blah-blah?"

I bit my cheek and we both broke down laughing. The tense atmosphere at once lightened and my heart elated seeing her once again smile fondly. She sighed, dropping her lashed down and placing the glass on the table. Now that she had disclosed her secret, she must be feeling relieved as I have, when I had decided to tell her mine.