Warrior Hearts

Shifting Emotions

"Nandu." From a distant land, I can hear my sister calling to me.

"Mm," I reply, unable to find Noel through the curtain of darkness in front of my eyes.

"Nandu, wake up." Noel says, but I still cannot pinpoint her location. Lord, why is it so dark? "Nandini!"

"I'm sorry," I gasp, my eyes flying open. With a jerk, I sit up.

"Relax, Nandu," Noel says, placing her hand on my shoulder. "It's just me." Why in the world is Noel in my chambers? Frowning, my gaze lands on the unconscious man in front of me. Malhotra. How could I forget? I'm not in my chambers tonight. On the contrary, I have setup temporary residence in Malhotra's.

"I must have fallen asleep." I say, regaining my bearings, as the fog of slumber clears from around me. "What's the time?" A yawn escapes my lips, as I blink away the weight of fatigue from my eyelids.

"Almost three in the morning," Noel replies. "You should head to your chambers, Nandu. Sitting up all night like this isn't healthy for you." My sister's eyes do a once-over of me. Following her gaze, I glance down as well. As bad as this plain, old, wooden chair may seem to her, I am comfortable on it. Well, as much as one can be while sitting upright, getting an inevitable neck and back ache.

"I'm fine," I say, using my free hand to push Noel away from me. "You, on the other hand, need to go to bed, Missy." As always, my sister opens her mouth to argue with me. "Now," I add sternly. Pursing her lips, Noel turns around and heads toward the chamber doors.

"Goodnight, Nandu." She says, with a tone that quite evidently portrays her desire to stay. Smiling, I nod at my sister.

"Goodnight, Noel," I reply. Glancing one last time towards Malhotra, Noel exits his chambers, and shuts the door with a soft click. Sighing, I release yet another yawn, as I pin my gaze back on the man who now possesses the key to my heartbeat. Just a while back, when he began spasming, my heart joined in sync as well. And as Malhotra now sleeps like a baby, my red organ is at complete ease, alongside his.

"I'm sorry." I repeat in a whisper, just loud enough to be heard over the whistling winds. Truth be told, my throat has run dry from uttering these two words to Malhotra, over and over again. However, I have not yet tired from saying them. In fact, I doubt I ever will, until and unless he wakes up and accepts them. In fact, if Malhotra doesn't accept my apology, I will do whatever is in my power to ensure I prove to him that these aren't two worthless words for me. By becoming a shield for Father, only the Lord knows what a great favour Malhotra has bestowed upon me, one that I shall never forget. My old man educated me regarding the happenings of the day, and upon hearing his words, I'm only left with a head held low with shame.

"Father, what's so urgent that you could not wait until later?" I ask, as I march into my old man's room. "Malhotra is injured and I must oversee his treatment personally."

"I know you wish to be by his side, Nandu, but I won't take up much of your time." Father says, pushing himself up into a sitting position against the headboard. "Noel told me about your thoughts regarding Manik and I going out today. I thought I'd clear the air, Nandu, before you end up pinning the blame on an innocent." Ignoring my designated seat, I lean against Father's bedpost, facing him. Considering the restless state that I am currently in, I doubt I can sit, or stand anywhere for much long. Lord, I hope the staff is applying the correct balm on Malhotra's wounds. A simple careless mistake, in this given situation, could quite possibly cost him his life.

"Manik was going out to purchase a few things for his family." Father says, the mere mention of the said man causing my heart to speed up. "Keepsakes, you can say. And I volunteered to accompany him. Nandu, it's been too long since the urge to exit has overcome me, and today it did. So I insisted that he must absolutely let me join him. Manik argued with all his might, and I promise you, for a while I began to see your reflection in him, Nandu. It was uncanny...the resemblance. Eventually, I won the argument. Manik then lay forth one condition, that being, we take his guards and mine along with us. Once again, I thawrted this thought of his aside. Since I was leaving from here after years, I wished to experience the people's land firsthand, as a commoner. Instead of guards, I suggested we go out in disguises, and Manik had no choice but to agree with me."