Warrior Hearts

Boy

"Sir!" I yell, making a beeline in Malhotra's direction. Fortunately, the bartender's head snaps towards me; my sudden cry grasping his attention. Coming to a jerking halt, I position myself in front of Malhotra.

"What're you doing, Miss?" The bartender asks, offering Malhotra a glare over my shoulder. "Get out of my way," he growls, further rolling up his sleeves, as if to intimidate me. Lord, it takes every ounce of self control that I possess to prevent myself from rolling my eyes at him.

"Sir, I...I wish to apologise on this man's behalf." I say, glancing down at Malhotra. "He's going through a tough time, and I'm sorry that he's lashing out in this manner. It's wrong," I add in a hurry, as I watch my words fall on deaf ears. "I-I'm even willing to pay for all the damage that you've encountered." This has the desired effect, for the bartender takes a step back. Although, I release a sigh of relief, I keep my guard intact. After all, angry men are well capable of flipping at any given point of time. Nodding at me, the bartender once again casts his gaze across the mess that's lying on the floor behind me, also known as Manik Malhotra.

"Since you're sticking up for this drunkard," he says. "I'm assuming you know him."

"Unfortunately, yes," I murmur, reaching into the pocket at my side. "Here's the money," I say, offering the bartender a few coins. "And you can keep the ones that this man left behind on your counter. I'm sure if you put the two payments together they'll cover the cost." Hesitantly, the bartender reaches out and takes the coins from my palm. Truth be told, I don't blame him for being torn between whether to beat Malhotra black and blue, or earn a quick buck.

"Are you his wife?" The bartender continues to pry eagerly. Pursing my lips, I offer Malhotra another quick glance. At this point it's unfortunate that I'm even associating myself with this man.

"Yes," I reply curtly. "Rest assured, I'll take him out of here in no time." Thankfully, the bartender doesn't further our conversation. Instead, he turns around and heads back to the bar counter. Well, now that I've saved Malhotra from being beaten to a pulp, it's time that I gather him and whatever little respect he's got left, and return to the palace. However, before I can so much as lift a finger, a muscular frame knocks against my left shoulder, causing me to stumble a few steps ahead.

"My drink!" Malhotra yells, crashing his front against the bar.

"What a wretched man," a voice says from my left.

"I'm not going to let you take my drink away from me!" My enemy yells, jabbing his index finger in the direction of the bartender. "I'm losing everything as it is!" I take in a sharp breath, as realisation finally dawns on me. I now understand what tonight's fiasco is all about.

"I say we should grab him by the collar like a dog, and chuck the bastard out from here." Another man's voice enters my ears, as I watch Malhotra swing his arm out in thin air. Frowning, I turn my head in the direction of the others in the pub. The people have now begun to gather in a crowd, as if they are uniting for a witch hunt. Lord, the entire pub is on one side, while Malhotra's at the other; raging, and howling like a wounded beast. What's more unfortunate is that these men are viewing him as no less than an animal.

"M-Malhotra." I say, snapping out from my train of thoughts. Reaching across the bar yet again, Malhotra grabs hold of a wooden mug and hurls it towards the boarded window. Lord, the man is utterly out of control.

"Malhotra, let's calm down." I try once again, reaching out for his shoulder. However, as if he's casting aside a fly from his skin, Malhotra shrugs my hand away.

"It's not fair!" He yells, bringing the sides of his fists down against the counter. Without thinking my actions through, I take a step in Malhotra's direction and reach out for him with my arms. Before he can feel the slightest whisper of my touch, I pin Malhotra's arms under mine and wrap them around his upper half. Leaning the side of my cheek against Malhotra's back, I hold on tight as he struggles to release my grip from around him like a raging bull.

"It's okay," I whisper, putting in every last ounce of strength into holding onto Malhotra. "It'll be okay. Everything will be fine," I assure him, unsure of whether I'm speaking the truth, or making blind promises to the man in my arms. "Dadi's health will get better, Malhotra. I promise you this tonight that I will go to the farthest corner of this world, and ensure that I find a cure for Dadi. This is my promise to you, Malhotra."

A sigh of resignation escapes my lips as Malhotra continues to struggle in my grasp, my words falling on deaf ears. However, this was expected, of course. After all, what difference would my speech make to my enemy?

"Y-You don't mean that." Malhotra finally says, after a few minutes of persistently torturing my poor arm muscles.

"I do," I say, hoping that he can hear the conviction in my tone. However, while I'm making this promise, I'm unsure as to whether or not I have the power to fulfil it. Truth be told, I, myself, don't know if I'm spewing an utter liar, or a hopeful truth. Thankfully, however, Malhotra seems to have found some semblance of candour in my words, for his thrashing begins to subside.

"Let's sit down for a while," I suggest, as Malhotra grows still within my arms. Hesitantly, I begin to release my hold from around him, ready to entrap him once again if he tries to pull a fast one on me. On the contrary, however, Malhotra turns to face me; his movements fatigued, almost as if he bears no strength within him anymore. A gasp of surprise escapes my lips upon seeing Malhotra's face. The man's crying. In fact, Malhotra's been shedding tears for a while now because his eyes are bloodshot, the skin around his orbs stained with the residue of wet droplets.

"They're not giving me a drink." Malhotra whines, pouting, as if he's complaining to his parent about a snatched toy.

"I know," I say, reaching out to cup his face with my palm. "Let me get it for you, while you sit down. Okay?" Raising my eyebrows, I seek an answer from Malhotra. Jutting out his lower lip, my enemy casts his gaze towards the floor, nodding in silent agreement. "Good. You can sit on this..." I trail off as Malhotra slides down against the side of the counter, planting his behind on the floor near my feet. "Or you could just make yourself comfortable down there," I murmur. Sidestepping, Malhotra, I pin my gaze on the bartender, who doesn't seem too pleased at the sight of me.

"Could you please give me a mug of water?" I ask. Fortunately, the man obliges. "Thank you," I say earnestly, grabbing the mug off the counter. Sighing, I glance down at the drunken mess that I'm now responsible for. It's no wonder that Rohit willingly dealt this task out in my favour. Internally cursing out my misfortune, I lower myself onto the floor beside Malhotra, offering him the mug of water.

"Here's your drink," I say, leaning my head against the side of the counter. Greedily, Malhotra snatches the mug from my hand, the contents of it sloshing against the rim as he does so. Cupping both of his palms around the mug, I watch my enemy down the contents of it. Fortunately for me, he doesn't realise that this is not the drink he desires.

Truth be told, I am unsure about what to make of this situation in front of me; about the man who's sitting beside me. In fact, tonight - in this lowly pub - I'm not sitting beside the man I know of. On the contrary, the Malhotra I meet on a daily basis - who is both, a warrior, and the king of an entire nation - is now nothing more than a boy; weakened by forces that he has absolutely no control over. Malhotra has finally been overpowered by unknown deities which he cannot intimidate into submission, or influence with the power he bears. In this fight, he's not backed up by an army. On the contrary, it's simply him against the world, and the superior powers of the unknown.