Kirti Kriti Aur Kartik Ki

Chapter 12

A/N: Oops. Sorry this is later than I had expected but December was a busy and tiring month and I was sick for half of Jan. I am fine now! But it led to delays in the chapter. Small note, I don't exactly know how kanyakul works so I am literally making up facts as I go. I mean, I tried to look it up as much as possible but there were very few results. So might not be accurate. Definitely not accurate. Sorry.

Kashya was surprised when they encountered a young woman riding towards them, alone, on a horse back with no one else in sight. Well, it wasn't the riding part that surprised them. They do know the princesses learn to ride and they themselves teach the ones who don't.

No. What surprised them was the fact that she was riding alone. Because the kings always send escorts when they let the princesses ride. There was at least one soldier around the girl who was coming to the Kanyakul. And more often than not, they would have to convince the person to leave. Sometimes the guards turn out to be female but those were rare cases. Really rare. Not to mention the times when servants and maids were sent along with the girls.

But this one. This one had none of them. No guards. No servants. No guides. Just her and a horse. And two travel bags. It was good in a sense, while not really conventional. This lady knew to be independent. Though she was quite old, older than the ones who usually join a Kanyakul. Maybe she was just a messenger then?

The theory proved to be wrong the moment Dussala ran up to her and hugged her. "I thought you were never coming!" Dussala said in excitement. "You said you would be here a long time ago but then you didn't come and-"

"Well... I am here now, travel took quite a while. And I did say I will have to complete a part of my gurukul training before I come here." Kritika said with a smile.

"I am still mad you went to gurukul without me," Dussala grumbled. Gurukul? What was a girl doing in a gurukul? Who was she?

"And who are you young lady?" they asked, folding their arms and narrowing their eyes. The young lady just raised her chin up more and cast a scrutinising look, looking as if she was looking for a fight before relaxing with a nod.

"My apologies. My name is Kritika, and I am from Hastinapur before that I was the princess of Kannigapuram, though the kingdom was destroyed and the Maharaj was kind enough to take me in. I'm currently returning from Guru Drona's gurukul" she said with a small smile.

"Gurukul?" they asked in bewilderment.

"Oh yes, gurukul. It was a tradition in our land that both males and females have to train to be a basic warrior apart from learning royal and public etiquette... and I wanted to honour that part of our culture, being the last lady from that kingdom. And is it not a polite way to introduce yourself first?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Kashya. And I am the one who runs this place, young lady, so kindly keep that attitude level low. You are a bit older than the girls who usually join so I would've assumed that you had training elsewhere... just not a gurukul" they shrugged as they eyed the bags Kritika was carrying.

"Oh... umm... this was the middle ground Mata Kunti and I had because of the cultural differences. We didn't exactly have a separated Kanyakul and Gurukul, you see, back in my place everything was taught together so... I wanted to finish my training which I had started before we had to flee. Which is why I am joining late."

Kashya just hummed. "Your age?"

Kritika scrunched her nose and shrugged. "24? 25? Something like that. After a point I stopped counting it. But I get it. I am way older than ladies who usually join but learning never just stops, does it?"

"Being older won't exempt you from anything" they raised an eyebrow.

"I know. A student is a student, regardless of their age. Though may I have permission to continue with my weapons practice? I mean, I know you do teach self-defence a little, Mata Kunti said so, but Guru Drona also wanted me to keep up with the training and-"