Devika - A journey unbound by time

33: The Challenge

The ground was cleared and only two people stood in front of the targets. The public present in the field stood behind them in a semi circle. The chatter in the field died down completely. Most of the people in the competition ground were surprised to see Devika emanating the aura of a warrior. They felt that even if Devika wouldn't win, she would certainly be better than any other woman warrio. Devika and Akash stood next to each other, with their bows drawn. They were facing the targets.  Both of them had mounted their arrows on the bow and were waiting for the signal to fire.

An official who was supposed to judge the competition had offered his services to judge their little challenge. He held a red handkerchief in his hand. He raised the handkerchief and let it fall from his fingers. Simultaneously both of the challengers let go of their arrows.

The arrow released from the bow of Akash hit the target quite near to the centre. Pleased with himself, he looked over to see see if Devika had managed to hit her target. He thought that Devika would not be able to hit a target and he would win easily, making his father proud. But what he saw shocked him, Devika's arrow laid buried in the exact centre of the target.

Amounting her win to sheer luck, his eyebrows furrowed and he threw a covert glance at the audience. He saw that his father was looking at him with strong disapproval on his face. Imagining the painful punishment that his father would hand out to him if he failed, made him worried. He quickly mounted his bow for the second time. Again the official give the signal and arrows flew towards the target. The boy was able to hit the target in the exact centre this time and he looked over at Devika with a smirk on his face. He saw the Devika held a soft smile on her face and he was momentarily enraptured by her beautiful countenance.

He looked at her target and saw that Devika's second arrow had neatly spliced the stem of first arrow and buried itself in the target. His jaw dropped at the talent displayed by Princess Devika. Unnerved now, he hesitated while mounting the third arrow on his bow. The result this time was that he missed the centre by quite a bit. While Devika's arrow laid in the centre as before. With each shot he started losing confidence and by the tenth arrow he missed the target altogether. Ashamed, he dropped his gaze to ground. He couldn't  bear to look in his father's eyes and see disappointment.

Devika had successfully managed to hit her target. She didn't even glance at Akash's score and kept shooting at her target. After successfully hitting the center of the target all ten times, she turned to see Akash's target. When she saw arrows lying scattered away from the center of the target, she lightly  smirked to herself. Turning around, she searched for General Abhay. She found him standing quietly to a side. His face softened when he saw her glancing  at him. Devika strode forward confidently towards him and presented him with her bow, "General Abhay, as your student I present my win to you. This signifies my regard for you." she said with with a smile.

General Abhay nodded thoughtfully  and took her gift of the bow, "May success follow your footsteps." he replied with a hint of a smile on his face. Devika knew that if they were not in front of so many people, General Abhay would have given her a proud smile. He was used to tempering his reaction so as not to give away his feelings in front of people.

"You did good Princess. I am pleased to see that my daughter has trained to this level." came a booming voice that nearly scared the spectators. His Majesty, King Nanda, strode forward and patted Devika on her head.

Devika beamed happily at her father. King Nanda then turned towards  Akash and glared at him sternly.

Withering under the King's gaze, he quickly fell to his knees and bowed his head stammering out apologies. His father, General Surya, joined him as well. He too bowed deeply, his face was red with humiliation.

"You are going to be the student of General Abhay from today onwards. It will do you good to learn manners from him along with warrior skills. Hope that you will become a better person." King Nanda's voice rang with disapproval in the tournament ground. Everyone present on the ground knew that their King was genuinely upset.

King Nanda was a calm and a kind person by nature. This nature was also reflected in the management of kingdom. However, it had caused people to misunderstand him as an easy going person. In reality, King Nanda could become very cruel if his family is ever threatened and he could become truly vicious if Devika is the person in trouble. He could do anything to protect her and her happiness. It was only for her sake that he had given up his throne in her previous life and Devika knew that. She was grateful for such a caring father.

General Surya quaked in his shoes. He bowed deeper and said, "Akash is still a child and as his father I have been negligent in educating him. Please forgive him, Your Majesty."

King Nanda sweeped a glance towards the father son duo and led Devika towards the seats reserved for judges.

General Abhay stepped forward and said, "This challenge caused a lot of delay in the start of competition. Let us not further this delay by lingering. I request the participants to take their place in front of the targets assigned to them. Princess Devika and Akash's challenge scores have been noted and they will be used as their competition score. The rest of the participants please hurry to your places."

Soon the competition began in full swing and many talented people displayed their skills. Some of them managed to hit the center every time in their ten chances, however none of them were able to splice their arrow with another. It was a common competition until it was Veer's turn to compete. He didn't just splice a single arrow but he kept on doing it successfully till the first arrow broke into pieces under the heavy onslaught of the tenth arrow. Everyone's jaw dropped and their way to look at Veer changed yet again.

Veer under the gaze of everyone stepped on the judge's stage and stood behind Devika silently. His gaze narrowed he glanced at the people on tournament grounds. His stance was as if he was protecting Devika from all of them. This went unnoticed by Devika but it didn't  escape the keen gaze of General Abhay.