Chapter 118: Recurring Dream Within A Dream

The Maharaja and Maharani of Pradii sat on their thrones, with their respected guests on either side. 

As the people settled in to witness the wedding rituals, Durga was watching the faces of her parents, the happiness and pride clearly reflected in their eyes, her little brothers as they tried to appear demure, her older sister with her two little kids on either side of her, a glow in her face, and her older brother as he looked back at her with grief and happiness. 

She knew that both were for her. Grief at parting and happiness for her happiness. And lastly, she looked at all the subjects that came to wish her for her future happiness and knew, deeply, that they all loved her in their own way. 

Storing the image in her mind, she vowed to herself that she would never forget this day, nor would she ever abandon them. The curtain lifted and Durga Krishna was looking into the dark eyes of the Yuvraj of Rajas.

The marriage rituals took place soon after, the Yuvraj and Rajkumari exchanging the seven sacred vows that must be upheld, honored, respected, and fulfilled for the rest of their lives. As Durga and Yuvraj completed their last ritual, flower petals of red and yellow were thrown at them for blessings and blissful marriage. 

The pandit declared them husband and wife and advised them to seek their elders blessing to warp the ritual up. They walked up to their parents and took their blessings.

"May you live long, long lives and may you have many children," was her mother's blessing.

"May you live together in happiness and harmony," said her father.

At last, she bent down to touch the feet of an elder of another kingdom.

"Visit the Tanka before you go on your journey," he told her. As she rose and looked into his eyes, her heart skipped a beat. Something was not right about this man's eyes. But what, she could not put a hand to it. 

Just as she opened her mouth to question him, there was a tap on her shoulder. Durga turned, telling the Yuvraj to give her a second, and when she turned back, the man had already disappeared.

It has been more than a month since her marriage. The cold water of the Tanka enveloped her as she sank into its depth. After finding out about her faith in Shiv, Yuvraj had built her a personal temple in the kingdom of Rajas. 

It was not only breathtaking but was completely out of the world. It was surrounded by a crystalline lake filled with floating flowers of different colors and forms on one side and flowering trees and groves on the other, with the sun's rays warded off by umbrellas of lotus leaf clusters behind her during her aartis'. 

Durga already missed it. After she told her mother about the strange man, she insisted that she visit the Tanka. It had taken a lot of convincing on Yuvraj's part and complaining on her part. Now, a month later, she was back in Pradii to fulfill her mother's wish. 

With the Maharaja of Rajas ill, Yuvraj had to stay behind to assist his father in governing the country. 

But on her return, she saw that many of the royal and palace guards were absent. 

"Where did the Royal Guards go?" She had asked a busy maid.

"Oh, Princess. They are escorting visitors across the border. If you will please excuse me?"

"Go ahead."

"Thank you." And the maid had hurriedly scuffled away like she was being chased by a monster.

At that time, Durga had found her behavior strange. But what she had found even stranger was that people who were powerful enough to rule an entire country needed an escort to go back to their own Kingdom. 

But then again, she always had a habit of questioning other people's intentions, so it might as well be her mind playing games on her.

"Run!"

The shrill command resonated in the still night air, startling Durga out of her thoughts. She hastily looked around but could spot no one. 

Deciding it was time to leave, she hurriedly emerged out of the Tanka River, glittering water dripping from her white sari like falling stars. 

Something was wrong. 

She felt it in her gut, sensed it in her soul. Picking up her heavy shawl, she called out to her attendants.

"Aru? Pushpa?" There was no answer.

Something was definitely wrong. She froze for a moment, her blank eyes staring dazedly into the distance, before starting into a sprint back to the palace.

No. No. No!

Spilling the contents of her bag onto the ground, she picked up the red and yellow fabric with trembling hands. She needed to go to the back of the temple.

Now.

Golden bangles fell out from the folds, clinging softly onto the marble floor. It had taken more than five years to see them again.

Five years of pain and nightmares.

But that was going to stop soon. The wrong had to be righted, justice restored, and duty fulfilled. Picking up the bangles, she gently placed them back into the folds of the fabric.

Blood. 

Blood was everywhere.

Red, sticky, warm, wet blood.

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The blood of her loved ones. 

It was everywhere. 

She could not tell where one ended and the other began. 

All she knew was that nothing was ever going to be the same again. 

She could not think straight, her head was pounding as if a thousand nails were being hammered into her skull. Her chest felt like it was going to burst any moment, but tears would not fall. Breathing became an arduous task as she scrambled through the pool of blood in search of a familiar face.

"Father, brother, Mother!" she cried. But no answer came.

"Brothers, Mother, Father!" she screamed, blood splashing onto her face.

"Rajkumari, get out of here…" Came from the dark hall.

She scurried towards the sound, hope the only force moving her forward. They are okay. Nothing will happen to them. Nothing can happen to them, she repeated to herself as she reached the guard.

"Maharaja, Maharani, Yuvraj, Rajkumars, where are they?" she anxiously rasped. 

But before he could answer, a man with a cruel mouth stepped into her vision and knelt to peer into her face.

"Aren't you a pretty thing?" he drawled.

"Leave her alone," the wounded guard's voice sounded like a croaking frog, as he choked the words out with difficulty.

But Durga saw nothing.

She saw nothing but red, darkness, and then red.

Her jolting mind was not able to register what her eyes were seeing. The mangled bodies of her mother and father, piled together, their blue royal robes the only thing separating them from the others. 

Lighting struck, and as if the last string of her crumbling mind was snapped, she fell and her powerless body crumbled into the mass of severed bodies. Before sinking into complete darkness, one last whisper left her throat.

"No."

A weak, silent plea. A plea no one was around to hear.

Stranded in an unfamiliar land, Durga ran as fast as she could, trying to outrun the shadows relentlessly chasing after her. Her sari got caught in a twig, as she pulled it free, she fell and got back up, not sparing herself the time to acknowledge the wound forming. 

The blinding pain was now starting to slow down her pace, blurring her vision. She felt herself gasping, her lungs burning desperately for more oxygen. 

Still, she kept running, afraid of what will become of her once she was caught by her pursuers. Ahead, she could hear and see no sign of life. The trees were dead and frozen, small icicles dangerously jutting out from them.

She struggled to make her way around them as gingerly and quickly as possible, trying not to incur another wound to slow her down even more. 

As the warm breath of her pursuers brushed against her nape, goosebumps formed over her bare arms and she shuffled forward, her eyes scanning for familiar grounds. 

Her pulse quickened and her stomach tightened as frozen and desolate landscape stretched before her. 

Durga caught sight of a body of water ahead and drifted towards it, her nostrils filling with the scent of blood and sweat. After what felt like forever she halted in front of the water, her mind straining to comprehend what her eyes perceived.

Dead end.

A dead-end was what she had been running towards.

Hopelessness and defeat made her stomach clench, the sudden lack of mobility causing cold to seep into her skin. 

Dread and exhaustion brought her to her knees only to be replaced by a sudden recklessness. No longer caring about what became of her, she slowly turned her head to the side.

She at least wanted to take a glimpse of the monstrous shadow relentlessly chasing her.

And the moment she did, she screamed at the top of her lungs and jumped decisively into the icy water.

Emerging from behind the temple, a Queen. She was no longer Eona Skyler. She was Durga Krishna, self-named Versailles Skyler.

Named after the goddess Versailles who fought for justice and brought peace to the world. And the goddess Durga and god Krishna who took the side of righteousness and duty to parents, family, relatives, and society.

Who vanquished evil and darkness, bringing light and peace to the realms.

Her red and yellow sari swayed in the light night breeze as she made her ascent. An audible gasp had the crowd stirring noiselessly at first before going into full-on murmurs and developing rapidly into hollers and shouts.

She paused in front of the gold statue of Shiv and turned her back towards him, her gaze fixed on the roaring crowd.

It was time to go home.

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