18

Viaan liked to not sleep much because

his nightmares weren't much different

than his day life. He pushed himself

into work and saving his remaining

family so he wouldn't think about his

mother and father. The loss of his father

had a deep impact on him than anyone

realised. Viaan had been boisterous,

and a prankster but all of that stopped

after he lost his father. Viaan retreated

into himself and had limited contact

with anyone else. He rarely ventured

outside the palace and stopped making

friends. His family had changed too.

His mother looked eager the kingdom

and Vivaan locked himself in his duties,

Ahana tried to keep them together

and she had succeeded in that. Viaan

remembered how much he slept then.

He tried to shut his brain off then and

he did the same now. By not sleeping,

but that was also taking its toll on him.

Viaan was afraid that he would fall

asleep when he confronted the enemy.

Or he would be slow due to his addled

brain and he would make stupid

decision endangering everyone else.

He decided to try to rest. There was no

use reminiscing the past and thinking.

The morning still found him weary and

confused about his reality. In his dream

world, he saw his mother and father

with him and then he saw them dying

again. It was horrible seeing them leave

him again, again and again. Dreams

were the manifestation of his feelings

and wishes and he was still stuck in

his childhood. No matter how much he

washed his face, his eyes remained tired.

He didn't want his friends to worry more

than they already did. He knew they

were already working on their task for

the day so he rushes towards the barn.

He saw the household was working so

hard that it felt like something big was

already happening. He couldn't afford

to get cold feet then. So Viaan ignored

the bustling servants and continued to

his destination. They were all poring

over the maps of the palace. And all the

trade routes in and out of Mihira. He has

given them every piece of information

he knew and then they started planning.

Nairiti was first to notice him. "You

can eat those fruits over there. Rudra

brought them for us." She pointed over

a corner where there were bananas and

apples. He picked up two apples and

went back to listen their conversation.

"You think you can block all these ways?

We have only thirty people helping us.

How can we post them on each path?"

Nairiti asked in a low voice. "We have

to find a way to do this, so no one can

escape." Vidyut fired back at her. Viaan

nibbled on the apple and then moved

forward. "There's a crossroad for every

way out. We can post one on each. And

if they smell any problem, others can

go assist the guard there." "But won't

they escape till the help arrives?" Vidyut

asked him. "Not necessarily, they have

to walk some distance till they reach the

outpost. Till then, the guards can arrive.

It wouldn't take much time if they use

underground tunnels." It was Rudra

who replied. "There are tunnels?"Nairiti

asked in a slow manner. "Yes, they

aren't widely known but some of us

use those." "How do you know about

them then Rudra?" "I used to hide in

there when I was bullied." Viaan knew

Nairiti and Vidyut knew of the tunnels

but they wanted to know how Rudra

knew about that. He had used one of

those when he had escaped Mihira and

also when he came back. They had

intricate woven structure powered by

light stones and were a well guarded

secret. He wouldn't be surprised to know

that only certain people could access it

and that meant Rudra was special too

and that's why he was in their mission.

In a weird way, it made sense. Viaan

knew that his appearance wouldn't

make anyone question his identity. But

Rudra knew and he had innate quality

of remembering things which anyone

would forget. He had never known

anyone like that. He had to ask them

about this. "Rudra, what do you think

about magic?" All of them stopped and

looked at his bizarre expression. "No.

Isn't th

that stories?" "Yeah but I don't know

much about it. So I thought you would

know something." Rudra had complete

honesty on his face when he said, "If I

find anything I'll tell you." That ruled out

about him using his magic but something

still nagged at Viaan in the inside of his

mind. Who was Rudra actually? How

did he become a servant? It was late in

the afternoon when they were finished

planning, Rudra had already left. He

couldn't be absent from his duties. So

they were planning without him. It was

Vidyut who actually told Viaan about his

problem. "Keeper of Tunnels!" "What?"

Viaan asked. "Rudra, he is the keeper

of tunnels. That's why he knows about

them and he could tell you without

any magical backlash. If you wouldn't

have already known about this, he

couldn't have told you. I don't think he

knows what he is." "That makes sense

actually. The magic has drawn him to

you. That's why he figured you out. And

it helped that he was actually smart."

Nairiti replied. "How can he become

the keeper? Without him knowing?"

Viaan asked them. "The magic chose

him. When he was young, it drew him

towards the tunnels. He obviously kept

it a secret. But he must have known

that some people know about its

location." Vidyut answered. "And also

he is responsible for its protection. The

enemy wanted which was underground.

And Viaan had to find it before he did.

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