Kama: Liberation (Vol-I)

Chapter 2: The Bodyguard

The little one shall go far.

****

"Don't you understand that it hurts?"

Bluish marks adorned her soft skin. She groaned as her friend and fellow mage Raksa pressed on her limb with the moist rag.

"It will hurt a little, but you need this massage. It will help your taut muscles to relax."

She looked at her reflection in the water bowl– messy unkempt locks falling over her swollen eyes, a little scar under her pretty red lips and a self-conceited smirk. "I don't look that bad, do I?"

"You look like you came back from a war."

"Which is true. I, Indumala, defeated all the brats to emerge as the winner."

"And allow us mages to boast about our magical guild." Raksa kept the rag aside and massaged her arms with oiled hands. "Does this make you feel better?"

"Yes. I really need to let go of this stress. Baba's marriage is tomorrow and I must look presentable. I still get an ache when I try to bend down and pick something up. Those boys in the arena gave me some brutal back pain."

"Actually, you had never fought this hard in your life before. None of us mages had at your age. It's natural that you will carry some tension in your body, even if it has been a week. Some of the marks were rendered by magic. Those will take time to heal."

"But I can say I paid them in double!" Indumala grinned. "Remember those poor faces? They didn't expect a sixteen year old girl to rub their butts on sand."

"That reminds me, the Rajan wasn't pretty pleased either." Raksa scrunched his nose. "Or does he always look that grumpy?"

Indumala hissed when Raksa put pressure on the joints. She yanked away her hand, caressing the scars and thinking about the Rajan. It was the first time she witnessed the ruler of Aryavarta in his raw glory, possibly the strongest man alive, bedecked in jewels and fine silk. Of course, he would be judgmental. He had grown up alongside sturdy men with bulky muscles and astute ministers with sharp minds. Perhaps the only women he was used to seeing everyday were dancers. "He didn't expect a woman to win the contest."

"Long ago, Aryavarta did have female bodyguards."

"Long ago, Raksa. Long ago, not now." Indu tied up her hair in a bun. "He won't accept me easily, even if I am the daughter of his most trusted man."

She had heard terrible things about this Rajan Rudra. That he used to torture men till death, like skinning them alive or amputating their body parts. Rumours went around that he was a monster, half-human and half-devil. He used to bring women from the land of Yavana, maybe for his own entertainment.

But this time, a woman was going to be his protector. She had won the right to be his shadow.

Her Baba, Aryamna, never shared the details of his duty with her. He was there to listen to her day-to-day little achievements, the arguments she had and the bets she lost, but he never told what he did as the right-hand man of the Rajan. Indumala knew there were some things she couldn't ask.

"Baba wasn't ready for me to participate in the contest. I don't know if he is happy that I won. Is he happy?" Her voice was dripping with sadness. "I don't know..."

"The people there were making fun of your idea because you were a female. I think that ticked off your Baba, and he wanted to show to the world what you were capable of. You won by merit and not favouritism."

"So, is he proud?" If her Baba wasn't happy, there was no use.

"He is. He doesn't always show it, but trust me, he is proud of you, Indu. You are the first mage to become a bodyguard. A female bodyguard after so many years of history!"