"Abhyant utho..Abhyant.." I hear my mother call. She rarely wakes me up. I open my eyes and see Ekaksh is still asleep beside me. He again crawled up in my bed.
(Abhyant wake up... Abhyant)
I look at my mother, she has both Ambika and Annamika in each of her arms. I look at her confused, her eyes look so big. This is the first time I have seen her so unkept.
"Kya hua Ma?" I ask fully awake. I look out, it's still dark but why is there so much noise outside?
(What happened mother?)
"Jaldi chalo" she says and then proceeds to wake up Ekaksh. He sits groggily beside me.
(Come fast)
"Tumhare chacha ne Rana sa aur tumhari choti ma ki hatya kardi hai aur ab wo tumhari aur aarahe hai. JALDI CHALO!" she shouts.
(Your uncle has killed your father and stepmother and now he is coming for you. Move fast!)
I stand up and hold Ekaksh's hand.
"Chalo Abhyant" my mother says, motioning me to follow her.
(Let's go Abhyant)
I run behind her, taking sleepy Ekaksh with me. I follow her instructions. My mother is the smartest person I know so I don't doubt her. Even my father said that. My father.... I don't have time to think what happened to him.
All soldiers are running. There's just the glow of fire in corridor. Mother says to not stop, keep running, to not trust anyone.
Suddenly Ekaksh comes to halt. I do not leave his hand.
"Kya hua Ekaksh? I ask him, pulling him with my hand.
(What happened Ekaksh?)
"Humari gilheri" suddenly he leaves my hand and runs towards his room. I look at my mother and then at him.
(My squirrel)
Making up my mind, I run behind him. Seeing a dead soldier, I gulp and my feet stop. I am a warrior, the future king. I pick up the bloodied sword from the lifeless body. I need to protect my family. I know how to use sword, my father taught me. It's heavy but I am used to it's weight.
I follow Ekaksh. He enters his room and stops in his tracks. He looks at our uncle, now our enemy.
My uncle's eyes fall upon us and he smiles. There are blood splotches on his face, on his moustache. He is holding a bow and arrow in his one hand and a little squirrel in another.
"Aww humare Ekaksh ko uski gilheri chahiye?" He says. I stand beside Ekaksh, my one hand in front of him.
(Awww Ekaksh wants his squirrel back?)
My uncle, Shaurya Pratap, laughs.
"Ab humara Abhyant bachaega apne chote bhai ko"
(Now Abhyant will save his little brother)
I glare at him. He tightens his hold around the squirrel. The little creature shakes uncontrollably, making noises, trying to be free. But he continues to increase pressure, crushing that poor creature with his bare hands. Blood comes out of it's mouth.
"Ab tum do gilheriyo ka bhi yahi haal hoga" he says and throws the bloodied, crushed body of squirrel away.
(Now the same thing will happen with you two squirrels)
After that everything happens so quickly. Ekaksh runs towards the body, I shout at him to not go. Shaurya aims his bow and arrow at him. I throw my sword at Shaurya, to stop him since I don't have enough time to run towards him to attack.
In a moment of seconds, my sword hits his thigh but the arrow has been shot. I look at Ekaksh. The arrow directly hits his left eye. I run towards him, picking him up on my back with all my strength and running. My uncle is holding his wound while ordering his soldiers to catch us but I run as fast as I can.
I don't stop, I just run. I will save my brother first. Tears blur my eyes but I don't cry. There's so much blood shed. All the beautiful walls of palace are now covered with blood. Some soldiers on our side protect me with their life so that I can reach safely. I will repay their debt.
Finally when I'm out of the palace, I see my mother with the twins. She sees us and sighs. A carriage is already waiting for us.
"Jaldi baitho" she commands. I push Ekaksh inside. He is still breathing. As I lay him down on carriage, I look at my mother.
(Sit quickly)
"Teer nikalo" she says to me.
(Take out the arrow)
She looks so fierce. I nod and follow her order with shaking hands. As I take it out, Ekaksh screams in pain. There's so much blood that comes out. I remember what they taught us. We need to stop blood. I tie a cloth around his eye to stop bleeding. The cloth dampens with his blood.
I look at his hand, still carrying that dead squirrel. I try to take it from his hand but he tightens his hold on it. He is still conscious. My brother has always been stubborn with the things he likes. I do not try to take that squirrel from him.
I know he is safe now. But I look at my bloodied hands and think only if my aim was better, my brother wouldn't have been laying like this. Only if.
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