The air had an ability to warn of forthcoming omens, Saakhi believed. Fragrance of moss before a drying well, rotting rice preceding fermentation houses, fertile earth before the rain - it was reliable to her tongue.
All she could taste in the air entering her lungs right now was a regretful danger. It hit with a bitterness to the back of her throat.
When neither side spoke for a minute too long, Val Gunshi cleared his throat and folded his hands in greeting, addressing the uninvited guests with a formal smile.
“This is a pleasant surprise, Princess, young Prince,” he didn’t move from beside Oorja but kept his body language welcoming, “Swatan did not expect your arrival at such early hours. We hope it is a good news that brings you to our home.”
“My sister-in-law, the crown princess of Torni, sends her best wishes and asked us to bring you gifts of friendship,” the young prince announced, his turquoise turban bejewelled with a line of pearls at its borders. He was no older than Tejo, closer to Nami’s age if accurate, but his chin jutted with a show of importance that spoke less of confidence and more of need for dominance. His royal dagger was sheathed at waist and Saakhi absently wondered if he ever used it, the polish spotless on it.
“Gifts, my ass,” Ezhil muttered from behind and Saakhi heard him muffle a yelp when his mother presumably pinched his arm.
She could see the small clutter of trunks and drums along with many other things resting behind the first line of guests. They were a small troop, four important ones and about ten helpers.
“Do we not get a welcome?” the royal guard asked and his tone suggested veiled threat, raising hackles in the fast gathering crowd of Swatan’s residents. However, Val stepped forward before any further comment and began walking towards the other side of the gate. Without prompting, Piba followed him while Minar inched closer to Oorja. From her view Saakhi could see the way Minar’s hand gently brushed the arm of her friend’s chair, unnoticeable to those who weren’t observing too keenly. She stood there while Val unlocked the safety measure and gestured for the guests to enter, looking at the guard calmly.
“We are always happy to have friends,” he assured and Saakhi admired the pointed message in the polite declaration.
As the crowd parted to let them in, Saakhi moved with Imay to stand beside Minar and Oorja. She didn’t know if it was a trick of the sun but she could swear that Princess Yaali’s gaze shifted to linger on her for a second after a look at Minar.
“Oh,” the princess paused as they were a few feet into Swatan and turned to look over her shoulder directly at Minar, “We also brought the finest cattle from Torni. They seem to have trouble coming in though. Could one of you please help our people with that? Perhaps, Paher Min- ah, Saanjh, wasn’t it?”
Saakhi felt Minar stiffen slightly, still subtle compared to the way Tejo exchanged a worried look with Piba. However, Minar nodded wordlessly before turning around to go help the cattle come in as the rest of them walked in.
“You go in,” Saakhi told Imay quietly as she looked between the princess and Minar, “I’ll come in a bit.”
Imay didn’t tell her to be careful but nodded and left with the leaders, following them to the central camp area where the most important meetings were held. Saakhi walked out of the gate and jogged to reach where Minar was walking towards the helpers who were trying to drag the cattle in. Cattle was a tame word for what those were, Saakhi thought as she took a look at their built and painted horns.
Minar paused a few feet away from them and Saakhi slowed to a halt, looking over to see the woman’s face try hard to not turn sallow. Her hands were curling into fists at her side and her throat worked a second, swallowing hard.
“I’m guessing you don’t like cows?” she guessed as she looked back at the supposed gift before glancing at Minar, who was slowly uncurling her fists, “Is that why all the cattle inside have bells on their horns?”
Instead of answering, Minar walked closer and Saakhi followed her, putting herself near the cows as they helped herd them inside. If Minar noticed her doing so, she didn’t say anything but also didn’t look like she was going to break her teeth by gritting.
At the compact meeting hall nobody asked Saakhi to leave, so she tagged along and sat beside Piba, eyes straying to the princess of Odho. The princess for her part kept her focus on the leaders and was the picture of decorum but Saakhi could detect the way her eyes tried to catch the gaze of Minar midst the mindless small talk. Minar seemed satisfied to let Val handle the conversation from their end and only spoke when spoken to directly, somehow managing to be more reticent than Oorja. The chatter was awkward for the most part but Saneh Jora received no antagonism from the tactful Val and Oorja gave no reason for aggression to the royal guard. It wasn’t long before the princess seemed to have reached her end of boredom and suggested that they leave, somehow commanding obedience from the otherwise proud-looking teenage prince.
As they were leaving the hall, Saakhi noted princess Yaali try to linger but Minar moved ahead and it wasn’t until the clamour of armours that Saakhi realised her reason for speed. Between the blink of an eye, Minar had pulled the young prince from keeping his foot out, her hand grabbing his arm with a strong tug.
“How dare you!” Saneh Jora exclaimed but Minar ignored the guards who had gone to draw their swords, looking at the floor instead.
“Scorpion!” Imay pointed out and Saakhi peered over the shoulder of a guard to see the viciously dark creature with its sting up. Looking back up, she saw Minar still holding on to the prince’s arm.
“Are you hurt?” she asked him, eyes worried as she looked him over with a glance. The teenager looked flummoxed and then embarrassed as he tugged his arm free from the grasp.
“Let go,” he ordered, tugging his sleeve back into place and reached over to purposefully knock the scorpion away with the sword of the nearest guard, “Why would you grab me like that? Are you mute? Couldn’t you have just said something?”
Piba looked like he was going to intervene but Val shook his head subtly, an odd sadness flickering through his eyes as he watched Minar.
“I -,” Minar lowered her hand and took a step back, looking down and then back at the prince, “I’m sorry.”
“That’s new,” Saakhi heard Princess Yaali comment but Minar didn’t turn to look at her and instead excused herself as she walked out, letting the guests be led to the exit by the others. As she was leaving, Yaali turned to look at Saakhi with a considering expression.
“I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?” she asked and Saakhi tilted her head in vague agreement.
“I wouldn’t know, princess,” she replied but continued when the look remained suspicious, “I was raised in Odho for a while, though I doubt you knew my parents. It could have been during one of our travels.”
“You don’t live at Odho anymore?” the princess enquired with a raised brow and Saakhi shrugged.
“I like good adventures and wherever they take me,” she saw the look thrown her way by the others, “I hope you’ll find your journey back to Odho safe.”
Yaali Lavana didn’t respond to that but looked at her wrist pouch and dug into it to pull out a familiar piece of silver.
“Princess Mudhra wanted this to be returned to the person who lost it,” she declared lightly and held out the hair-stick, waiting until Saakhi took it, “Do let her know that it’s not often people are as courteous to make this effort. Let her not throw it away again.”
Aren’t you a sugarcoated bitter-pill, Saakhi thought but refrained from commenting, twirling the stick between her fingers as she gave a short bow.
The party left with the same lack of enthusiasm as they had arrived and the people of Swatan tried to be inconspicuous about their theories of the visit. Saakhi considered the stick in her hand and noted the engraved links of flowers on the crown of it.
“She might be happy to get it back,” she heard and looked up to see Val observing her from a few feet away, walking closer at her look, “I suspect you have a lot of questions about the entire reaction to this visit.”
“I don’t know if you’ll give me the answers,” Saakhi commented, getting a regretful chuckle in response.
“I might not,” he agreed, exhaling with a dry smile, “I’m afraid I can’t give them to you even if I had all of them. Some things aren’t our business to say, are they?”
Saakhi glanced back at the stick with a nod, knowing that there were a lot of things she hadn’t asked despite having taken up the offer of coming to this place.
“I do hope though,” Val spoke and Saakhi blinked when he reached into his waist-pouch to pull out a circular object, “That you might be better suited to deal with this than I had judged you to be.”
“You’re a better thief than I would have expected,” Saakhi quipped as she eyed the compass that had gone missing from her belongings.
“Considering the nature of how you got this, I’d think it wasn’t so bad,” he offered but his face wasn’t smug and Saakhi could read a twinge of regret as he placed the compass in her hand, “However, the reason I hid this doesn’t have much to do with you.”
“And the reason you’re returning it?”
“Call it a gamble,” Val offered, nodding to the silver stick, “I’m hoping some things negate the effect of others here.”
“Are you any good at gambling?” she asked with a shake of her head but took it, clutching it beside the stick, “Leader Gunshi?”
“Yes, Lady Por?”
“Don’t ever touch my things again.”
“I understand,” Val nodded and waved as he wished her farewell, “If you’re looking for her, you might want to try the hilltop at the end of the pathway. Turn to the east and keep following the sun.”
The pathway went against the direction of the wind and Saakhi felt it brush her face as she walked up, climbing the grass covered rocky terrain with no particular rush. She saw Toya midway, the bright squirrel roaming around aimlessly. Or maybe it had an aim much different from what the world thought was worthwhile.
Minar was exactly where Val had predicted, sitting with her back to the sun, knees bent and arms around her knees. She caught sight of Saakhi and didn’t look away as she walked closer, not quite bothered by the interruption. Her bright green top would have grass stains when she stood up and her sleeves were folded up to the elbow, but Minar looked untouched by the mud or dirt around her, tipping her face up to the sky.
“You don’t seem surprised,” Saakhi greeted as she made herself comfortable beside Minar, sitting on the rock attached to the one the other woman was using, “You don’t seem quite happy either.”
“Which one do you think applies to you?” Minar asked and Saakhi snorted as she eyed the expanse in front of them, her back warming under the sun’s gaze.
“If I don’t fare any better than the frost princess in your book, then I’d be really hurt,” she quipped but folded her arms over her knees too, “So.”
“So,” Minar echoed, resting her chin on her arms as she kept staring straight.
“I had a question,” Saakhi confessed, shrugging when Minar turned her head to shoot her a deadpanned look, “This one’s important, more than any other.”
“Just one?” Minar confirmed with a disbelieving tone.
“That sounds like you’re giving me permission to ask more, be careful,” Saakhi pointed out and turned slightly to look at Minar as she asked, “Why were you eyeing my bow?”
Minar blinked and frowned, turning more to fully look at Saakhi.
“That’s your question?”
“It’s a sensitive relationship, between an archer and her bow,” Saakhi explained with a put-upon serious look, “I just want to be prepared if you’re trying to covet Anukuri.”
“You named your bow Anukuri?” Minar raised a brow but Saakhi nodded.
“Tell me honestly, are you trying to steal her away from me?” she asked and Minar eyed her for a minute before turning away with a roll of her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure nobody’s going to steal your bow,” Minar assured as she rubbed her palms together lightly.
“Can’t be too sure,” Saakhi commented and pulled out the compass from her pouch, holding it out for Minar, “I didn’t think people would steal this either but - well.”
Minar glanced at Saakhi’s palm and stared at the compass for a minute before looking up.
“I thought you didn’t meet Ba- Paher Mahir, before he died or you left Agapura?” she asked and Saakhi nodded, pulling out the hair-stick too.
“I didn’t. But Nami found it thrown out along with a few other things,” she answered, holding both the items in her hand, “So now you owe me an arrow and I don’t owe you an apology.”
Minar took the items from her after a minute and held them in her hand, looking tired before putting them in her lap, blowing out air lightly.
“I recognised your bow,” she said after a moment of silence and Saakhi frowned but Minar was smiling lightly at the sky, “Which means that technically I don’t owe you anything.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because,” Minar looked over at her and there was an odd amusement in her eyes, “that’s my bow and you stole it. More than a decade ago.”
Saakhi opened her mouth and then closed it as she went over that statement.
“I’d never met you before,” she pointed out slowly but Minar chuckled as she shook her head.
“Possible. But that is still my bow. I won it fair and square,” she confessed, shrugging a shoulder at Saakhi’s confused expression, “You got it at Odho, right?”
“I -,” Saakhi did get it at Odho but didn’t understand, “I got it from a travelling caravan’s discarded luggage.”
“So that’s where it went,” Minar mused thoughtfully, looking down at her hair-stick as she smiled, “I always thought it was stolen. Or that they went back on their word.”
At Saakhi’s blank look, Minar exhaled and turned to face the empty pathway ahead of them.
“I won it as my prize for the last tournament I attended,” she explained, pausing before she continued, “Ironically, it was also the first time I came across this compass. At Odho, during the peak of summer. That was when I was the princess of Agapura and nobody expected things to change.”
Saakhi watched as Minar let the past crash over her and drifted to a memory where she didn’t have to hide from anyone. Where she hadn’t turned her back to the sun and the pathways weren’t rocky yet.
When she was nothing more than Paher Minar and Saanjh had no reason to be created.
