More Tales of the Southern Kingdoms (One Volume Edition)

by Barbara G. Tarn

  They barely slept and only twice did they find semi-abandoned temples where they dared to stop a little longer to rest. The man-made shelters allowed them some respite, but no real variation in their diet – bananas, avocados, and the fish they could catch with a bamboo lance that they also used as a walking stick

  The first small temple had a narrow path, but it led to the river, which meant people probably reached it by boat – and there were none in sight. The second one appeared to be more used, with fading flowers on the small altar, but they were too tired and hungry to explore more.

  They'd been eating wild fruits and the occasional fish when they managed to catch some, but they missed a full meal with meat. They couldn't really light a fire in the humid jungle, though, so even if they caught something, they'd have to eat it raw.

  Tarun crumbled inside the small temple and curled up on the floor. "Let's get some sleep," he begged. "It's been the longest five days of my life!"

  The jungle was taking its toll. They hadn't planned it like the tiger hunts with the king, and it was proving quite challenging.

  Rajesh nodded and looked around, worried. The temple was cool, but it had no door. The floor was raised above the ground but still quite hard. They had nothing to make a hammock, though. He could hear the river run nearby, so they'd have water – something that hadn't been missing since they left the coast.

  "I'll go fishing," he said.

  "No!" Tarun grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. "Please, don't leave me alone."

  It definitely wasn't like hunting the tiger with his father and the dignitaries. Tarun must be even more scared than he was. Rajesh sighed and sat next to him. Tarun put his head on his thigh and wrapped one arm around his waist.

  "I won't run away while you sleep, your highness," Rajesh said.

  Tarun grumbled something, but he was exhausted and soon fell asleep. Rajesh considered freeing himself and going to look for some food, but he was tired too. His eyelids were heavy and he dozed off.

  Two hours were enough to give him back some strength. He gently removed Tarun's head from his thigh and disengaged himself from the prince's embrace. Tarun didn't stir, so he slowly got up and stretched his limbs, renewing the circulation in his legs.

  He went out to check the situation. It was still day, even though the thick foliage didn't allow for much light. Rajesh decided to set up some traps on the way to the river and was very happy to find the mound of a termite hill.

  He took off the top of the mound to build a fire in a corner of the temple and headed back to the temporary shelter the moment Tarun rolled on his back with a sigh.

  "Your highness, I've set up a pair of traps and there's a termite hill nearby if you want to have a snack," Rajesh said. "It would make a change from bananas and bamboo until we catch something else."

  Tarun slowly rose and shook his head to clear his mind. He glared at Rajesh.

  "You left while I slept."

  "To set up the traps. And I found the termites." Rajesh showed the piece of mound that would allow them to finally build a fire.

  Tarun muttered something, then headed for the door. "Where's that mound?"

  Rajesh showed him and headed for the river, just in case the traps didn't work. He had become proficient at catching fish with his bamboo lance. He noticed his scimitar needed sharpening, so heading back to the temple with two fish, he kept an eye on rocks that would allow him to sharpen the blade.

  That kept both of them busy for a while and then they found a small animal in one of the traps. Tarun sighed with relief as they took it back to the temple with some fruits and another piece of termite hill. Rajesh started the fire as Tarun prepared the fish and the animal.

  Soon the smell of roasted food made their stomachs grumble. It was the first decent meal they'd had since they'd run away from the village and ship nine days earlier. They drank from bamboo canes and headed back to the temple to spend the night, pushing the burning mound into the entrance to keep out animals.

  "I hope we reach Zarquon soon," Tarun said, nestling against Rajesh on the floor of the temple. "I look forward to a bath and clean clothes and..."

  Barber. Real food. Plush cushions. I hear you, Tarun. You've been very brave.

  "Good night, your highness," he said, squeezing Tarun's shoulder.

  "Good night." Tarun's voice was sleepy.

  Rajesh listened to the animal calls and wished he could be back in Jevina already. Hopefully the path would take them somewhere tomorrow.

  ***

  The path in the jungle led to an abandoned hamlet. The mud huts were empty, which made Tarun groan. Rajesh looked around and found a couple of boats tied to the small wooden pier.

  "We better take one of those," he said. "Rowing won't be harder than hacking down plants to find a way in the jungle!"

  "We'll need to be careful of crocodiles..."

  As if it had heard, a log moved towards the water, a big crocodile who had probably seen prey. Tarun cursed under his breath.

  Rajesh had a look inside the huts and found a flask and a couple of bowls. Someone had left behind bedsheets and even a rusty knife. Maybe they could have hammocks to sleep in from now on.

  Rajesh took everything onto the pier and observed the two boats. One seemed to be leaking badly, the other seemed a little better. Maybe they should repair it before getting on it, lest it sunk in the middle of the crocodile-infested river.

  They took the boat to the shore and found enough wood and the tools to reinforce the hull.

  "Let's hope it holds, since I'm not a sailor," Rajesh said. Although he'd been born in the vicinity of the river in Jevina, he had never really bothered learning the ropes of navigation.

  They put it back in the water and climbed in. It seemed to float. They grabbed everything from the pier and pushed it away from the abandoned village. They started rowing against the current. Thanks to the previous exercise with the much bigger ships, they were synchronized enough to give powerful pushes with every row.

  It still took them another five days to reach the palace in the middle of the plain. They left the boat – that was now leaking dangerously again – on the river shore, put their things in a bed sheet wrapped around their shoulders, filled the flask with freshwater and headed for the main gate.

  The town of Zarquon glistened in the sun on the other shore, oblivious. Rajesh hoped they'd be allowed inside in spite of their sorry state. Queen Anjali was really their only hope to get back to Lakeshi safe and sound. But she had never met her nephew, so she might not believe them.

  The guards stopped them and asked them their business. Tarun wearily stated his identity, saying they had been attacked on the Arquon coast and their ship was lost as much as their escort. The guards waved them in and a chamberlain came forward to meet them in the middle of the courtyard.

  Tarun repeated the story with a slurred voice, then passed out while requesting to see his aunt. Rajesh promptly grabbed him and begged the chamberlain to fetch Queen Anjali. He touched Tarun's forehead. The prince was feverish. Maybe he had caught something in the jungle.

  Soon a couple of servants came with a stretcher and Rajesh lay Tarun down, following them inside the palace, worried. Tarun was put to bed and the royal doctor came, followed by Queen Anjali, who frowned at the sight of the disheveled prince.

  "Your majesty." Rajesh bowed deeply at her. He wasn't in the royal guard when she'd left for Arquon, but he knew her face. "I'm Rajesh, bodyguard of Prince Tarun of Lakeshi. We weren't supposed to visit, but we lost everything on the Arquon coast and..."

  "Yes, we have heard of the Amazons' incursion," she snapped. "They usually don't leave male survivors."

  "The royal escort gave their lives to allow us to escape," Rajesh replied. "Nobody believed us in Hinud and we decided to come here, hoping you'd help Prince Tarun to go home."

  The queen looked at the passed out young man again, still frowning. The doctor rose and turned to her.

  "He has a fever from exha
ustion and lack of proper food," he announced with a smile. "Allow him to bathe, shave and eat properly, and he'll be fine."

  Queen Anjali nodded and turned to Rajesh again. "Feel free to use the bath chamber too. We will let Tarun rest a little longer, you can go first."

  Rajesh bowed deeply and gratefully retired to the bath chamber. A servant brought him clean clothes and a razor, and he took his time to scrub off the mud and dirt of the jungle. They'd made it. Queen Anjali would help them go back to Lakeshi. The fortnight in the jungle was but a nightmare of the past now.

  ***

  After grooming himself, Rajesh went to the bedroom to check on Tarun. He brought a wet towel and a basin and started cleaning the worst off the prince's face and hands. Tarun's clothes were tattered, but the queen was right, he needed rest in a real bed, so Rajesh didn't wake him.

  Tarun stirred a couple of hours later, as the sun was setting on the royal palace.

  "Right on time to prepare for dinner," Rajesh said with a grin.

  Tarun smiled back weakly and slowly got to his feet. "I feel dizzy..."

  Rajesh accompanied him to the bath chamber and helped him to wash himself. A servant and a barber showed up at the right time to finish grooming the prince while Rajesh waited in the antechamber. The chamberlain showed up only to ask if the prince was up and would attend the royal table, leaving with a satisfied smile at the positive answer.

  Tarun felt much better after the bath, but still leaned on Rajesh's arm to go to the royal family living room. He sat next to his aunt, who stared worried at him, and Rajesh stepped back to give them privacy.

  "Please, sit with us," King Kushan told him. "You have saved the prince heir of Lakeshi, you deserve the honor to sit with us."

  Thus Rajesh found himself seated among royalty. Prince Suresh stared at him goggle-eyed, as if he had performed some inhuman trick, while Tarun recounted the attack and following trip through the jungle. The teenager excitedly told his father that he hoped to have a bodyguard as dedicated as Rajesh had been.

  Queen Anjali seemed to relax once her nephew sat next to her. "You have something of Vivek and something of my father," she told Tarun. "I'm glad I got to see you even if we weren't supposed to meet."

  "And I'm happy to meet my little cousin earlier than expected," Tarun said, staring at Suresh who giggled. "But it was a most dreadful adventure," he added, frowning and staring at the king. "I had never seen such vicious warrior women!"

  "They call themselves the daughters of Amazonia," King Kushan said. "Their queen was a half goddess who lived almost two centuries and a half and was killed twenty years ago. They trade with Gajendra, Rajendra and Akkora, but think they can prey on us or Lakeshi. Since we have no direct contact, their black-sailed ships tend to attack ours – your father's too."

  "Oh, I wasn't aware of the threat," Tarun said, puzzled. "Have we tried to negotiate a treaty with them?"

  "There's no direct contact, like I said. And they don't marry. Women rule and use men as breeding stock. Therefore a wedding alliance is out of the question."

  Tarun gaped. Rajesh couldn't believe his ears either. A country where women ruled and used men as breeding stock! With warrior women! And a half-goddess as queen! Rajesh was glad it was too far away to actually threaten Lakeshi.

  "We found a boat in an abandoned village on the river shore," he said. "I thought some plague had wiped out the people, hence I was afraid we had caught it too..."

  "Ah, no, must be one of those places that were abandoned on purpose," Queen Anjali said with a shrug while the king cursed under his breath.

  "I might be the king-god of Arquon, but we have a Sect that is stealing faithful from the official church," he said. "Probably they left to join that Sect that now hides in the caverns of the Lone Mountain, hopefully more towards Akkora and Rajendra than my own lands."

  "I'm fine, now, Rajesh," Tarun added. "I didn't catch anything in the jungle!"

  "Thank the gods," Rajesh muttered, grateful to see the prince eat hungrily. Color was coming back to Tarun's cheeks and soon the jungle adventure would be forgotten.

  "I will give you men and a ship to go back to Jevina," the king said. "We are happy that you reached here safe and sound. Would you like to rest and recover for a few days? I can send a messenger to your father to let him know you're here..."

  "Ah, no, thank you, I really need to go back home," Tarun said, glancing at Rajesh. "I've been away for more than three months and I miss everybody."

  "Then tomorrow morning you shall be on the way," King Kushan said with a nod.

  Rajesh barely hid his sigh of relief.

  ***

  It still took two weeks to go back to Jevina. Tarun seemed spent and less excited than at the beginning of the journey. Of course he was tired and homesick, but Rajesh suspected there was more behind his silences.

  At night they retired to sleep and Tarun liked to nestle against him. It wasn't sexual, but Rajesh really hoped nothing was cooking in the prince's head or heart. He wasn't sure he wanted Tarun to praise him to his father either.

  And then they disembarked from the ship on the Lakeshian coast and moved to the river barge that would take them to Jevina.

  "Two more days and you'll be with Shanti again," Tarun said, lying in the captain's cabin as the most revered guest. His status allowed him the privacy of the only cabin of the barge.

  "Yes, I look forward to that. And I know you'll have a lot to tell your father and your siblings and the whole court, but please, your highness, don't praise me too much."

  Tarun grinned. "You did your duty. That's all I'll say. I don't want my father to snatch you from me with the excuse of rewarding you."

  "Thank you, your highness," Rajesh said, relieved. "I will happily guard your life for the rest of my life."

  "And you will." Tarun's smile faded away. "I want to thank you for saving my life, for taking care of me in the jungle and everything. I know what I'd want to give you, but you won't like it, so I'll just keep it to myself. But if you think you can indulge this spoiled prince..."

  "It depends on what the spoiled prince wants," Rajesh answered warily. "I thought you were ready to marry Princess Meghanka."

  "And I will marry her," Tarun assured him. "I only want a kiss from you."

  "A kiss?"

  "It would be enough."

  "A brotherly kiss?"

  "Uh... no, not really..." Tarun actually blushed and looked away. "I'm not in love with you! But I'd love to taste your mouth before we reach Jevina. And then I won't ask you ever again."

  Rajesh took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "What if... I refuse?"

  Tarun shrugged. "I won't force you. I'm not my father."

  Definitely now. Oh Gods, what am I supposed to do? What does this kiss mean to him?

  He decided to ask. Tarun pondered before answering.

  "The perfect closure to this trip," he said at last. "Almost four months that allowed me to get to know you and the rest of the world. Like I said, it's my way of saying thank you for being the awesome bodyguard that you are. And the wonderful man that I look up to – I told you right from the start that I want to be like you, didn't I?"

  "Yes... but why a kiss?" Rajesh was still puzzled.

  "Forget it." Tarun brooded and didn't answer further prodding. Rajesh gave up trying to figure out the prince's mind.

  ***

  The captain knocked on the cabin door, startling Tarun out of his daydreams.

  "Your highness, we're approaching the port of Jevina!"

  "Thank you!" Tarun seemed to come back to life and stared determined at Rajesh. "So, this is it. It's good-bye time!"

  "I thought I'd still be your bodyguard," Rajesh said puzzled.

  "Yes, but in Jevina things are different, aren't they?" Tarun smiled and rose.

  He stepped forward, put his arms around Rajesh's neck and pulled him closer. Rajesh was taken by surprise by the prince's deep kiss.

  Tarun pulled away and stepped back. "
Thank you," he whispered, lips still wet from the kiss. And he exited the cabin.

  Rajesh caught his breath and followed him onto the main deck. The houses and palaces of Jevina were all around them and the royal palace was fast approaching. Rajesh saw the royal guard lined up at the pier with King Vivek. King Kushan had sent a messenger to warn him of his son's return.

  Rajesh watched the king hug his son and followed them inside the palace.

  "We lost the letters Aunt Laxmi and Aunt Priyanka had given us for you," Tarun said. "They're probably still on the Arquon coast, if you want to send someone to retrieve them..."

  "We'll see," King Vivek replied sharply. "How did you survive? Kushan said you had to go through the jungle alone with your bodyguard!"

  Rajesh hoped Tarun wouldn't repeat the story like he had done in Zarquon, but the prince shrugged and said, "It was no big deal. All our tiger hunts weren't for nothing!"

  King Vivek smiled and patted his shoulder.

  Rajesh was soon dismissed from the royals' presence and headed directly for his apartment.

  Shanti was weaving while the boys played with sticks, pretending to be warriors. They screamed with joy at the sight of him and rushed to hug him all at the same time. Rajesh had to keep his balance lest they threw him to the ground with their enthusiasm.

  "Four months!" Shanti whispered in his ear. "And rumors said you and Tarun had been killed by pirates..."

  "Almost," he answered, squeezing them and diving his nose in her hair. He had missed her scent. "But it's a long story..."

  She let him go and smiled. "Then sit down with us and tell us everything," she said.

  "Yay!" the boys chorused, letting him go too, but grabbing his hands to drag him to the carpet at the center of the room.

  "Come on, Dad, tell us everything!" Hemal ordered.

  He sat on the floor with them and started his tale. He was so happy to be home.

  Later, when the children were asleep, he took Shanti in his arms and kissed her.

  "Gods, how I missed you!" He sighed.

  "I missed you too." She squeezed him. "So how was Prince Tarun? As wicked as his father?"

  "Actually, no. I think we'll have a great king after this one."