-Written By Suresh Iyer
(Reading Time: 10 min Approx)
Arya loved to explore the countryside on horseback with friends but lost his way near the mountain range. The friends who were accompanying him with other provisions could not be seen nearby. On one side ran a turbulent river bordering thick forests. Arya was a handsome brave young man. He was concerned more about his friends accompanying him who got lost. If they had made their way out, he knew they would very well try to find him out by alerting others. But what if they were themselves lost somewhere?
He checked his weapons and bow and arrows. He thought it was not a prudent thing to cross the river so chose to go through the forest. His horse was getting wary of getting into the thick forest for fear of being attacked by the unknown. Arya kept going. The sun was glowing on the top so he knew it was noon and he had to cross the forest before it gets to sunset when the wild animals could pose a threat.
He could hear some sounds. It sounded like a bear looking to attack them from nowhere. He checked his weapons again and rode his horse ahead. A few meters ahead, he could now hear the sound of an elephant. His horse got scared and refused to move. He pushed and prodded it and tried to move ahead.
“Stop where you are and don’t dare to move!”
He heard a voice alerting him. It was a female voice.
He was surprised to see a young beautiful girl in front of him in no time.
The sound of the elephant too got nearer.
Arya got alert and picked up his bow and arrow.
He could see the girl laughing at him.
“If you are so scared, why do you come out hunting over here?” She questioned him.
Arya was about to tell her that he was not a hunter. But her striking beauty kept him mesmerized. What was this beautiful young girl doing alone in this forest? He was feeling protective about her.
He proceeded towards her.
“Don’t ever dare to act smart. I am the princess over here.” She said.
Arya could not stop laughing. He was amused to see this pretty lone girl warning him in this dense scary forest.
Was she not scared to be out here alone?
He was soon taken aback when he was confronted by a huge Elephant.
As he took out his bow, he was stopped by the girl.
“Don’t do anything silly! He is Gajendra my elephant. He won’t harm you as long as you do not dare to hunt any animal over here. This entire forest belongs to us and we are the protectors of all that exists here.” She said.
He was enamoured by confidence of the beautiful young girl.
“I mean no harm. Are you really a princess? It will be my pleasure to meet the king.” He said.
She could notice the mocking tone of his voice.
“You mind your words if you want to get out unscathed from here. You don’t look like a hunter but we don’t like outsiders too if they mean trouble.” She said.
She signalled the elephant. It immediately bent down and she climbed over it.
“Follow me. We need to know the reason for you being over here without our permission. You shall not go out of here without our permission.” She said.
He realized that this girl must belong to some local tribes and was happy that they will help him make his way out. He also thought of taking their help in finding out his friends.
“Are you taking me to your king?” He asked.
She took a bow and shot an arrow which zipped past his ears.
“I hope you stop joking and keep silent.”
Arya kept silent for a while.
She kept talking to him about the poisonous snakes along the way. She showed him the dense honeycombs and warned him of the bears lurking around. He could notice few panthers. The birds and the bees seemed to greet her all the way through their music.
She strode over the elephant majestically and kept him watching her with awe.
He could notice few settlements and got delighted.
As they were making their way close to the bamboo houses he asked,
“Can I know your name?”
“I’m princess Valli”
She got down from the Elephant and acknowledged the tribes who greeted him.
He was awestruck by her poise and her control over this forest area.
An elderly man greeted him.
As soon as Valli was about to say anything more the elderly man fell at his feet to her surprise.
He smiled and held his shoulders.
“You are like my father. You should not be doing this.”
The elderly man had tears in his eyes.
“Your friends had got lost out and were wandering. Few of our tribal men saw them and brought them here. They told that they had lost their way and told us about you getting lost too. I had already sent some of my men around this forest in search of you. Thankfully my granddaughter who had gone around playing with her Elephant happened to see you. I hope she treated you well.”
Arya had a broad smile.
“Is she the princess Valli?”
The elderly man asked for his apologies.
“Since childhood we have raised her up over here. The tribes over here call her as Princess and love her antics. She is just a spoilt young girl. Hope you don’t mind her words.”
Arya smiled,”Where are my friends? We have to make our way out.”
The elderly man signalled his men to bring his friends and said,
“It’s getting dark. I hope you stay with your friends and proceed tomorrow. We may not have many amenities over here but would be proud to have you as guest for the night.”
Valli was watching all this with amusement and asked her grandfather.
“May I know who this man is?”
He laughed and replied,
“He is Arya, the son of Emperor Ravi Varma who rules over this entire Empire of which our forest is only a small part. We all owe it to the Emperor for living so freely and happily.”
Valli apologized and bowed before Arya.
Arya smiled and patted on her cheek.
“You are the real princess. It will be my pleasure if you become a part of the Empire.”
Valli blushed. The young man had already lost his heart to her.
-Written By Suresh Iyer
