Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

It was a fine morning in the small village in Palakkad, Vijayanagara Empire. The sun was rising on the horizon, and a man was exercising near a small tent. It was Bhairava despite his prosthetic hand. He didn't miss out on his exercise to keep himself in shape.

Even with his injury, he was still one of the strongest people in the Empire. He and Vikrama were staying over in the village for a while thanks to the understanding village chief, Bhuvesh.

Vikrama was catching up with his daughter Shraddha, while Bhairava sat bored doing some exercise.

Some villagers were still scared of his imposing figure and avoided him.

Kids peeked from behind the trees to see his exercise routines, as they had never seen a military routine in their lives; some kids even try and fail some exercise, which occasionally makes him giggle.

He tried approaching the kids, but they just ran away from him.

'Damn it!! Is my face that scary???' He cursed inwardly.

Recently for passing the time. He began to help the villagers with manual labour like moving around huge logs and rocks.

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They all look astonished when he just lifts huge rocks and logs on his own that required 3 or more villagers.

So the manual labour quickly became part of his routine.

He walked towards the logging area, ready to help after his morning exercise.

A villager greeted him as he arrived.

"Good morning, Young lad."

"Morning, how are you?" Bhairava greeted the middleaged man with a slight bow. "Anything I need to move."

"Oh… There is that huge tree we cut down today. You might need help on that." The man pointed at the fallen tree.

The tree was split into some parts.

"We will split it further after taking a rest. If you can wait." The man added.

"No need; this is just light work." He exclaimed as he picked up the heavy log and put it on his shoulders to move it to the location.

It became an everyday sight for the villagers to witness the abnormal strength of Bhairava after moving the logs.

Bhairava went to take a bath and went looking for Vikrama. He didn't even speak to him for the past few days because that man was sticking to his daughter like glue. He was always beside her and talking about the past and other things.

Bhairava walked to the Banyan tree to see Vikrama happily chatting with his daughter Shraddha.

"Hey old man, give her a break. You have been stuck to her like glue." He exclaimed as he approached.

Vikrama looked at him. "You won't understand a father's pain." He pouted.

"Yes, I won't but look at her. She is overwhelmed." Bhairava says.

They both began to argue about it like little children.

Shraddha giggled, looking at the banter and name-calling.

"You seem awfully close to each other." She said it in her sweet voice.

"We are not close." They both said it in unison, which made her laugh even harder.

Bhairava pulled Vikrama close as he whispered in his ear.

"Did you tell her yet?"

"No, how can I just tell her that? It is her personal decision," Vikrama whispered back.

Bhairava clicked his tongue. "Come on, do something, or else I will ask her."

Vikrama stayed silent, not knowing what to reply.

Bhairava let go of him and straightened himself up.

"Shraddha, I have something to confess to you."

She looked surprised.

"Wh- What! Confess? I am not ready! We jus- just know each other right now. This takes time; I can't ma—"

She stuttered out but was quickly interrupted.

"We came to take you back home." He said.

Shraddha's expression quickly turned into a stone-faced expression.

"Huh? Haaa. " She said as she took in what Bhairava said.

"You want me to leave the village and come with you?"

"Don't listen to him." Vikrama interrupted, but his mouth was quickly shut by Bhairava.

"This old man is scared to take you away from the village. He didn't have the courage to ask you to leave the village himself, so I asked, and in the end it is your decision, Shraddha." Bhairava declared.

"Unhand me, you brat." Vikrama tried biting his hand.

"Huh. Keep your mouth shut, old man, and let her think." Bhairava said as he dragged Vikrama away.

"Think and get to that decision. If you wish to stay. I will just leave you both and go since my job is done here." With that, Bhairava left along with Vikrama.

Shraddha, despite her reserved nature, wanted to experience the world outside the confines of the small village.

When she was found by her parents and raised. She was never allowed to go beyond a certain area in the village, given her beautiful appearance. It could be dangerous, as certain people could abduct her.

So even after the death of her foster parents, she was always in the village confines, just like a caged bird. She wanted to break through the cage but had no chance to do so.

She received various marriage proposals also due to the rumors of her beauty spreading to other villages. She didn't want to marry without love, so she rejected all of them. The chief of the village was understanding and protected her from the backlash.

Shraddha found her solace in singing songs that were taught by her foster mother.

She wanted to visit the big temples everyone talks about when they go on trips to the towns and cities.

Next day, in the early morning. Shraddha visited the small shack erected by Bhairava and Vikrama to sleep in the village.

Bhairava was exercising as usual. He didn't wear an upper robe and was sweating profusely. He glanced up at Shraddha while doing his exercise.

"Miss, did you decide?"

She took a deep breath, reaffirming herself.

"Yes, I will do it."

Bhairava halted his exercise, jumping up with a bright smile and grabbing her soft hands.

"Really??" He turned back at Vikrama, sitting dejected, looking at the ground. "Hey old man, she agreed to come."

"Huh? She agreed." Vikrama exclaimed.

After a while, they talked to the village chief and thanked him for his help in finding Shraddha while she went to the village kids and villagers, saying her teary goodbyes as she was getting ready to come back home.

Bhairava shouted from afar. "Miss, we need to depart now or else we can't reach the place before nightfall."

Shraddha waved as he walked away from the teary village kids.

"Bye kids, I will come back someday to meet you all again."

With that, she turned to leave the village.