Necessary Evil

“The guards at the gate caught him without any weapon. He was running in or rather charging in towards the palace from the back gate. I know, he does not deserves to be chained and kept in the prisoners room, but I believe in times like these, you can not trust any one out there. Hope you, of all, will understand that” The minister to the King spoke in a low affirming voice.

“Yes, I heard his capture, sir. What do you want me do?” Antara responded.

“Well, he asked for you. He wanted to talk to you.” The minister replied, turning back from the window.

“I don’t care what he asks for, sir. I am responsible towards the throne and sworn by it. Will follow the orders that comes only from the throne or its court.” a stern retort from Antara without breaking her attention stance.

Such honesty thought Meghnand, who was a direct minister of advice to the King in his court.

“Well, you know the laws, for the prisoners. You got to grant it and yes, I know your past with him. Hence I too want you to see what he has to say.” said a very soft yet reasoning voice of Meghnand.

Antara nodded to the order and brisked herself towards the exit door.

“..And yes Antara, you are free to act in any way you deem fair down there and I will totally understand your decision with out any judgment.” assured Meghnand.

“Understood, sir” saying so, She swiftly exited the door.

-x-x-

“What?? We have the Ministry of Defense herself coming to attend this piece of shit?” exclaimed Sripadh to his fellow guard. “Man what an odd day to be posted here, with the ongoing…” hurried march of footsteps interrupted Sripadh. He turned towards the incoming cavalry and was amazed to see Antara, their Defense Minister, towing with couple of guards around her.

“Open up the gate, Sripadh and make arrangements for the Minister…”

“Don’t bother,just open the gate, take the servants and the butler out from here and yes I want all of you to leave this place as well. Until my further orders”. Antara cut through, interrupting the guard

“But your highness…”

“Have i not made my self clear…?”the guards simply followed her orders.

The lock of the gate opened. Sripadh ordered the servants and butler to hurry out. They all left in a jiffy. The last guard closed the door on his way out and Antara botched the door from inside. She turned and sighed at the open and eerily silent hall and stormed herself towards the room. The door knob turned, that caught Adheera’s attention, and for the first time in this long and tiring day he felt a little relieved seeing a known and beautiful face of Antara entering the room.

“Is this how messengers are treated in this land?” Adheera asked. He had a huge body, well built, no weapons around and long mat-locked hair. His body bore scars of number of wars he had been part of. He was known for his swift and ruthless sword fighting, but today he had chains wriggling down from his hands and both his ankle in shackles.

“Hmm, times have changed Adheera, and today you are not a messenger but a mere prisoner who tried to breach the walls and back gate that we had closed in. You very well know that the kingdoms are breathing down war on each other.” She replied, removing her gloves and placing down on a small table kept besides a bed that occupied the center of the room.

She clearly has moved on from us.

”So, what brings you here, or rather what made you breach our security walls?”

“Antara, I was not breaching in, I was merely following a lead I had my suspicion on, which led me…”

“Wait what? You were following a lead? Are you, what, a spy now? Do you even know what repercussions for such acts will result in? Adheera, this will complex the matters, and you..”

“I saw them at the forest, Antara…” Adheera interrupted.

“Saw whom? Adheera, and what forest are you talking about?” a little puzzled Antara inquired back.

“The reason I asked to speak only to you after getting so called ‘caught’ by your guards was because I know only you would understand and believe me of what I am about to say.” His voice deepened and also made the air in the room a little tensed.

“Okay, you got my attention, and what is that you have to say”?

Adheera took a deep breath, he leaned a little forward and in the process his chains clinked each other making the only noise that occupied the room. He took a deep breath and said.

"This all started eight to ten months back when a sudden spike of animosity among our kings rose. The bond for years, like brothers among our kings was crippling away slowly and hate seeping in its ugly head between the kings. Something surely was not right, was it the courts? Or the ministers? Or kings themselves? Were being bought or influenced with power to turn against each other. But the question was, by whom? Who could turn such big tables with their agendas? Who had so much power over kingdoms, not just one but seven of such kings? That perplexed me, Antara. So I formed a team, of my own trusted men. I asked them to scout every corner of my kingdom,wanted to be sure if the spark of an upcoming war was from my king or his court? My Men did round up people, sneaked up hall of records.."

“You sneaked up in hall of records? Are you even in you senses?” pounced back Antara who was patiently listening until then.

“I know, how it sounds, but for what it was worth,the risk, we did unearth a lot of ugly truths. Please sit tight and listen. So we sneaked up halls of records, we pulled out lot of parchments and began to examine them with any clue.."

“And you found what?mentions of blasphemy or any coup written in records? Are record keepers that foolish? ”questioned Antara with a touch of sarcasm.

“No, we were not looking for direct mentions, but we found disturbing pattern among those of missing persons. Of those, without crime records, disappearing in thin air, honest men from kings court sweeped from the face of earth without any trace. We further quietly started to ask the families of missing persons or any of their acquaintances and the results made our concerns sure, that something was wrong. My men spread out among the seven kingdoms, and with meticulous three to five months of searching, interviewing, following up, and even after a few deaths of my men, all paths lead to one thing and one thing only and that was THE CULL…"

“The Cull does not exists” The mere mention of the CULL, got Antara sprang out from her position, with almost a shiver running down her spine.

“They exist, I wished they did not, but they do and are very much functioning and is the single epicentre for the whole mess the seven kingdoms are in.” sighed Adheera.

Oh Adheera, what have you gotten your self into. This is not going in the direction I want this to. I would..

“Antara,” Adheera broke the chain of her thoughts, “I dint believe in the beginning too, until, I saw them…”. those last words changed all equations. She slowly rose from her bed, standing tall, her face a little pale from what she just heard. Small sweat pockets emerged from her temples.

“What do you mean, when you say you saw them?” she mumbled with a questioning voice.

“Yes I saw them, in the forest today in the morning. The cull is real and guess what, It was not just the cull, the centaur king, the…”

“Okay hold on. At first I thought you genuinely want to solve these problems among kingdoms, but know I am sure you are delusional, Centaur kings? Next is what you would say that you saw the assassins, the order of Na’ab and what not. Haven't you read for yourself in the hall of records and know that the kingdoms have finished the race of Centaurs” exclaimed Antara her voice echoing in the room. “rather mercilessly” she added

“Antara I know what I saw, the centaur king was not alone, he had to his side the Mage, monk of Shun-La, the asur of underground, and behold, the queen of venom herself, too”

Antara lost her senses at the mention of venom clan and more over the mention of the queen of the clan herself.

“How sure are you?” a deep and cold voice of Antara reverberated the room.

“I saw the tattoo on her arm, Antara, she had the robes too. They all where standing there, circling around a captive held in the middle. The poor soul had his hands tied back and was on his knees, while the Mage was questioning him, or rather torturing him and when they dint get what they want, one swing of the arm from the Centaur King that held a sword and the poor captives head flung in the air while his headless body dropped dead on the ground. Do you know who just got slaughtered? You ready to hear this? It was the peace minister from the kingdom of Sab’Ur.” gasped Adheera.

“You have seen too much Adheera” Antara spoke calmly to Adheera’s surprise and began to slowly walk towards the window with all the options running down in her head of how, this could end.

Adheera continued

"I was aghast to see this, yet I maintained my resolve to lay low there and observe them. After a while, they all gathered round and kept hands on each others shoulders like a huddle and murmured some prayer that softly echoed around the empty forest. It looked like a routine ritual after which they disbanded and headed their way, all in different directions. I could not make out as whom to follow and almost like an instinctive voice, I followed the queen which eventually led me here. She is here Antara, in your kingdom. I have to make sure you are safe. Antara, are you listening to me."

She stood by the palace window, tall and still, gazing absently at the blurred distance. She had two choices: both unattractive, out of which, she would have to take a decision...

“Antara..”

“You have two choices, Adheera. First, after being released with all due respects ,you will head north towards the mountains clearing up all your trails and loosing contact with your so called spy team and not a word of mention about this cull or centaur king or this queen you talk about. The peace minister that…”

“Antara, did you even listen to what I said, we can stop this war. This group is the very reason of the animosity among the kingdoms. They are making this look like the kings are doing this to each other, killing people in cold, missing persons and all. Why don’t you get this? Calculate the count of lives that can be saved”

“You will do as I say Adheera..”

“No. You know I can not do this. I will get out from here and I am going to take that group down, even if that takes my life. All I ask is your help in return. The queen, she is here in your palace. You cant be this calm.. about it”

“You have seen too much Adheera..” mumbled Antara again under her breath. “Clearly you wont take the first choice …” Antara paused, as she slowly began to remove a brace that covered her forearms. What Adheera saw, made the ground beneath him skip. His heart beat stopped, the mind froze, his mouth wide open in fear, his limbs began to feel numb. He had lost his sense of being when he saw a tattoo slowly appearing on Antara’s forearms glowing with a mild radiance.

“You.. are.. why… and since…but why.. and off all … me..” Adheera tried to find the words, but more than that he was lost within the questions that deluged his mind like a dam burst opened.

Unnervingly calm, Antara spoke clearly, “You must have read as you grew up, but I was there when it all happened, The seven kingdoms hunted the centaurs to their last kind and showed no mercy, not even for the infants. The kingdoms believed in some superior race bull shit and treated everyone else as ants that can be crushed on and moved ahead.

They did the same with the Asura’s too, just when my people my clan the Venom, reached out to them and provided safe shelter undergrounds.

The Mage’s were made slaves and traded them in their flesh while the monks were forced as servants within the palace doors. After all this and in time, with no enemy left and also having a superior sense of Supreme Race, the crimes and the atrocities over the poor in each kingdom kept rising. Intelligent men in the court became a rarity while corrupt minded people traded their way into the courts. Rapes, murders, lynching became an everyday routi….”

“And your plan is to end this by making the kingdoms fight each other?” Asked Adheera shakily

“Yes” she replied, calmly.

“There are good people too in this, that will be killed, would you….”

“These are collateral damages, Adheera, that is called sacrifice for a pure beginning..”

“Your actions will have re-actions Antara. Innocents will die, plenty of them and for what? Your petty revenge of something that happened centuries ago?” shuddered Adheera.

“My love, this is more than revenge. And besides the time has come for this continent. The seven kingdoms have to cease to exist and this is the reckoning of the culls’ years of hard work which cant be undone by one single delusional man, Adheera. The reign of humans will end, they will taste the mud ” she smirked.

“You have told me all, how can you be sure I wont tell this to any one or worse that I will eventually be in your path as an obstacle and that you will….”

“As a matter of fact, you already are my obstacle dear. Which is why the second unattractive choice is what I have for you.” she swiftly moved behind Adheera held his head by his hair and lowered herself on his left shoulder, her lips touching his ears. She opened her mouth and her tongue, which was split in between, rolled out hissing rhythmically. With her other hand, she closed Adheera’s right ear.

“Goof fye my flove” and seethed the tongue vehemently which created vibrations inside Adheera’s head. Antara stood up giggling and looking back at a huge body trembling and shivering like a helpless baby. His eyes began to swell while his pale looking face slowly turning blue. His hands shaking uncontrollably squirming the chains making loud noises.

“What…. have…. you…. done?” Adheera asked, struggling to let words out of his mouth.

“Ancient way of a silent kill, my love.” Antara looked as though she was now enjoying this.

“Why….Me..”

“Well a little while ago you were ready to die for this? So I am just abetting your request. And more over I have calculated every possible outcomes from this, and to kill you is the best odds, in months, our group has had, Adheera. Your death will be the push needed for war.”

“You…..are evi…” retorted Adheera, now almost out of breath.

“Yes, yes my love I am pure evil. The ones that is required in times like these.” Antara countered, wearing her gloves back and began to speak again

“Endure this death, Adheera. Fate has chosen you for bringing purity back to this continent.” Saying such she stormed out of the room, into the hall. Bolted the lock open and through the gates into the garden.

“Sripadh, it is? Right?” She asked as she came out of the block.

“Yes ma….”

“The prisoner is dead, clean the mess and see to that he is given a proper ritual burning.” She said interrupting Sripadh as she passed by..

-x-x-

“He did what…”Asked Meghnand, back in the palace, absolutely perplexed hearing to what Antara had to say.

“Yes, you heard it right. He had a piece of packet filled with poison in his mouth. He crushed an ate it and before doing so, he said killing the messenger will send the right push of an impending war to all kingdoms. You all will pay for your deeds.”

Lied Antara

“Oh god, messenger killed is not a good sign. This will start war!!!”

Antara turned towards the window and with a wry smile she said “I am counting on it”.