CMYAD: Thread 7~Chp 46 to 49 - Page 68

hi peoplez... i know i am late but i am going to college for my internship in a few days so had to spend time with my mom and dad... so had no time to write... will be like this till i join on thursday... and after thursday as soon as i settle you'll get quicker updates again... till then please forgive my absence... i will be sending out thread 8 link also tonight after you guys comment here...

Chapter 49:The Three Tigers

Arnav had removed the vest he was wearing and was bare chested as he pulled khushi into his warmth and kissed her forehead.

She pulled Arnav close to herself and claimed his lips for her own.

They kissed and fell asleep in each other's embrace.

Though Arnav did not know that him falling asleep would be both damage and cure. His visions returned to him. Worse than before and in more vivid detail. The Missing Link might get solved in what he was about to see as he fell asleep and hell took over his mind.

-------------flashback---------------

The prince was small and was playing around his garden. He was completely bored as there was nothing to do. 

He felt lonely as he did not have many friends as he didn't even go to the school where others learned their stuff and he was left to be taught by the royal teacher who taught the king's children.

Since he was the only child, he was alone all his life. And the day he had been introduced to the neighboring king's daughter, he had fallen for her immediately.

He was happy that she would become his companion and they could become friends and play about.

But the marriage was to be held when he was a teen. He still met the princess at times but never got to spend enough time with her.

He was very lonely. All he could do was increase his skill at swordsmanship as that was the only sport he could practice to take his mind off things.

One day when  he was running he heard a voice. A voice in pain and despair. He could identify the tone of that voice very easily.

He searched around for the source but he couldn't find any living creature in his field of vision. Then his eyes fell on a pit in the ground.

He went close to the pit and a sight astonished him. There were two tiger cubs that had been trapped in the pit. He recognized the pit to be a trap by hunters.

He felt really bad as the cubs were caught in the debris of the pit and weren't able to get out at all. So the price climbed down the pit by tying a rope to the tree and lowering himself.

He got down and saw that the cubs were frightened of his presence and were growling at him.

Prince: Relax. I am here to help.

Something in the calmness of his voice made the tigers a bit calm but they still did not trust him.

The prince helped both the tigers out of the debris. Then he noticed that one was a male and the other a female. He helped them out of the pit one by one. As he came out he looked at the cubs and raised his hand in a gesture of goodbye and turned to leave.

But after 10 minutes of walk when he turned he saw that both of them were following him.

Prince: Go from here. You aren't supposed to come with me.

But the tiger cubs kept following him.

Prince: Shoo, go away, shoo.

But whatever he did those cubs kept running after him.

He was now close to the kingdom and he was sure that the people will kill them if they see the tiger cubs. 

Since he knew many short cuts and passages, he quietly snuck both the tigers into the castle and went to the abandoned horse shed and cleared the place to make it a suitable place for the tigers to stay.

The castle was on the edge of the forest so he knew that the tigers would be easily able to feed themselves.

----------------end of flashback-------------------

Arnav woke up with a start in the middle of the night. He was sweating. He relaxed as he felt the calm breath of khushi in his arms and her body was pressed against his.

He calmed himself down and gave a kiss on khushi's cheeks. He smiled as he looked at her. 

Even in sleep  the portion he had kissed had developed a tinge of red and her lips had broken out into a small smile. She was still fast asleep. These reactions had become a part of her.

He smiled looking at her red cheeks. After a while he decided to sleep again.

As soon as he closed his eyes, his visions started again.

-------------------flashback-----------------------

The prince was now 9 years of age. He was playing around with the tigers that weren't cubs any longer and would turn into adults in a few months. The prince though was only 9.

One day he was playing about running with the tigers when one of the king's men saw the prince and rushed to tell the king.

The king got angry as to why his son was raising tigers near his people. They might eat the people and cause fear among his subjects.

He got up and ran to the place where the prince was spotted playing.

As soon as the prince saw his father coming, he knew his father had seen the tigers.

Prince: Run Arya and Ares

The tigers understood the seriousness in the prince's voice and ran leaving him behind, disappearing into the woods.

The prince felt sad looking at his only friends disappear into the wild again.

The king had reached the prince.

King: what is this? Why have you raised tigers? Are you insane? They are animals that feed on flesh. They would eat you and the rest of my people.

Prince stood his ground. It was in his rajputana blood.

Prince: They are not animals father. They are my friends. And they do not eat human flesh as I have trained them not to. I have been with them for over three years everyday for an hour or two. And they haven't ever made an advance to me or the rest of the kingdom.

But the king was angry. He wouldn't let anyone put the life of his subjects in danger. He turned and picked up a huge stick. He turned around to beat the prince. The king was taken by rage.

He took the stick back to hit the prince but before the strike could fall one of the tigers leaped and caught the other end of the stick in its mouth and took the stick away from the king.

Then what happened was beyond anyone's imagination.

Both the tigers were back and were now near the prince.

They were facing the king and with their jaws open wide were growing at the king in anger. Anyone who tried to approach the prince was growled upon by both the tigers. 

One of the soldiers tried aiming an arrow at the tigers but as he left his arrow, the prince took out his sword and deflected that arrow effortlessly.

Prince: I would die before any harm comes to my friends.

King: How can you call these creatures friends?

Prince: Because they are exactly that. They eat, they breathe and they love to enjoy life just like we men do. How are they any different? I take full responsibility for them and will accept any punishment for that. If helping a fellow being when it is in pain, then punish me. If saving them from the world of hunters who kill for pleasure, then punish me. If making friends is a crime, hang me. But I will not let my friends get harmed while I breathe.

King: Are you siding against me?

Prince: No father. I am not siding against you. I am siding with what is right and what is my duty to this world. Isn't that what being Rajput's is all about. Duty and righteousness.

There was silence in the crowd of soldiers gathered around the king as the king looked at his 9 year old son with wide eyes. At an age like his, the prince was clear of all the beliefs he had in him. The king went forward.

Both the tigers began to growl again.

Prince: calm down. He is my father. He is the one who has given me life. He has all the right.

The tigers calmed down instantly and sat down. The king reached the prince and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

King: I am so proud of you son. You can keep your friends on one condition.

Prince: what is that.

King: they will need to be branded by tattoos. This is because they should be easily distinguished between your friends and other wild tigers in the jungle.

Prince: Then I too have a condition.

King: What is that?

Prince: I too should be branded the same tattoo. Because I don't want my friends or anyone to think that I own these tigers. They are my friends and I shall do whatever you do to them.

King smiled. He knew he had the perfect and just king for his subjects in the future.

And so the three of them were branded with the same tattoo.

And the people called them as The Three Tigers.

--------------------end of flashback------------------

But Arnav in his sub conscious realized something that had scared him so much so that he was awakened from his dream.

He was scared again. His heartbeats pumping at an abnormally high speed. This time khushi had sensed something and had gotten up. Arnav was behaving different. His heartbeats had increased as though he had seen a ghost.

Khushi: Arnav, calm down. I am here. There is no need to panic.

Arnav looked into her eyes to find care and worry in her eyes. He captured her lips with his own trying to distract his entire being from his vision.

Khushi took lead of the kiss deepening it and trying to soothe Arnav from the pain he felt. She battled his tongue to provoke it to fight back and fight back it did when arnav responded to her completely.

After a few minutes of battle, Khushi tucked herself onto arnav as close and tight as possible to give assurance. Arnav breathed in her scent and closed his eyes. But that was not going to stop the visions in his mind. Today it was as though nature was playing its part in Arnav's life.

----------flashback--------------

The imprisoned king: No son, don't do it. Remember your duty.

Prince: This is my duty father. My most important duty is the welfare of my wife and then comes the rest. I cannot let anything happen to her.

Imprisoned king: I am sorry son. I am proud of you. Your dad would have been proud of you. You really have lived to your father's reputation. I salute you son. Please forgive me for being so helpless.

Prince: You are my father and an elder to me. You do not need to ask for forgiveness father. Just make sure the princess  leads a happy life and not that of a widow.

Imprisoned king: I owe you everything. You really are a true Rajput son and you have lived up to the tattoo on you.

Prince finally smiled as he reached the back of his neck to feel the inscription.

Prince: goodbye father. Goodbye princess.

And saying so he jumped from the cliff as far as he could.

He was being pulled by gravity really fast. He wasn't screaming as he was about to die. He had made a pact with his dad that he would welcome death with a smile on his face.

There was a huge rock where the prince was about to fall. Just before he hit the rock he hit something soft and was thrown away from the rock and into the lake. There was blood in the water, but it was not his.

Then he was drowning and the princess's face came to his mind. Then his parents.

Prince(thinking): I'm coming mom dad. Wait for me.

But the details were now clear to him. As clear as they could be.

He had jumped and was heading straight for the rocks below and he would have definitely met his death, but when he was at a point in his fall, a tiger had leapt into the air and used its head to push the falling prince deflecting the path of fall by inches making the prince fall into the running water.

But unfortunately it took the prince's place and fell on the rocks. It tried to land on its feet but due to the edges of the rocks it got cut severely on the side of its flesh and blood flowed down the river.

---------------end of flashback-------------

Arnav woke to find that khushi's lips were still pressed against his. They had slept in each other's embrace and while they were kissing each other they had fallen asleep.

Their lips were still sealed against each other.

But the tension in Arnav had woken up khushi and when she got up and felt Arnav's lips still on hers while sleeping, she immediately turned scarlet red.

But she knew something was bothering Arnav.

Khushi: What happened Arnav? Did you see the visions again?

Arnav looked at her concerned filled eyes and nodded.

Khushi bent and kissed his forehead and got up. It was just dawn and Arnav and khushi noticed that the tigress had left to hunt and the cub was now sleeping at khushi's feet.

Arnav and khushi smiled as they saw the cub yawn and look at them sleepily.

Khushi immediately took it into her lap and the cub happily sat there and let khushi run her hands on its fur.

Khushi: They are so cute.

Arnav shook his head.

Arnav: all kids are cute. Even when I was small many of my mom's friends used to pull at my cheeks and I used to make faces. But that only made them to pull harder. And just like tigers, when I grew up I grew up into something too scary.

Khushi smiled and pulled at Arnav's cheeks,

Khushi: You still look cute to me my cutie pie.

Arnav made a pout.

Arnav: Laad governor, cutie pie, what kind of names do you come up with for me khushi.

Khushi laughed out loud looking at Arnav' adorable pout.

Khushi: What do you want me to call you then?

Arnav: Something manly like macho man or terminator or something like that.

Khushi again laughed out which just increased Arnav's frustration.

Arnav bent down pressed his lips against hers as hard as he could and in a few seconds withdrew leaving a breathless khushi.

Now Arnav was the one having a smirk on his face.

Khushi got angry looking at that confident smirk on his face. She put the cub down and got up and ran behind Arnav.

Suddenly Arnav stopped as he realized something. And khushi not expecting Arnav to stop abruptly crashed into his back and before she could fall again, his strong arms rapped themselves around her waist.

Khushi: Why did you stop like that.

Arnav: You are so crazy khushi. You had a sprain and you are running around. Is your leg ok.

Then khushi realized that she hadn't felt pain in her leg since morning. She smiled.

Arnav removed the bandage to see that the swelling was gone Khushi suddenly felt shy as her leg was completely exposed to Arnav. 

She tried to withdraw her leg when Arnav noticed her shyness and caught her leg. He kept looking into her eyes and started to bend. 

He bent and kissed her ankle and he was still eye locked with Khushi as he wanted to notice her expressions.

As his lips left her skin he noticed her blush immediately and smirked at yet another victory.

Arnav brought his face close to hers. Their noses were touching and arnav came closer and closer.

Khushi's chest was heaving now. His lips had touched hers and he was going to kiss her when a loud roar separated them.

This roar didn't belong to a female tiger. It belonged to a male one.

They turned to the mouth of the cave to see an angry and fully-grown tiger growling at them showing its fangs. It was going to go for the kill. Arnav immediately put khushi behind himself.

The tiger started running towards them to bring down its prey. It launched itself in the air.

But before it could even so much as touch Arnav and khushi, the tigress had leapt and pushed the tiger mid air.

The tigress stood between the tiger and Arnav and khushi.

It roared at the tigress with ferocity but the tigress roared louder and showed its canine teeth and growled at the tiger making its position clear that it would not let the tiger harm the two of them.

But Arnav's eyes fell on something else. It fell on the male tiger's neck that too had the same tattoo he had seen. And then it fell on the tiger's side of its body where a huge scar was visible. 

Blood from Arnav's face drained out. They were both the same two tigers of the dream he had just had. And this one was the one who had saved the prince's life.

Arnav: Ares.

And the male tiger stopped at once. No one had called it that name in years. And only one person had ever called it that name. It was his friend, the price who used to call it Ares.

Even the tigress stopped and turned to look a Arnav.

Arnav: Ares and Arya.

If animal expressions could be read, Arnav knew that both if the tigers were equally stunned.

The male tiger slowly made its way to Arnav. It rose and put its forelegs on his shoulders bringing him crashing down on the earth. Khushi tried moving the tiger but to no avail.

The tiger looked deep into Arnav's eyes searching for something and then it opened its mouth.

The tigress made its move to save Arnav before it was too late. But what happened next left everyone including the tigress completely baffled.

--------to be cont----------

this was quite big no??? even chp 50 is gonna be equally big as a treat... but dunno when i'll actually be updating that... hopefully it is done by wednesday or thursday... lets see...

Do comment... big ones give you big updates... small and i'll cut chp 50 into parts and leave you at cliff hangers that will increase ur appetite...

THREAD Ei8ht

Peace Out...

Evil Singh Raizada...