विक्रम संवत 435 | श्रावण माह | कृष्ण पक्ष | द्वादशी
(27 July 375 CE)

Choices of the past

The Royal carriage was dispatched with great haste, skipping west from the palace in Mathura carried by civilians and accompanied by Maharajadhiraj's diplomats. Dhruvadevi was not informed that such a plot had been hatched. She was kept company by Atreya and Madhavasena, who kept her in this designed darkness.

Chandragupta was taking deep breaths, trying to pay attention to the sounds from outside the carriage, in order to learn about his surroundings. The Shaka army had many small encampments within eye limits outside Mathura. Among these was a royal camp, where the Shaka King was residing to supervise his fortifications. Chandragupta was barely keeping up with his anger at the thought of entering that camp, where Maharajadhiraj Ramagupta was heard to have been ambushed. Still, he kept his breaths deep and focused attentively on the sounds of the terrain.

A few guards sounded a foreign language and a diplomat informed them of a royal message, surrendering their pride and the Queen. Chandragupta heard every word. The carriage was taken into the establishment and the civilians and diplomats were held back. Chandragupta heard the neighing horses on his left, which were being offered by the Shaka captains to let the civilians and diplomats return to Mathura.

Guards started strafing and turning the sand around the carriage, like coming to a formation surrounding it. Then a voice directed to the carriage announced,
"The King of the Shakas, The Mahasatrap, Dharma Viyagi, Song of the Great Sridharvarman, Raja Kramdhar"
Chandragupta boiled into an adrenaline-fueled flow, his ears ringing and barely conscious of any distinct sounds anymore. As soon as a hand peered the curtains of the carriage aside, he leaped at it and dragged the man inside the carriage. A low scuffing struggle was heard followed by a hurried surprise and Chandragupta emerged from the carriage holding the King hostage. His blade was pressed against the King's throat and the hands were locked behind by Chandragupta's impossible grip.

The King struggled immensely to free himself, but something had happened to Chandragutpa, his hands were holding on like no mortal hands could.
The guards dared not make a move for the fear of the life of the King and the King could not free himself. After a few moments of attempts, it became clear that Chandragupta was in control of this situation.

When Chandragupta realised what he had done, he said, "Dharma Viyagi, I wanted you to know that righteous conquerors do not attack unarmed warriors with tricks. I want you to know the face of Adharma Viyagi, the unrighteous conqueror that brings an end to your despicable breath. My father, the Great Samudragupta, had mercy on Sridharvarman once, but I am not here to make that mistake of a Dharmic choice."

He violently slit the wind and life force vessels straight across the Shaka King's neck.
The guards stood there, stunned for a second and then leaped forward towards Chandragupta. Some leaped forward to catch the remains of their King before it was maligned by the sand from the grounds in the West of Mathura.
Chandragupta zoned back into fighting with the utmost effortlessness, his mind safely calculating his next steps while he let his practice take absolute control of his body and blade. He parried and dodged several swords, sometimes drawing his blade through a waist or driving it into a shoulder, then extracting it from the flesh again and deflecting more metallic swings at his life.

He made his way vaguely in Mathura's direction among a great chaos, trying to break through the sound of his ringing ears. He heard the neighing of the horses again and broke into a sprint, stealing a horse with a timing advantage. He mounted the animal like they were a single machine, as if designed to be galloping away from the armed foes. And thus Chandragupta managed to escape with his life.

Chandragupta was wondering how he could have managed to do what he had just done. The horse had started giving him a little bit of trouble, feeling a rider from an unfamiliar culture making use of his services, but it was still cooperating with Chandragupta. The ringing of his ears had slowly subsided as he galloped over the sparse open grasslands towards his city. A rich silence and fatigue had started to set in. When he reached the palace, the sun was almost about to rise.

Atreya, waiting at the gates for him to return, nodded to Chandragupta as he entered the palace, but Chandragupta could not nod back. The prince's guards surrounded him when finally the horse came to a stop and its reigns were taken away from Chandragupta. A small royal gathering welcomed him, some family members, some ministers, and in the front were Dhruvadevi and Madhavasena.

Dhruvadevi tried to speak first, "Chandragupta..." but bashful eyes could not find more words to express their gratitude.
Chandragupta joined his hands and bowed to her, like a prince does to a queen. No more words were said.
Madhavasena spoke next, "Rajkumar you must come with me, we are all very relieved to see you this fine morning!"

Chandragupta heard her trembling voice barely keeping up the appearances.