Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Harsha's eyes flickered open to the morning light filtering through and hitting his face. He found himself all alone in the small cave. Gauri was nowhere to be seen, her sword resting on the rock beside him, where she had slept for the night.

He walked out of the cave, stretching his limbs. The forest was humming with life as the birds sang melodious tunes as the light filtered through the thick canopy of the large, ancient trees. The grass was wet with morning dew, giving him a feeling of coldness on his feet and leaves crunching as he walked to the nearby stream of water.

He found Gauri sitting near the edge of the stream, her feet dipped in the cold water. Her eyes lit up at his sight.

"Good morning, Harsha."

"Good morning." He replied as he splashed some water onto his face, waking himself up from the grogginess of the sleep.

"Let's move after some time."

"I suggest moving along the path of the stream that leads up to the waterfall."

Harsha, wiping the excess water from his face, looked up at her.

"Why is that?"

"Because that's the closest way to descend the hill to search for us. So if we go there, we have a better chance at finding our people."

"Ohh!! You seem to have quite good knowledge about the terrain!" He said this, furrowing his brows.

Gauri looked at him, scratching the back of her neck.

"Well. We have been in this area for a while, and knowing the terrain is the bare minimum to stay away from threats."

"You are right, By the way, I forgot to ask. How old are you?"

Gauri looked at him with a hint of skepticalness, narrowing her eyes.

"It's never wise to ask a lady her age, Harsha. Anyway, I am 21 years old."

"Oh, so you are older by 3 years."

"You are just 18? But you speak and act like an old man!"

"Eh? Do I really talk and act like that?"

Gauri, clearly amused at his reaction, wanted to tease him further to get some more reactions. But she steeled her resolve not to go further, as she didn't want to be hated.

"Anyway, let's leave, Harsha. They will be worried."

"Sure."

Harsha went back to the cave, his upper body naked as his tunic was worn by Gauri, which was small for her. The tunic that reached close to his thigh barely covered her belly button. They gathered their things from the cave and began walking up the stream of water to the nearby waterfall to find their comrades.

They kept walking up in the direction of the stream for quite a while. The sun was now high up in the sky. The intense warmth made the duo's travel kind of sweaty. Cooling themselves with occasional splashes of water, they continued till the sun was right above the head; that's when they decided they had to rest for a while till the heat of the sun subsides so they could move on.

They walked over to a giant tree and sat down under its shade, giving them much-needed coolness from the intense sun rays of the afternoon sun.

Gauri looked over at the glistening stream of water flowing down the way they had trekked.

"Harsha, do you feel like people would accept me as a princess if I disclosed my identity?"

It was an odd question to ask another kingdom's prince. Strangely, she was okay with asking him these questions. She wanted to hear the truth, and Harsha was brutally honest in her eyes.

"Depends on which people you are talking about? Do you mean the kingdom populace or your own group?"

"Both!"

"It's likely your group would accept you. But the kingdom, no!"

"As I thought!" Gauri looked between her legs at the ground. In the end, she was limited by the fact that she was a woman.

"What about you? Would you, um." Her voice trailed off as she pondered what to say next.

Harsha looked at her, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"The gender of a person doesn't matter to me. Unless they are efficient and useful for my plans."

"Really?" Gauri's eyes lit up fervently at his statement.

"Anyway, I mean, I won't just belittle your ability just because you are a woman."

"Thanks." She murmured inaudibly, her voices fading away in the sudden splash of water against the rock.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, Harsha. Let's move. We have to reach before nightfall." Gauri said with a wide grin plastered across her face.

They kept walking for a long time up the stream. They could now see the waterfall in the distance.

Gauri glanced back, pointing at the waterfall.

"Harsha, there is the waterfall."

Harsha silently followed her lead on the way to the waterfall.

"How will you explain your look to your group?" asked Harsha curiously.

"I didn't think about it? What should I do?"

"Just tell the truth." He advised

As they approached the waterfall, they could barely make out a couple of people descending down the waterfall using the path beside it. It was Gauri's group and Viswa's.

The group saw them approaching and quickly sprinted to them. Viswa ran as if he hadn't seen Harsha for an entire year and skidded to a halt in front of Harsha.

"Your High-," He began but quickly changed "Master. Are you injured?" Viswa inspected Harsha's body, looking for any injuries.

"Just some scars."

As the others gathered,. They noticed Gauri sticking out like a sore thumb with her long hair, with Harsha's tight clothing accentuating her curves.

"Who is that girl?" asked the man with a shield.

"It's the prince, Sachin," A girl said as she patted the shoulder of the man.

The voice of Harsha cut through the conversations happening between the newly found identity of Gauri and her group, taking in the fact.

"That's enough reunion talking. We shall part ways from here."

"Although I sincerely thank Gauri and her group for the help,"

He finally declared.

"In the future, there will come a day when I will repay this debt I owe to you in full, Gauri."

Like that, with a brief farewell. They went on their separate ways. Little did Harsha know he had lit up a fuse in Gauri's mind. Her obsessive nature, coupled with her ability to achieve her goals at all costs

Gauri glanced back at the sight of Harsha and his aide blending into the forest and thought.

'I will be by your side at all costs, Harsha. Even if I have to tear apart my own kingdom.',