Rain (The Quest Trilogy-Book Two) (22 page)

In response, they came forward, lifted him up by the shoulders, and carried him kicking and struggling all the way to a large mansion. There, he was ushered inside a long hall where several guards stood on the fringes ready to attack, or protect, as needed.

A tall, robust-looking man who appeared to be in his early thirties entered the hall and all of the guards bowed respectfully. The man acknowledged the guards with a curt nod and then came to stand in front of Rain. First, he spoke to the two sepoys who had brought Rain to him. Again, in the language that Rain couldn’t understand and then he turned to address him in impeccable English.

“Who are you and what brings you to our city?” he said sternly.

“My name is Rain, and I’ve … ah … come from Russia.” said Rain, wildly making things up because he didn’t know how much of his real story would be believed here. For all he knew, if he told them he was on a Quest to collect wisdoms, they would probably brand him on the forehead with a hot iron and then throw him into the dungeons.

“Are you a prince? Come to take part in the competition?”

“Er … yeah. I am prince Rainier from Russia.” bluffed Rain, not having any clue as to what this man was speaking about.

“Wherefrom in Russia?”

“I …uh, a small village called Rayva. Off to one side. No one’s really heard about.” said Rain nervously.

“A prince … from a village?” said the man, pronouncing each word slowly.

All the guards sensed a change in the man’s demeanor and went on alert. Rain swallowed. He knew he would be given only one more chance. Would they understand if he said he was on a Quest? Would they believe him? Rain could not bring himself disclose everything just yet.

“Actually, I don’t remember much. I was attacked in the woods and now my head is all fuzzy. Could I please rest in your city for a few days?”

The tall man stared at Rain for a few seconds, scrutinizing his face and words, and then let his shoulders relax.

“Welcome to the city of Marut. I am Saleh, the king’s closest, and most trusted, vizier.”

Rain allowed himself to breathe again. “Thank-you. Where can I find a place to stay?”

“You may stay here, in my mansion. I will send for the doctor. He will take care of your injuries.”

“That is so kind of you, sir vizier, but you don’t need to go through all this trouble for me.”

“It is no trouble. Besides, it will be easier for me to keep an eye on you if you are right under my nose.”

“Keep an eye on me?”

“Yes. So that we may talk … once you remember everything.”

The vizier sized Rain up once more. “Such peculiar clothing!” he commented, and then turned to give instructions to the two sepoys who had brought Rain in.

Rain projected his thoughts to his Geeya.

‘Sharp guy.’

‘He isn’t the king’s closest advisor for nothing. You would do well to speak the truth with him.’

‘You really think so?’

‘I do.’

*****

Over the next month Rain both, healed and became good friends with the vizier, who, it turned out, was a wise and dependable man. Over the course of the days Rain revealed to him his actual reason for being there and also his true identity. To his credit, Saleh took the news quite well, not only believing Rain but also promising him help in whichever way he could. From him, Rain had found out that the princess was currently holding a competition. Anybody who could solve the challenges she posed would win her hand in marriage. Whenever the vizier spoke of the princess, Rain noted that he did so with a mixture of pride and a sense of possessiveness. On this particular morning, the topic of conversation had wound up once more on the princess and her many talents.

“Can the princess speak in English, too?” asked Rain.

“The princess is fluent in English, Hindi, Latin, French and Sanskrit.” replied the vizier.

“Saleh, if you will forgive my intrusiveness … it is clear to me that you care deeply for the princess. Why don’t you enter this competition and claim her as yours before someone else does?”

The vizier paused to look at Rain with perceptive eyes. “I see that in the days you have spent here you have learned a lot more about me than I have about you.” he noted softly. With a wistful sigh, the vizier looked down so that his face would not give his emotions away.

“The competition is only for princes of all lands. I am only a vizier. I cannot participate, even if I wanted to.”

“But there’s no rule against a vizier participating. You could try your luck.”

The vizier shook his head.

“Even if I did try, I have no idea how the princess feels. If she does not feel for me the way I feel for her, then I will be hanged for my audacity. It is best for me to recognize my limits and stay within them.”

They fell into thoughtful silence for a while. Then Rain spoke up again. “Nobody has won the challenge so far, correct?”

“That is right.”

“Saleh, I think I can help you.”

The vizier looked up at him both hopefully, and skeptically. “And how do you plan to do that?”

“I will need to enter the competition for that. Will you help me get in?”

“I could. But how will that help me? If you win, the princess will marry you.”

“And if I lose?”

“Then, you will be sent straight out of the city through the back gates.”

“I will be sent away immediately? Why?”

“So you won’t reveal the nature of her challenges to any of the remaining contenders.”

“I see. Never mind. I’ll manage somehow. Just help me get in. I’ll do the rest.”

“But what will you do?” insisted the vizier.

Rain winked. “Something. Just trust me, okay? I won’t steal the princess from you.”

“Well then … I wish you luck. I will help you get inside but beyond that, you are on your own.”

“Thank-you. That is all I will need you to do for me.”

*****

The next day, Rain found himself walking alongside two male servants, all dressed up in princely regalia, on his way to meet the princess. Saleh had helped him coin a reasonably vague and believable fake identity. He had been taught to join his palms and bow slightly when greeting the princess but other than that, he had no idea what challenges awaited him today.

The two male servants pushed open the huge silver doors that led to a large hall with beautiful stained glass windows. Rain watched the streaming sun cast pretty shadows on the marble below, admiring the fine craftsmanship and detailing that went into the interiors.

Directly ahead of him, reclining on a couch decorated with gems, was the princess, with a dusky, glowing complexion and large eyes as beautiful as the moon. She eyed Rain with ill concealed impatience as he approached her, but when she spoke, she did so with utmost politeness.

“ Welcome, Prince Rainier of the Islands of Nimrohi.”

Rain joined his palms and bowed slightly. “Namaste, Princess Sameera. I bring you greetings from my homeland.”

“Where are these islands, exactly?” asked the princess.

She was simply trying to make some polite conversation, Rain knew, but because he was not prepared with the details, he fumbled nervously.

“Uh … in the Indian Ocean.” said Rain.

“The Indian ocean? How can that be? I know of all the islands surrounding India but I have never heard of the Islands of Nimrohi.”

Rain gave himself a mental kick. Of course she would know all about the Indian Ocean. He tried to steer the conversation away somewhere safe.

“Does it matter where I come from? All that matters … is that I somehow win the challenges posed by a woman of your beauty.”

Rain watched the princess’s features harden. She obviously despised empty words of flattery. Two misses already. This had not begun well.

“Shall we proceed, then?” said the princess, eager to have this over and done with.

“Absolutely.” said Rain.

The princess clapped her hands twice, loudly. Three maid servants entered the room carrying three beautiful egg stands with an unshelled egg in each. The stands were placed in front of Rain.

“Your first challenge …” said the princess, gesturing towards the eggs, “you must tell me which of these three eggs is not boiled.”

“Am I allowed to touch them?” asked Rain.

“You are.”

Rain inspected each egg carefully and then picked the one in the middle.

“This egg is not boiled.”

“Why do you say so?”

“Because when I move it around in my hand, I can feel its weight shifting.”

The princess nodded and one of the maid servants cracked open the egg over a silver basin. It was raw.

“You are correct.” said the princess. “Now tell me, of the remaining eggs, which one is hard boiled, and which one soft boiled?”

Rain covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. He had known it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“May I have a small spoon?”

He was given one by a maid servant.

Rain picked up the eggs one by one and gently tapped their shells so that tiny, multiple cracks appeared on their surface. Then, he placed them back on their stands.

“The one on the right is the hard-boiled egg, and the one on the left is soft-boiled.”

The princess raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“I’m curious. How did you know?” she asked.

“Tell me first, if I am correct.”

“You are.”

“In that case … I knew which was which, because when the shell of a hard-boiled egg is cracked, then the entire thing separates from the egg inside along with the hard outer layer. The same does not happen if an egg is soft-boiled.”

“Very well, then. Onto the next challenge.” said the princess.

She got up from the couch and led Rain inside a room packed to the capacity with people squatting on the floor.

“Tell me, which of these persons was the last to enter this room?”

Rain scanned the faces that were all now staring at him. Which of these persons had entered this room last? Could it be the one closest to the door? Not necessarily. That person could just as easily have jumped over the shoulders of the others seated here and found a spot for himself somewhere in the middle. Rain turned his attention to the many shoes left outside the door and picked a pair. He held the pair up high, so that everybody could get a good look at them.

“To whom do these shoes belong?” he asked loudly.

A lone gentle man stood up in the middle of the room.

“He’s the one.” said Rain, turning to the princess.

“He is indeed the last one to enter this room. How did you figure that out?” said the princess.

“Since he was the last to arrive, I figured that his shoes would be right at the outer edge of the collection of shoes here. Also, assuming that he would be worried about being late, I looked for the pair that was left most haphazardly. All of the other shoes were left neatly, but these were flung off carelessly.”

There was the faintest hint of admiration in the eyes of the princess as she addressed him once more. “Fair use of logic, prince Rainier. But it does not end here. You must now point out the man who was first to enter this room.”

Rain once again returned his attention to the pile of shoes. He picked a pair that was close to the door, singling out its owner as the first person to enter the room. He was right again.

“Did you take a wild guess this time?” inquired the princess, looking at him curiously.

“No. This person was the first to arrive, that means, the shoes would be placed right near the door.”

“But there were three pairs closest to the door. How did you know which of those belonged to the man who entered first?”

“I assumed that a person who did not want to be late would be a very conscientious person. Such a person would not want his shoes to come in the way of others about to arrive. So I picked the corner-most shoes, the one’s touching the door frame.”

“I confess, I am impressed.”

“Thank-you. Shall we move on?”

“By all means.”

The princess led him out of the palace, onto the orchard. Rain followed behind, wondering why she appeared more displeased with each task that he completed successfully.

Ahead of him, Rain saw a table that had a large bowl of fruits, an exquisite bow and a quiver full of arrows bearing the royal seal lying on it. The princess lifted the bow.

“This is my bow. And beside it, my personal set of arrows. For your third and last challenge, you must tell me which of these arrows is my lucky arrow.”

Rain lifted up the quiver to closely examine the arrows. In the mean-time, the princess sat down on a chair beside the table and proceeded to pluck a few grapes from the fruit bowl and eat them.

Rain found that it was impossible to tell which of these arrows the princess considered to be her lucky one. There were absolutely no distinguishing marks or indicators on any of them that would help Rain tell even one of the arrows apart from the other. They were skillfully crafted and were all exactly alike. How was he supposed to figure out which of these the princess considered lucky? Under the pretext of examining the arrows further Rain thought hard, trying to come upon a possible solution to his dilemma.

A while later, he plucked a leaf out of a tree and then picked a grape from the fruit bowl. He tossed the grape and the leaf high into the air and then shot an arrow through the bow. The arrow split the leaf, pierced the grape, and then hit the bulls-eye of a target attached to a faraway tree.

The princess froze with her hand midway between the bowl and her mouth, fixing her gaze on Rain.

“Think you can equal that?” challenged Rain.

The princess rose from her seat. “I can better that.” she said with a lift of her chin.

She proceeded to pick three grapes from the bowl and pulled an arrow randomly out of the quiver. She tossed the grapes into the air and pulled the arrow on the bow-string, taking aim and letting it fly. It shot ahead, pierced all three grapes and then hit Rain’s arrow, neatly splitting it into two and hitting the bulls-eye.