Chapter 10

Ven leaned back in the car and closed his eyes, it had been a week since he had been released from the Hospital. He had expected to get the call to meet Ravendra on the day after he was discharged. But Ravendra had decided to give him a couple of days to rest at home before finally summoning him to his Palace. Lawrence had shown up at his door and waited patiently as he got his overcoat on and followed them to the car they had provided. He noticed Peter was already waiting for him inside the car when he got close.

When he had left the rebel base, he had never dreamed of meeting Ravendra personally. Of course, he had been curious about what Ravendra looked like in this world, so he had gone out of his way to find photos of him. It turned out to be a futile venture as he didn’t need to do it, Ravendra looked exactly like how Ven did in the simulation, it was his face. He wondered how it would feel to see a man with the face he had thought was his, to see the man whose life he had lived, with these confusing feelings building inside him, he let out a small groan.

“Still getting headaches?” asked Peter, concern in his voice.

“I didn’t sleep well,” lied Ven.

“My job is to escort you to the palace, and I didn’t sleep a wink last night! So, if you had trouble sleeping, I don’t blame you!” said Lawrence as he turned around in the front seat.

Peter gave Ven a sharp look, once again he had noticed Ven was lying. The man was seriously starting to get on Ven’s nerves, but at the very least he didn’t say anything.

“I am going to try to get some sleep while we are driving, wake me up when we’re there,” said Ven.

“Then you better get ready to wake up now, we’re almost there,” said Lawrence.

“What? But you just picked me up a little over ten minutes ago,” said Ven.

“We are the only ones driving on this route, all normal traffic has been diverted until we get to the Palace. The same procedure will be done on our way back,” said Lawrence.

“I wonder how many of the boys from our department are being used for this,” said Peter out loud.

As they got closer to the Palace the road got wider and the size of the buildings changed from apartments to lavish mansions with exquisite gardens. But none of the mansions were close to the splendor and sheer size of the Palace, it glowed with a golden tint, which on closer inspection was because the whole building was made of white marble and gold. The gate to the Palace grounds were guarded by guards with azure-colored uniforms, the same uniform as Lawrence. Which meant every guard here was a member of UTF, and every one of them had a gift. No wonder no one had managed to assassinate Ravendra so far, the man was just too well protected.

“Wish I had a weapon on me, might have been able to end this today,” thought Ven to himself.

It was a foolish thought, he knew. UTF hadn’t even returned his stun gun or Assistant after the events of that night. There was no way they wouldn’t check him for weapons before he got close to Ravendra. Maybe he could snatch a weapon from a guard and make a dash for Ravendra, but again he knew he was being foolish. If the man could deflect a bullet which so close Ven’s head, he was more than capable of stopping a charging Ven.

Ruefully he looked at his right hand, he remembered the feeling of using a gift, how he missed it. It was funny how he could remember the exact thrill when he used his gift, the feeling in his mind and body. A feeling he could never experience again, it much like all his other experiences was a thing of the past, a thing from a life which that wasn’t his.

The car pulled over at the main entrance to the Palace where two UTF guards with several medals on their chests greeted them. Lawrence saluted them as soon as he got out of the car and stood waiting stiffly.

“Wait here by the car until we bring these gentlemen back,” said the guard on the left.

“Please follow us,” said the guard on the right as he turned around and started walking.

The walk with the two UTF guards was a quiet one, Peter didn’t like the uncomfortable silence as was visible by the way he furrowed his brow, but for Ven it was a wonderful opportunity to see the layout of the Palace. So, he walked silently as his eyes darted from detail to detail, the hall was lined with statues of different Knights, their names written with gold at the bottom of each statue. After a while he realized he should not have bothered, the walk to Ravendra had been a simple one, they just kept walking straight, with no turns whatsoever.

The two UTF Guards stopped a hundred meters from a large burgundy door decorated with gold and diamonds.

“We cannot accompany you any further, knock on the door twice and enter. We will wait here until you return,” said the guard on the left.

Ven and Peter shared a confused look, shrugged their shoulders, and started making their way to the burgundy doors. On reaching the doors, Peter hesitated for a second but then knocked once and pushed the door open.

“Peter, he said to knock twice,” whispered Ven but knew it was too late to do anything about it.

They both stood with their mouths open for a minute before they moved forward, if the Palace was grand, then this room was the zenith of its grandness. If it could be called a room, it was humongous. The walls were lined with paintings painted with such detail you would think there were real people in them. There were also several fountains and sculptures, depicting different achievements in Ravendra’s life. But it was the sculpture in the centre of the humungous room which caught Ven’s eyes and he made a beeline for it. He knew whom that sculpture represented, it was Vas, but whoever the artist had been, he had clearly never met Vas in person. She was far too perfect in this sculpture; it was as if this was a romanticized version of Vas.

“I see the jewel of my collection has caught your eye.”

Ven froze, as he recognized the voice, of course he knew that voice, it had been his voice, Ravendra. Slowly he turned to his left to see Ravendra leaning against a pillar. He didn’t have any fancy clothes on, on the contrary he wore a simple white shirt with black plants. He wasn’t as young as the photos he had seen, and he wasn’t as young as when Ven had been ejected out of the simulation, he seemed to be a man in his mid-forties. Ven was grateful for this, he still didn’t know how he would have reacted to a Ravendra who looked exactly like his simulation self. Peter grabbed Ven’s shoulder and pushed him to his knees when he realized who had spoken.

“Your Majesty, forgive him, he’s too starstruck at the moment to remember proper etiquette,” said Peter apologetically.

“Rise, both of you. I invited you here so we wouldn’t have to waste time on the pleasantries,” said Ravendra with a fatherly smile.

“Thank you for letting us have the honor of meeting you in person, your Majesty,” said Peter as he slowly stood up.

“Do you know why I had you two come here today?” asked Ravendra.

“No, we do not, your Majesty,” said Peter.

“Both of you have done a great service for Nagiri, as such you have earned a reward. I would like to give both of you the opportunity to choose what you would like as your reward, the one thing I will withhold from both of you is the gift of being young again, other than that, ask what you will,” said Ravendra as he spread his arms in a gesture to show they could ask for anything.

“Anything, your Majesty?” asked Ven as his mind raced for how he could use this to his advantage.

“I would like to add, please don’t use my goodwill to ask for something heinous, but yes, anything you wish, ask,” said Ravendra with a smile.

“Your Majesty…” said Peter and stopped.

“Go on,” prompted Ravendra.

“Your Majesty, I have worked in Law Enforcement my whole life and am scheduled to retire in five years. Your servant would humbly request to retire now into a life full of comforts,” said Peter as he got down on one knee again.

“Granted, today is your last day as an Officer of the Law. You will not want for anything the remaining years of your life. What of you, child, would you like to have the same reward?” asked Ravendra as he looked directly into Ven’s eyes.

“No, your Majesty that is not something I wish for. Actually, I just recently started working as an Inspector,” replied Ven as he unintentionally started scratching the scar on his forehead.

“Then what would you like to have?” asked Ravendra again a hint of impatience in his voice.

“Your Majesty, I have a very selfish request, something I have wished for since I was a child, but your Majesty it is something that you will never grant to someone like me,” said Ven as he shifted his gaze to the ground.

“Child, am I not the King of our Nation? Do you doubt the words I said to you earlier?” said Ravendra loudly.

“No, your Highness I would never dare to doubt your words, but it is just that my request is an extremely selfish one, and I am afraid once you hear how impertinent your servant is, you will have me punished,” said Ven as he got on one knee while looking to the floor.

“Boy, you are testing my patience! Speak, what is it you wish to have?” bellowed Ravendra.

“My kind and honorable King may your rule last forever, but I do not dare speak my wish as it is so impertinent, so I beg of you to promise me in front of this man here that you will not go back on your word, please your Highness grant the lowliest of your servants this,” said Ven as he got down on both knees.

“Foolish child, do you not know you’re playing with fire! How dare you claim I would go back on my word, if I have said I will give you a reward, then I shall give you a reward! Have you not heard? Every word I speak is as good as a promise! If the only thing that will make you open your mouth is if I make a promise to not break my word, very well, I promise in front of your friend I will grant you your wish as long as you do not wish harm upon another! Now tell me what your request is so I can toss you out of here and never see your face again!” said Ravendra irritably.

“Your Majesty, I, Ven, the lowliest of all your subjects, a giftless man who doesn’t even know who his parents are, would humbly request you to allow this loyal servant of yours to join the ranks of your Honor Guard,” said Ven as he continued kneeling.

“The audacity! Child, do you not know only the elite of the elite are chosen to join the ranks of my Honor Guard? Do you actually believe someone like you, someone who is giftless can survive in the ranks of such a group?” asked Ravendra with raised eyebrows.

“Your Majesty, for someone like me, an orphaned giftless, your Honor Guard is something I could never achieve under normal circumstances. It is something I am painfully aware of, something I have been told my entire life. But it is precisely why I want to be the hope for giftless children in the future. Even though we are giftless, we too can have a chance to rise to the same heights as those with gifts. I don’t know if I can survive in such an elite group, but I would loathe my existence forever if I didn’t grab this opportunity by both hands. Please forgive your humble servant for his impertinence, your Majesty,” said Ven.

“Rise child, your request is indeed an impertinent one! But the fact you would ask for something which would also have a positive effect on the coming generation, it is something I cannot overlook. There are many who think I am unaware of the class divide growing between the gifted and giftless. But I am not! It is something which gnaws away at me every single day. Perhaps your impertinent request can be a way to build a bridge between the two. So, yes, I shall grant you your request, you may join my Honor Guard,” said Ravendra.

Ven looked up shocked with his mouth half open, he had taken a gamble, a risky gamble. Ravendra could have had him executed or had him thrown out of the Palace without granting his request, but his lie about doing it for the giftless children had paid off.

He still had no idea how he would go about assassinating Ravendra if the chance presented itself, but that was a matter for another day. For now, he had managed to get his foot in the door, he had a chance, a chance no one had managed to get before him. He had managed to infiltrate Ravendra’s Honor Guard! Now he just needed to figure out a way to contact the rebels and Vikram was the only way he could do that. He needed his Assistant back.

“Now leave me before I change my mind,” said Ravendra as he turned and started staring at the sculpture of Vas.

That's right a double post again! The last chapter was short enough that I felt a second chapter was warranted. So enjoy! 

And remember, stay safe!

Anderoth