Here is Chapter Two guys! This is such a fun story to write and I am already in love with my OC and Pagan's dynamic! I hope you guys like it too! Also...I know Kamala is quite harsh...but you gotta bear in mind...she IS Pagan's daughter. And like Pagan, her past has conditioned her to act a certain way. I'm not making her wicked just for the sake of making her wicked...although it is quite fun lol. Please Read and Review!
Chapter Two
Kamala
It was an interesting arrangement…but I was really enjoying my time at the Royal Palace. There were many scares, with the rebels squirming underneath us…but dad-he insisted I called him dad now-never left me unattended. I had my own personal guards that basically followed me everywhere to prevent another attempted kidnapping. It was something to get used to…as there were days that I just really wanted some solitude to do "private" things…and no matter what I said they would. NOT. Leave!
Today, however, was a very special day. Today I was going to get to finally use dad's kitchen and inspect it. Anything I did not like…I could change! I was very excited to get back to work. He also said that I would have his complete staff at my disposal when it came to getting groceries, supplies, and whatever else I needed or wanted. I was basically running my own restaurant! It was so unbelievably cool!
Or at least I WAS until I saw how FUCKING dated the kitchen was! There wasn't even a dishwasher, which meant everything was to be done by hand! This really was going to be a chore…but I had cooked in much worse. Sighing, I took out a pad of paper and a pen.
"Something the matter, Miss?" one of the guards asked me.
"Quite frankly…yes. This kitchen is older than time itself. I can't imagine any chef being able to thrive here. I need new appliances…where is the pantry?"
I followed the guard to the other side of the room and pulled open the door. What was inside was completely pathetic. Nothing was fresh…and it was practically empty. How in the world was my father eating if no one was even doing the shopping?
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I snapped, slamming the pad down. "What the Hell am I supposed to do with this garbage? Where is the fresh produce, the garlic, the rice?"
I started taking out the wilted heads of lettuce and threw them behind me, no doubt hitting the guard with one or two of them. I continued until the entire pantry was emptied of its spoiled food and look SOMEWHAT decent. Placing my hands on my hips I sighed and then turned to face the guard.
"What's your name?" I asked.
He straightened up a bit before answering, "Maneesh, Miss."
"Okay, Maneesh…where is the closet market in town?"
"Miss…your father gave us strict orders to send someone to the store for you. If you write us a list we can-
-No…I always pick my OWN ingredients. Now…you can either make this easy for me…and tell me where the market is and I will let you accompany me there. Or…I will steal the keys to some assault vehicle and find it myself."
It looked like he was thinking long and hard about his options…and none of them seemed quite favorable. I knew that my father killed men for disobedience…but I was not going to sacrifice a good meal to some subpar ingredients that the help picked out.
"Very well Miss…I will escort you to the market place."
I smiled and nodded. I told the guard to meet me towards the back entrance of the fortress and we could drive to the market place as soon as I was ready. Before heading anywhere, I went back to my rooms and dug through some of the clothes dad had purchased for me. They weren't…what I would typically wear...but I could tell they were of a very fine quality. Slipping into something a bit more comfortable…I fixed my red hair into a loose braid and went to meet Maneesh out by the car.
We were lucky that dad was busy with whatever it was dictators did…so that we were able to sneak away, almost completely unnoticed. Outside of the palace, Kyrat was absolutely beautiful. The mountains were so clear that I almost felt I could reach out and grab one of them. The only negative thing I could actually call upon was that the music on the radio sucked something fierce. God I wished I would have brought my AUX cable…then we would really be jamming.
"So Maneesh…can I call you Mannie?" I asked, but before he could even think to answer I kept talking. "What's it like working for my dad? Is it exciting? Do you have a family?"
He didn't respond me at first…no doubt afraid of giving me the wrong answer. That was the one thing that I did not enjoy here in Kyrat…the help was terrified to speak to me. I was used to talking to people and having them at least make eye contact when they blatantly ignored me.
"Alright…sheesh…" I said with a sigh. "No talking…I get it…are we at least almost there?"
"Yes…just a couple more minutes."
The rest of the drive was spent in silence…at least on Maneesh's part. I continued to try and poke and prod some words out of him…but he just would not talk to me. Finally I just gave up, and no sooner did we arrive at the Market Place. I got out of the jeep before Maneesh could even open my door and smiled as I looked around.
"Miss…please wait for me. You need to stay at my side."
I nodded, but continued to trek ahead. I fished my burlap bag out of my satchel and began selecting produce from the stands. I didn't always know what I was grabbing…but I had the internet at my disposal…so I wasn't too worried. As I continued to go from vendor to vendor…even mingling with a couple of them…I ended up loading the car with as much food as I could. This would be more than enough to supply the kitchen for the next month. Then I realized…I didn't have any money on me. I turned to Maneesh almost embarrassed.
"I…just realized, I didn't pay for anything…"
"You don't have to pay…everyone gives willingly to Pagan Min…think of this food as donations to your father."
"Ah…that's kind of…awesome."
All in all…I was pretty happy with how everything worked out. I no longer had cabin fever from being stuck behind stone walls…and I got to socialize with some of the locals. I still didn't understand what dad had been so worried about. At the moment, I didn't see the point in rushing back to the palace, so I insisted that Maneesh take a more scenic route back. Kyrat was absolutely stunning…I just couldn't help but love every inch of it. Today had been a good day…at least until I heard a loud whistle and watched as the car in front of us –another Royal Guard truck- explode.
"Jesus Christ!" I gasped.
Maneesh quickly swerved around the enflamed vehicle and slammed on the gas, propelling us forward. I pressed my hands against the dashboard to prevent my head from slamming into it, and quickly threw on my seatbelt.
"Are we okay?!" I yelled, hearing explosions, bullets, and screaming behind us.
He didn't answer, and just as he turned to give me a brief, nasty, look. His radio went off and I could hear the voice of another panicked guard fill the jeep.
"Maneesh, where the FUCK is Princess Min?!"
Maneesh grabbed his radio and pressed down on the button so he could talk.
"She's not in her room?" he asked, trying to feign ignorance.
"No! And Pagan Min is freaking out! He shot three guards already…and now he's looking for YOU because you were the last one with her! What the fuck are you doing!?"
He cursed loudly and slammed his hand on the dashboard a couple times. I watched him and chewed on my bottom lip. I think I got a couple people in trouble when I left.
"She's with me…but she is safe…" he said, and as if on cue a loud explosion sounded just behind us.
"Oh…she's safe huh? Then what the FUCK was that!? Get her back to the Palace immediately! Jesus Christ, Maneesh! You are going to get us all killed! And if the Princess has a single hair out of place…-
-I know! I know!" he yelled over the radio. "Listen…send a caravan or something to get these Golden Path idiots off our trail!"
The radio cut out, and I assumed that meant that whoever Maneesh had been talking to was heading back to do as he asked. The ride back to the Palace was bumpy….but I could hear other Royal Guards fighting off the cars that were chasing after us. Eventually we got far enough away that we were safe and everything had gone quiet. It was only then that Maneesh radioed back to his superior and informed them that we were approaching the gate.
I glanced at Maneesh once or twice as we parked the car…and swallowed hard when I saw dad sauntering to us from the back entrance of the kitchens. He had a very different look on his face from when we had first met. Right now he looked beyond pissed. He motioned with his hand for Maneesh and myself to get out of the truck and follow him. We did so and stood in the kitchen silently as King Min paced back and forth.
"I distinctly remember saying," he began. "That Kamala was NOT to leave the Palace. Yes…I said that she was to STAY behind the safety of the palace walls where no terrorists could try and…oh, I don't know…kidnap her."
Even though he was not yelling at Maneesh…I could see the fear he had in his eyes. I looked back at dad, who was casually inspecting his fingernails.
"I'm very particular with my words. As a matter of fact, didn't I have a conversation similar to this with one of your fellow soldiers a couple days ago? Do you remember what happened to him?"
"I'm sorry King Min…" he stuttered, looking forward. "It won't happen again…"
He placed his hand on his shoulder, and I watched as he made a fist with the other. "You are right…it most certainly won't happen again."
And before I could even blink, dad took one of the butcher knives I had left out and rammed it through Maneesh's throat. I jumped as I heard the loud THWACK of the blade ramming into his trachea…and closed my eyes as Maneesh gurgled and chocked to death on his own blood.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you," he announced to the guards that had gathered in the kitchen. "My daughter is to remain SAFELY behind these Palace Walls at all time. If I find out that ANY of you have contributed to her being in danger…you will not only be executed…but BRUTALLY so."
He turned to me, several speckles of blood on his face and cleared his throat.
"I am sorry you had to see that darling…but we need to talk. Now."
I nodded intently, not willing to even think of a smart remark and followed him out of the kitchen towards my rooms. I glanced up at him every now and again and watched as he wiped the blood off his hands with an old handkerchief.
"Did I ever tell you," he said, causing me to jump startled. "That you are not my only daughter."
I watched him and shook my head, maintaining silence until he told me otherwise.
"Yes…you see…back when I was young and foolish…I fell in love. Her name was Ishwari… and she was married to Mohan Ghale. Who is Mohan Gale you ask? In short…a fucking cunt that stole not one, but two things that were terribly precious to me. Ishwari was sent by Mohan to spy on me back before you were even a thought in your mother's mind…and we fell in love. As it turns out…that does not fare so well with a leader of an ever growing terrorist group…we had a child together and her name was Lakshmana Min. Where is Lakshmana you may be wondering?"
He stopped walking and turned to me.
"She is dead…because of the fucking Golden Path. Mohan Ghale killed my and Ishawri's daughter and then in turn she killed him. I am NOT willing to let YOU share the same fate. I buried one daughter…I am not willing to bury the other. Do you understand?"
I watched him and nodded…somehow feeling like I was going to cry…like he had magically turned me back into a small child and I was really being lectured by daddy for the first time in my entire life.
"I'm sorry..." I whispered.
He pulled me close and hugged me and this time, I had time to wrap my arms around him and hug him back. I closed my eyes briefly, before he again pulled back and inspected my features.
"There is one thing that I would like to have you do if…you insist…on sneaking out of the Palace…which I have no doubt you will attempt to do."
"I wouldn't-
-Oh please child…of course you would. Teenagers were made to rebel against their parents. Your punishment would just be a little more life ending than that of a normal teenager. That is why I want to teach you how to shoot…and defend yourself."
-I…okay…" I said with a nod. "I guess that's fair…but…I should probably go make dinner first."
"This is more important. This first…then you can make supper."
"A-Alright…lead the way."
He smiled gleefully at me and then began dragging me towards the other end of the house. Something told me that this was more for his enjoyment than it was for my safety...but I sure as all Hell wasn't going to point that out.
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