Author's Notes:
Returning to studies next year, can't wait. Time to shake the campus!
Seems there has been a few milestones so far in fanfic writting for me too. I've hit the 300,000 word count, i can safely say i'm the longest read for all farcry fanfics on this site, yipee! My views are at 20,800 since July with a constant vistor count of 1000 at least every month. this might not seem like alot but it is for the an actual success for me since the poor writting from my previous works.
To the newest follows and favorites, i hope you've enjoyed the story so far. And for my dearest readers from the beginning, thank you for your continued support and healthy criticism.
As dazzling as Maya presently was to the crowd, the dance was about to begin. Naturally, Pagan's partner was Yuma. Or rather, it had to be her cause she was pinching him from the side to take the lead. Then, eager young men instinctively turned to her as their first choice. It caused problems with those that already had partners and how disappointed they were of their male counterparts.
Maya started to pace down from the place she had stood from by the staircase.
"She's walking this way!"
"Ah!- Is my hair done up right?"
"By the gods, she's looking in our direction!"
They whispered softly to their group.
Ajay hadn't taken his eyes off her ever since she appeared. Mumu and his associates' work had thrown his expectation through the roof into a realm which he was unfamiliar with. He made a quick glance to Noore and Bhadra, remembering he initially wanted to see their faces, their expressions were still of disbelief. They hadn't fully recovered yet, Ajay was lucky enough to catch a glimpse and chuckled to himself.
"Making a lady come to you, don't you have the nerve to go back on your words." He turned his head to find the 'centre of attention' had just walked right up to him without him knowing. There was much sighing of disappointment and murmurs amongst the crowd as to the woman's choice of Ajay.
"I said I'd give you an opportunity to something new." Ajay said smiling.
"Then don't back out." Maya reached out her hand for him to take. What she probably meant was that if you were going to put her up to this you'd better be fully involved, that meant being her dance partner.
"Then would milady honor me with this dance?" He reached out his hand to hold hers up. Maya nodded smiling and placed her hand wrapped in silk on his.
Walking together to the centre of the ballroom where the dance was to take place. A small orchestra began playing their instruments at the corner, Ajay recognized some of them as the band he practiced with for Pagan's gig in his territorial festival. They bowed their heads when they noticed his gaze towards them and he returned it back to them with a nod.
The dance partners all exchanged a bow and curtsy depending on their gender and held one another's hands. Though Ajay had only learnt how to dance once when his ex took him to a club he was forced to learn the hard way but learn It he eventually did. He was glad he worked on it before coming here so as not to embarrass himself.
"This is surprising, where did you learn to dance?"
"I wasn't just a street thug my entire life, you now."
"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me at an occasion like this." She said downcast.
"Don't worry, although I have to say you really are full of surprises, aren't you? You really look-…. just….."
"W-What?…" She stared into his irises as they turned about.
"I don't think there's a word to describe how beautiful you look tonight." Ajay had just let his thoughts slip unwittingly. When Maya heard this, her face burned red with embarrassment.
".…Idiot."
"Never imagined the day, the pretty tomboyish looking Maya would wear a dress yet make everyone look so shabby in their own. Perhaps you were born to don a dress for life."
"Dream on. My place is with Mistress Lau and on the battlefield on her behalf."
"I know."
"You're not looking bad yourself either." She complimented him on his style of attire which was elegant yet not showy.
"The credit goes to Chiffon for loaning me this, if not I would have been running around looking for places that made a custom black suit that obviously didn't exist in a place like this." Maya chuckled at the thought of him anxiously scurrying around searching.
"Does the thought entertain you?"
"Not as much as seeing Noore and Bhadra's gaping mouths." Ajay almost couldn't control his laugh that maintained itself as a snicker.
"So you did see them then…." Maya nodded.
He was rarely this close to Maya, now that he had the chance to look at her he was becoming conscious of her gentle eyes and soft lips.
-Note to self: Inherently weak to charming women.-
Maya felt his eyes on her causing her to blush with self-consciousness. Their relationship had been the same since they met months ago with barely any change. Friends who had a deep understanding of one another, they were too comfortable with each other.
The mood of the song was now that of a slow dance, Ajay and May reduced their paces to match the beat. The lighting had also changed to a colored one with the dominant colour being red. The light dimmed around the ballroom save for the dance floor.
From far he could see Pagan dancing rather intimately with Yuma, how much progress did he make with her behind his back he didn't know. He only knew that certain factors contributed to breaking the ice between them as well as recreate their bond. But was certainly unaware of one beyond siblings while Maya thought otherwise to a relationship of equal status. Seemed Maya was right.
"So much has happened over the months since that day you brought my brother back."
".…" Ajay could feel it too. He had spent nearly if not longer than he did in the original timeline in Kyrat. A total of five months, he only realized the significance when the new year was dawning tonight. The transition from 2014 to 2015 new year.
"I could still remember the hate I had for you, I know it was unjust given your own circumstances. Yet I just stood by and let them happen."
"Between a stranger and a maternal figure that nurtured you for decades who would you have trusted?"
".…" Maya understood his direction and pursued the subject no further.
"It must be a pain to deal with me all the time." She said, but Ajay gave a simple answer of…
"No."
"Don't deny it so quickly." She smiled sadly. "… It was to hide my embarrassment."
"Huh?"
"You weren't around to know, but I've never had friends. Not since Mistress Yuma took me in. It was always 'greetings lady Maya' or 'better stay away from her she's Yuma's kid'. Being the Duchesses protégé I had expectations rested on me, I had no time to be myself yet no one to accompany me or advise me. Working for the sake of my brother's future was an excuse I conveniently used for as long as I can remember….. You are probably the first person that didn't treat me like a child of the duchess."
Ajay thought into it without answering back. The music stopped and a round of applause came from the audience and dancers. Ajay and Maya joined in the applause. The sound of a microphone turned on and all heads turned to the spotlight shining on Pagan.
"..Is-… Is this on? Yup, it is? K!… Hello again everyone, I don't mean to interrupt you on any deep mood you were indulging in with the sensational band we have in our company today, thank you Simon!" Pagan complimented the head band leader.
"I have a rather important announcement to give to all of you tonight, I don't really want to say it again on live tele either so I hope you'd pass the word along." Yuma stood beside him as he was about to make his declaration. Ajay had a funny feeling about all of this, Maya's reaction was a gladden smile.
"Here it goes….." He mentally prepared himself.
"I've never seen him this nervous since the festival."
"Just watch." Maya affirmed him.
"You've all been familiar with my dear adoptive sister's methods, Yuma has always been at the forefront of Kyrat's needs. Whether through her own volition or for my sake. For years, I was left hanging, heartbroken even because the woman I loved left. You can imagine how it would be to lose a child and live in solitude for twenty long years. But I wasn't alone, Yuma has been with me through thick and thin since our younger days. All this time she'd kept the Golden Path at bay while all I did was wallop within the palace….. And occasionally come out for hunting- but I know I'm not a very good king. Don't worry! I've already planned my replacement soon and I personally guarantee he won't disappoint…."
Pagan's words left the crowd in disbelief. He spoke of intentions to abdicate sometime later and had a successor planned. Some turned to Yuma others to the rising star Badala, his two most loyal subordinates. Both with the most powerful influence besides Pagan himself.
".….." Ajay knew that it was neither. Ajay Ghale, Badala, Soren were all just masks to him. He was all and none at the same time. It didn't change the fact that his next acting mask would be that of the King of Kyrat.
Because, Badala was a figment of peoples' imagination, albeit a bogeyman to scare the overly superstitious Golden Path as he originally intended. Soren was an alias behind enemy lines. And Ajay Ghale… was a fool that died in another world. What he truly was, was the culmination of their hopes and dreams. The hopes to restore Kyrat to its rightful order where Pagan and Mohan had escalated it into an unsettling torrent. Dreams that the people who he couldn't save before wouldn't have their fate ending in the direction he could see. But most of all, the destruction of his real father's world, Mohan's Golden Path.
"In recent days, I've had the chance to discuss our relation which had been estranged for nearly twenty-five years. I've reflected, apologized, looked to be a better human being, a better family member. There are two important people in my life right now, one is Yuma, the other is my adoptive son Badala. Both could accept me for who I was and what I became. I've never felt more content or alive before with them by my side, this sincerity is something I'll never fully repay them even in the next life."
Ajay was pleased that Pagan could admit to his mistakes and look to improving himself and his conduct, it was the path to redemption and peace which he sought.
"I've already taken steps to show my gratitude, Badala has already been on my records to help in all he does for his companions and Kyrat but my dear sister has yet to receive it. That will all change today!" He declared to the crowd as he walked towards Yuma. And knelt.
From below, Ajay saw this action and felt it was frighteningly nostalgic.
-O-.….Oh my god… He's not doing what I think he is-…-
"My dear Yuma, will you allow me to fulfil a wish that should have taken place years ago?" He raised a silver ring dominated by an emerald gem. There were a few within the crowd, some of the aged nobles and craftsmen who knew the purpose of the ring Pagan held and what it signified. An ancient tradition passed down since the conception of the Kyrati Kingdom and still practiced till the last days of the Devi dynasty. They thought that the ring was lost with the end of the Devi Dynasty reign. It was thought to have ended in Min's reign but today the ring was present to show it was not true.
The ring belonged onto the finger of the one who would become the Queen of Kyrat.
Ajay almost flipped on his back, but Maya anticipated his reaction and prepared to catch him beforehand.
Yuma looked down at Pagan with a gentle look that Ajay thought wasn't possible with her. She held out her hand and let the ring slot into her ring finger.
"Nei zammo zemo gau….so gwaa…." (What took you so long….. old fool…)
Upon recovery, it became apparent to Hurk that the old Malla couple were now his highest priority. He'd failed to protect a friend, now those that kept her memory dear to them were depending on him.
-Bads needs to know, but how can I get to the Royal Army to make a long-range comms when I have Jason's friends and these civvies to watch over?-
Hurk knew Golden Path would been imminent, at the speed they were going they'd most likely be upon them in a matter of minutes.
"Miss Lee."
"Um- Yes, Hurk?"
"You have to topographic map of where Baghadur is don't you?"
"Y-Yeah!"
"Take everyone with you including the old couple, and request to send a message via the Tigers to the Royal Army for Badala." Hurk said while checking his magazines.
"What do I send?"
"Just the name 'Malla'. You don't have the clearance codes to make a secure comms directly to him, but…. he'll know what it's talking about."
"Then what about you?!" Daisy had a bad feeling about the way he spoke.
Hurk unslung the anti-personnel mines from his backpack and placed them in front of him to prime.
"Sabal is coming, at this rate they'll catch up to us in no time. This brick factory is a bottleneck to the Tigers territory, I'll hold them off if possible here."
"You can't be serious, Hurk?!" Riley objected but Hurk ignored and continued.
"Assuming the formation of the Golden Path hasn't changed since i last left, it'll be around five hundred on patrol vehicles. You really can't be here for that!"
"Hurk..."
"The important thing is that you guys are safe, they want to keep Jas from knowing you were in their possession all along. Only you can break this fabrication, Miss Lee, Kid Brother!" Hurk's assessment made sense as much as they were reluctant to leave him behind.
"Come on! Let's leave then!" Liza said urgently.
"Shut up, Liza!" Daisy just had enough of her whining.
"Boss, we need to leave. If we stay we're only dragging Hurk down, we can only trust him that he'd hold long enough for the Rebel Tigers to help him." Steven was cool headed to rationalize it for them than shout like Liza.
Daisy calmed down and understood that she wasn't wrong in asking them to leave immediately.
"Right, I'm sorry I shouted. It's-... never mind, you're right, let's go!"
"Good, hand me the remaining rifles and magazines." Hurk told them.
"But you already have a rifle and didn't you say the bullets were incompatible?" Riley stated.
"I did but there's a little more I can do with them than just me shooting them." Riley didn't argue and passed the duffel of M16 rifles and ammo to Hurk.
Jason's friends helped the escapees to their feet and moved quickly in the direction of Baghadur stronghold.
"Hurk, godspeed." Daisy said before she left with the rest.
"Godspeed, huh? Hmph! It'll take more than a battalion of half-assed Golden Path to stop The Hurk! Head to the Shanath Training Ground outpost. That's where the Tigers' quick reaction unit is stationed." Daisy nodded and led the way for the rest towards that direction.
Hurk turned to the direction of the headlights in the distance. As he had foreseen, the Golden Path were imminent. He hurried along to do whatever preparation he could with the resources available to him.
Ricardo's ambush training kicked in and he was out and about placing tripmines behind the bushes near the roads and behind the low walls where there were intruders into his killzone would likely come over. In addition, he placed the C4 right at the base of the Kilns tall chimney, in hopes that it would collapse in the direction of the attackers. Hurk positioned himself behind sandbags that were pre-laid from even before he and the rest had come to the brick factory.
From the intel he sourced from G2, the Golden Path had been pushed back to their native areas after Amita launched an attack on the Rochan Brick factory and levelled it so that it would not be used as a staging point for attacks on their territory or the Royal Army's. Royal Army QRF responded to an alarm within ten minutes, he wasn't sure about their Tiger counterparts though.
He hoped that help would arrive in time to save him.
The contingent that was dispatched by Sabal immediately rushed by armed technicals and truck loads of soldiers to the Rochan Brick Factory where they were expecting the escapees to be resting. De Pleur was with them along with a small platoon of soldiers.
Paul wished he had the full strength of his elite squad with him right now, they wouldn't have let him down in this fight. Unfortunately, he sent them to their unfortunate demise in the arena. Feeding them to the demon instead of killing it, Paul still had nightmares about Badala coming to his doorstep to drag him out or worse. He made sure his compound where Ashley remained oblivious to the surroundings was guarded at all times, the Marine sergeant Fredrick Grille was there too.
Perhaps if he successfully captured his associate once more Badala might think twice about attacking him. He wasn't sure about the relation between the prisoner Hurk and the Northern Demon but he had a hunch he was a valuable comrade, he bet on it.
Paul was in the lead vehicle at the time. Sabal was not even with them. It was no secret to him or his men that Sabal had fallen out of favor with the Golden Path as a whole. The council of elders and cadre of senior field commanders were no longer willing to spare him officers in their formation. So he had to make do with "havildars" which were the equivalent of Royal Army Non-commission officers, mainly sergeants. If not for Mohan's mysterious arrival he would have been delivered to Pagan's doorstep all wrapped up and perhaps in several boxes. Willis wasn't saying much about Mohan, although he too was under the impression his old associate had genuinely died long ago. Agent Huntley was more focused on coordinating with the China man on the shipment source of arms. Their latest source was said to be the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, courtesy of the joint officials in Pakistan and the US on site. An entire state factory was supplying them with arms and munitions. Mostly consisting of license production Heckler und Koch small-arms weapons. WIllis was really extorting his former colleague Lynch with the same name as him. According to some reliable sources, Lynch was an even bigger asshole than Willis and was responsible for landing him in his shitty job for over twenty years without moving up the ranks.
It was clear that Lynch had ended Huntley's career for the sake of his own but had not expected Willis would take a detour to scavenge dirty files on their history that Lynch thought he burnt.
The last he heard from Willis, Lynch was coming over with contract PMCs that he had close ties with. CNS was a major conglomerate in pharmaceuticals and nano technology but he had never heard of it having private military contractors. Perhaps it was a subsidiary business they were recently expanding into. Either way, they were most certainly bringing high tech weapons with them, some that often went against Geneva but then, their ops was completely deniable.
(Screech) The tyres of his SUV tore against the road as the rest of the convoy got out of their vehicles.
Assembling in front of him were his renegades, vicious and unmerciful in their character. There were more like cutthroats than soldiers but had the training of one. Initially part of a death squad arrangement in the Royal Army for whatever major offense they committed on duty, they were sentenced to die on the battlefield. Paul naturally took them under his wing due to their excellent sadistic natural which was ideal for his lined of work.
He walked towards the battalion havildar who organized her men.
"So how should we play this chief?" He asked the woman in a flamboyant manner.
"The Commander tells me that you are here merely as a spectator. Under normal circumstances, I would have preferred to work alone, but we're dealing with someone who's familiar with the in's and out's of our organizations formations and tactics." Her response was a surprise to Paul, he was under the impression Golden Path was still cautious of him. But he sort of guessed the reason for their change in attitude as of late.
"The feelings mutual, although not having fryface is kinda refreshing don't you agree?" The Battalion Havildar chuckled.
"Indeed. I'm still having trouble accepting how that fool came into power all those years ago. Either way, his days of influence are over. He's still a liability that cannot leave, whatever Mohan thought about when he appeared to save his life….."
It wasn't that De Pleur had gotten chummy with Golden Path over the months he had been with them. A couple of factors contributed, Sabal's decline was a major factor to play in it. But there was also another reason, when De Pleur was first recruited by Willis no Golden Path soldier set foot in the City of Pain. The City of Pain had always remained ambiguous to the peering eyes of the public. Sabal and Willis had made sure it stayed that way. So Paul had appeared merely as the Chief Interrogator of the Royal Army, his reputation was only affected by the conduct of the renegades under his command.
Facing the options of cooperating with De Pleur as to Sabal, the Battalion Havildar gladly chose the latter. There had been talks of killing Sabal but no one had done so for fear they'd disrespect Mohan's resolve which they didn't fully understand. There was plenty they didn't know about the Great Leader that went missing for twenty-five years. Although they willingly followed him knowing what his leadership implied for the continued survival of the Golden Path. Ney, he would bring them victory! They were so sure of it. Mohan's footstep on Kyrat had been so great in the past they stood at the steps of the Royal Palace once before. But that was a long time ago, the Golden Path fighters yearned to see those days return once more.
The Old Guard, who's will and pride was torn apart by Badala immediately re-pledged their allegiance to him and followed his word to the letter. The younger members who had only heard stories of the living legend pushed and shoved to catch just a glimpse of him. Right now, Mohan had snuck into the North with Brody to help him rescue part of his eight Devas Command force. The legendary group which was an expression of Golden Paths former might, were mysteriously captured when they made an expedition to storm the Royal Fortress. No news had been passed on how they lost and became prisoners in the Rajgah Gulag.
"Let my guys take the lead, they're dying to gut that fatty who made a fool of them." Paul expressed his mens' disgruntled behavior to the escape of Brody's friends due to stupid baby-faced man.
"I appreciate your eagerness, we'll do as you suggest. My men will provide support." The Havildar pointed to the mortars teams that were unloading the 81mm mortars and relative ammunition from the trucks.
Paul nodded and motioned to his Renegade Captains to come over. Five of them assembled.
"Contrary to fryfaces demands we'll be taking point in this one." His Captains all expressed satisfaction when they heard him.
"Yes… Finally, we get to gut that piggy!"
"My brother was in that fire, I'll make sure we capture him alive…."
"Or it wouldn't be fun right?"
They laughed together.
"Right boys, I'll leave it to you then."
"You can count on us, boss!"
"He's just one guy and five girlies, what could they possibly do?" One joked.
Paul remained silent, their performance would show once they attempted to capture him successfully or not.
"You'll have mortar support and a few Golden Path homies with you." Paul told them to which they acknowledged and went to their respective groups.
They had the superior numbers, the overwhelming firepower and better trained men.
What could possibly go wrong?
The combine forces of Paul's Renegades and Golden Path fighters converged up over the ridge into the grounds of the Rochan Brick Factory, through the maze first.
At present, they numbered around two-fifty. A company of Renegades and a several groups of fighters accompanying them. The renegades adopted the Royal Army search formations they were trained in, far apart from one another so as not to trigger a trap and kill the number closest to them, yet not too far they would get picked off one after another.
"Golden Path, illumination rounds on the brick factory. Now." The Captain spoke up on the radio.
*We hear you, they're on the way. Watch your eyes, boys. It's gonna get bright.*
The whistling sound of the mortar rounds could be heard as the illumination rounds were sent to their location to light the brick factory kiln to find them. The Renegades were not at all nervous when the rounds came whereas the Golden Path were too used to being barraged in the past.
They scanned the surrounding but had yet to find anyone.
"Where could they be?"
"You don't think they actually went to the Airport non-stop do you?"
"Not possible, the fatty liberated some of our fresh meat including those old folks. There's no way they could have gone there that quick."
"So they're hiding then."
"Just keep your eyes peele- (BOOM)"
The ground to their left uprooted and several fighters were blown into red mist by a hidden tripmine.
"Fuck! He lay landmines!"
"Shit Shit Shit!"
The Golden Path were the only ones nervous to the hidden trap.
"Don't break up! You'll fall into the trap!" The Renegade captain shouted to the Golden Path fighters, who were acting more like a nuisance than help. But his words fell to deaf ears as they ran back.
"Tsk! Havildar! Mortar barrage 20 metres North from previously established location." The Captain radioed in.
The bombs came falling onto the ruins of the brick factory.
Hurk cuddled up beneath the brick roof of the derelict factory as the bombs fell, the earth around him shook violently and he felt his head ringing from the sound and tremors.
Then the whistling sound stopped and the fighters and soldiers proceeded forward with caution. While they couldn't see him through the dark with only their flashlights, the same could not be said for Hurk. Equipped with his own nightvision goggles and the thermal optic provided by his M110 rifle, the dark was as clear to him as day.
When they reached his predesignated markers, he tugged onto the cords where he placed his pull actuated traps. Immediately, automatic rifle fire sprayed onto the aggressors from where they were. As they hit the deck immediately after it happened, a dozen men had fallen already.
They fired back at the windows whence the shooting came from, their shoots peppered the bricks and windows sending shrapnel of brick, glass and lead flying everywhere.
"Ceasefire! Ceasefire!" The captain ordered and they advanced once more. They reached the place where the firers had gotten lucky at killing a few of theirs but fell into disbelief as what they thought would be shivering brats was instead just rifles being tied to planks of wood in a certain angle with strings attached to their triggers.
(BOBOBOOM)
The investigators were annihilated by the hidden grenades under the wooden constructions set by Hurk. Eight more died including their Captain. This time the soldiers were in disarray due to losing their forward commander.
Hurk cradled his rifle from within the chimney where he was hiding and opened on the fighters and soldiers down below.
"Let's get out of here!"
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"I told you this was a trap!"
The remaining hundred ran back behind the ridge for cover, Hurk picked them off one by one as they turned their exposed back to him. He gunned them down mercilessly. Every pull of the trigger severed a person's life.
During this time, his thoughts started to reminisce what Ajay had told him weeks ago. -Imagine yourself floating in a vast ocean of water…. the deeper you go the colder it is-
Hurk now understood the meaning behind the phrase, it was to quote his expression of losing morality the further he bloodied his hands. Now as Hurk slaughtered the Golden Path and Soldiers he could feel that emotion, that was not an emotion….
But nothing.
The winds helped clear Ajay's head from the overload of information that suddenly flooded it. Seated next to him in the balcony overlooking the waterfall and the garden where the rest of the crowd where was Maya. Wearing a face of delight and partly of smirk.
Because Ajay still could not process what had occurred back there in the ballroom.
"Just accept it." She said laughing.
"Impossible…. there's just no way."
"Then what did your promise to see they'd get back together mean?" She pouted.
"As in brother and sister. That was their original status quo!"
".….."
"Just what in the world happened between them while we were away?" Maya chuckled as Ajay showed as side of him rarely seen, on which was unused to surprises.
"It's been happening for a while…. well not that long actually." Ajay turned back to Maya, she knew the events that were occurring behind him on their affairs.
"It was all because of you."
-WHAT?!-
"M-Me?…."
-The hell did I do?!- Maya nodded.
"Remember when you went up into the mountains to look for that antidote? She doesn't want to admit it but that was the point of time she forgave you."
"I didn't see it that way, you caught the neurotoxin because I took you to that place in the first place." Maya shook her head.
"It wasn't what you did before, it's what you did immediately after upon learning that." She placed her hands upon his and looked into his eyes.
"Saras told me what happened." When she said that, Ajay froze. He knew that she'd tell her but the question was how much?
"I see…" Was all he could reply.
"She didn't tell me the entire account of your journey, only that it was so treacherous that her heart nearly fell on nearly every occasion. Not often you see someone like her show an expression of concern like she did back then."
-So she didn't tell.- Ajay sighed in relief, the topic on Yetis was a complicated on. There were no scientific documentations on Yetis, if they were any attempts it would have failed because of the presence of the elixir dotted throughout the mountain tops. Ironically, it was the source of his demonic strength. Or rather, it was the same one that came from the original timeline of his when he destroyed the relic. He was pretty sure he had not been suffering from the effects of the gas because it was already within his system lying dormant. The question of his head was how did it come over with him to this timeline?
It couldn't be that it wasn't his memories that were brought over but also his body. It didn't seem so, as there was the absence of the scars on his body he earned previously. His soul? The concept of a soul was complicated or lacked explanation. Either way, it had overwritten itself into him as he came over.
He was not a man of science nor a theorist so he couldn't research that meticulously into the topic and hope for answers. Noore was slowly uncovering the secrets to it on his behalf, she was convinced that if it were scientifically evaluated then this ability was written all the way down to his DNA and was hence difficult to detect with equipment at hand. She needed industrial grade apparatus to conduct further tests, unfortunately he did not have the resources to entertain Noore's experiment as much as he wanted her to look into it.
Maya patted him down from his back which made Ajay curious as to what she was doing.
"Where did you get those scars Saras saw on you when you left? Isn't that proof you did something no one asked of you yet you risked everything to personally endanger yourself to get it? When the house had just been attacked, when the employees at the arsenal were eager to hear from you about the loss of the Arsenal… Your priority still was me." Ajay wanted to say it was because he was the only one capable of getting it while avoiding the Relic but then it was exposing something too difficult to comprehend to her. You had to see it to believe it.
"…."
"And after all this time, I didn't say the one thing I should have said to you for saving my life….. thank you, Ajay."
"…. No worries." He said but his thoughts were elsewhere.
"No! Thank you, Ajay. For everything!" She begun to lean quite close to him until she became conscious of their distance and backed away quickly.
"Just now you said I was the cause of this change, I still don't see how rescuing you from something I caused cause a turning point."
"Well, it was your actions that were the catalyst. The sequences that followed after culminated and broke the long standing ice between them. Bhadra came between them."
"Bhadra?"
"Yes, Bhadra. She really is a magical existence, how she actually brought them together. Now Mistress talks nothing save for her, his royal Highness was the same."
"So, because they shared a common interest-…."
"Yes!" Maya was glad he finally understood. Ajay just found it too far fetch. But then, his coronation to Duke made a little sense with what was occurring. When Yuma became Queen consort, there was a gap in the area of Duchy to fill in the ranks of the Kyrati Kingdom. Pagan put him up for it.
Although, it was clear she would still have power over her assets and the Royal Guard, the six regiments of elite guards just under the title of queen.
"Does that technically make you princess then?" Seeing that Maya was her adoptive daughter, she should also have a change in title.
Maya's eyes widen as she suddenly realized this. Ajay cleared his throat.
"I request a pardon for my transgressions, Princess Maya." He joked.
"That's not funny!"
"Oh? Why is that? It should be good news for you, now no one will dare to ask for your hand after what happened last night, just like you wanted!" Ajay laughed.
"… But-…. That means my choice will no longer be mine…" She said as soft as a whisper. She knew what being a princess entailed from her studies in modern etiquette. Princesses were national assets used to batter peace or alliances between nations through arranged marriages.
"You think Yuma would let you have that kind of life?" Ajay questioned her.
"…N-No!.."
"Precisely, you are more precious to her than anything, I'm willing to wager even Pagan!"
"And what about you…?"
"Mmmm?" Maya looked deep into his eyes to judge his reaction.
"What would you feel if I were to be wedded off to someone else?" Ajay frowned as he heard a rather dubious question being posed by her, one that Saras had always used lightly because of her attitude but when used by Maya it was a whole different affair.
"If it's someone you like, then I've no qualms. You might not know this but you are the closest thing I had to a true friend." Maya suddenly back away from him after hearing that. Somehow deep inside she felt a little hurt, but she didn't know why. Even when his answer was out of consideration.
(BOOM)
A bright explosion brightened the whole of Kyrat in red. The promised fireworks had arrived. Ajay looked at his watch.
"Oh! It's 12 already, happy new year!"
"Uh- Happy new year…"
They watched the fireworks from the balcony at the seats without saying a word to one another to fully appreciate the fireworks.
There was a combination of colors and shapes that occurred in the patterns and formula Longinus and Samar used. Ajay was pretty sure, either way those in the Valley- no. Those in Lakshman would get to enjoy it the best from right at their doors.
"It's finally coming to a close.." Maya turned to Ajay when he said this shady comment.
"The ending that I always sought, perhaps it was better if Ajay Ghale never returned to Kyrat." No one would take up arms hoping a legacy would follow in his father's treacherous footsteps.
"How can you say such a thing?!"
"Why are you getting so wo-?" When he turned to Maya he did not expect that loud and rude tomboy to shed a tear.
"If Ajay never existed, then the Golden Path would have already been ravaging the North, this would not have happened!" She waved her hands to the fireworks and the garden party.
"If Ajay never existed, there would be no Lakshman! The centre of commerce and life. The Army would never have met compromise. Golden Path would never think twice about attacking the Army. Amita would never have formed a breakaway group. Without Ajay….. life in Kyrat is meaningless!"
Seeing her cry stuck a dagger into his heart, he bent over and pulled her in for an embrace. Maya accepted it without problem and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry….. I've been saying rather selfish things lately."
"Don't ever sell yourself short, Ajay… You might think you're only capable of destructive tendencies. But all of this was possible because of you. Don't let the only person I'd consider to be my dearest friend become nothing." Hearing that his status as her friend was still the same, Ajay sighed in relief internally.
But he knew in his heart that from the moment that crown touched his head, it was the end of Ajay Ghale as well. They'd only be a king whose sole duty was the welfare and continued prosperity of Kyrat. Only then, could he fulfil the debt he owed Kyrat and its inhabitants and that of his father's transgression in escalating the civil war.
-I'm sorry, Maya.-
"Stop right there!"
Down below he heard a commotion, breaking the embrace he looked down the balcony to find a figure being chased by a pair of Palace Guards.
When they caught her she struggled.
"Hurgh! Let me go! This is important, I need to find Badala!"
"What business could a foreigner like you have with his grace?!" The palace guard snorted as he dragged her away with the help of his partner. The commotion caused a scene where all the guests who were sitting around watching the fireworks looked to this scene take place.
"Stop!" Ajay had come down from the balcony via the stairs to where the two were suppressing one of his subordinates. One of the Condotierri, Stella.
The guards immediately stopped what they were doing and released her.
"This must be serious if you busted your way into an invitation-only party from the front entrance." He knew it was, she wouldn't have done something so audacious when her groups orders were to remain in their cabins or the town at least.
She gasped for air indicating she had hurried here in the quickest possible timing.
"Take a few breaths first then say it."
"No! It's too urgent, you need to help him!"
"Him?" Ajay already didn't like the way she posed that answer.
"It's Hurk! He's in trouble!" A tremor rattled in Ajay's mind, he didn't think he would actually go all the way there, not unless he was that gungho or a fool.
-That idiot!-
Author's notes:
It's time to head to Mohan's end, he should be at rajgad gulag by now with a confused Jason. And what better time to do so when the Northern demon goes to Pacchim valley for Hurk instead.
