Chapter 15
The ride back towards the palace was a quiet one, with the exception of Ajay whimpering. Pagan lifted his butt up off the seat enough so he could slip his hand in his pocket, pulling out a white handkerchief. He handed it to Ishwari, seeing the blood on her face, telling her to wipe off. He detoured his attention back to the window, not looking back at her once. After what felt like an eternity, the car came to a stop in front of the palace. Pagan finally made a movement, looking at the two people sitting in the front of the vehicle.
"Shanna, would you take Ajay inside and check him over. Make sure those bastards didn't do anything to him. I need to be alone with Ishwari for a few minutes"
"Yes sir." She replied, looking up at him from the visor mirror. She quickly exited the vehicle, along with the driver, leaving Ishwari alone with Pagan.
With a sigh, Pagan laid his head up against the head rest that accompanied his seat, and stared up at the grey ceiling of the car.
Ishwari glanced over at this beautiful man in which she had feelings for. She waited, hoping he would say something, but he remained quiet, lost in thought. They just sat there in silence, until eventually Ishwari could handle it no more. "What are you going to do with me?"
"What do you think I'm going to do with you?" He turned his head to look out the window, unable to look at her.
"I thought you were going to have me executed."
He let out a huge sigh "If I wanted you dead, I would have left you down there with those animals."
"So what then? What do you plan to do with me?" She asked to find out the answer.
He moved his head to gaze at his feet. "When I told you to get out of my room this morning, I was upset. After you left...I just laid in that empty bed, staring at the ceiling for at least an hour. I wanted to hate you, but I couldn't." He finally looked up at her. "Ishwari, I told you I love you last night. I have never said that to anyone else before. I don't even know why I said it. We barely know each other."
Tears started building up in her eyes again as she listened to what he had to say.
"I searched everywhere for you this morning. I went up to the servant cabins, I checked the wing you're usually cleaning, I even checked that spot outside that means so much to us. When all else failed, I went and found Shanna, hoping she would knew where you were. When she told me that you walked down to the fortress in attempt to head home, I got this fear inside of me. I have never been so scared in my life. I knew what those men would do to you. I wish I could have made it down there sooner to stop it before it happened, and I'm thankful it didn't go any further than what it did." He slid his body a little closer to her and wrapped his hand around hers. "What they did to you wasn't the only thing that frightened me. I was afraid you'd leave and I'd never see you again."
"Pagan, I'm so confused." She wiped tears from her eyes.
"I know you are. I only want you to be happy, so I'll give you a choice. If you wish to return to your husband, I will have one of my more trusted men drive you back home. I won't try to stop you." He paused for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Opening his eyes, to look deep into her own, he began speaking again. "But if you wish to stay then we'll forget this ever happened. We'll pick up where we left off. I promise to love and protect you. The same goes for your son. He'll be treated as if he's my own." Pagan released his grip on her hands and opened the car door, getting out. "I actually have a meeting with Yuma at her place I was supposed to be at an hour ago. I imagine she's furious right now. I'll be heading over there, so I won't be here at the palace for the rest of the day. That'll give you time to decide." He shut the door and walked away not looking back, leaving her by herself.
She continued to watch him, until he disappeared through the palace door. She scrunched her knees, pulling them close to her chest, resting her feet on the seat and buried her face, letting her tears run free. How could he expect her to choose him over her husband? If she was any kind of wife, she would of course choose to return home to her beloved Mohan. She would return back to the life she had always known, and she would raise a family as she had always planned. But going home would mean saying goodbye to Pagan, saying goodbye to a possible life of excitement and freedom from chained tradition.
She lifted her head up when she heard the roar of helicopter blades. She turned to glance out the window, to find pagans helicopter ascending above the palace and flying off into the horizon. She felt slightly relieved knowing that Pagan was gone for the day and she would not have to face him for a few hours. She took a few moments to pull herself together, before opening the door and removing herself from the vehicle. Wanting to go check on her little Ajay, she went in search of Shanna. She wondered the palace until she found Shanna in the lower part of the palace, changing Ajay's diaper.
"Is he alright?" Ishwari asked walking up beside Shanna.
"He seems to be okay." Shanna replied, pinning the new diaper in place.
"I was so scared. I didn't know where they were taking him, or what they were going to do to him." Ishwari said, grabbing a hold of Ajay's tiny hand.
"King Min was afraid too." Shanna looked up to her friend. "He saw that man carrying Ajay and immediately told the driver to stop." She giggled a little. "He actually opened the door and got out of the car before the driver had time to come to a complete stop."
"What happened to the guy that had Ajay?"
"I think King Min was too concerned about you, to care about that guy. He ran up to him and snatched Ajay out of his hands, then he started questioning the guy asking about you. When he received an answer, he handed Ajay to me and ran into the building that you were in." Shanna balled up Ajay's used diaper and tossed it in the dirty laundry pile. "He was really worried about you this morning. When I told him you left, he looked as if he was about to cry. I've never seen the king that way before. I think he really cares about you. What did you do to think you had to run away?"
Ishwari sighed, knowing that there was no point in hiding her secret now. "I told him who I really am. I'm married to the leader of the golden path, and I was sent here to spy on the king."
Shanna raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You're a spy?"
"yes."
"What did King Min say he was going to do to you?" Shanna asked worried.
Ishwari looked over at her son who was glancing around the room, finding comfort in watching him. "He's giving me a choice. He's going to allow me and Ajay to return home, if I want. He also told me I can stay here with him and he'll look pass my dishonesty."
"Are you going to stay?"
Ishwari shook her head. "I don't know if I should. I feel like I don't deserve his kindness."
"I don't know how to help you. This is something only you can decide. I will tell you one thing though. This 'kindness' you talk about, he doesn't have it unless he's with you. If you stay, there's a good chance things could get better for Kyrat."
"I just need to think it through" Ishwari said shaking her head.
"Take all the time you need. If you want, I'll look after Ajay for the day, so you can have some peace to sort your thoughts." Shanna offered.
"Thank you Shanna, I appreciate it." Ishwari smiled at her friend.
"Anytime. Now if you excuse me, I still have work I need to finish." Shanna strapped Ajay to her back and headed out the door leading upstairs to the top part of the palace.
Ishwari closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was one of the biggest decisions she has ever had to make. She never imagined that when she left her husband to come spy on Pagan, that she would be leaving him for good. Part of her wanted to return to him, just because it was the right thing to do. She turned and headed back up the stairs, and then to the door leading outside.
She walked to the side of the palace and looked out over Kyrat. It was different seeing it in broad daylight. Seeing the smoke rising from various places in her home land in the distance made her imagine a world without war. If she stayed she could convince Pagan to change his ways. Kyrat would benefit from her affair.
Ishwari wondered around the palace grounds for at least an hour or so before she found herself at the servant cabins. She walked inside and sat down on her designated bed. She opened up the drawer next to her and pulled out the few letters that Pagan had wrote her. She began rereading them and smiled at each one. The feeling she got every time she received a new letter was addicting. He kept her waiting and excited to receive the next one. After looking them over, she reached into the drawer and pulled out the Big Ben key chain that he had gifted her with. She laid back and held it up above her face smiling at it. She imagined all the amazing things she would get to experience with Pagan. She wrapped her fingers around the tiny trinket and rested it on her chest, closing her eyes.
