Chapter 31

"My tuition? Meals, housing, travel fares? Everything will be paid?"

The young Kyrati boy, who appeared no older than seventeen couldn't believe what was being offered to him. He paid close attention to the tall Asian man in front of him, whom was explaining all the details of his offer. His whole life he had expected to follow his family's way of life, inheriting the small farm they owned and grow old with a wife and children. Never did he imagine being offered an all-expense paid abroad trip to Singapore. What astonished him even more so was that the dictator he had come to fear for the past four years was the one offering this once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Is there an echo in here?" Pagan Min asked, looking around the small cabin. The boy and his family kept repeating everything he said. They were full of disbelief. With nobody laughing at his sarcasm, Pagan let out a sigh. "I've heard comments from other people in the area that you are a bright young man. You're exactly what I've been searching for. You won't be going alone. We've been searching throughout Kyrat for a suitable group of young intelligent kyrati juveniles who have potential to achieve our goals. We want to better our citizens and in doing so we will better this country."

Ishwari, who was sitting on the bench next to Pagan spoke up. "We've been traveling from village to village the past few weeks and we've already convinced seven people to agree to this. Our goal is to have ten students participate in this program." She smiled at the teenager who was still in disbelief. "You'd be crazy not to accept this offer. You'd get to experience things most people could only dream of, plus you'd be setting up a fine future for yourself."

The boy pondered for a moment, before looking to his parents who gave him a nod, encouraging him to accept. Looking back to his King he responded, accepting Pagan's offer.

"Excellent!" Pagan exclaimed. Standing up he reached his hand out to shake the young man's hand. "I promise you won't regret this." Pagan walked over and politely thanked the boy's parents for allowing him to speak to their son, though they most likely agreed to the meeting out of fear and not hospitality. "I'll have a guard retrieve you in a few weeks. I'm having a dinner for all the lucky students. There we will discuss travel and school plans in more detail." Pagan placed his hand on Ishwari's lower back. "Now if you excuse us, we have to visit another village to find you more classmates."

Ishwari walked beside Pagan as they made their way towards the door. They stepped outside into the cool Kyrat air, letting the door shut behind them. Instantly Pagan let out a sigh. "You'd better be appreciative of how much I love you. I loathe all these home visits."

Ishwari chuckled and nudged Pagan's side with her elbow. "You signed up for this the moment you decided you wanted to be a king."

"You're mistaken." Pagan smiled back down at his love. "I signed up for this the moment I asked you out on a date."

"Do you regret it?" Ishwari asked playfully.

Pagan intertwined his fingers with her own. "Not. One. Bit." He smiled. "Come. Let's hurry to this next village. I'd like to get back to the palace at a decent hour and spend some time with our children."

They began walking towards the armored vehicle that they had arrived in. Having already scouted most of the southern villages for potential students, they were now focusing on northern communities. That being said, there was no need for them to travel by air since they were fairly close to the palace.

"You know, we're planning a dinner, but we should go all out. Do a Singapore themed party. Immerse them in the cultural background of the country they'll be traveling to." Ishwari suggested.

"Annything for you dear." Pagan laughed. "You know? I really do spoil..."

Pagan was unable to finish his sentence when the sound of a gunshot interrupted him. As quickly as the first gunshot sounded, more followed. Pagans personal army began firing into the nearby wooded area, the place where the original shot was fired. Ishwari felt the panic rise in her chest and she moved to find cover behind the vehicle they were closest to. She took only a few steps before she realized Pagan wasn't following her. Instead she found him standing in the same spot, glaring down at his blood-soaked hand.

"Pagan..." Ishwari cried out, knowing her beloved had been shot.

Pagan glanced over at the sound of his name, fear filled his eyes. "Ishwari. I..." He moved to walk towards her, only being able to take a single step before his legs gave out and he fell to the ground.

"Pagan!" Ishwari cried out. She tried to run to him, but was unsuccessful when one of Pagans guards grabbed her and forced her to retreat to an area of cover. Instinct took over her whole body and she began screaming and beating on the man, begging him to let her run to her lover.

"What good will it do if you're shot too!" The guard shouted at her, convincing her to calm down. "I need you to stay here where it's safe. I can't get him to safety and worry about you."

Ishwari tried her best to wipe the tears flowing from her eyes. "Please... Save him."

Pressing his lips into a hard line, the guard gave her a nod before disappearing back into the warzone. Ishwari pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them, taking deep breaths. "Please. Save him." She kept repeating the words to herself, so afraid that she may lose her soul mate. The sleeves of the shirt she was wearing were now soaked with her tears. She needed Pagan right there with her and not laying on the ground like a dying dog in the middle of all the gun fire. "Please. Save him."

Her sobbing became even more oppressive when she heard the sound of Pagan screaming in agony through the sounds of the guns. Slowly, his screams became closer and the guard reappeared, dragging Pagan's wounded body. Ishwari straightened out her legs and the guard moved Pagan so that his head was resting on her lap. Without saying another word, the man ran back out to the battlefield to assist his comrades.

Ishwari looked down at her injured king. He kept is eyes scrunched closed as if he was trying to process the pain surging throughout his body. His breathing was labored and he was growing pale from the loss of blood. Placing her hand on his forehead, she brushed his hair from his eyes, feeling guilty that her tears were dripping onto his face.

Pagan opened his eyes at the feel of wetness. "Ishwari... please don't cry."

Ishwari took a deep breath, desperately trying to compose herself. She had worked as a nurse for the golden path. She knew which steps needed to be taken in order to care for gunshot victims. Unfortunately, that also meant she knew in most cases the victims didn't survive.

She turned her attention to the location of his wound. The bullet had entered to the right of his lower abdomen. "Pagan. It's going to hurt, but I need to sit you up. I have to see if there's an exit wound."

Pagan closed his eyes, steeling himself for the torture he was about to feel. He gave Ishwari a nod, showing that he was ready. Carefully, she lifted him off her lap, forcing him to let out another agonizing scream. Ishwari quickly examined his back side. Finding no additional injury, she slowly let him rest on her lap once more.

Pagan attempted to speak, through his fast-paced breaths. "Is it bad?"

She shook her head. "A gunshot wound is always bad. The bullet didn't pass all the way through, so it's still inside you. That's bad, but at least you don't have two open wounds you're bleeding from."

"At least you're trying to stay optimistic." Pagan panted as he let out a weak laugh, squeezing his eyes shut once more from the pain.

Ishwari knew her next step was to put pressure on the wound. She needed to try to stop the bleeding as much as possible. Knowing Pagan always kept a handkerchief on him, she reached into the inner pocket of the jacket he was wearing. Pagan was too focused on managing the pain of his injury to notice that Ishwari was reaching into his pocket. As she was feeling around inside the compartment, she felt the cloth she was looking for as well as something else. Grabbing hold of the unfamiliar object, she withdrew her hand to find she was holding a small velvet ring box.

She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when she felt Pagan's bloody hand touch her own, as he slowly claimed the small box she was holding. She watched as he returned the case back inside the pocket he originally had it. Moving his hand back outside his jacket, he retrieved the white handkerchief Ishwari had originally been searching for. "You were looking for this, yes?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied, not wanting to ask about what had just happened. She thickened the piece of cloth by folding it multiple times before she pressed it to his wound. Pagan, turned his head to bury his face into Ishwari's body, letting out a moan at the same time. "Pagan. You need a doctor." She cried.

Pagan once again let out a feeble laugh, grimacing from the pain. "That's ironic. We're only in this situation because we're out here searching for medical students. If we didn't need doctors, then I wouldn't need a doctor."

Being too focused on caring for her love, Ishwari almost hadn't noticed that there were no longer any gunshots. "Ma'am?" Ishwari glanced up to find that the guard who had helped her earlier had returned. "We neutralized the enemy and I have men scouting the perimeter for any other hostiles."

Placing her hand on her face, she wiped away the beads of water that remained. "How fast can you get us to the airport?"

"fourty five minutes." The man answered.

"Get us there in thirty." Ishwari demanded, as she motioned for the guard to help her move the king onto the back seat of the nearby vehicle. "I also need someone to radio Yuma Lau. Tell her to meet us at the airport now. Tell her it's urgent she gets there as quickly as possible, and make sure she brings her passport."

"Yes ma'am." the guard answered, as he lifted Pagan up into the car, causing him to cry out in agony once more.

Ishwari climbed into the back seat so that Pagan could rest his head on her lap again. Resuming her duty of applying pressure to his lesion. "You're calling for Yuma? That's so unlike you." Pagan asked through the pain.

Ishwari gave a deafeated smile. "You're going to India. They'll have someone there who can help you." Ishwari took hold of Pagan's hand. "We're fortunate that you keep your passport with you all the time. As for me..."

"You won't be able to go with me." Pagan spoke from his realization that Ishwari did not own her own passport.

"I won't let you go alone. Yuma cares for you, I know she'll watch over you." As much as she hated to admit it, they both needed Yuma at that moment.

Ishwari watched Pagan closely during their ride towards the airport. He continued to grow paler, but he was still conscious and she knew as long as he remained awake, he wasn't in the red. She trailed her eyes from his whitened face, towards the location of his wound, focusing on the spot where he placed the small box she had accidentally discovered. She wouldn't had even realized she was staring if Pagan hadn't spoke out.

'I've been carrying it with me for a while." Ishwari looked into his glossy coffee colored eyes. "I've been waiting for the right time." He struggled to get the words out, a sign that he was growing weaker. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Ishwari. This isn't the right time."

"Pagan..." Ishwari wished she had better control over her emotions. Her tears started to build up again and she hated feeling so weak. She needed to be strong for the man she loved. The man who was laying in her lap, fighting for his life.

"There will be a right time dear." He smiled at her, reassuring her that they would get through this tragedy.

The remainder of the journey was in silence, other than the occasional groans Pagan would let out every time they'd hit a bump in the road. Ishwari had asked him to stop speaking, wanting him to save his energy. It felt like a lifetime had passed before they finally reached the gates to the airport. Yuma's helicopter was the first thing in sight. Ishwari let out a sigh of relief that her future sister-in-law had arrived before them.

The vehicle came to a stop and Ishwari's relief turned to stress when she saw Yuma storming towards them. She hadn't even had a chance to climb out of the vehicle before Yuma started yelling in full rage. "He gives into your ridiculous ideas and he get shot! If it wasn't for you, he would have never even been out there!"

"Yuma..." Pagan coughed, unable to speak another word as his royal soldiers were working together to move him safely into the plane.

Yuma refrained from any further yelling when she heard her brothers injured voice. "He better not die..." she muttered as she turned away from Ishwari and began walking towards the plane.

Ishwari followed behind, not saying another word. Starting a fight with Yuma would delay Pagan from receiving the medical attention he needed. Quickly climbing into the cab, she knelt down beside Pagan who was laid across the back seat of the plane. His eyes were starting to become heavy and his breathing had slowed down drastically.

"I'll be waiting for you when you get back. You promised me there would be a 'right time'. Don't forget that." Pagan nodded unable to speak and tears ran down Ishwari's face as she kissed her king, praying to Kyra that it wouldn't be the last time she ever kissed him. She looked up to Yuma who had now become Pagan's new head rest. "Don't let him fall asleep."

Yuma gave Ishwari one of her looks of disgust before nodding. Knowing there was no more time to stall, Ishwari stepped out of the aircraft and backed away far enough for the plane to speed off down the runway. It lifted off the ground and slowly disappeared into the horizon along with any strengh Ishwari had left. Falling to the ground, she sobbed. Praying that she would see her king again.