Chapter 20 - Prince Dakkar
The Albatross, Over Africa: September 17th

Despite his feverish impatience to know, Lupin didn't want to have to ask. He knew it would open a can of worms and he would not be able to seal them away again. Still, it could not be delayed any further. He needed answers from Nemo.

Now that Nemo was secure on the Albatross and had a few days to settle, Lupin decided it was time. As soon as he finished his dinner, he began to walk to Nemo's room. The ship was still flying over Africa. Fortunately for Lupin, they would not be flying over Dahomey. He did not want to bring his own memories that close to the surface.

At the last moment, he decided to get Nemo a drink of aerated water. So with two glasses in one hand and a bottle under his arm, he unlocked and opened Nemo's door. The captain was sat at his desk, not writing, but reading the copies of the plans so far. The captain looked weary and worn. He massaged his temples as though he had a headache.

"Captain," Lupin greeted.
Nemo sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What is it, Lupin? I'm trying to work."
"Pah, that won't be going anywhere. Come, I need to ask you something."

Electing against arguing, Nemo put the plans down as Lupin sat in the spare chair. "What concoction of drugs will I be drinking this time?" Nemo asked, raising an eyebrow. Lupin smiled and put both cups on the table and filled them halfway.
"None, I assure you. It's only lemonade. If you don't believe me, you don't have to drink. That's not important..." Lupin took a sip from the cup Nemo left him. "What I would like to know is why you have such a disliking for Robur."

Nemo looked Lupin in the eye. The thief didn't like the coldness he saw in them. "Has he truly not given you the reason why he should be dead?" Nemo asked.
"No- well, not that I'm aware of at least. I'd rather you told me. Robur isn't the best storyteller."
Nemo's face contorted with disgust. "Do not call it a story. It is a truth I would rather not remind myself of. I also fail to see why I should trust you with something so private," he scowled, harsher than Lupin had expected.

Lupin couldn't help but sigh "I need to know what I am missing. Why do you insist he does not deserve life?"

"I say what I say because it is true! I do not have to sit here and justify myself."
"As a matter of fact, you do. How can you and I see him so differently? What has he done to you, Captain?" Lupin leaned forward with a soft expression. "Let me understand."

The captain shook his head to himself. "I won't speak of the past. Those wounds are still open."
Lupin sat back in his chair again. "Then until you do, I will not believe that he is the monster that you claim."
"Then you believe a lie," he spat.

Lupin inclined his head, "then correct me."

Nemo made a movement of agitation, pushing the air from his lungs is a sharp gust. He remained quiet, thinking hard. Lupin was patient but made no signs of giving up.

"So be it," Nemo ground out. "You need to know what sort of monster you are working for." Nemo's temper began to settle as he thought of where to begin. "I suppose it all started many years ago when I lived in India... I was the son of the Raja of Bundelkhand."

Lupin raised an eyebrow in clear surprise and scepticism. "That means you're a... prince."
Nemo shook his head and took a measured breath. "No, not anymore at least. I remember I was due to leave for Europe to continue my studies abroad."
Though Lupin didn't understand how this connected to Robur yet, he didn't push the captain. He expected he was building himself up to the answer.

"A few months before I left on that trip, I had met a young girl, Maliha. She was the daughter of one of the servants and her mother had managed to get her a job in the palace. I have never met anyone like her in my life. She was so gentle and warm, a truly incredible woman."

Nemo paused as the scene played out in front of his eyes all over again…

The young prince hurried down the stairs which led to the gardens. His wanted to speak with his father about going abroad for a month or two again. The prince was eager to see the world, but he had a few questions that were in need of answering before he went.

As he turned the corner, he bumped into a girl, no older than sixteen. She had been carrying a tray of fruit through to the kitchens. He did not have time to avoid the servant. With a clatter the tray fell to the floor and the few pieces of fruit went flying. She also fell upon the floor and yelped.

"I am deeply sorry, Maharaja. Forgive me and my incompetence," she begged, rushing to pick up the fruit. Nemo couldn't help but smile at her as she hurried, his smile faltered however when he saw she only used one hand. She kept her other hand close to her stomach. Had she injured herself?
"I was just as much to blame. It was an accident. Yet had I been my father you would not have been so easily excused," Nemo said, crouching down to help her.

Childish though it may have been, he could not help but look at her and decided that he wanted to know more about her. There was a gentleness in her eyes, an innocent glow of warmth. She was beautiful.

Nemo cleared his throat and put the fruit he had retrieved back where it belonged, receiving a bow of gratitude from the young girl. "What is your name?" he asked as she stood up. "Maliha, Maharaja," she replied quickly. Her weight shifted from foot to foot, trying not to look at him.
"Well, Maliah, try to be more careful. Are you hurt?" he said. She seemed to settle a little when he smiled at her reassuringly.

"I. It's just where I landed on my hand. I'm sure it's fine," she explained. She was struggling to hold the tray in her injured wrist.
"Come, let me walk you to the kitchens. I will carry that for you," he offered. Nemo had never seen anyone quite so hesitant and fearful. "Trust me. You have done nothing wrong," he reassured her, which earned him a nod and a flicker of a smile in return.

"Nemo?" Lupin said, drawing the captain from his nostalgia.
"I'm sorry, my mind was… elsewhere," he admitted, rubbing his forehead.
"It's alright. I realise that this isn't the easiest of things to discuss," Lupin replied. He leant against the table and took to running his finger around the rim of the cup, waiting for Nemo to continue. Nemo found it was better for him like that rather than staring him in the eye.

But still Nemo couldn't bring himself to look at Lupin, he instead covered his mouth with the back of his hand and closed his eyes. He needed to compose himself again. Though he didn't know how well he would do by the time he got to the end of this horrible tale. The very thought of Maliha made his heart ache and burn.

With a deep breath, Nemo pushed on "I soon grew to love Maliha. But naturally a prince and a servant could not be together. Still, I was young, with little consideration for the rules of royalty. I did my best to see her as much as possible. Life was almost perfect for me…" A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. It faded into a hateful glower within an instant. "And then the British came."

Gunfire and chaos were the things that met Nemo in the middle of the night. That and his father shaking his shoulder and calling his name. "Wake up, my son, Wake up! We must go."
"What's happening, father?" he asked sleepily. He rubbed his eyes and sat up.
"Pack your things. Get up!"

Nemo was half dragged from his bed. Feeling the urgency, he raced to pack a bag, though he didn't understand what was happening. His mother soon came to the door a small satchel over her shoulder. Her cheeks were wet with tears and her face was still flushed. He knew something was very wrong.

He grabbed only the essentials and things he could not bring himself to leave behind, his Kangha, he put his Kara on, and put his kirpan in his bag, stuffing them into a small sack with his father's help. He tied up his hair quickly but had no time to put his turban on. Something was deeply wrong. His father took the sword Nemo had been learning to wield with a masterful hand from its stand and handed it to him. "Put it on. We have to leave at once."

"Why? Where are we going?" Nemo asked as he fumbled with the buckle.
"France," He answered, his face fell a little further. "I do not know when we will return." He put his hand on Nemo's shoulder. "I need you to have your wits about you, my son. Be strong for our family." The young prince swallowed hard and nodded.

The three made their way downstairs and out into the courtyard. Nemo's father led the way, sword in hand. Feeling uneasy, Nemo stayed at the back, keeping a hand on the hilt of his blade. It was only as he stepped outside that Nemo fully understood. He saw hundreds of troops, British troops. Their guns smoking and bayonets dripping with blood. Terror gripped at his chest.

Time was running out. His father led them to an awaiting horse and cart. A gun sounded. His mother suddenly stopped and made a face of distorted pain. She seemed too shocked to speak. She fell backwards into Nemo's arms, who only just managed to catch her. Nemo froze in alarm, thinking the worst. "Mother?!"

Nemo felt several bullets fly past them, some far too close for comfort. Crouching down beside them, Nemo's father placed a hand on his wife's forehead and then to her cheek. She was still alive, whimpering in pain and murmuring, her trembling hands she reached for his. Blood poured from the wound in her side.
His father's face contorted into an expression of heartbreak and fury. For the sake of them all, he forced it aside."You'll have to carry her. Hurry now."

Nemo struggled but lifted up her small frame and carried her over to the horse and cart. She clung to Nemo's shirt as the pain made itself known. He climbed inside with her. His father did not get in with them. He was locked in battle with two men. There were too many soldiers, the guards could not defend them for much longer. His father knew it. Nemo was struggling to keep the pressure on his mother's wound.

With a strong series of strikes, Nemo's father defeated the two soldiers. He made no movement to get inside the cart.
"You're coming with us, aren't you?" Nemo asked fearfully.
His father closed the door to the cart. "Look after your mother, get to France. If we manage to beat the British, I will come to collect you to bring you back," his father explained.

"Father no!" Nemo grabbed him by the sleeve. "I. I can't do this by myself. Please, help me with my mother. I don't know what to do!" Nemo begged.
"I'm sorry, my son. Keep pressure on her wound until you get away from the conflict. Someone will be able to help you then... I am so very proud of you, my son. I love you both," he explained. Before Nemo could say another word, his father pulled his arm free and stepped back, ordering the servant driving to leave.

"I can still remember what I saw when I was driven away. My father was enraged at what had happened. He went to defend our home, blade in hand. He fought honourably. He brought down many British troops as he tried to regain control of the palace. My father was in fact more skilled than what I am now. He truly was a talented swordsman... However, one of the soldiers shot him in the back when he was trying to help one of our soldiers get to his feet."

Lupin noticed that Nemo's voice started to falter, he seemed trapped in the memory. His expression grew into a deep grimace. It was like he was speaking without acknowledging the words he said. "Yet still he kept fighting as best he could, but another bullet brought him down… Of all things, he... nodded to me and smiled before he fell. The British were cowards and killed him when he couldn't defend himself. He did not deserve that!"

Lupin jumped when Nemo's fist met the table in anger. Once again, Nemo found himself having to stop, this time to regain control of his flaring temper and his stinging eyes. Lupin opted to remain quiet. He had heard all the rumours of what circulated through the world about Nemo, none of them had been right. No one understood how it had affected him, even to this day. Lupin didn't think that after all this time he would still be quite so sore about it. He'd never accepted it. He never would.

"I wanted to go and help my father, but I knew he was gone. As we left, I saw Maliha running in our direction. I made the cart stop to collect her. I wouldn't lose her as well. She was crying. Her mother had been killed… my mother also did not make it. She died in my arms within a few minutes..."

Nemo took a sip of water as a means of composing himself. "Maliha was all I had left. My home, my family, my future, it was all stolen from me."

Nemo drew a breath. "So you see, I am not a Prince. Prince Dakkar died when the British took almost everything he held dear. It was then that I swore vengeance against the British for what they had done. I have never forgiven them… nor will I ever forget. I only joined the League to try to free India from Britain's rule... but that was a lie."

With a blunt look on his face, he continued. "We made it to France and slowly made a life for ourselves. By the time I was twenty- four I was an engineer, making more than enough money to survive. I was even starting to make a name for myself. I married Maliha and then we had a daughter, Janni. We lived in France for about six years. Once again, when I was at my happiest, it was taken from me..."